Etymology — The origins of English words

From Scots persnickety, whence also pernickety. More at pernickety.

From Latin paraphrasis, from Ancient Greek παράφρασις (paráphrasis). Compare periphrasis.

From password + -less.

From pill + box.

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πολυφωνία (poluphōnía); equivalent to poly- + -phony.

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

Representing the French pronunciation of Paris.

Borrowed from Middle French palliation, from Latin palliare (“to cloak; to conceal”), from Latin pallium (“cloak”). By surface analysis, palliate + -ion.

Borrowed from Italian ponente (“west”), ultimately from pōnēns, present participle of pōnō (“to place”).

From Portuguese pagode (“Hindu temple, Hindu idol, pagoda coin”), from any of various Dravidian languages' words of respectful address to Hindu gods and idols and their temples, including Malayalam പകോതി (pakōti, “Durga temple”), Kannada, and Tamil பகவதி (pakavati, “Durga, Parvati”), possibly corrupted under the influence of Portuguese pagão (“pagan”), all ultimately from Sanskrit भगवती (bhagavatī, “Holy One, used for goddesses”). Previously but mistakenly connected with various other languages from Persia to China.

From Latin plūmōsus (“feathered”), from plūma (“feather”): compare French plumeux. By surface analysis, plume + -ose.

Perhaps a blend of pay + Victrola, equivalent to pay + -ola.

From preschool + -er.

From paste + board.

From Middle English pilche, from Old English pylċe, pyleċe, from Late Latin pellicia. A doublet of pelisse; also see pelt (“skin”).

c. 1655 romanization of the Nanking court dialect Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng), reinforced by Postal Romanization from before the modern palatalization of [k] to [t͡ɕ]. The early Portuguese and Jesuits such as Francis Xavier used the spelling Paquim; Abraham Ortelius used C. Paquin for his 1572 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas; Italian Jesuit Martino Martini used Peking in his 1654 Latin De Bello Tartarico Historia and 1655 Novus Atlas Sinensis, which were quickly translated into English and later used by Joan Blaeu for his 1665 Atlas Maior. Peter Heylyn's Cosmographie changed its spelling from Paquin in the 1652 edition to Peking in the 1658 edition, but both Pekin and Peking were used interchangeably in English until the Chinese Imperial Post adopted Peking as its official transcription in the 1890s. (Note that Peking is not derived from Wade-Giles romanization- see Pei-ching and Peiching.)

From papyro- + -graphy and papyrograph + -y.

From Priapus + -ic, from Πρίᾱπος (Príāpos), a god of procreation pictured with an erect phallus in Greek mythology.

From practicable + -ability.

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”).

From plank + -ing.

From Middle French présupposition, from Latin praesuppositio, from the past participle stem of praesuppōnere (“to presuppose”).

From Middle English panere, panȝere, panyere, from Old French panier, paniere, from Latin pānārium (“a bread basket”), from pānis (“bread”). Doublet of panary.

From Latin praeveniēns