Word origins

• palindromiaA relapse or recurrence of a disease.
• palinopsiaA visual disturbance that causes images to persist to some extent even after their corresponding stimulus has left.
• palinspasticShowing the previous location of geological features, correcting for any intervening crustal movements.
• palmo-Of or related to the palm.
• palmomancyDivination of involuntary movements of the body such as tics.
• palmoscopyObservation of the pulse.
• PalmyreneOf, from or relating to ancient Palmyra or Palmyrena.
• palynivoreAny organism that feeds on pollen; a pollinivore.
• palyno-pollen
• panbiotismSynonym of hylozoism, the belief that all physical matter is alive in some sense.
• panchromiumAn early proposed name for the element vanadium
• pancraticHaving all or many degrees of power; having a great range of power; said of an eyepiece made adjustable so as to give a varying magnifying power.
• PandaisiaOne of the Charites worshipped in Athens.
• pandarA person who furthers the illicit love affairs of others; a pimp or procurer, especially when male.
• panegyrisreligious festival on a fixed day in honor of a god, often including prayers, games, and panegyrics.
• PannonaA former ancient town in Ancient Greece.
• PannotiaA supercontinent which formed on Earth approximately 600 million years ago.
• PannychisOne of the Charites worshipped in Athens.
• panoisticProducing ova only, and not yolk cells.
• pantaleonA very large dulcimer, invented around 1700.
• pantechniconA building or place housing shops or stalls where all sorts of (especially exotic) manufactured articles are collected for sale.
• panthodicOf nervous impulses: radiating to all parts of the body.
• panto-all
• pantropyThe process of adapting humans through genetic and/or cybernetic means to thrive in environments otherwise inhospitable to them, such as outer space, the deep sea or other planets.
• papyrophobiaFear or hatred of paper.
• papyropolistSynonym of stationer: a seller of paper.
• para-beside, alongside
• parabanic acidThe imidazolidinone imidazolidine-2,4,5-trione
• parabariomicroliteA trigonal-hexagonal scalenohedral mineral containing barium, hydrogen, oxygen, and tantalum.
• parablepsisA circumstance in which a scribe miscopies text due to inadvertently looking to the side while copying, or accidentally skips over some of it.
• parachronicExisting in a separate timeline or temporal dimension; pertaining to such existence or to connection or movement between timelines.
• parachroseChanging colour by exposure to weather.
• paraclausithyronA motif in classical love poetry, the lament of a shut-out lover.
• paracmasticGradually decreasing; past the acme, or crisis.
• paracmeA point beyond the highest or greatest.
• paracosmA detailed imaginary world, especially one created by a child.
• paradactylThe side of a bird's toe
• paradigmatizeTo set forth as a model or example.
• paradoxureAny member of the species in the genus Paradoxurus, Asiatic viverrine mammals allied to the civet.
• paraenesisAdvice or exhortation, particularly of a moral or religious nature.
• paraglenalRelating to the coracoid of a fish.
• paraliansomeone who lives by the sea
• paralipsisA figure of speech in which one pretends to ignore or omit something by actually mentioning it.
• paramiographerA collector or writer of proverbs.
• paramylonA carbohydrate similar to starch, synthesized along with starch by the chloroplasts found in Euglena.
• paranatellonA star or constellation that rises (above the horizon) at the same time as another.
• paraphiaparapsis; a disorder of the sense of touch
• paraphoniaIn Byzantine music, a melodic progression by consonances (fourths and fifths).
• paraphragmaparaphragm.
• paraseleneSynonym of moon dog.
• parastichyA secondary spiral of leaves or florets.
• paratenonA fatty areolar tissue that fills the interstitia within the fascia where a tendon is located.
• parathesisThe placing of two or more nouns in the same case; apposition.
• parelconA form of redundancy involving the addition of a syllable, particle, or another word, to the end of a word.
• paremptosisparembole
• parenesisexhortation
• parergySomething unimportant, incidental, or superfluous; a trifle
• paresthesisParesthesia.
• pareuniaSexual intercourse.
• parodosA side entrance to an Ancient Greek theater, affording access to the stage or orchestra.
• paromoeonalliteration
• paronymA word derived from the same root or stem as another word; classes include cognates and naturalizations of foreign words.
• parophthalmoncusA tumor or swelling near the eye.
• parousianRelating to the second coming of Christ.
• paroxytonicOf or relating to words whose stress falls on the penultimate syllable
• parthemollinA xanthanolide found in Parthenice mollis.
• parthen-virgin
• parthenaicof or pertaining to the partheneia (παρθένειᾰ, an Ancient Greek song performed by maidens)
• partheneiaGreek lyric poems sung by choruses of maidens at festivals.
• partheniacanapestic dimeter catalectic, paroemiac
• ParthenicOf or relating to the Spartan Partheniae, or sons of unmarried women.
• parthenophiliaSexual attraction towards girls in late adolescence.
• ParthenosAn epithet of various Greek goddesses, most commonly Athena.
• parusiaA figure of speech by which the present tense is used instead of the past or the future, as in the animated narration of past events or the prediction of future ones.
• PasitheaOne of the Charites; Pasithea is specifically a goddess and personification of relaxation, meditation and hallucinations. She is the wife of Hypnos and the mother of the Oneiroi.
• patho-disease
• pathognomyThe facial expressions showing emotions.
• pathopoeiaThe arousing of emotion in someone who hears music; a passage designed to arouse emotions.
• patriarchicPatriarchal.
• patriologyA discipline of Christian theology, involving the study of God the Father as revealed in Scripture.
• patronymThe name of someone's father.
• paurometabolousOf or belonging to the Paurometabola.
• pectizeTo congeal; to change into a gelatinous mass; to gel.
• pedesisBrownian motion
• pedionAn asymmetric triclinic crystal form that only has one face.
• pedo-Relating to children.
• pedocriminalA person who commits child sexual abuse; a child molester.
• pegomancydivination by fountains
• peirameterA dynamometer for measuring the force required to draw wheel carriages on roads of different constructions.
• peirasticExperimental or tentative.
• PeisistratidOf or relating to the Ancient Greek tyrant Peisistratus (ruled 546–527 B.C.E.) or his family, particularly his two sons, Hipparchus and Hippias.
• PeisistratusTyrant of Athens from 546 to 527/8 B.C.E. who promoted cultural and financial prosperity of Athens.
• PeithoOne of the Charites and a consort of Hermes.
• pelargicRelating to the stork (bird).
• pelecoidHatchet-shaped.
• pelikeA ceramic container of Ancient Greece, similar to an amphora.
• peliomaA livid bruise.
• peliteA sedimentary rock containing very fine particles.
• pelorismAn abnormality in plants where the flower appears to revert to an earlier form.
• pelotherapybody therapy using mud or clay