Word origins

• 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.
• peritrochiumThe wheel which, together with the axle, forms the axis in peritrochio.
• 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.
• petechiaA small spot, especially on an organ, caused by bleeding underneath the skin.
• petechialCharacterized by, pertaining to, or resembling petechiae (small, nonraised haemorrhages on the skin).
• phacochereThe warthog.
• pharyngo-Forms terms relating to the pharynx.
• 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.
• plural of modestyThe use of the first-person plural instead of the first-person singular with the intent of referring to oneself more modestly.
• 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.
• pneumologyThe study of the respiratory system and organs.
• 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.
• poetasterAn unskilled poet.
• polliniferousProducing pollen
• polyadenousHaving many glands.
• polyzoariumA polyzoary
• polyzoaryA colony of polyzoa.
• pons asinorumA method for finding the middle term of a syllogism in Aristotlean analytics.
• 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.
• proventriculusThe part of the avian stomach, between the crop and the gizzard, that secretes digestive enzymes.
• 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.
• pubovaginalisPart of the levator ani muscle that loops around the vagina in women.
• pugioniformDagger-shaped.
• pulmonateHaving lungs or similar organs.
• 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.
• pyrenaA nutlet resembling a seed, or the stone of a drupe, comprising the endocarp and the kernel.
• pyreticCaused by, pertaining to or resulting in fever.
• pyruvic acidA yellowish organic keto acid, 2-oxopropanoic acid, which occurs as an intermediate in many metabolic processes, especially glycolysis.
• quincentenniumA period of five hundred years, half a millennium.
• quinquinaSynonym of cinchona in all its senses.
• 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.
• radicelA small branch of a root; a rootlet.
• raniformShaped like a frog; resembling a frog.
• ranivoreA frog-eater; a creature that eats frogs.
• ranivorousfrog-eating
• rectorateSynonym of rectorship.
• rectus abdominisA paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the abdomen in humans and some other mammals.
• redamancyThe act of loving in return.
• regionaryOf or pertaining to an ecclesiastical region.
• representatumsomething which is represented.
• reptatorialCrawling, creeping.
• retineumPart of the eye of an invertebrate which corresponds in function with the retina of a vertebrate, hypothetical membrane resembling the retina.
• retinulaOne of the group of pigmented cells that surround the retinophorae of invertebrates.
• reverberatoryOf, pertaining to, or employing reverberation or deflection.
• rhinitis siccaA type of chronic nasal inflammation where there is little to no nasal secretion, causing discomfort in breathing.
• rhombicosidodecahedronAn Archimedean solid with 62 regular faces (20 triangles, 30 squares, and 12 pentagons), 60 vertices and 120 edges.
• 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.
• rigor mortisTemporary stiffness of the body's muscles and joints following death.
• rima glottidisThe passage in the glottis between the true vocal cords.
• rose of JerichoAny member of species Anastatica hierochuntica.
• ruderalAny plant growing in rubbish or very poor soil.
• sagittal planeAny imaginary plane parallel to median plane.
• 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.
• SavoniaA region in eastern Finland.
• scatophageA shiteater: a human or animal that consumes excrement.
• scatophagousSynonym of coprophagous: typified by consuming shit or other excrement.
• schirrusA hard swelling of a gland or other organ.
• scholionA scholium.
• schwa primumA vowel formerly reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European; now generally held to be a syllabic laryngeal consonant.
• schwa secundumAn anaptyctic vowel inserted to break up illicit word-initial consonant clusters in Proto-Indo-European, particularly word-initial stop + stop + resonant sequences.
• sclerotiumA compact mass of hardened mycelium stored with reserve food material that, in some higher fungi such as ergot, becomes detached and remains dormant until a favourable opportunity for growth occurs.
• scorbuticOf, pertaining to, or suffering from scurvy.
• scorbutusThe disease scurvy.
• scrobiculaA small groove, slit, or pit, commonly referring to roughness in the shell, or other firm surface, of an organism. cf. scrobe.
• scrofulousOf, related to, or suffering from scrofula (form of tuberculosis tending to cause enlarged lymph nodes and skin inflammation).