"P" Word Origins

pardon

Late Latin

From Old French pardoner, from Late Latin perdonare ("to give completely, forgive") — per- ("thoroughly") + donare ("to give"), the same root behind "donate."

pare

Origin

From Middle English paren, from Old French parer (“to arrange, prepare, trim”), from Latin parō (“to prepare, arrange; to provide, furnish; to resolve, purpose”) (related to pariō (“to bear, to give birth to; to spawn, produce, beget; to procure, acquire”)), from a Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to bring forward, bring forth”).

paree

Origin

Representing the French pronunciation of Paris.

pareidolia

Greek

Formed from Greek para- 'beside, faulty' and eidōlon 'image, form'.

parent

Latin

From Latin parens, "one who brings forth," the present participle of parere ("to give birth to, produce").

parentage

Origin

From Middle French, from Old French parentage.

parental

Latin

From Latin parentalis, from parens ("parent").

parenthood

Origin

From parent + the suffix -hood, which forms nouns describing a state or condition (as in "childhood" or "adulthood").

parer

Latin

From pare plus the agent suffix -er; pare comes via Old French parer from Latin parare 'to prepare, make ready'.

parfait

French

Borrowed from French parfait, "perfect" — the same word that gives English "perfect."

parhelion

Origin

From Latin parelion, from Ancient Greek παρήλιον (parḗlion), from παρά (pará) + ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun”).

pariah

Tamil

From Tamil paṛaiyar, plural of paṛaiyan, literally 'drummer', the name of a low-caste group whose hereditary duty included beating the ceremonial drum (paṛai). Entered English through Portuguese and Anglo-Indian usage.

paries

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pariēs (“wall of a house or room”). Compare French paroi (“wall”), Italian parete (“wall”), Portuguese parede (“wall”) Spanish pared (“wall”) and Romanian perete (“wall”).

parietal

Latin

From Latin parietalis, from paries ("wall").

Paris

Middle English

From Middle English Parys, Paris, from Old French Paris, from the Late Latin name of an earlier settlement, Lutetia Parisiorum (“Lutetia of the Parisii”), from Latin Parīsiī, a Gaulish tribe, from Transalpine Gaulish *parios (“cauldron”), from Proto-Celtic *kʷaryos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷer-. Doublet of Parizh.

parish

Late Latin

From Old French paroisse, from Late Latin parochia, ultimately from Greek paroikia, "a dwelling in a foreign land."

parishioner

Old French

From Old French paroissien, "member of a parish," built on paroisse ("parish").

Parisian

Medieval Latin

From Middle French parisien, from Medieval Latin parisianus, built directly on the name Paris.

parity

Latin

From Latin paritas, from par meaning 'equal', via French parité.

park

Old French

From Old French parc, "livestock pen," from Frankish *parrik ("enclosure"). The word originally meant an enclosed piece of land for game or livestock before it broadened to today's recreational and functional senses.

parka

Russian

Borrowed via Russian and Aleut from a Nenets word for an animal-skin coat, originally used by Arctic peoples for extreme cold.

Parker

Origin

From park + -er, originally naming someone whose job was to look after a park or hunting ground.

parkerson

Origin

A contraction of Parkinson.

parkin

Origin

From Parkin, a diminutive of Peter.

parking

Origin

From park + -ing.

parkins

Origin

From Parkin + the patronymic suffix -s.

Parkinson

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given name Peter + -son.

parkour

French

Borrowed from French parkour, an altered spelling of parcours, "course, route."

parkway

Origin

From park + way — a road built with a park-like setting in mind.

parkyn

Origin

Variant of Parkin.

parlance

French

From Anglo-Norman parlance, built on French parler, "to talk."

parlay

French

From Italian paroli, "doubled stake," via French — unrelated in origin to "parley," despite the similar sound.

parley

Old French

From Old French parler, "to speak" — a distant relative of "parable" and "palaver."

parliament

Old French

From Old French parlement, "discussion, assembly," from parler, "to speak."

parliamentary

Origin

From parliament + -ary.

parlor

Origin

Inherited from Middle English parlour, from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from the verb parler (“to speak”); compare Medieval Latin parlātōrium. Doublet of parloir. Displaced native Old English sprǣchūs.

parlous

Origin

From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).

parm

Origin

A casual shortening of "parmesan" or "parmigiana."

parma

Italian

Named after Parma, the Italian city famous for parmesan cheese.

parmesan

Latin

From Middle French parmesan, ultimately from Latin Parma, the Italian city the cheese is named after.

Parnell

Origin

A medieval form of the name Petronella, later used as a surname and place name.

Paro

Origin

From the Dzongkha place name spa ro.

parochial

Late Latin

From Late Latin parochialis, related to a church district, ultimately from Greek paroikia, "community, diocese."

parody

Greek

From Greek parōidia, from para- ("beside") + ōidē ("song") — literally a "counter-song."

parole

Middle French

From Middle French parole, "word, formal promise" — the idea being that a prisoner gives their "word" to behave.

parolee

Origin

From parole + -ee, the suffix used for someone on the receiving end of an action.

paroxysm

Origin

From Late Middle English paroxism, paroxisme (“period of worsening of a disease, attack; sudden recurrent fever”), from Middle French paroxisme, paroxysme, and Old French peroxime (“period of worsening of a disease; bout of fever or illness”) (modern French paroxysme), and from their etymon Late Latin paroxismus, paroxysmus (“a fit; onset of a disease; violent impulse or sadness”), from Ancient Greek πᾰροξῠσμός (păroxŭsmós, “exasperation, irritation; severe fit of a disease”), from πᾰροξῡ́νω (păroxū́nō, “to irritate, provoke”) (from παρα- (para-, prefix meaning ‘parallel to but separate from or going beyond, beside’) + ὀξῡ́νω (oxū́nō, “to provoke; to sharpen”) (from ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”))) + -μός (-mós, suffix forming abstract nouns). By surface analysis, para- + oxy- + -ism.

parr

Middle English

Possibly related to Middle English parren, "to enclose," referring to the bar-like markings on the fish's sides.