Word origins

• psogosA speech that attempts to insult, degrade, or otherwise attack something.
• psomophagyThe condition of not chewing food before swallowing it.
• 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.
• psychostasiaThe weighing of souls, as a form of judgment of people's worth.
• psychro-Cold
• psykterAn Ancient Greek pot with a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot, used as a wine cooler.
• ptarmicA substance, such as pepper or snuff, that causes sneezing.
• ptarmoscopyThe divinatory interpretation of sneezes.
• ptarmusA sneeze; sneezing; especially spasmodic sneezing.
• -pterwing
• 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.
• pteromaA walkway, in a Greek or Roman temple, between the cella and surrounding colonnade.
• 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
• ptyalizeTo spit.
• 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.
• pycno-Dense, thick.
• 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
• pygianPertaining to or resembling buttocks.
• pygo-rump, posterior
• pygostyleThe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds, formed from fused vertebrae.
• pyknonThe lower part of a tetrachord in Ancient Greek music, consisting of a composite interval (two successive intervals) that is less than the remaining (incomposite) interval.
• 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.
• PyreneusA king of Thrace.
• pyrgoidaltower-shaped
• pyroballogyThe study of artillery; the practice of using artillery as a weapon.
• PyroeisThe god of the wandering star Ἄρειος (Áreios), or planet Mars
• pyroleterA fire-extinguishing chemical apparatus by which carbonic acid is generated and thrown on the fire.
• 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.
• pyrrhousreddish; ruddy
• 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.
• Pythian ApolloName of Apollo at Delphi
• 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.
• raphiaSynonym of Rafah (spelling used when referring to the site in Antiquity: Ancient and Classical Eras) A town in Levant, frequently disputed between various ancient empires, Egypt (Pharonic, Ptolemaic, etc), Anatolia (Hittite, etc), Mesopotamia (Assyria, Seleucid, etc). The city is now located on the border between Gaza and Egypt, split between the two by an international border.
• 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.
• regmaA kind of dry fruit, consisting of three or more cells, each of which eventually breaks open at the inner angle.
• 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.
• reteneA hydrocarbon, polymeric with benzene, that is extracted from pine tar and also found in certain fossil resins.