"P" Word Origins

peking

Origin

c. 1655 romanization of the Nanking court dialect Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng), reinforced by Postal Romanization from before the modern palatalization of [k] to [t͡ɕ]. The early Portuguese and Jesuits such as Francis Xavier used the spelling Paquim; Abraham Ortelius used C. Paquin for his 1572 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas; Italian Jesuit Martino Martini used Peking in his 1654 Latin De Bello Tartarico Historia and 1655 Novus Atlas Sinensis, which were quickly translated into English and later used by Joan Blaeu for his 1665 Atlas Maior. Peter Heylyn's Cosmographie changed its spelling from Paquin in the 1652 edition to Peking in the 1658 edition, but both Pekin and Peking were used interchangeably in English until the Chinese Imperial Post adopted Peking as its official transcription in the 1890s. (Note that Peking is not derived from Wade-Giles romanization- see Pei-ching and Peiching.)

pelagianism

Origin

From the name of its founder, Pelagius: Pelagian + -ism.

pelagic

Origin

From Latin pelagicus (and possibly pelagus); from Ancient Greek πελαγικός (pelagikós), from πέλαγος (pélagos, “sea”). By surface analysis, -pelag + -ic.

pelargonium

Origin

From translingual Pelargonium, from Ancient Greek πελαργός (pelargós, “stork”).

Pele

Origin

From the Hawaiian name Pele.

pelf

Origin

From Late Middle English pelf, pelfe (“stolen goods, booty, spoil; forfeited property; money, riches; property; valuable object”), possibly from Anglo-Norman pelf (a variant of pelfre (“booty, loot”)) and Old French peufre (“frippery; rubbish”); further etymology uncertain, possibly a metathesis of Old French felpe, ferpe, frepe (“a rag”). The English word is perhaps related to Late Latin pelfa, pelfra, pelfrum (“forfeited or stolen goods”), Middle French peuffe and French peufe, peuffe (“old clothes; rubbish”) (Normandy), and pilfer.

pelican

Greek

From Greek pelekan, related to pelekus ("hatchet"), possibly describing the shape of its bill.

pelisse

Origin

Borrowed from French pelisse, from Late Latin pellicia, from Latin pellis (“skin”). Doublet of pilch.

pell

Latin

From Latin pellis ("animal skin, hide"), the same root behind "pelt."

pellage

Origin

From French pellage, from Latin pellicula, from pellis (“a skin”). By surface analysis, pell + -age.

pellagra

Origin

From Italian pellagra, from Latin pellis (“skin”) + Ancient Greek ἄγρα (ágra, “seizure, attack, catching”).

pellet

Latin

From Old French pelote ("small ball"), from Latin pila ("ball").

pellicle

Origin

From Latin pellicula, from pellis (“skin”). Doublet of pellicule.

pellucidity

Origin

From pellucid + -ity, from Latin pelluciditas.

pelmeni

Origin

Borrowed from Russian пельме́ни (pelʹméni, singular пельме́нь (pelʹménʹ)), which in turn is borrowed from Permic (Komi/Udmurt) пельнянь (peľňaň).

Pelosi

Latin

From Italian peloso ("hairy"), from Latin pilosus.

pelt

Latin

From Middle English pelt ("skin of a sheep"), of uncertain further origin, ultimately connected to Latin pellis ("skin, hide").

pelter

Origin

From pelt + -er.

peltry

Origin

From Old French peleterie, the trade of a skinner or peltmonger (peletier). Equivalent to pelt + -ry.

pelvic

Origin

By surface analysis, pelv- + -ic.

pelvis

Latin

From Latin pelvis ("basin"), describing the bone's bowl-like shape.

Pemberton

Old English

From Welsh pen ("head, hill") combined with Old English words for "barley" and "settlement."

Pembleton

Origin

Perhaps a variant of Pemberton.

pen

Latin

The writing tool sense comes from Latin penna ("feather"), since early pens were cut from quills; the enclosure sense is unrelated, from Old English penn.

pena

Origin

Borrowed from Manipuri ꯄꯦꯅꯥ (penā).

penal

Latin

From Latin poena ("punishment"), from Greek poine ("penalty, blood money").

penalty

Latin

From Latin poena ("punishment"), via French pénalité.

penance

Latin

From Old French peneance, from Latin paenitentia ("repentance"); a close relative of the word "penitence."

Pence

German

Americanized spelling of German Pentz or Benz.

penchant

French

From French penchant, literally "leaning" or "tilting," from pencher ("to lean").

pencil

Latin

From Latin penicillum ("little brush"), originally referring to small artists' brushes rather than the graphite tool we use today.

pend

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French pendre (“to hang”), from Late Latin pendĕre, from Latin pendēre.

pendant

French

From French pendant, literally "hanging," from pendre ("to hang").

pendejo

Spanish

Borrowed directly from Spanish pendejo.

pendent

Origin

From Middle English pendaunt, Anglo-Norman pendaunt, pendant, respelled to reflect Latin pendēns, pendentis, present participle of pendere (“to hang, to be suspended”). Compare pendant, which retained the spelling.

pendergrass

Origin

Variant of Prendergast.

Pendleton

Old English

"The settlement by Pendle," combining the hill name Pendle with Old English tūn ("settlement").

pendragon

Welsh

From Welsh pen ("head, chief") plus dragon ("commander, war leader"), giving a title meaning roughly "chief war leader."

pendulum

Latin

From Latin pendulus ("hanging").

Penelope

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Pēnelópē, possibly related to a Greek word for "duck."

penelopize

Origin

From Penelope + -ize, from the account in Homer's Odyssey of Penelope, who stalled her many suitors while she wove a shroud which she unraveled nightly to prolong the process.

penetrable

Origin

From Middle English penetrable, penytrable, from Old French penetrable, from Medieval Latin penetrābilis.

penetrate

Latin

From Latin penetrare ("to enter deeply into, pierce"), from penes ("within").

penetration

Latin

From Latin penetratio, from penetrare ("to pierce, enter deeply").

peng

Origin · 2000

Popular UK slang of uncertain origin, widely used in London youth speech from the 2000s onward.

penguin

Origin

Origin uncertain; the word first described the great auk of the Northern Hemisphere before being applied to the unrelated Southern Hemisphere birds we call penguins today.

penicillin

Origin · 1928

Named after the Penicillium mold from which it was first isolated; coined by Alexander Fleming, who discovered it in 1928.

peninsula

Latin

From Latin paene ("almost") plus insula ("island") — literally an "almost-island."