"P" Word Origins

pilar

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin pilaris, from pilus, "a hair."

Pilate

Latin

From Latin Pilatus, a Roman family name literally meaning "armed with javelins," from pilum ("javelin" or "pestle").

Pilates

German

Named after its creator, the German-born physical trainer Joseph Pilates.

pilch

Origin

From Middle English pilche, from Old English pylċe, pyleċe, from Late Latin pellicia. A doublet of pelisse; also see pelt (“skin”).

pilchard

Origin

From earlier pilcher, adapted to the suffix -ard. Further etymology unknown. Compare Dutch pelser.

pile

Latin

From Old French pile, from Latin pīla, "pillar" or "pier" — the heaped-up and driven-post senses both trace back to this idea of a solid mass.

piles

Latin

From Latin pila (“ball”).

pileus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pīleus, a form of pilleus (“a felt cap”).

pilfer

Origin

From earlier pilfre, from Middle English pilfre (“booty”), from Old French pelfre (“plunder, booty, spoils”), of unknown origin. Compare pelf.

pilgrim

Latin

From Old French pelegrin, ultimately from Latin peregrinus, "foreigner" — a doublet of the word "peregrine."

pilgrimage

Origin

Formed from "pilgrim" plus the suffix "-age."

Pilkington

Old English

From a minor place name in Lancashire, combining an Old English personal name with elements meaning "belonging to" and "settlement."

pilkinton

Origin

Variant of Pilkington.

pill

Latin

From Middle English pille, ultimately from Latin pila/pilula, "little ball."

pillage

Latin

From Old French piller, "to plunder," possibly ultimately related to Latin pilus, "hair" (via a figurative sense of stripping something bare).

Pillai

Origin

Borrowed from Tamil.

pillar

Latin

From Old French pilier, from a Latin word for a pillar or pier.

pillbox

Origin

From pill + box.

pillock

Origin · 1500

Originally slang for "penis" in the 16th century, later softened into a general insult for a foolish person.

pillory

Origin

From Middle English pilory, pillorie, from Old French pilori, pellori, which is either from Old Occitan espilori or Latin pīla (“pillar”).

pillow

Latin

From Old English pyle, ultimately from a Latin word for cushion, related to the word for dust (originally the stuffing material).

pillow princess

English

A compound of pillow and princess, the image being someone who stays lying down and is waited on.

pillow talk

English

A compound of pillow and talk, describing conversation held in bed.

pillowcase

Origin

A compound of "pillow" and "case."

Pillsbury

Origin

A variant spelling of the surname Pilsbury.

pilot

Ancient Greek

From French pilot, ultimately traced to an Ancient Greek word for the blade of an oar — the same root behind "rudder"-related words in Greek.

pilothouse

Origin

From pilot + house.

pilus

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin pilus (“hair”). Doublet of pile.

pimento

Latin

Borrowed from Portuguese pimento, related to Spanish pimiento, ultimately from a Latin word meaning "colouring" — a doublet of "pigment."

pimiento

Origin

From Spanish pimiento (“bell pepper; later any pepper”), from Latin pigmentum (“coloring; colorful thing”), from pingō (“to paint”) and -mentum (suffix denoting instruments and results of actions). Doublet of pigment, piment, and pimento.

pimp

French

Origin uncertain; possibly related to a French word meaning "smart" or "sparkish," or a German word for a young lad.

pimpernel

Medieval Latin

From Old French pimpinelle, traced back to a Medieval Latin word possibly linked to "pepper," due to the plant's peppercorn-like seeds.

pimping

Origin

By surface analysis, pimp + -ing.

pimple

Latin

From Middle English pymple, possibly related to an Old English word for breaking out in spots, and to the Latin word for a pimple or pustule.

pin

Latin

From Old English pinn, "peg" or "bolt," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning a protruding point — related to "pintle" and unrelated to the Latin word for a wing or feather.

pinafore

Origin

Univerbation of pin + afore. The pinafore was originally pinned to the front of a dress, as it had no buttons.

piñata

Spanish

From Spanish piñata, from Italian pignatta 'earthenware cooking pot', related to pigna 'pine cone', which the earliest clay versions resembled.

pinay

Origin

From Tagalog Pinay.

pinball

Origin

A compound of "pin" and "ball."

pincer

Old French

From Old French pincier, "to pinch."

pincers

Old French

From Old French pinceure, from pincier, "to pinch."

pinch

Latin

From Middle English pinchen, likely from Old Northern French, ultimately connected to Latin words for puncturing or striking.

pinche

Spanish

A Spanish word whose oldest recorded sense is 'kitchen boy'; the intensifier use is a later Mexican development.

pincher

Origin

From pinch + -er.

pinchpenny

Origin

From pinch + penny.

Pindar

Greek

From Greek Πίνδαρος (Píndaros).

pine

Latin

From Old English pin, ultimately from Latin pinus, the same root that gives us "pineapple."

pineal

Latin

From Latin pinea, "pine cone" — the gland is named for its small cone-like shape.