Word origins

• pseph-pebble, small stone
• psephismA proposition adopted by a majority of votes, especially by the vote of the Athenian people; a statute.
• psephiteA sediment or sedimentary rock composed of fragments that are coarser than sand and which are enclosed in a matrix that varies in kind and amount.
• psephologyThe predictive or statistical study of elections.
• pseudoblepsisfalse sight; hallucination
• pseudocoeliaThe fifth ventricle in the mammalian brain.
• pseudodoxNot true in opinion or doctrine; false.
• pseudoproctThe anal opening on the pseudembryo of an echinoderm.
• psilanthropistOne who believes that Jesus Christ was a mere man.
• psilo-slender
• psilocin4-hydroxy-dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid found in most psychedelic mushrooms.
• psilopaedicHaving down on the dorsal side only.
• psilophyteAny plant that is adapted to live in a savannah
• psithurismThe sound of rustling leaves or wind in the trees.
• psittacineOf or pertaining to parrots.
• psittacosauridAny dinosaur of the family †Psittacosauridae; a psittacosaurus
• psittacosaurusAny of several dinosaurs, of the genus Psittacosaurus, that lacked horns
• psogosA speech that attempts to insult, degrade, or otherwise attack something.
• psorophthalmiaAn itchy inflammation of the eyelids.
• psycho-Relating to the soul, the mind, or to psychology.
• psychonarrationA narrative technique used by a narrator to represent a character's consciousness or inner thoughts, often characterized by smooth transitions between the narrator's own commentary and transcriptions of the character's internal mental states.
• psychonarrativePertaining to the psychonarration technique, where the narrator describes a character's internal mental states, such as thoughts or emotions, without directly quoting them.
• psychopannychismThe doctrine that the soul falls asleep at death, and does not wake until the resurrection of the body.
• psychophorA metal device that sits against the prostate and perineum, through which cold water is run, used to treat impotence and excessive masturbation.
• psychosophyThe knowledge or wisdom of the mind or soul.
• psychro-Cold
• ptarmicA substance, such as pepper or snuff, that causes sneezing.
• ptarmoscopyThe divinatory interpretation of sneezes.
• ptarmusA sneeze; sneezing; especially spasmodic sneezing.
• PterelasKing of the Teleboans in Plautus' Amphitruo.
• ptericRelating to a wing.
• pterido-fern
• ptero-wing
• pteroclidAny bird in the family Pteroclidae; a sandgrouse.
• pteroidA bone, found only in pterosaurs, that connected to the wrist to support the propatagium.
• pteronA peristyle raised on a podium, differing from an ordinary peristyle raised only on a stylobate.
• pteronophobiaThe fear of feathers.
• pteropodAny of free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, of the suborder Thecosomata, that have winglike lobes on the feet; a sea butterfly.
• pterostigmaA spot on the outer wing of insects which is often thickened or coloured and so stands out from the rest; it is a group of specialized cells and has an effect on flight dynamics.
• pteroticOf or relating to a bone between the prootic and epiotic in the dorsal and outer part of the periotic capsule of many fishes.
• pterugeA flexible feather-like strip of material at the edge of body or head armour, particularly used in Greco-Roman times, such as the flaps of a linothorax or the strips hanging from a Roman legionary's belt.
• pterygo-Of or relating to the wing or fin.
• pterylaOne of the areas of a bird's skin on which feathers grow.
• -ptiletype of leaf
• ptilo-down, feather; also, more loosely, downy, feathery, penniform, plumiform
• ptilopaedicHaving down on the ventral and dorsal side.
• ptochocracyA society or system ruled and dominated by the poor.
• ptochologyThe study of poverty,
• ptyalinA form of amylase found in saliva that breaks down starch into maltose and dextrin.
• ptyalismsialorrhea
• ptychographyA technique that aims to solve the diffraction-pattern phase problem by interfering adjacent Bragg reflections coherently and thereby determining their relative phase.
• ptychonomeAn enclosure formed (of leaves) by some organisms of the order Lepidoptera; a tentiform mine.
• pumpkinificationThe act of turning into a pumpkin; usually in jocular opposition to deification.
• pyaemiaA type of septicemia caused usually by the presence of Staphylococcus bacteria in the bloodstream; characterised by metastatic abscesses and other symptoms associated with septicemia.
• pycnaspideanHaving the posterior side of the tarsus covered with small irregular scales.
• pycniteA variety of fine-grained topaz.
• pycnodysostosisA genetic disorder characterized by dense, fragile bones and dwarfism.
• pycnometerA vessel of precisely known volume used by weighing to determine the specific gravity or relative density of a liquid.
• pycnostyleHaving an intercolumniation of 1.5 times the diameter of the shaft of a column.
• pyelitispyelonephritis
• pyelo-Forms terms relating to the renal pelvis, such as pyelonephritis, pyelography, and others.
• pyelumrenal pelvis
• pygo-rump, posterior
• pygostyleThe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds, formed from fused vertebrae.
• pyknosisShrinkage and condensing, such as that of a dying cell or the appearance of a cell's nucleus.
• pyknoticshowing pyknosis
• pylagoreA deputy of a state at the amphictyonic council.
• pylangiumThe first and undivided part of the aortic trunk in the amphibian heart.
• pyo-pus
• pyometraAn infection of the uterus most commonly seen in dogs, but also occasionally in other small mammals, resulting from hormonal and structural changes in the lining of the uterus.
• pyoptysisexpectoration of pus
• pyrargyriteA sulfosalt mineral used as a silver ore; it is dark red or black in color with a metallic adamantine luster, a sulfide of antimony and silver, Ag₃SbS₃, and occurs in rhombohedral crystals.
• pyrgoidaltower-shaped
• pyroballogyThe study of artillery; the practice of using artillery as a weapon.
• pyrophaneA mineral which is opaque in its natural state, but is said to change its color and become transparent by heat.
• pyrophorepyrophorus
• pyrophorusa substance capable of catching fire spontaneously on exposure to the air, especially in a finely divided state
• pyrosisA burning sensation in the chest due to reflux of stomach contents in the esophagus.
• pyrosmaliteA mineral, usually of a pale brown or grey-greenish colour, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of iron and manganese.
• pyrrh-red
• PyrrhaThe wife of Deucalion.
• pysmaThe asking of a series of questions requiring complex answers.
• Pythagorean theoremA mathematical theorem which states that the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of those of the two other sides.
• pythiadThe interval of time between the Pythian Games of Ancient Greece: either four or eight years, depending on the historical period.
• pyxidiumA seed capsule in the form of a box, the seeds being released when the top splits off.
• rach-Spine or vertebral column.
• rachi-Spine.
• rachialgiaA kind of back pain, especially Pott's disease or (formerly) lead colic.
• rachid-Spine or vertebral column.
• rachiocampsisAny curvature or bending of the spine, such as scoliosis or kyphosis.
• rachiometerA device for measuring spinal curvature.
• rachioplegiaParalysis of the spine or spinal column.
• rachiotomyThe surgical procedure of cutting, or making an incision in a vertebra.
• -ramaAlteration of -orama, used in suffixing a word ending with an r or vowel sound.
• raphideA crystal of calcium oxalate, shaped like a needle, which forms as a metabolic byproduct in some plant cells.
• raphigraphA kind of typewriter for the blind, pricking characters into paper by means of needles.
• rassophorea monastic degree between novice and stavrophore
• reencryptTo encrypt again.
• regmacarpA fruit which, when mature, splits open to release its seeds; a dehiscent fruit.
• regmaglyptA small, shallow indentation or pit on the surface of a meteorite, resembling a thumbprint impression in clay, created by ablation while falling in an atmosphere.