"P" Word Origins

pullulate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pullulātus, perfect passive participle of pullulō (“sprout forth”), from pullulus (“a young animal, a sprout”), diminutive of pullus.

pulmonary

Latin

From Latin pulmonarius, "of the lungs," from pulmo, "lung."

pulmonic

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin pulmōnicus, from pulmō (“lung”).

pulmonologist

Latin

From Latin pulmo "lung" combined with the Greek-derived ending -ologist "one who studies".

pulp

Latin

From Latin pulpa, meaning fleshy part or pulp.

pulpit

Latin

From Old French pulpite and Latin pulpitum, meaning "platform" or "stage."

pulpy

Origin

From pulp + -y.

pulsar

Origin · 1960

A blend of "pulsating" and "star," coined in the late 1960s after astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell discovered the first one.

pulsate

Origin

Perhaps formed within English as a back-formation from pulsation (attested from the early 15th century, in Middle English). A figurative derivation from New Latin pulsō, pulsātum (“(of an organ) to pulse, to emit a pulse”, intransitive) is also possible, itself a back-formation of New Latin pulsātiō (“pulsation”, 14th century), or derived from classical Latin pulsō (“to strike repeatedly”, transitive) with semantic influence from classical pulsus (“a pulse”). Ultimately from Latin pellō (“to strike”). By surface analysis, pulse + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of push.

pulsation

Origin

Inherited from Middle English pulsacioun (“pulsing of the blood, throbbing”), borrowed from Middle French pulsacion (“(of bells) a striking (end of 14th c.); (of a diseased part of the body) a throbbing (1377); pulsation (1575)”), and its source, Latin pulsātiō (“(classical Latin) a beating or striking; (Medieval Latin, medical) rhythmical expansion and contraction (1363 in Chauliac)”). By surface analysis, pulsate + -ion.

pulse

Latin

From Latin pulsus, "beat" or "stroke," from pellere, "to drive or strike."

pulverise

Origin

From Middle English pulverizen, from Latin pulverizō, pulverizāre, from pulvis (“powder”). Compare French pulvériser. By surface analysis, pulver (“powder”) + -ise.

pulverize

Latin

From Latin pulverizare, from pulvis, "dust."

puma

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish puma, from Quechua puma.

pumice

Latin

From Latin pumex, "pumice stone."

pumiceous

Origin

Latin pumiceus.

pummel

Origin

An altered form of "pommel," originally meaning to strike with the hilt of a sword.

pump

Middle English

From Middle English pumpe, likely from a Dutch or Low German word for a pipe or water conduit.

pumpernickel

German

From a Westphalian German word likely combining terms for "fart" and a dismissive name meaning "rascal" — probably an old insult aimed at the bread's heaviness.

pumpkin

Greek

An altered form of "pompion," ultimately from Greek pepon, meaning a large ripe melon.

pumpkinseed

Origin

From pumpkin + seed. The fish is so named for its small body that is shaped much like a pumpkin seed.

pun

Origin

Likely derived from an older word meaning "to pound" or "beat," from the idea of hammering words together.

punani

Origin

From Jamaican Creole punani, perhaps from Akan oponaani. Possibly influenced by English poon (“vagina”) from French putain, or from Hawaiian Puanani (“beautiful flower”).

punch

Latin

From Old French ponchonner, "to punch or prick," related to Latin pungere, "to prick."

puncher

Origin

From punch + -er.

punchline

English

A compound of punch, in the sense of a sudden forceful blow, and line, a line of spoken material.

punchy

Origin

From punch (“short fat person”) + -y.

punctual

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin punctualis, "relating to a point," from Latin punctus, "point."

punctuate

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuātus, perfect passive participle of pūnctuō (“to mark with points”), from Medieval Latin pūnctus (“a point, dot”), from pungō (“to prick, punch”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of punch.

punctuation

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin punctuatio, "a marking with points," from punctuare, "to mark with points."

puncture

Late Latin

From Late Latin punctura, from pungere, "to prick."

pundit

Sanskrit

Borrowed via Hindi from Sanskrit pandita, meaning "scholar" or "learned man."

Pune

Origin

Borrowed from Marathi पुणे (puṇe).

pung

Origin

Shortened form of tom-pung, from the same Algonquian etymon as toboggan.

pungency

Origin

From pungent + -cy.

pungent

Latin

From Latin pungens, "stinging," from pungere, "to prick or sting."

punic

Origin

From Latin Pūnicus, variant of Poenicus, from Poenus + -icus, from Ancient Greek Φοῖνιξ (Phoînix), from Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀛𐀑𐀍 (po-ni-ki-jo) under influence from φοινός (phoinós, “crimson red”) owing to its relation to Tyrian purple, apparently from or cognate with Egyptian fnḫw (“Asiatics, Semites”), f:n:x-w-V12:Z2. Equivalent to a modified Phoenician + -ic.

punim

Origin

Borrowed from Yiddish פּנים (ponem), from Hebrew פָּנִים (paním, “face”).

punish

Latin

From Old French punir, from Latin punire, "to inflict punishment," from poena, "penalty."

punisher

Origin

From punish + -er.

punishment

Old French

From Old French punissement, from punir, "to punish."

punitive

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin punitivus, from punire, "to punish."

Punjab

Persian

From Persian panjab, "[land of] the five rivers," referring to five rivers of the region: the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas.

Punjabi

Persian

From Persian panjabi, from panjab, "Punjab," plus an adjective-forming suffix.

punk

Origin · 1970

Originally referred to rotten wood used as tinder; the sense broadened to mean anything worthless, then to disreputable people, before being adopted as the name for the 1970s music movement.

punnet

Origin

Uncertain. First appears in the 1820s. Perhaps a diminutive of pun, a dialect variant of pound, the weight + -et. The suggestion that it is an eponym of Reginald Crundall Punnett (1875–1967), geneticist and grower of strawberries, is not chronologically possible. The suggestion it was an ancestor of his lacks evidence. Very likely to have originated from the french word bannette, wicker basket for bread proofing.

punt

Latin

From Old English punt, from Latin ponto, meaning a flat-bottomed boat, related to pons, "bridge."

punter

Origin

From punt (to bet against the bank, or to kick a ball) plus the agent suffix -er.