Word origins

• propenseLeaning toward, in a moral sense; inclined; disposed; prone.
• propositusThe first identified male case of an inherited disease in a family; the proband or index case.
• propraetorA magistrate of ancient Rome who governed a province after serving as a praetor in Rome.
• propriumA property that applies to all members of a species and only to them, serving to distinguish the species from other species within the same genus, yet is not part of the true definition or the essence of the species.
• propudiousshameful, infamous, disgraceful
• propugnatorA champion or defender.
• proreThe front part of a ship.
• prorexviceroy
• pro tantoTo that extent.
• protendTo hold out; to stretch forth.
• protographThe original manuscript of a given text, from which all further copies derive.
• ProtothyesA male given name in Ancient Greek, Προτοθύης (Protothúēs), borne by a 7th-century BCE Scythian king.
• protuberantialRelating to a protuberance.
• provectionThe carrying forward of a final consonant to a following word, as in "a nickname" from Middle English "an ekename".
• proverseDescribing the tendency of a plane to roll in the same direction as yaw.
• provisorA deputy of a Roman Catholic bishop.
• provocantOne who or that which provokes.
• provulgeTo promulge; to promulgate.
• proximeNext; following; immediately preceding or following.
• PrusaBursa
• prytaneumThe town hall in an Ancient Greek city.
• prytanisAn official in ancient Athens
• psaltesA Byzantine cantor.
• PsammetichusA male given name of historical usage, notably borne by several Egyptian pharaohs.
• psychopompA spirit, deity, person, etc., who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
• pudibundShy, bashful; prudish.
• pudicitiaThe Ancient Roman concept of sexual virtue, involving modesty and loyalty to one's partner.
• pudorAn appropriate sense of modesty or shame.
• puella aeternaA female puer aeternus.
• puerperaA woman undergoing puerperium; a woman whose uterus is still enlarged from pregnancy.
• pugilAs much as is taken up between the thumb and two first fingers; a pinch.
• pugioA dagger or poignard, especially the kind used by the Ancient Romans.
• PulcheriaAelia Pulcheria (398/399–453), Empress of the Roman Empire from 414 to 453.
• pulchrousbeautiful
• pullulateTo multiply rapidly.
• pullusA chick; a young bird in the downy stage.
• pulpamentA preparation of food; an appetizer.
• pulpitumA massive, often decorative screen of stone or timber that divides the choir from the nave and ambulatory in medieval cathedrals and monastic churches.
• pulvillusOne of the tiny cushions or pads on the feet of certain insects.
• pulvisculusThe powder contained in the spore-cases of certain fungi.
• punctoA point of form or ceremony.
• punctum delensA dot placed above a letter to indicate that it is a copying error and should be ignored.
• punctum saliensThe primordial heart in an embryo, appearing as a throbbing point.
• puniceousBright red or purple in colour.
• purificativeHaving power to purify or cleanse.
• purificatoryThat purifies; purificative
• purpurescentSomewhat purple; tinged with purple.
• putealAn enclosure around a well to prevent people from falling into it.
• putrefacientOf, pertaining to, or causing putrefaction.
• PyladesA Phocian prince known for his relationship with his cousin Orestes, son of Agamemnon.
• pyrrhichiuspyrrhic
• qere perpetuumIn the liturgical use of the Tanakh, a fixed substitution that is always expected when a certain written word is read out, most notably אֲדוֹנָי (ăḏônāy, literally “my Lord(s)”) for יהוה (YHVH), the name of God; an indication of such a substitution.
• QuadiAn ancient Germanic people who lived in Moravia.
• QuadragesimaSynonym of Lent.
• Quadragesima SundayThe first Sunday in Lent, the sixth before Easter.
• quadragintillion10¹²³.
• quadri-Four.
• quadriporticusA nearly square courtyard surrounded by colonnaded porticoes.
• quadriremeA galley with four banks of oars, each rowed by two oarsmen.
• quadrivialAny of the four "liberal arts" making up the quadrivium.
• quaesitumSomething sought or required.
• quant suffThe amount of the last ingredient in a recipe or prescription required to make it up to the required quantity of a mixture.
• quantulumA very small amount.
• QuarantaniaSynonym of Mount of Temptation.
• quare impeditA writ in English law commencing a common-law action for deciding a disputed right of presentation to a benefice, a right known as an advowson.
• QuarentenaSynonym of Mount of Temptation.
• quartariusA Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of ⁵⁄₁₂ Roman pound of wine and equivalent to about 0.14 L although varying slightly over time.
• quasi-Almost; virtually.
• quatenusRelating to the belief that the Book of Concord is authoritative insofar as it faithfully describes the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible; admitting the possibility that the Book of Concord might contradict the Bible.
• queleaThe African weaverbird (genus Quelea).
• quercetumA wood or plantation of oak trees.
• querelaA complaint preferred in a court.
• QuicunqueThe Athanasian Creed.
• quid pro quoSomething which is understood as something else; an equivocation.
• quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videturUsed to mockingly describe people who seem to use Latin phrases and quotations only to make themselves sound more important or "educated".
• quilismaA neume of uncertain meaning, consisting of several jagged lines.
• quilletA quibble, an evasive distinction.
• quinariusA small silver coin minted during the Roman Republic, equal to half of a denarius.
• quindec-Fifteen.
• quindecennaliaThe festival and religious rituals sometimes observed celebrating a Roman emperor's 15th year of rule.
• quindecimvirAny member of an official group of fifteen people, especially a member of the 15-man college of priests who cared for the Sibylline Books in ancient Rome.
• QuinquatriaAn ancient Roman festival in honour of Minerva.
• quinquennaliaThe festival and religious rituals sometimes observed celebrating a Roman emperor's 5th year of rule.
• quinquenniumA period of five years.
• quinqueremeAn ancient Carthaginian or Greek galley having three banks of oars, rowed by five oarsmen: two to an oar in each of the upper rows, and one to the lower oar.
• quinquertiumAn ancient sporting contest consisting of five separate events.
• quinquevirOne of five commissioners appointed for some special object.
• quintantAn instrument used for measuring angular distance, capable of measuring angles of up to 72 or 144 degrees.
• QuirinaliaA festival dedicated to the god Quirinus, celebrated on February 17th.
• quiscoskosSynonym of quisquous.
• quisquisWhoever, whosoever.
• quisquousHard to deal with; dubious; of people: having a character difficult to assess.
• quoadWith respect to.
• quoad hocas far as this
• quoad omniain respect of all things
• quoad sacraWith respect to religious observance or worship, as opposed to temporal matters.
• quod erat demonstrandumwhich was to be proved; which was to be demonstrated.
• quominusA writ and legal fiction that (until the late 19th century) allowed the Court of Exchequer to obtain a jurisdiction over cases normally brought in the Court of Common Pleas, based on having the plaintiff in a debt case claim that he was a debtor to the king, and that the defendant's debt prevented him paying the king.
• q.v.quod vide; which see (advises the reader to look up a mentioned text for further information).
• r.Synonym of ruled or reigned, used in historical dating to distinguish regnal years from births and deaths.