"P" Word Origins

pharmacy

Old French

From Old French pharmacie, based on Greek pharmakeia ("use of drugs"), from pharmakon ("drug, remedy, or poison").

phase

Greek

From Greek phasis, meaning "an appearance," related to phainein, "to show" or "to appear" — the same root that gives us "phantom" and "phenomenon."

phaser

Origin

Coined for the Star Trek TV series as a blend suggesting a "phased energy rectifier"; it was later popularized as shorthand for any futuristic ray-gun weapon.

phat

Origin

Slang from African American Vernacular English, deliberately spelled to look distinct from the ordinary word "fat" even though it grew out of the same word.

PhD

Latin

An abbreviation of Latin philosophiae doctor, 'teacher of philosophy', where philosophy carries its old broad sense of learning in general.

pheasant

Old French

From Old French fesan, ultimately from Greek phasianos, "bird of the river Phasis," the river where the bird was said to have first been found by the Greeks.

Phelan

Irish

An Anglicized form of Irish Ó Faoláin, from faol ("wolf").

Phelps

Origin

From Philip + genitive (mainly patronymic) suffix -s.

phenomena

Greek

The Greek-style plural of "phenomenon," formed the same way as words like "criteria" (from "criterion").

phenomenal

French

Built from "phenomenon" plus the adjective ending "-al," following the pattern of French phénoménal.

phenomenon

Late Latin

From Late Latin phaenomenon, borrowed from Greek phainomenon, "a thing that appears," from phainein, "to show."

phenotype

Greek

From Greek phainein 'to show' and typos 'type, impression', so literally 'the shown type'.

pheromone

Greek

Coined by combining the Greek pherein ("to carry") with "hormone," describing a chemical signal carried between individuals rather than within one body.

phew

Origin

An imitation of the sound of a quick exhale, used across many languages for the same "that's over" feeling of relief.

phi

Latin

From the Greek letter phei, borrowed into Latin and then English as "phi."

phial

Origin

The noun is derived partly: * from Middle English fiole, phiole, phial (“small bowl or cup for liquids, etc.; flask”) [and other forms], from Middle French fiole, phiole [and other forms], and Old French fiole (modern French fiole), from Late Latin fiola, phiola, from Latin phiala (“broad, flat, shallow bowl or cup”), from Ancient Greek φιάλη (phiálē, “round and shallow bowl, pan, or saucer”), probably from Pre-Greek; and * directly from Latin phiala (see above). The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of vial. Cognates * Catalan fiola * French fiole * Italian fiala * Old Occitan fiola (Occitan fiòla)

Phil

Greek

Shortened from Philip, ultimately from Greek Φίλιππος (Phílippos), "lover of horses".

Philadelphia

Greek

From Greek philadelphia, "brotherly love," combining philos ("loving") and adelphos ("brother"). The city was named by its Quaker founder William Penn to reflect his hopes for religious tolerance.

philanderer

Greek

From "philander," meaning to flirt or carry on casual love affairs, ultimately from Greek philandros ("fond of men"), though the English word came to describe men who chase women.

philandry

Origin

Coined from Ancient Greek φιλέω (philéō, “I love”) + ἀνδρός (andrós), genitive of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”), equivalent to phil- + -andry. Compare philander.

philanthropic

French

From French philanthropique, ultimately from Greek roots meaning "loving humankind."

philanthropist

Greek

Formed from "philanthropy" plus "-ist," from Greek roots meaning "one who loves humankind."

philanthropy

Late Latin

From Late Latin philanthropia, itself from Greek philanthropia, literally "love of humankind."

philharmonic

French

From French philharmonique, from Italian filarmonico, literally combining "phil-" (loving) with "harmonic."

philia

Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek φιλία (philía).

Philip

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Philippos, "fond of horses," combining a word for "love/fond" with the word for "horse."

Philippa

Origin

A Latinate feminine form of Philip, recorded in medieval England, but originally pronounced like the masculine form.

philippic

Origin

From Latin philippicus, from Ancient Greek φιλιππικός (philippikós), from Φίλιππος (Phílippos, “lover of horses”), from φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + ἵππος (híppos, “horse”).

Philippines

Spanish · 1500

Named after King Philip II of Spain (Felipe in Spanish) by Spanish explorers in the 1500s.

philipps

Origin

From Philip + genitive (mainly patronymic) suffix -s.

Philips

Origin

From Philip + genitive (mainly patronymic) suffix -s.

philistine

German

Derived from "Philistine" (the ancient people of Philistia), by way of a German university slang term used to mock outsiders who cared nothing for academic or artistic culture.

Phillip

Origin

A less common spelling of Philip.

Phillips

Origin

Formed from the name Phillip plus the possessive/patronymic "-s."

phillis

Origin

A less common spelling of Phyllis.

Philly

Origin

From the first syllable of Philadelphia plus "-y".

philogyny

Origin

From philo- + -gyny.

philology

Origin

Inherited from Middle English Philologie, from Latin philologia, from Ancient Greek φιλολογίᾱ (philologíā, “love of argument or reasoning, love of learning and literature”).

Philomena

Latin

From Latin Filumena, from Greek Φιλουμένη (Philouménē), "beloved".

philosopher

Greek

From Greek philosophos, literally "lover of wisdom," a term said to have been first used by Pythagoras to describe himself rather than claim to be wise.

philosophic

Origin

From Middle English philosophik, phylosophyk, from Old French filosofique and Latin philosophicus; equivalent to philosophy + -ic.

philosophical

Ancient Greek

From "philosophy" plus the adjective ending "-ical," which traces back to Ancient Greek philosophia, "love of knowledge."

philosophy

Ancient Greek

From Latin philosophia, borrowed from Ancient Greek philosophia — literally "love of wisdom," from philos ("loving") plus sophia ("wisdom").

Phipps

Middle English

From Middle English Phipp, a diminutive of Philip + genitive (mainly patronymic) suffix -s.

phishing

English

A respelling of 'fishing', on the model of earlier hacker slang such as 'phreaking'; the idea is of baiting a hook and waiting for someone to bite.

phlebotomy

Greek

From Greek phleps, phlebos 'vein' and -tomia 'cutting'.

phlegm

Old French

From Old French fleume, ultimately from Greek phlegma ("inflammation" or "clammy bodily fluid"), from phlegein, "to burn." In ancient medicine phlegm was one of the four bodily humors, believed to make people calm or sluggish.

phlegmatic

Origin

From Middle English fleumatik, flewmatik, flematik, fleumatyke, flewmatyk, from Old French fleumatique, from Latin phlegmaticus, from Ancient Greek φλεγματικός (phlegmatikós), from φλέγμα (phlégma), referring to the humour which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with mildness, coldness, sluggishness, and indifference. Spelling later altered to resemble the word's Latin and Greek roots, with modern pronunciation following this new spelling.