"P" Word Origins

perv

Origin

A clipped, informal form of "pervert."

pervade

Latin

From Latin pervadere, from per- 'through' and vadere 'to go'.

pervasive

Latin

From Latin pervasus, past participle of pervadere ("to spread through"), from per- ("through") + vadere ("to go, walk").

perverse

Latin

From Old French pervers, from Latin perversus ("turned the wrong way"), past participle of pervertere — see "pervert."

perversion

Origin

Inherited from Middle English perversion.

pervert

Latin

From Old French pervertir, from Latin pervertere ("to turn about, overturn, corrupt"), from per- ("thoroughly") + vertere ("to turn").

perverted

Origin

From pervert + the past-participle ending -ed.

pervious

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pervius (“having a passage through; passable, penetrable, traversable”) + English -ous (suffix denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance)). Pervius is derived from per- (prefix denoting doing something all the way through or entirely) + via (“road, street; method, way; (figurative) course, route”) + -us (suffix forming adjectives)

pervy

Origin

From perv + the informal adjective ending -y.

pes

Origin

From Latin pēs (“foot”). Doublet of foot, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous.

pesky

Origin

Possibly an alteration of "pesty" (from "pest"), following a pattern similar to "nasty" shifting toward "nasky" in some dialects.

peso

Spanish

Borrowed directly from Spanish peso, meaning "weight," reflecting how coins were once valued by how much they weighed.

pessary

Origin

From Middle English pessarie, from Old French pessaire, from Latin pessarium.

pessimal

Origin

From Latin pessimus (“worst”) + -al, modeled on optimal.

pessimism

Latin · 1800

From French pessimisme, ultimately from Latin pessimus ("worst"). The philosophical sense was popularized by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in the early 1800s.

pessimist

Latin

From French pessimiste, from Latin pessimus ("worst").

pessimistic

Origin

From pessimist + the adjective ending -ic.

pest

Latin

From Middle French peste ("plague"), ultimately from Latin pestis. Originally referred to deadly epidemics like the plague before broadening to any harmful creature or annoying person.

pester

Old French

From Old French empestrer ("to encumber"), later influenced by association with "pest," shifting its meaning toward "annoy persistently."

pesticide

Latin

From pest + the combining form -cide ("killer"), from Latin caedere ("to cut down, kill").

pestilence

Latin

From Old French, ultimately from Latin pestilentia ("plague"), from pestilens ("infected, unwholesome").

pestilent

Origin

Middle English, from Latin pestilens, from Latin pestis.

pestle

Origin

From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum.

pesto

Latin

From Italian pesto, from Latin pistus ("crushed, pounded") — the same root as "pestle," reflecting how the ingredients are traditionally ground together.

pet

Scottish Gaelic

From Scots pet ("a tamed animal, or a spoiled darling"), probably from Scottish Gaelic peata.

pet peeve

English

From pet in the sense of 'favourite, particularly cherished' plus peeve, a back-formation from peevish meaning irritable.

petal

Ancient Greek

A learned borrowing from Ancient Greek petalon ("leaf"), from petalos ("broad, flat, spread out").

petechial

New Latin

From New Latin petechialis, from petechia (the tiny skin spot itself), of disputed further origin.

Peter

Middle English

From Middle English Peter, from Old English Petrus, from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), from πέτρος (pétros, “stone, rock”). Doublet of Pedro, Piers, and Boutros.

peterman

Origin · 1600

From peter ("a safe," 17th-century slang) + man.

Petersen

Origin

From Danish Petersen or, less often, from Norwegian Petersen.

Peterson

Origin

From Peter + "-son", paralleled by Scandinavian Pedersen and Petersen and Slavic Petrovic-type surnames.

Petey

Origin

From Pete + -y.

petit

Old French

From Old French petit, "small" — the same root that gives English "petty" and "petite."

petite

French

Borrowed from French petite, the feminine form of petit, "small."

petiteness

Origin

From petite + -ness.

petition

Latin

From Old French peticiun, from Latin petitio, "a request," from petere, "to seek or ask for."

petitioner

Origin

From petition + -er, "one who does."

petra

Latin

From Latin petra, "rock" or "stone" — the same root behind words like "petrify."

petrichor

Greek

From Greek petra meaning 'stone' and ichor, the fluid said in Greek myth to run in the veins of the gods.

Petrie

Origin

From a Scots diminutive form of Peter and Patrick.

petrify

Origin

From Middle French pétrifier, from Medieval Latin petrificāre, from Latin petra (“rock”), from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra, “rock”) + -ficāre, from facere (“do, make”), equivalent to petro- + -ify.

Petro

Spanish

The Vodou sense traces to a class name of unclear African origin; the cryptocurrency sense comes from Spanish petróleo ("petroleum"), reflecting its claimed oil backing.

petrograd

Origin

From Russian Петрогра́д (Petrográd). The portion Петро (Petro, “Petros”), from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros) and German Peter, from Dutch Pieter, from Sankt Pieter (“Saint Peter”), from Apostle Peter and Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia and then Emperor. The portion град (grad, “city”), from German Burg (“city, castle”), from Dutch burch (“town, fortress”). Петрогра́д (Petrográd, “Petrograd”) from German Sankt Petersburg (“Санкт-Петербургъ (Sankt-Peterburg)”), from Dutch Sankt-Pieter-Burch (“Сант-Питер-Бурхъ (Sant-Piter-Burx)”), the Russian city was named in Dutch instead of Russian by Peter the Great.

petrol

French

From French pétrole, ultimately from Greek petra ("rock") plus elaion ("oil") — literally "rock oil."

petroleum

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin petroleum, from Greek petra ("rock") plus elaion ("oil") — "rock oil."

Petronius

Latin

From Latin Petronius.

Petros

Greek

From Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), meaning "rock" or "stone".