Meanings
ph1
alternative PH
alternative PH
- abbreviationinitialismnot comparableInitialism of phonetically: A notation used in transcripts to indicate that the transcriber is unsure of the spelling, usually of a name, and has spelled phonetically.
pH2
plural pHs
- chemistryMeasure of the acidity (low pH) or basicity (high pH) of an aqueous solution, equal to the negative logarithm of the concentration of hydronium ions in molars.
1 more example
The water absorbency of the anionically starch-grafted AA/AM absorbent is markedly affected by the pH of the buffer solution at different ionic strengths. The charge of the ionic monomer affects the pH sensitivity of the superabsorbent polymers. An acidic superabsorbent normally ionizes at high pH but unionizes at low pH.
2000 October 1, Suda Kiatkamjornwong, Wararuk Chomsaksakul, Manit Sonsuk, “Radiation modification of water absorption of cassava starch by acrylic acid/acrylamide”, in Radiation Physics and Chemistry, volume 59, number 4 (in English), →DOI, page 423
PH3
plural PHs
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of public house.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of penthouse.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablelawInitialism of preliminary hearing.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablepolicyhealthInitialism of public health.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of public holiday.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputerInitialism of polynomial hierarchy.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablebusinessInitialism of professional hydrologist.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of pommel horse.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of Purple Heart.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of porotic hyperostosis.
1 more example
In the bibliometric survey, the overwhelming majority of stress indicator studies focused on one or more of the following: porotic hyperostosis (PH, usually in the orbital roofs but sometimes also in the cranial vault), […] Because PNB and PH are surface alterations, macroscopy is well suited for their recognition in skeletal remains. For PH (and for porotic bony alterations in general), care needs to be taken in distinguishing normal from abnormal porosity.
2023, Simon Mays, “The Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Paleopathology” (chapter 2), in The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, Routledge, →DOI, →ISBN, page 29
- abbreviationinitialismMalaysian politicsInitialism of Pakatan Harapan.
- abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Pornhub.
Ph4
- abbreviationuncountablechemistryAbbreviation of phenyl.
Synonyms & antonyms
noun(from potential of Hydrogen) the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen-ion concentration in gram atoms per liter; provides a measure on a scale from 0 to 14 of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution (where 7 is neutral and greater than 7 is more basic and less than 7 is more acidic)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishpotential
- Danishpotens“power”
- GermanPotenz
- EnglishpH
Originally introduced in 1909 by S. P. L. Sørensen, using the notation p_(H⁺) for what he called the “hydrogen ion exponent” (Wasserstoffionenexponent) of a solution. He may have chosen the symbol p arbitrarily; another suggestion is that it either an abbreviation of French puissance, German Potenz, Danish potens (“power”) or English potential. The H is the international chemical symbol for the element hydrogen.
More words from German, Danish, English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch zuurtegraad
- zuurtegraadTranslations
Finnish pH, pH-asteikko
- pHTranslations
- pH-asteikkoTranslations
French pH, potentiel hydrogène
- pHTranslations
- potentiel hydrogèneTranslations
Greek πεχά
- πεχά (pechá)Translations
Cite this entry
ph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ph
“ph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ph. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ph,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ph.
Source: ph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.