Word origins

• Parece VelaSynonym of Okinotorishima.
• ParralesA surname from Spanish.
• parrandaA Venezuelan genre of music with African influences and drumming.
• PasaquinaA town in La Unión department, El Salvador.
• PascuanRapa Nui (language).
• PascuenseThe native people of Easter Island.
• paseílloThe parade before the start of a bullfight, when all the bullfighters enter the arena.
• pasillaA variety of chili (a dried chilaca), used especially in sauces.
• pasilloA South American genre of music with some of the features of European classical dance.
• pasitroteA horse gait similar to an amble
• pasmaA "folk illness" in Filipino culture, believed to be brought on by exposure to cold or to water.
• paso dobleA fast Spanish ballroom dance in double time.
• Paso FinoA horse of a breed originally imported to the Caribbean from Spain, prized for its smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait.
• pastorelaA traditional Mexican theater performance that chronicles the journeys of shepherds and shepherdesses on the way to visit the newborn Jesus, typically performed during Advent.
• PastranA surname from Spanish.
• PastranoA surname from Spanish.
• patacheA dispatch-boat; a small vessel used to communicate between the vessels of a fleet.
• patacoonSynonym of pataca.
• PatagonesPatagones Partido, the southernmost partido in Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
• payadaA traditional performance art of the Southern Cone, consisting of a duel between two payadores who take turns singing improvised ten-line verses in response to the previous payador, accompanied by guitar.
• peccadilloA small flaw or sin.
• pedereroA short piece of chambered ordnance, used to fire stones in naval and siege warfare.
• pedreroA cannon that fires stone cannonballs.
• Pedro XiménezA grape variety grown in several Spanish wine regions.
• pegadorA species of remora (Echeneis naucrates).
• pejibayeThe edible fruit of the tropical peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), a single-seeded drupe; a peewah.
• PelcastreA surname from Spanish.
• PeñaA surname from Spanish; alternative spelling of Pena.
• PenadoA surname from Spanish.
• PenaflorA surname from Spanish.
• PenagosA surname from Spanish.
• PenalozaA surname from Spanish.
• PenalverA surname from Spanish.
• PenarandaA surname from Spanish.
• penitenteA tall thin blade of hardened snow or ice, found closely spaced in large quantities at high altitudes.
• peñónA kind of offshore fort established by the Spanish Empire.
• pentagonismIn leftist political thought, a stage beyond imperialism embodied by the United States.
• PenunuriA surname from Spanish.
• Peor es NadaA rural community of Chimbarongo, Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region, Chile.
• perfectamundoperfect
• periaguaA dugout canoe.
• PericúA people who lived in the Cape Region in the southernmost portion of Baja California Sur until the 18th century.
• pernilSlow-roasted marinated pork leg or shoulder, typically marinated with sofrito, as prepared in the cuisines of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.
• PerquínA town in Morazán department, El Salvador.
• perytonA fictional creature having the head and forelegs of a stag and the wings and hindquarters of a bird.
• PesantesA surname from Spanish.
• PetorcaA town in Petorca, Chile.
• picadilloAny of various Spanish or South American dishes made with chopped vegetables and sometimes ground beef.
• PicadoA surname from Spanish.
• picaraA female picaro.
• picaroRogue, adventurer.
• picaroonA pirate or picaro.
• piccadillA large, broad lace collar from the 17th century.
• PichilemuA city and commune of Chile.
• pico-In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 10⁻¹² (short scale trillionth or long scale billionth).
• PicurisA Northern Tiwa-speaking people and tribe located in northern New Mexico.
• PiedrahitaA surname from Spanish.
• piel de sapoSynonym of Santa Claus melon.
• piloncillopanela
• piñacloth woven from pineapple fiber
• pinacate beetleA darkling beetle of the genus Eleodes, endemic to the Sonoran Desert and adjacent regions, and known for its defensive tactic of standing on its head to squirt a noxious spray.
• piña coladaA cocktail containing rum, pineapple juice, coconut milk and a dash of syrup, blended with crushed ice.
• pinchoA small snack served with drinks as an appetizer; a tapa.
• piñonAny of several species of North American pines in Pinus subsect. Cembroides that bear edible seeds (pine nuts), especially Pinus edulis; the nut pine.
• piñon pineAny of several species of North American pines in Pinus subsect. Cembroides that bear edible seeds (pine nuts), especially Pinus edulis; the nut pine.
• Pinotepa NacionalA city in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• pinto beanAny bean of several varieties of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), common in the US and Mexico.
• PioquintoA surname from Spanish.
• piquilloA specific breed of small, red pepper originally from Peru
• piraiA piranha fish.
• piscolaA highball cocktail popular in Chile, made of pisco and usually cola.
• pitayaAny of certain cactuses native to the Americas, of genera Selenicereus or Stenocereus, especially the latter.
• PitonesA surname from Spanish.
• PivaralA surname from Spanish.
• PlaceresA surname from Spanish.
• PlatasA surname from Spanish.
• plateresquePertaining to an ornate style of architecture of 16th-century Spain suggestive of silver plate.
• Playalinda BeachA beach in Brevard County, near Titusville Florida, United States.
• plaza de soberaníaAny of a number of cities and islands on and off the coast of North Africa which were historically considered part of "Spain proper" and thus remain under Spanish control even after decolonization.
• Plumas CountyOne of 58 counties in California, United States. County seat: Quincy.
• pochismoAn anglicism in Spanish taken from U.S. English.
• Point ArguelloA headland on the Gaviota Coast, Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
• poleáa sweet flour and milk porridge typical of western Andalusia, whose origin is probably linked to subsistence food
• PolicarpioA surname from Spanish.
• polinkOne of several stockaded mountain farms established, after the invasion of Jamaica by England in the late 17th century, by people of colour who had lived on the island under Spanish rule.
• Polisario FrontA Sahrawi nationalist organization seeking the independence of Western Sahara from Spain, and latter from Morocco and Mauritania.
• politiqueraOne who is paid by an election campaign to issue fliers to householders and encourage them to go and vote for a particular candidate.
• PolorósA town in La Unión department, El Salvador.
• pomarrosaSynonym of Malay apple.
• popotilloA leafless desert shrub of the US Southwest in the genus Ephedra, used to make an herbal tea.
• PorcayoA surname from Spanish.
• PorfiriatoThe era in Mexican history during which Porfirio Díaz was in power
• por qué no los dosWhy not both; both.
• porronA glass container for wine for table use, with a long neck at the top for filling and holding and a long thin spout at the side to enable pouring into the mouth from a distance
• Port AntonioA town, the parish capital of Portland parish, Jamaica.
• PorteñoA male inhabitant of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Port IsabelA city in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, United States.
• PortocarreroA surname from Spanish.
• Port of SpainThe capital city of Trinidad and Tobago.
• PortorrealA surname from Spanish.