"P" Word Origins

phlegmon

Origin

From Latin phlegmōn, phlegmonē (“inflammation beneath the skin”), from Ancient Greek φλεγμονή (phlegmonḗ, “inflammation, fiery heat”), from φλέγω (phlégō, “burn”).

phloem

Origin

First attested in 1872. From German Phloëm, coined by Swiss botanist Carl Nägeli in 1858 from Ancient Greek φλόος (phlóos, “husk, bark”) + a Greek-sounding ending -em (cf. System).

phlox

Greek

From Greek phlox, meaning "flame," a nod to the plant's vivid flower colors.

pho

Origin

Borrowed directly from Vietnamese phở.

phobia

Ancient Greek · 1790

From Ancient Greek phobos, "fear," first used as an independent word around 1790 after appearing in compound words like "hydrophobia."

phoebe

Ancient Greek

The bird's name is imitative of its call, likely influenced by the given name Phoebe, which comes from Ancient Greek phoibe, "bright, shining one" — a title once linked to the moon goddess Selene.

Phoebus

Greek

From Greek Φοῖβος (Phoîbos), "bright, radiant".

Phoenician

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Phoinix, "Phoenician," which entered English by way of Middle English phenicienes.

phoenix

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek phoinix, ultimately traced to an Egyptian word for the grey heron, a bird once worshipped at Heliopolis and linked to yearly renewal along the Nile.

phonation

Origin

From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”), equivalent to phonate + -ion.

phone

Greek · 1884

A shortening of "telephone," first recorded in this clipped form in 1884; "telephone" itself combines Greek tele- ("far") and phone ("sound").

phonebook

Origin

A straightforward compound of "phone" and "book."

phoneme

Origin

From Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma, “sound”), from φωνέω (phōnéō, “to sound”), from φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). By surface analysis, phone (“speech sound”) + -eme (“unit”).

phonograph

Greek

From Greek phono- ("sound") plus -graph ("something written or recorded").

phonography

Origin

From French phonographie.

phony

Origin

Origin uncertain; possibly an alteration of "fawny," old slang for a gilt ring used by street swindlers.

phooey

German

Likely from Yiddish foy, itself from German pfui, blended with the English interjection "phoo."

phosphate

French

Borrowed from French phosphate, formed from "phosphoric acid" plus the chemical suffix "-ate," which denotes a salt or ester.

phosphomotif

Origin

From phospho- + motif.

phosphor

Origin

From Medieval Latin phosphorus.

phosphorist

Origin

From phosphor + -ist, after their journal, Phosphoros, named for the morning star.

phosphorus

Latin

Borrowed from Latin phosphorus, from Greek phosphoros, "bearer of light" — originally a name for the morning star, the planet Venus seen before sunrise.

photo

Greek

A clipped form of "photograph," itself from Greek photo- ("light") plus -graph ("writing" or "recording").

photocopier

Origin

Formed from "photocopy" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning "the machine that makes photocopies."

photocopy

Origin

From "photo-" plus "copy."

photogenic

Origin

From "photo-" ("light") plus "-genic" ("producing" or "suited to").

photograph

Origin

From "photo-" ("light") plus "-graph" ("writing" or "drawing"), literally "drawing with light."

photographer

Origin

From "photograph" plus the agent suffix "-er."

photographic

Origin

From "photograph" plus the adjective suffix "-ic."

photography

French

Borrowed from French photographie, from Greek photo- ("light") and -graphia ("writing" or "recording") — literally "drawing with light."

photon

Origin · 1916

Coined from "photo-" plus the particle suffix "-on"; the term was introduced by physicist Leonard Troland in 1916 and later popularized by chemist Gilbert N. Lewis.

photonic

Origin

From "photon" plus the adjective suffix "-ic."

photoshop

Origin

From the trademarked software Adobe Photoshop, whose name became so common it turned into an everyday verb.

photoshopped

Origin

Adjective is from photoshop (verb).

photosynthesis

Origin

From "photo-" ("light") plus "synthesis" ("putting together").

photosynthesize

Origin

From photo + synthesize.

PHP

English

Originally an initialism of Personal Home Page Tools; the name was later redefined as the recursive expansion PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

phrase

Late Latin

Borrowed from Late Latin phrasis ("diction"), from Greek phrasis ("manner of expression"), from phrazo, "to tell or express."

phraseology

Origin

From Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “speech”) + λόγος (lógos, “explanation”).

phrenitis

Origin

From Latin phrenītis, from Ancient Greek φρενῖτις (phrenîtis), from φρήν (phrḗn, “mind”).

Phryne

Greek

From Greek φρύνη (phrúnē, "toad"), a nickname sometimes given to courtesans.

Phuket

Malay

From Thai ภูเก็ต, itself traced back to a Malay word for "hill," bukit.

Phuong

Origin

Borrowed from Vietnamese Phương.

Phyllis

Ancient Greek

From the Ancient Greek name Phyllis, tied to a myth in which the grieving Phyllis becomes an almond tree.

phyllon

Origin

Borrowed from Latin phyllon, from Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon, “leaf”). Doublet of phyllo, distantly also with foil, folio, and folium.

phylogenesis

Origin

Borrowed from German Phylogenese, coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866. By surface analysis, phylo- + -genesis.

phylogeny

Origin

Borrowed from German Phylogenie, coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, a neologism created as if borrowed from a Classic Greek word φυλογένεια (phulogéneia), composed from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, genus, species”) + -γένεια (-géneia, “-geny (generation, production)”), equivalent to phylo- + -geny.

phylum

Origin

From Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”).