Word origins

• pandeismA belief in a god who is both pantheistic and deistic, in particular a god who designed the universe and then became it and ceased to exist separately and act consciously with respect to it.
• pannhasscrapple (meat dish)
• PapenfussA surname from German.
• paprikahuhnThe chicken paprikash, a popular Hungarian dish.
• ParadeplatzA square in Zurich, Switzerland, known as the location of the headquarters of several Swiss banks.
• pareidoliaThe tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.
• PassowA surname from German.
• PaulickA surname from German.
• pedelecA bicycle with an electric motor which assists the rider but only while they are pedalling.
• PeeneA river in north-eastern Germany.
• PehlA surname from German.
• pendelluftThe effect of air movements between the penultimate branches of the lungs
• pennalA freshman at a German university.
• PergandeA surname from German.
• PernsteinerA surname from German.
• persipanA substance similar to marzipan, but produced from peach or apricot pits instead of almonds.
• PfahlerA surname from German.
• pfalzgrafA German representative of the Frankish king (or, later, the Holy Roman Emperor), in a palatial domain of the crown; a count palatine.
• pfeffernusseSynonym of pfeffernuss.
• PfliegerA surname from German.
• pfropfschizophrenieSchizophrenia in individuals with premorbid cognitive impairment.
• pfuian exclamation indicating disagreement or rejection of an argument; contempt
• phaleristicsThe study of orders, fraternity, and award items.
• phasinAny of a family of surface proteins associated with bacterial granules.
• phylogenesisEvolutionary development of a species.
• pickelhaubeA spiked helmet worn by German troops, especially during the First World War.
• PietzschA surname from German.
• PinnowA surname from German.
• PlackeA surname from German.
• plagioniteA monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing antimony, lead, and sulfur.
• plankterA single organism of plankton.
• pleromeThe central portion of the apical meristem in a growing plant root or stem which, according to the histogen theory, gives rise to the endodermis and stele.
• PlessingerA surname from German.
• PlessnerA surname from German.
• PletzA surname from German.
• PlodarischSynonym of Sappadino.
• PloetzA surname from German.
• PlossA surname from German.
• pluderhoseShort, baggy trousers that are gathered tightly at the bottom.
• PoellnitzA surname from German.
• PokrentA village in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany.
• polygonbodenpolygonal patches of ground, found especially in frozen environments.
• polyhaliteA mineral usually occurring in fibrous masses, of a brick-red color, being tinged with iron, and consisting chiefly of the sulphates of lime, magnesia, and soda.
• PongratzA surname from German.
• posaunetrombone
• powidlA fruit spread prepared by cooking zwetschge plums, similar to jam but traditionally made in Central Europe without additional sweeteners or gelling agents.
• prägnanzIn Gestalt psychology, the tendency for one to perceive complex things in the "best" (simplest) form, because it requires the least cognitive effort.
• pralltrillerA melodic embellishment consisting of the quick alternation of a principal tone with an auxiliary tone above it, usually the next in the scale.
• PrechtA surname from German.
• PrellwitzA surname from German.
• presbytinnitusTinnitus which accompanies presbycusis.
• PressburgFormer name of Bratislava: the capital city of Slovakia.
• PreusserA surname from German.
• PriebusA surname from German.
• privatdozentIn some European countries, an academic who holds all formal qualifications (doctorate and habilitation) to become a tenured university professor.
• prodigiosinA red pigment produced by certain bacteria.
• ProeselA surname from German.
• prositToast to indicate one is drinking to someone's, or to each other's, health.
• prosopagnosiaA form of visual agnosia characterized by difficulty with face recognition despite intact low-level visual processing.
• psammophyteAny plant which thrives in sandy conditions.
• psychiaterA psychiatrist.
• psychoidAn innate physical reaction to a psychological stimulus.
• PufahlA surname from German.
• PulvermacherA surname from German.
• PuthA surname.
• putschistOne who participates in a putsch.
• quadratfreiSynonym of squarefree.
• quatschNonsense, rubbish, foolish speech or writing.
• QuenzerA surname from German.
• RaapA surname.
• RaatzA surname from German.
• RabbermannA surname from German.
• RaboldA surname from German.
• RadauneThe Radunia, a small river in Pomerelia.
• RaetzA surname from German.
• RahmingA surname from German.
• RamsburgA surname from German.
• RamsenA municipality of Donnersbergkreis district, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
• Ramsloha municipality in Saterland
• RamthunA surname from German.
• randkluftThe headwall gap between a glacier or snowfield and the adjacent rock face at the back of the cirque or, more loosely, between the rock face and the side of the glacier.
• Rassenschandemiscegenation: sexual relations between people of “Aryan” race and “inferior” races, particularly Jews.
• RäuchermannRaachermannel, incense smoker
• rauschpfeifeA windcapped conical reed instrument of the woodwind family, used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• RealoA member of a more pragmatic faction within a leftist organisation, often the FRG Green Party.
• real socialismpragmatic socialism, practical socialism, a form of socialism which attempts to reach tangible goals perceived to be feasible instead of primarily focusing on adherence to Marxist-Leninist theory.
• RecknerA surname from German.
• RedlingerA surname from German.
• regie-bookA director's notebook detailing the development of a production.
• RegietheaterThe modern practice of allowing a director freedom to diverge from the original intentions of the playwright or operatist, for example by changing the geographical and chronological setting, or by adapting the work to highlight issues of race and gender.
• RehrmannA surname from German.
• ReichenbergerA surname from German.
• ReichskanzlerThe German Chancellor or head of government from 1871 to 1945; specifically (from 1933 to 1945), Adolf Hitler as head of the Third Reich.
• reichspfennigA former German currency unit, one hundredth of a Reichsmark.
• ReicksA surname from German.
• ReierA surname from German.
• ReifsteckA surname from German.
• ReihengräberA culture characterized by the burial practice of regularly arranged, identically oriented inhumation graves, existing between the mid-fifth and early-eighth century in central and western Europe, within the Merovingian sphere of influence.
• ReineckA surname from German.
• ReinigA surname from German.