"P" Word Origins

palatine

Origin

From late Middle English palatyne, from Old French palatin, from Medieval Latin palātīnus (“relating to the palace”), from palātium (“palace”) + -īnus (“-ine”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of paladin.

palau

Origin

Borrowed from Palauan Belau (“Palau”), traditionally derived from aidebelau (“indirect replies”) in reference to the island's creation story, or from beluu (“village”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua (“inhabited land, territory”).

palaver

Origin

Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”), from Late Latin parabola (“parable, speech”). The term's use (especially in Africa) mimics the evolution of the word moot. As such, for sense development, see moot. Doublet of parable, parole, and parabola.

palazzo

Latin

Borrowed from Italian palazzo, from the same Latin root as "palace," ultimately from the Palatine Hill in Rome.

pale

Latin

From Old French pale, from Latin pallidus ("pale, pallid"). The noun sense meaning "boundary" comes from a separate root, Latin palus ("stake"), referring to a fence of stakes marking a territory's limits — the origin of the phrase "beyond the pale."

paleaceous

Origin

From Latin palea (“chaff”) + -aceous.

paleo

Greek

From Greek palaios, meaning ancient or old — the same root as in palaeolithic and palaeontology. British English spells the prefix palaeo-, American English paleo-.

Palermo

Italian

From Italian Palermo, from Sicilian Palermu, from Arabic بَلَرْم (Balarm), from Latin Panormus, from Ancient Greek Πάνορμος (Pánormos), from πᾰν- (păn-, “all”) + ὅρμος (hórmos, “port”) for its natural harbor.

Pales

Latin

From Latin Palēs, from Etruscan.

Palestine

Latin

From Latin Palaestina, via Greek, ultimately from Hebrew p'leshet ("land of the Philistines").

Palestinian

Origin

From Palestine plus the suffix -ian, following the same pattern as other nationality words.

palette

French

Borrowed from French palette, ultimately from the same root as "pallet" (a small flat board).

Pali

Sanskrit

A learned borrowing from Sanskrit pāli.

Palin

Welsh

Anglicization of Welsh ap Heilyn (“son of Heilyn”).

palindrome

Greek

From Greek palindromos 'running back again', from palin 'again, back' and dromos 'a running'.

paling

Origin

From Middle English palyng, palynge, equivalent to pale + -ing.

palisade

French

From French palissade, from Provençal palissada, ultimately from Latin palus 'a stake'. The same root gives pale in the sense of a fence stake, as in 'beyond the pale'.

pall

Latin

From Old English pæll, borrowed from Latin pallium ("cloak, covering") — the noun for a coffin-cloth came first; the verb "to grow dull" developed later in English.

palladium

Origin · 1803

The metal was named in 1803 after the asteroid Pallas, which itself was named for Pallas Athena. The older "safeguard" sense comes from the Palladium, a sacred statue of Athena believed to protect the city of Troy.

pallas

Origin

From Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás) (f.) or Πάλλας (Pállas) (m.), from πάλλω (pállō, “to poise, sway, or swing”), but explained here by the ancients as more specifically meaning to brandish something. In Athena's conventional iconography, she was often depicted with a spear or a shield. Thus the epithet was explained as referring to her brandishing these things.

pallbearer

Origin

From pall + bearer.

pallet

Latin

From Old French paillete, "bundle of straw," from paille ("straw"), from Latin palea ("chaff") — the straw-bed sense came first; the shipping platform sense developed much later.

palliard

Origin

From Middle English payllart (1484), Middle French paillard, from Middle French paille (“straw”).

palliate

Origin

The verb was inherited from Middle English palliaten (“To palliate (a disease), relieve the symptoms of (a patient); to extenuate (an offense); to conceal, hide”), the adjective and participle from its participle palliat(e); further borrowed either from Middle French pallier or directly from Latin palliātus, perfect passive participle of palliō (“to cover with a cloak”)), from pallium (“a cloak”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

palliation

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French palliation, from Latin palliare (“to cloak; to conceal”), from Latin pallium (“cloak”). By surface analysis, palliate + -ion.

palliative

Origin

From Middle French palliatif, from New Latin *palliātīvus, from Medieval Latin palliō (“to cloak”), from Latin pallium (“a cloak”).

pally

Origin

From "pal" (a close friend) plus the informal adjective suffix "-y."

palm

Latin

From Latin palma, meaning both "palm of the hand" and "palm tree" — the tree was named for its leaves, which fan out like the fingers of an open hand.

Palma

Portuguese

From Portuguese and Spanish palma. Doublet of palm, palmo, and pam.

Palme

Origin

From Middle High German palme, balme.

Palmer

Middle English

From Middle English palmer, "a pilgrim from the Holy Land," referencing the palm branch pilgrims carried home.

Palms

Dutch

Variant of Dutch Palm.

paloma

Spanish

From Spanish paloma, meaning "dove".

palomino

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish palomino, from paloma ("dove") plus a diminutive ending — a nod to the horse's pale, dove-like coloring.

Palos

Origin

The name was approved in 2000, and refers to Palos de la Frontera, a town in Spain.

palp

Latin

From Latin palpare, "to touch softly, feel" — the same root that gives us "palpable" and "palpitate."

palpable

Latin

From Latin palpabilis, from palpare ("to touch softly, feel"), the same root as "palp" and "palpitate."

palpitate

Latin

From Latin palpitare 'to throb, flutter', a frequentative of palpare 'to touch gently, stroke'.

palpitation

Origin

From Middle French palpitation, from Latin palpitatio.

palsy

Old French

From Old French paralisie, ultimately from Greek paralusis ("disabling on one side") — the same root as "paralysis," which "palsy" is a shortened doublet of.

paltry

German

From Middle Low German paltrig ("ragged, worthless"), from a root meaning "rag" or "scrap of cloth" — the idea of something as worthless as a torn rag carried over into the modern sense of "trivial" or "insultingly small."

Pamela

Greek · 1590

Coined by Sir Philip Sidney around 1590 for a character in his romance "Arcadia", from Greek "pan" (all) and "meli" (honey).

pamper

Dutch

From Middle Dutch pamperen, "to cram with food," originally meaning to stuff someone with rich food; the meaning broadened over time to any kind of excessive indulgence or care.

pampers

Origin

From the trademark Pampers (Procter & Gamble), which has become a generic word for disposable diapers in everyday speech; the brand name itself comes from the verb "pamper".

pamphlet

Latin · 1100

From Middle English pamflet, ultimately traced to Pamphilus, a popular 12th-century Latin love poem that circulated widely as a short, cheaply bound text — its title became a byword for any small printed booklet.

pampie

Origin

From either pamp (“clipping of pamper; a diaper”) + -ie (“forms diminutive or affectionate forms of nouns”) or pamps (“clipping of pampers; a diaper”) + -ie.

Pamplona

Origin

From the Roman name, Latin Pompeiopolis, named for Pompey, Roman general who founded it in 68 BC.

pamps

Origin

Either a clipping of pampers (“a diaper, nappy”), or from pamp (“a diaper, nappy”) + -s (“hypocoristic suffix”).