"P" Word Origins

poker

German

American English, perhaps from first element of German Pochspiel, from German pochen, perhaps from French poque. First appeared in the 19th century.

poker face

English

From the card game poker, in which concealing your reaction to your own hand is essential to play.

pol

Origin

A clipped, informal shortening of "politician."

Polack

Polish

From Polish Polak, meaning simply "a Polish person" — neutral in Polish but has taken on a derogatory tone as an English loanword.

Poland

Proto-Slavic

From Pole + land, ultimately from Old Polish Polanie ("Poles", literally "field dwellers"), from Proto-Slavic *poľe ("field").

Polanski

Origin

From Polish Polański.

polar

Latin

From Latin polaris, from polus, "pole" — ultimately from Greek polos.

Polaris

Latin

From Latin stella polaris, "pole star."

polarity

Greek

From Greek polos, "axis, pivot", via Latin polus and the adjective polar.

polarization

Latin and Greek

From polar, via Latin polaris, from Greek polos 'axis, pole'. The verb polarize adds the verb-forming suffix -ize, and -ation then turns that verb into a noun.

polarized

Latin and Greek

From polarize, formed on polar, via Latin polaris from Greek polos meaning 'pole' or 'axis'.

polarizing

Origin

From polarize + -ing.

polaroid

Origin

From the trademark Polaroid, originally the name of a light-polarizing plastic material before becoming linked to instant cameras.

pole

Latin

From Old English pal, from Latin palus, "stake."

polecat

Origin

From Middle English polcat, pulkat, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle English *pole, *poule (“hen”), from Old French poule (“hen”) + Middle English cat. Compare English foulmart.

polenta

Latin

Borrowed from Italian polenta, from Latin polenta, referring to a coarse grain porridge.

police

Latin

From French police, from Latin politia, "civil administration," ultimately from Greek polis, "city." A doublet of "policy" and "polity."

policy

Latin

From Old French policie, from Latin politia, "citizenship, government." A doublet of "police" and "polity."

Polio

Greek

A shortening of "poliomyelitis," from Greek polios ("grey") + myelos ("marrow," referring to the spinal cord) + -itis ("inflammation").

poliomyelitis

Origin

Borrowed from German Poliomyelitis, from the Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”) + μυελός (muelós, “marrow”) + -ῖτις (-îtis, “-itis”). Compare French poliomyélite.

Polish

Latin

From Latin politus, "made smooth," the past participle of polire, "to polish."

polite

Latin

From Latin politus, "polished," the past participle of polire — the same root that gives us "polish." Politeness was once thought of as social "polish."

politesse

Origin

From French politesse, from Italian politezza, from polito, past participle of pulire (“to clean”), from Latin polire, present active infinite form of poliō (“to polish”).

politic

Latin

From Latin politicus, from Greek politikos, "of citizens," from polites, "citizen."

political

Origin

From politic + -al.

politician

Origin

From politic + the suffix -ian.

politicly

Origin

From politic + -ly.

politico

Origin

From Italian politico or Spanish político.

politics

Origin

From the adjective "politic," modeled on Aristotle's ta politika, "affairs of the city/state."

polity

Origin

From Middle French politie, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía, “polity, policy, the state”). Doublet of police, policy, and polis (“police”).

Polk

Origin

As a surname, most likely a shortened form of Pollock, a Scottish surname; the verb sense is simply a clipped form of "polka."

polka

Polish

From Czech polka, likely a shortening of půlka ("half-step"), referring to the dance's quick half-steps; possibly reinforced by the word for a Polish woman.

poll

Middle English

From Middle English polle, meaning "head" or "scalp" — voting by "head count" gave the word its modern sense of counting opinions.

Pollard

Middle English

From Middle English poll ("head") plus the suffix -ard (as in "drunkard"), originally describing an animal or tree with its "head" — horns or crown — cut off.

pollen

Latin · 1700

Borrowed from Latin pollen, "fine flour" or "dust," and applied to flower spores by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s.

pollex

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pollex.

pollock

Middle English

From Middle English [Term?], perhaps from Scots podlok.

pollute

Latin

From Latin pollūtus, "defiled" or "unclean," the past participle of polluō, "to soil or dishonor."

pollution

Latin

From Latin pollūtiō, "defilement," ultimately from polluō, "to soil or contaminate."

Pollux

Ancient Greek

From Latin Pollux, itself from the Ancient Greek Polydeukes, one of the mythological twin brothers known as the Dioscuri.

Polly

Origin

A nickname for "Mary," formed by rhyming with the earlier nickname "Molly."

Pollyanna

Origin · 1913

From the cheerful title character of Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel "Pollyanna," whose name later became a byword for unshakeable optimism.

polo

Origin

From a Balti word meaning "ball," reaching English via the game's spread from Central Asia through British colonial India.

polonium

Latin · 1898

Named by Marie Curie in 1898 after Poland (Latin Polonia), her home country, to draw attention to its political situation.

Polonius

Origin

From Polonius, the long-winded, interfering courtier in Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

poltergeist

German

Borrowed directly from German Poltergeist, from poltern ("to make a racket") and Geist ("ghost").

poltroon

Origin

From Middle French poltron, from Italian poltrone.

poly

Origin

Shortening of various words.