Word origins

• phlegmagogueAny medicine supposed to expel phlegm (the humor).
• phlegmasiaAn inflammation, especially of the internal organs.
• PhlegyasA king of the Lapiths
• phlobapheneAny of various reddish-brown phenolic substances found in the bark of oak, etc.
• phlogisticInflammatory; pertaining to inflammations and fevers.
• phlogosisinflammation of external parts of the body; erysipelatous inflammation
• phlorizinA glucoside of phloretin, phloretin-2'-β-D-glucopyranoside, found in unripe apples.
• phloroglucinphloroglucinol
• phlyaxOf or relating to a burlesque dramatic form that developed in the ancient Greek colonies of Magna Graecia in the 4th century BC, mixing figures from the Greek pantheon with the stock characters and situations of Attic comedy.
• phlyctenaA small vesicle.
• phlyctidiumA kind of large blister.
• PhobetorIn Ovid's Metamorphoses, one of the thousand sons of Somnus (Sleep).
• -phobiaUsed to form nouns meaning fear of a specific thing.
• phobo-fear
• phocenic acidvaleric acid
• phocomeliaA congenital disorder of the limbs, the affected person being born with abnormally short or missing bones and flipper-like hands or feet.
• pholidAny fish in the family Pholidae.
• pholidosisThe pattern made by the scales of a reptile
• phonasceticstreatment for restoring or improving the voice
• -phoneA type of sound.
• phoneidoscopeAn instrument for studying sound waves by optical means. It consists of a tube across whose end is stretched a film of soap solution thin enough to give coloured bands, whose form and position are affected by sound vibrations.
• -phonicForms adjectives relating to sound.
• phono-Relating to sound
• phonocampticreflective of sound.
• phonomaniaHomicidal mania.
• PhorbasAny of numerous mythological characters. See Wikipedia article.
• phorbeiaA leather strap worn by an aulos player to avoid excessive strain on the lips and cheeks due to continuous blowing.
• PhorcysA primordial sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, who by Ceto fathered numerous monsters including Echidna and the gorgons.
• -phoresistransmission or movement of particles
• phoresisDelivery or movement of a substance by means of an agent.
• phorminxA kind of lyre used by the Ancient Greeks.
• phorophyteAny plant on which an epiphyte grows
• phosphoricalProducing light; luminous, glittering.
• photo-light, electromagnetic radiation
• photoautotrophan organism, such as all green plants, that can synthesize its own food from inorganic material using light as a source of energy
• photoglyphyA kind of engraving caused by the action of light, used in the mid 19th century
• photoptarmosisPhotic sneeze reflex.
• phourionA fortified stronghold in the context of Ancient Greece.
• phragmaA septum, especially on the wall of the thorax of an insect.
• phragmo-obstruction, barrier
• phragmocyttarousOf, relating to, or being a type of social wasp nest, in which brood combs are attached laterally to the inner surface of the sack-like envelope.
• -phrasiaForms names of speech disorders.
• phrenThe brain or mind.
• phreno-mind.
• PhrixusSon of Athamas and brother of Helle, with whom he fled to Colchis on a golden winged ram.
• phronemophobiaAn aversion to thinking.
• phronesisThe virtue of "practical wisdom" as posited by Aristotle.
• phrontisterionA Greek educational institution that operated from 1682/3 to 1921 in Trabzon in the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey.
• phrontisteryA place for thinking.
• phryctoriaAn ancient Greek semaphore system.
• phrynodermahypovitaminosis A, seen as rough, hyperkeratotic, follicular papules on the skin
• phthanitechert
• phthongalFormed into, or characterized by, voice; vocalized.
• PhthonusThe god of jealousy and envy.
• phthorfluorine
• phugoidOf the motion of an aircraft, missile, or other flying object: continuously oscillating in a vertical plane due to the object pitching up and climbing, thus slowing down; then pitching down and descending, thus speeding up.
• phyco-seaweed or algae.
• phycophaeinA brown pigment found in addition to chlorophyll in the Phaeophyceae.
• phylacogenAny of several bacterial derivatives developed by Dr. A. F. Schafer in 1910 to combat bacterial infections.
• phylactocarpA branch of a hydrozoan specially modified in structure for the protection of the gonothecae.
• phylaxA guard in Ancient Greece
• phylaxisProtection against infectious disease.
• -phyllleaf
• phyllo-Leaf, leaves.
• phylloboliaIn Ancient Greece, the showering of a victorious athlete or bridal couple with leaves or flower petals.
• -phyllousHaving a specified number or kind of leaves.
• phylo-tribes, races or phyla
• -phylyTribehood.
• phymaA tubercle, tumor, or abscess on any external part of the body.
• physician, heal thyselfOne should attend to one's own flaws or defects before presuming to advise others about theirs.
• physio-nature
• physiognomonicsThe study of physiognomy.
• -physisGrowth or growing.
• physiurgyA mainly Scandinavian medical specialty that deals with musculoskeletal physiology and diseases.
• physo-A combining form meaning “bladder,” used in the formation of compound words.
• physoclistA fish whose swim bladder is not open to its esophagus. .
• physodeA form of microsome present in the cytoplasm of some algae
• physogastryAn enlargement of the abdomen in certain insects, especially in termite queens.
• physonectAny siphonophore of the suborder Physonectae
• -phyteA member of a taxonomic group of plants or algae, chiefly one whose taxonomic name ends (or ended) in -phyta.
• phyto-Pertaining to or derived from plants.
• phytoglyphynature printing
• phytotelmaA small, water-filled cavity in a tree or any similar environment such as the axil of a bromeliad
• picriteA variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt.
• picro-bitter
• picroliteA fibrous variety of serpentine, possibly antigorite.
• picromelA colourless viscous substance having a bittersweet taste, formerly supposed to be the essential principle of bile, but later identified as a mixture, principally of salts of glycocholic acid and taurocholic acid.
• picropharmacoliteA triclinic-pinacoidal mineral containing arsenic, calcium, hydrogen, magnesium, and oxygen.
• PieridesThe Muses.
• piezo-Forms terms related to piezoelectricity or other effects of mechanical stress or pressure.
• piezoglyptA regmaglypt.
• pileorhizaA cap of cells covering the growing extremity of a root; a rootcap.
• pilidiumThe free-swimming larva of certain proboscis worms, somewhat resembling a deerstalker hat. It has no resemblance to its parent, and the young worm undergoes development in its interior.
• pimeliteA hexagonal mineral containing hydrogen, nickel, oxygen, and silicon.
• pinacodermThe outermost layer of cells (pinacocytes) in the phylum Porifera (sponges), equivalent to the epidermis, and characterized as an epithelial layer of flattened cells.
• pinacoidThe face of a crystal parallel to two of the axes.
• pinacolany tetra-substituted derivative of ethylene glycol, of general formula R₂C(OH)-C(OH)R₂, especially the simplest example where R is methyl
• pinaconeSynonym of pinacol.
• pinaculumA chitin plate on the skin of a caterpillar.
• pinakesA lost bibliographic work composed by Callimachus (310/305–240 BCE) that is popularly considered to be the first library catalog in the West; its contents were based upon the holdings of the Library of Alexandria during Callimachus's tenure there during the third century BCE.