Word origins

• nota augensAn Old Irish pronominal clitic added to the end of an accentual unit containing a pronoun, now more commonly called emphatic suffixes.
• oblongateSynonym of oblong.
• occipitalisA muscle of the head that arises from the lateral two-thirds of the superior nuchal lines and from the mastoid part of the temporal bone, inserts into the galea aponeurotica, and acts to move the scalp; it is sometimes considered to be part of the occipitofrontalis muscle.
• occipitofrontalisA large flat muscle on each side of the vertex of the skull, consisting of an occipital portion (arising from the occipital and temporal bones) and a frontal portion that are separated by the epicranial aponeurosis, and serving to draw the scalp backwards, raising the eyebrows and wrinkling the forehead.
• OccitaniaA cultural region in southwestern Europe where Occitan has historically been spoken, consisting of southern France, parts of Catalonia in Spain, and some valleys in northwestern Italy.
• oidiumA fragile spore produced by some fungi.
• ommateumA compound eye, found on, for example, insects and crustaceans.
• omohyoidOf or relating to the shoulder and the hyoid bone.
• omohyoideusSynonym of omohyoid muscle.
• ooeciumAn ovicell of a bryozoan.
• opisthionThe middle of the posterior margin of the foramen magnum of the skull.
• orbicularis oculiA muscle of the face that encircles the orbit and passes through the eyelids, serving to close the eye.
• orbicularis orisA muscle made up of several layers of fibers passing in different directions that surrounds the mouth and controls most movements of the lips (as compressing, closing, or pursing movements).
• orbitalisA muscle that controls protrusion of the eyeball.
• ordaliumTrial by ordeal.
• orichalceousPertaining to, or resembling, orichalch; having a colour or lustre like that of brass.
• oryctologyThe study of things dug out of the earth, including minerals and fossils.
• osculatrixA curve whose contact with a given curve at a given point is of a higher order (or involves the equality of a greater number of successive differential coefficients of the ordinates of the curves taken at that point) than that of any other curve of the same kind.
• ostracodermAny of the armored jawless fishes of the Paleozoic.
• ostracumA fragment of pottery.
• palaceousOf a leaf: having a spade-like shape.
• palaeotypeAn old book printed between 1500 and 1550.
• palatoglossusA small fleshy muscle, narrower in the middle than at either end, that arises from the soft palate on each side, contributes to the structure of the palatoglossal arch of the fauces, and is inserted into the side and dorsum of the tongue; it serves to raise the back of the tongue and constrict the fauces.
• palpebratePertaining to the eyelids.
• panlogismThe Hegelian doctrine that the universe is the act or realization of Logos, and therefore logic and ontology are the same study.
• panmicticOf, or pertaining to panmixia.
• panmixiaA situation in which an individual is just as likely to mate with a randomly chosen individual as any other in the population.
• panmixisPanmixia.
• parallelopipedonA parallelopiped.
• patellulaA cup-like sucker on the feet of certain insects.
• patrologythe study of the lives and works (especially the writings) of the Church Fathers.
• pauciennialRecurring once every few years.
• pedicatioanal sex
• pedicellariaA small, stalk-shaped structure of the sea urchin and other echinoderms, which has three pincer-like structures at the end that perform cleaning functions and serve as defense against predators.
• pedipalpEither of a second pair of appendages near the mouth of many arachnids, variously specialized as pincers, sensory or locomotory organs.
• peloriaA variety of toadflax having five spurs instead of one.
• pentandrousOf or relating to the Linnean class Pentandria; having five stamens.
• perfoliateAppearing to have the stem passing through the blade.
• perianthiumThe perianth.
• perigyniumA specialized sheath-like bract that surrounds the ovary or fruit of some flowering plants, especially those in the family Cyperaceae (sedges); utricle.
• peroneus brevisA muscle of the lateral side of the leg that arises from the lower part of the fibula, ends in a tendon that inserts on to the fifth metatarsal bone, and acts to evert and pronate the foot.
• peroneus longusA muscle of the lateral side of the leg which arises from the head and side of the fibula, ends in a long tendon that inserts on to the cuneiform and first metatarsal bones on the medial side via a long tendon passing under the foot, and serves to extend the ankle and evert the foot.
• peroneus tertiusA small muscle of the leg, sometimes absent, that arises from the lower portion of the fibula, inserts on to the dorsal surface of the base of the fifth metatarsal bone, and acts to dorsiflex and evert the foot.
• petalumA petal.
• petechialCharacterized by, pertaining to, or resembling petechiae (small, nonraised haemorrhages on the skin).
• phacochereThe warthog.
• Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, a terminal research degree, the highest of academic degrees conferred by a college or university.
• -phemiaSynonym of -phasia: forms names of speech disorders.
• -phoreBearer, carrier or conveyor.
• phyleA local division of the people; a clan or tribe.
• phyllodiumphyllode
• pinnatisectHaving lobes with incisions that extend almost, or up to midrib.
• pinocytosisA form of endocytosis in which material enters a cell through its membrane and is incorporated in vesicles for digestion.
• pistillidiumAn archegonium.
• -plasiaGrowth or formation
• platysmaA superficial muscle of the human neck that overlaps the sternocleidomastoid.
• plurennialSpanning several years in duration or interval.
• pluriennialLasting a few years
• P mitraleA broad and bifid P wave on an electrocardiogram, most commonly observed in lead II, usually caused by enlargement of the left atrium.
• pnigalionA nocturnal monster in Ancient Greece that would choke its victims; incubus; nightmare.
• podetiumA stalk which bears the fructification in some lichens, such as the reindeer moss.
• polliniferousProducing pollen
• polyadenousHaving many glands.
• polyzoariumA polyzoary
• polyzoaryA colony of polyzoa.
• P pulmonaleA high, narrow and peaked P wave on an electrocardiogram, most commonly observed in leads II and III, usually caused by enlargement of the right atrium.
• prerenalSituated above the kidneys, or at the junction of the vena cava and the renal vein.
• proemptosisThe addition of a leap day to the lunar calendar.
• proscolexAn early larval form of a trematode worm; a redia.
• psephomancyDivination by drawing pebbles from a pile.
• ptilinumA bladder-like pouch on the head of schizophoran flies that by expanding enables the fly to emerge from its puparium.
• ptilosisThe appearance or study of feathers on a bird, including factors such as their texture or shape.
• ptyxisThe way in which an individual leaf is folded in the bud.
• pugioniformDagger-shaped.
• pycnidiumIn certain fungi, a flask-shaped cavity from the surface of the inner walls of which spores are produced.
• pygidiumThe caudal plate of trilobites, crustacea, and certain insects.
• pylaThe passage between the iter and optocoele in the brain.
• pyramidionThe small pyramid which crowns or completes an obelisk or pyramid.
• pyreticCaused by, pertaining to or resulting in fever.
• quincentenniumA period of five hundred years, half a millennium.
• rachiticOf or pertaining to, or affected by, rickets (“a disorder of infancy and early childhood due to a deficiency of vitamin D, causing soft or weak bones”).
• rachitisRickets.
• raniformShaped like a frog; resembling a frog.
• ranivoreA frog-eater; a creature that eats frogs.
• ranivorousfrog-eating
• rectorateSynonym of rectorship.
• redamancyThe act of loving in return.
• representatumsomething which is represented.
• reverberatoryOf, pertaining to, or employing reverberation or deflection.
• rhopaliumOne of the small sensory tentacular structures of various jellyfish species.
• rhopalocercousHaving a series of fleshy lobes or filaments.
• rhotacismAn exaggerated use of the sound of the letter R.
• rima glottidisThe passage in the glottis between the true vocal cords.
• ruderalAny plant growing in rubbish or very poor soil.
• salivariumA small pocket, inside the oral cavity of an insect, which contains the opening of the salivary duct
• salpingopharyngeusA muscle of the pharynx that arises from the inferior part of the Eustachian tube near its opening and passes downward to the constrictors of the pharynx, joining the posterior part of the palatopharyngeus.
• salpinxA Fallopian tube.
• sanguificationThe formation of blood cells.
• sapidityThe property of being sapid; tastiness.
• scholionA scholium.