"P" Word Origins

parratt

Origin

Variant of Parrott.

parrell

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive form of Peter, from Old French.

parren

Origin

Variant of Perrin.

parrett

Origin

(of surname) a variant of Perrett.

parritt

Origin

Variant of Perrett.

parrot

French · 1500

First recorded in the 1500s from French perrot, likely a nickname derived from the name Pierre.

parrott

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive form of Peter, from Old French Perrot.

parry

Latin

From French parer, "to fend off," from Latin parare, "to prepare, ward off."

parsa

Persian

From Hebrew פרסה (parsa), itself derived from the Persian parasang, an old measure of overland distance.

parse

Origin

Possibly from Middle English pars (“parts, shares; parts of speech, grammar”), from Old French pars (plural of part (“part, portion, share”)), from Latin pars (“part, piece, share”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to carry forth; to sell”).

parsimony

Origin

From Middle English parcimonie, from Middle French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“frugality, sparingness”), from pars-, past participle stem of parcere (“to spare”), + -monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition.

parsley

Old French

From Old French peresil, from Greek petroselinon, literally "rock celery."

parsnip

Latin

From Latin pastinaca, "parsnip, carrot," related to pastinum, a two-pronged digging fork.

parson

Latin

From Old French persone, "parson, person," from Latin persona — a doublet of "person."

part

Latin

From Old French part and Old English part, both ultimately from Latin pars, "piece, share, role."

partage

Origin

From Middle French partage, from partir (“to share”).

partake

Latin

A back-formation from "part-taking," modeled on the Latin particeps, "one who takes part."

partay

Origin

Alteration of party.

Parthenon

Greek

From Greek parthenon, "chamber of the virgin," referring to Athena, the virgin goddess it honours.

parthenope

Origin

From Latin Parthenopē, from Ancient Greek Παρθενόπη (Parthenópē, from παρθένος (parthénos, “virgin, virginal”) + ὄψ (óps, “voice”)).

partial

Late Latin

From Late Latin partialis, "of a part," from Latin pars, "part."

partiality

Origin

From Middle English parcialite, parcialtee, parcyalte, partialte, percialite, from Middle French partialité and its etymon Medieval Latin partiālitās. Doublet of partialitas.

partially

Origin

From partial + -ly.

partialness

Origin

From partial + -ness.

participant

Latin

From Latin participans, present participle of participare, "to take part."

participate

Latin

From Latin participare, "to take part in, share in," from particeps, "sharing."

participation

Latin

From Old French participacion, from Latin participatio, built on the verb participare.

participial

Origin

From Latin participiālis, from participium (“participle”).

participialize

Origin

From participial + -ize.

participle

Origin

From Middle English participle, from Old French participle (1388), variant of participe, from Latin participium.

particle

Latin

From Latin particula, "small part," a diminutive of pars, "part."

particular

Late Latin

From Late Latin particularis, "partial, individual," from particula, "small part."

particularly

Origin

From particular + -ly.

parting

Origin

From part + -ing.

partisan

Italian

From Italian partigiano, "defender of a party," from parte, "part."

partisanism

Origin

From partisan + -ism.

partition

Latin

From Latin partitio, "division," from partire, "to divide."

partly

Origin

From part plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

partner

Latin

From Middle English partener, altered (under the influence of "part") from an earlier form parcener, ultimately traced back to Latin partitio, "a dividing into parts."

partnership

Origin

From partner plus the suffix -ship, denoting a state or condition.

parton

Origin · 1969

Coined in 1969 by physicist Richard Feynman, combining "part" with the particle-naming suffix "-on."

partridge

Latin

From Old French perdriz, from Latin perdix, from Greek perdix — a word thought to imitate the whirring sound of the bird's wings in flight.

partridgeberry

Origin

From partridge + berry.

parturition

Origin

From Latin parturitiō (“parturition”), from parturiō, from pariō (“to give birth”).

partway

Origin

From part + way.

party

Latin

From Old French partie, "a part, a side," from partir, "to divide," ultimately from Latin pars, "a part" — the same root as "part."

Parvati

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit Parvati, related to the word for "mountain" — reflecting her mythological origin as the daughter of the Himalayas.

parvenu

Origin

Borrowed from French parvenu, past participle of parvenir, from Latin perveniō (“arrive, reach”). See also parvenue f