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P 1
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The symbol for phosphorus.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
p 1 or P (pē)
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n. pl. p's or P's also ps or Ps
1. The 16th letter of the modern English alphabet.
2. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter p.
3. The 16th in a series.
4. Something shaped like the letter P.
5. P A hypothesized textual source of certain portions of the Pentateuch that have a formulaic style, contain genealogical lists and descriptions of rituals, and use the name "Elohim" to refer to God.
(click for a larger image)
original manuscript, Constitution of the United States of America
Drafted in Philadelphia in 1787, the Constitution begins with the words We the People.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
P 2
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abbr.
1. Genetics parental generation
2. Physics
a. parity
b. parity conjugation
3. pass
4. pawn (chess)
5. Bible Peter
6. Physics pressure
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
p 2
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Physics
The symbol for momentum.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
p 3
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abbr.
1. piano (musical direction)
2. proton
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
p.
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abbr.
1. page
2. part
3. participle
4. past
5. penny
6. peseta
7. peso
8. pint
9. pipe
10. pole
11. population
12. Economics principal
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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