"P" Word Origins

publicly

Origin

Formed from public plus the adverb suffix -ly.

publish

Latin

From Old French publier, from Latin publicare, "to make public," from publicus, "public."

publisher

Origin

From publish plus the agent suffix -er.

Puccini

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Puccini.

pucelle

Origin

From Anglo-Norman pucele, Middle French pucele, perhaps from a Late Latin *pullicella, but the further etymology is disputed. Compare Sicilian pulla.

puck

Old English

From Old English pūca, "goblin, demon," of uncertain deeper origin.

pucker

Middle English

Origin uncertain; possibly related to poke (a small bag), by way of Middle English pukkeren.

puckish

Origin

From Puck + -ish, after the mischievous fairy in English folklore who is also a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

pud

Origin

Clipped form of pudding.

pudding

Latin

From Middle English podynge, originally referring to a stuffed sausage, from Old French boudin, "blood sausage," from Latin botellus, "small intestine, sausage."

puddle

Old English

From Old English pudd, "ditch," via Middle English podel.

pudendal

Origin

From Latin pudendum (“external genitals, shaming”) + -al. By surface analysis, pudend- + -al.

pudendum

Origin

From Latin pudenda (“that whereof one ought to feel shame”), substantive use of the neuter plural gerundive of pudet (“it shames”); in Latin the usage in the plural form (to mean external genitalia), was far more common than the singular form, as is also the case in English.

pudgy

Origin

From pudge plus -y.

pudic

Origin

From French pudique, from Latin pudīcus, from pudet (“it shames”).

pueblo

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish pueblo, "town, people," from Latin populus — a doublet of the English word "people."

puellile

Origin

From Latin puella (“female child, girl”) + English -ile (suffix meaning ‘capable of; tending to’ forming adjectives), modelled after puerile. Puella is derived from puellus (“male child, young boy”) + -a (feminine form of -us); puellus is a contraction of puerulus (“little boy; little slave”), from puer (“boy, lad; male page, servant, or slave; child”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, little; smallness”)) + -ulus (“suffix forming diminutives of nouns indicating small size or youth”).

puelline

Origin

From Latin puella (“female child, girl”) + English -ine (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Puella is derived from puellus (“male child, young boy”) + -a (feminine form of -us); puellus is a contraction of puerulus (“little boy; little slave”), from puer (“boy, lad; male page, servant, or slave; child”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, little; smallness”)) + -ulus (“suffix forming diminutives of nouns indicating small size or youth”).

puerile

Origin

From Latin puerīlis (“childish”), from puer (“child, boy”). By surface analysis, puer + -ile.

puerilism

Origin

From puerile + -ism.

puerility

Origin

From Middle English puerilite, from Middle French puérilité and its etymon Latin puerīlitās, from puerīlis (“childish, juvenile”), from puer (“boy”). By surface analysis, puerile + -ity.

puff

Old English

From Old English pyf, "a blast of wind," of imitative (sound-based) origin.

puffed

Origin

From puff + -ed.

puffer

Origin

From puff plus the agent suffix -er.

puffin

Middle English

From Middle English poffin; possibly related to Middle Cornish or Breton words for the bird, and influenced by "puff."

puffy

Origin

From puff plus -y.

pug

Origin

Origin uncertain, possibly linked to a West Flemish word for something small.

puggy

Origin

From pug + -y.

Pugh

Welsh

From Welsh ap Huw, meaning "son of Hugh."

pugilist

Origin

From Latin pugil (“boxer”) + -ist, related to pugnus (“fist”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“prick, punch”). Compare contemporary pugilism (“boxing”) (1791).

pugnacity

Origin

From Latin pugnacitas (whence -acity).

puh

Origin

Equivalent to puss(y) + -h.

puissant

Origin

From Middle English puissaunt, from Middle French puissant, poissant, Anglo-Norman puissant, Old French pussant, et al., present participle of pooir (“to be able”), ultimately from Latin posse (“be able”).

puja

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit पूजा (pūjā), "reverence or worship."

puke

Germanic · 1500

Probably imitative in origin; possibly related to Germanic words meaning "to spit or hiss." First recorded in English in the late 16th century, including in Shakespeare's "As You Like It."

pukka

Origin

From Hindi पक्का (pakkā, “certain, sure”), Punjabi ਪੱਕਾ (pakkā, “mature, ripe; cooked; strong, substantial; genuine, sound, true, valid”) and Urdu پکا (pakkā, “mature, ripe; cooked; strong, substantial; genuine, sound, true, valid”), from Sanskrit पक्व (pakva, “baked, cooked, roasted”), from पचति (pacati, “to bake, cook, roast”).

pulaski

Origin · 1866

Named after Edward C. Pulaski (1866–1931), the American forest ranger who invented the tool.

pulchritudinous

Origin

From Latin pulchritūdin- + -ous, from oblique stem of Latin pulchritūdō, from pulcher + -tūdō. By surface analysis, pulchritude + -ous.

pule

Origin

From French piauler, a variant of French piailler (“to chirp, cheep”). Compare Italian pigolare (“to cheep as a chicken”).

Pulitzer

Origin

See Pulitzer Prize.

pull

Old English

From Old English pullian, "to pull, draw, tug," of uncertain deeper origin.

puller

Origin

From pull plus the agent suffix -er.

pullet

Origin

From Middle English polet, pulet, from Anglo-Norman pullet, Old French poulet (“young chicken”); polette (“young hen”), from poule (“hen”), from Vulgar Latin pulla, feminine form of pullus. Doublet of poult. Compare also Middle English pulle. By surface analysis, pull(us) + -et.

pulley

Ancient Greek

From Old French polie, ultimately from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos), "pivot, axis." Later linked to the verb "pull" by folk etymology.

pulling

Middle English

From Middle English *pullynge, equivalent to pull + -ing.

Pullman

Origin · 1831

Named after the Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by American industrialist George Pullman (1831–1897).

pullout

Origin

Deverbal from pull out.

pullover

Origin

From the phrasal verb "pull over," describing how the garment is put on.