"P" Word Origins

Petrov

Russian

From Russian Петро́в (Petróv) or Bulgarian Петров (Petrov).

Petrovic

Origin

Common Slavic surname, from Serbo-Croatian Petrović, Slovak and Slovene Petrovič, Czech Petrovič, all forms of Peter.

petsitter

Origin

From pet + sitter.

Petter

German

As a name, borrowed from Dutch and German forms of Peter.

petticoat

Middle English

From Middle English pety cote, literally a "small/petty coat" — originally a short undergarment, later the flouncy underskirt sense took over.

pettifog

Origin

Back-formation from pettifogger.

pettifogger

Origin

petty + fogger

Pettigrew

French

Possibly from the Anglo-Norman French "petit creu" (small growth), or from "pie de grue" (crane's foot), referring to someone with long legs.

pettishness

Origin

From pettish + -ness.

petty

Old French

From Old French petit, "small" — the same root as "petit" and "petite," worn down in English pronunciation and spelling.

petulance

Origin

From Middle French pétulance, and its source, Latin petulantia.

petulant

Latin

From Latin petulans, related to petere, "to attack or demand" — originally implying pert, cheeky insolence before settling into today's "sulky" sense.

petunia

French

From French pétun, an old word for "tobacco" (petunias are related to the tobacco plant), ultimately from a Tupi-Guarani word for the leaf.

Peugeot

Origin · 1800

Named after the Peugeot family business, which began in France in the early 19th century.

pew

Latin

From Old French puiee, "balustrade, balcony," ultimately from Latin podium — the same root as "podium."

pewee

Origin

Imitative of the vocalisations of various birds. For the passerine, originally imitative of the vocalisations of the eastern wood pewee, later extended to other members of the same genus.

peyote

Spanish

From Spanish peyote, from Nahuatl peyotl.

Peyton

Origin

Variant of Payton.

Pez

German

Formed from the first, middle, and last letters of German Pfefferminz ("peppermint"), the candy's original flavor.

PFA

English

An initialism, expanded differently by field.

Pfeiffer

German

From German Pfeiffer, literally "piper".

pff

Origin

Onomatopoeic — imitating a short puff of breath.

pfft

Latin

Onomatopoeic, imitating a short puffing or deflating sound.

PFT

English

An initialism of the underlying phrase.

pfui

Origin

From German pfui, also the source of phooey.

PG

English

An initialism of parental guidance in its film-rating sense.

pH

Origin · 1909

Introduced in 1909 by chemist S. P. L. Sørensen; the "H" stands for hydrogen, and the "p" likely abbreviates a word for "power" or "potential" in Sørensen's notation.

phalangeal

Origin

Probably from the stem of Latin phalanx + -eal (in laryngeal, pharyngeal). Compare earlier phalangal and rare New Latin phalangeus.

phalanger

Origin

From Ancient Greek φαλάγγιον (phalángion, “spider's web”), from φάλαγξ (phálanx, “spider”), referring to the webbed toes on the hind feet.

phalangite

Origin

Ultimately from Ancient Greek φαλαγγίτης (phalangítēs), equivalent to phalanx + -ite.

phalanx

Greek

From Greek phalanx, "battle order, line of soldiers" — later borrowed by anatomists for the similarly lined-up finger bones.

phallic

Origin

From phallus + -ic.

phallus

Latin

From Latin phallus, from Greek phallos.

Phan

Origin

A playful blend of "Phish" and "fan," swapping the F for the band's signature Ph spelling.

phantasm

Origin

A learned variant of phantom; from Middle English fantosme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma, from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma). Doublet of phantom.

phantasmal

Origin

From phantasm or phantasma (“phantasm”) + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives).

phantasmic

Origin

From phantasm + -ic.

phantom

Latin

From Old French fantosme, from Latin phantasma, from Greek phantazein, "to make visible" — a doublet of "phantasm."

pharaoh

Latin

From Egyptian pr-aa, literally "great house" (i.e. the royal palace), via Hebrew, Greek, and Latin into English.

pharaonic

Origin

From Latin Pharaōn- (stem of Pharaō (“Pharaoh”)) + -ic, originally modelled on German pharaonisch.

pharisaical

Origin

From Late Latin Pharisaicus + -al.

pharma

Origin

A shortened, informal clipping of "pharmaceutical."

pharmaceutical

Latin

From Latin pharmaceuticus ("of drugs"), itself from Greek pharmakeutikos, meaning relating to the use of medicines.

pharmaceutics

Origin

From pharmaceutic + -s; see -ics.

pharmacian

Origin

From pharmacy + -ian, probably after the model of French pharmacien.

pharmacist

Greek

Built from "pharmacy" plus the agent suffix "-ist," ultimately tracing back to Greek roots meaning the practice of preparing drugs.

pharmacopole

Origin

From Latin pharmacopola, from Ancient Greek φαρμακοπώλης (pharmakopṓlēs), from φάρμακον (phármakon, “drug, charm, enchantment”) + -πώλης (-pṓlēs, “-seller, -monger”). Doublet of pharmacopolist.

pharmacopolist

Origin

From Latin pharmacopola + -ist, from Ancient Greek φαρμακοπώλης (pharmakopṓlēs), from φάρμακον (phármakon, “drug, charm, enchantment”) + -πώλης (-pṓlēs, “-seller, -monger”). Cf. papyropolist. Doublet of pharmacopole.