英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

physics (n.)[physics 词源字典]: 1580s, "natural science," from physic in sense of "natural science." Also see -ics. Based on Latin physica (neuter plural), from Greek ta physika, literally "the natural things," name of Aristotle's treatise on nature. Specific sense of "science treating of properties of matter and energy" is from 1715. [physics etymology, physics origin, 英语词源]
physio-: word-forming element meaning "nature, natural, physical," from Greek physio-, comb. form of physios "nature" (see physic).
physiognomy (n.): late 14c., "art of judging characters from facial features," from Old French phizonomie and directly from Late Latin physiognomia, from Greek physiognomia "the judging of a person's nature by his features," from physio- (see physio-) + gnomon (genitive gnomonos) "judge, indicator" (see gnomon). Meaning "face, countenance, features" is from c. 1400. Related: Physiognomical.
physiological (adj.): c. 1600, "pertaining to natural science," from physiology + -ical. From 1814 as "pertaining to physiology." Related: Physiologically.
physiology (n.): 1560s, "study and description of natural objects," from Middle French physiologie or directly from Latin physiologia "natural science, study of nature," from Greek physiologia "natural science, inquiry into nature," from physio- "nature" (see physio-) + logia "study" (see -logy). Meaning "science of the normal function of living things" is attested from 1610s. Related: Physiologic; physiologist.
physiotherapy (n.): 1905, from physio- + therapy. Related: Physiotherapist.
physique (n.): 1826, from French physique, noun use of physique (adj.) "physical," from Latin physicus "natural, physics," from Greek physikos, from physis "nature" (see physic).
phyto-: word-forming element meaning "plant," from Greek phyton "plant," literally "that which has grown," from phyein "to grow" (see physic).
phytoplankton (n.): 1897, from phyto- + plankton.
pi (n.): Greek letter, from Hebrew, literally "little mouth." As the name of the mathematical constant, from 1841 in English, used in Latin 1748 by Swiss mathematician Leonhart Euler (1707-1783), as an abbreviation of Greek periphereia "periphery." For the meaning "printer's term for mixed type," see pie (3).
pianissimo (adv.): 1724, from Italian pianissimo "very softly," from Latin pianissimus, superlative of pianus (see piano).
pianist (n.): 1822, from French pianiste, from Italian pianista; see piano + -ist. Earlier in English in the French form, pianiste (1816).
piano (n.): 1803, from French piano (18c.), Italian piano, shortened forms of pianoforte (q.v.). As an adverb, "softly," in musical directions (superlative pianissimo), attested from 1680s. Piano wire attested from 1831.
pianoforte (n.): 1767, from Italian, from piano e forte "soft and loud," in full, gravicembalo col piano e forte "harpsichord with soft and loud" (c. 1710), said to have been so named by inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) of Padua because the ability via dampers to vary the tone is one of the main changes from the harpsichord. Italian piano (adj.) ultimately is from Latin planus "flat, smooth, even," later "soft" (see plane (n.1)).
pianola (n.): c. 1896, trademark name (1901) of a player piano, from piano, the ending perhaps abstracted from viola and meant as a diminutive suffix. The pianola's popularity led to a rash of product names ending in -ola, especially Victrola (q.v.), and slang words such as payola.
piaster (n.): also piastre, 1620s, "Spanish dollar, piece of eight," also used as the name of a monetary unit and coin of Turkey (1610s, in Turkish called ghurush, but originally debased Spanish dollars), from French piastre, from Italian piastra "thin metal plate," short for impiastro "plaster," from Latin emplastrum, from Greek emplastron (see plaster). The Italian word was applied to the Spanish silver peso, later to the Turkish coin based on it. Compare shinplaster.
piazza (n.): 1580s, "public square in an Italian town," from Italian piazza, from Latin platea "courtyard, broad street," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (street);" see place (n.). According to OED, mistakenly applied in English 1640s to the colonnade of Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones, rather than to the marketplace itself; hence "the verandah of a house" (1724, chiefly American English).
pibroch (n.): kind of bagpipe music, 1719, from Gaelic piobaireachd, literally "piper's art," from piobair "a piper" (from piob "pipe," an English loan word; see pipe (n.1)) + -achd, suffix denoting function.
pic (n.): 1884 as a shortening of picture (n.). Short for motion picture from 1936. Colloquial piccy is recorded from 1889.
pica (n.1): "size of type of about six lines to the inch" (12 point), 1580s, probably from pica, name of a book of rules in Church of England for determining holy days (late 15c. in Anglo-Latin), probably from Latin pica "magpie" (see pie (n.2)); the book so called perhaps from the color and the "pied" look of the old type on close-printed pages. The type size was that generally used to print ordinals.