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pentad (n.)[pentad 词源字典]: 1650s, from Greek pentas (genitive pentados) "group of five" (see five). Meaning "period of five years" is from 1880; meaning "period of five days" is from 1906, originally in meteorology.[pentad etymology, pentad origin, 英语词源]
pentagon (n.): plane figure with five angles and five sides, 1560s, from Middle French pentagone or directly from Late Latin pentagonum "pentagon," from Greek pentagonon, noun use of neuter of adjective pentagonos "five-angled," from pente "five" (see five) + gonia "angle" (see -gon). The U.S. military headquarters Pentagon was completed 1942, so called for its shape; used allusively for "U.S. military leadership" from 1945. Related: Pentagonal.
In nature, pentagonal symmetry is rare in inanimate forms. Packed soap bubbles seem to strive for it but never quite succeed, and there are no mineral crystals with true pentagonal structures. But pentagonal geometry is basic to many living things, from roses and forget-me-nots to sea urchins and starfish. [Robert Bringhurst, "The Elements of Typographic Style," 1992]
pentagram (n.): "five-pointed star," 1820, from Greek pentagrammon, noun use of neuter of adj. pentagrammos "having five lines," from pente "five" (see five) + gramma "letter, character, what is written" (see -gram).
pentameter (adj.): 1540s, from Middle French pentametre, from Latin pentameter, from Greek pentametros (adj.) "having five measures," from pente "five" (see five) + metron "measure" (see meter (n.2)). As a noun from 1580s.
pentangle (n.): c. 1300; see penta- + angle (n.). In some early uses perhaps a corruption of pentacle. Related: Pentangular.
Pentateuch: first five books of the Bible, c. 1400, from Late Latin pentateuchus (Tertullian, c.207), from Greek pentateukhos (c. 160), originally an adjective (abstracted from phrase pentateukhos biblos), from pente "five" (see five) + teukhos "implement, vessel, gear" (in Late Greek "book," via notion of "case for scrolls"), literally "anything produced," related to teukhein "to make ready," from PIE *dheugh- "to produce something of utility" (see doughty). Glossed in Old English as fifbec.
pentathlon (n.): athletic contest of five events, 1852, from Greek pentathlon "the contest of five exercises," from pente "five" (see five) + athlon "prize, contest," of uncertain origin. Earlier in English in Latin form pentathlum (1706). The Greek version consisted of jumping, sprinting, discus and spear throwing, and wrestling. The modern version (1912) consists of horseback riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and cross-country running.
Pentecost: Old English Pentecosten "Christian festival on seventh Sunday after Easter," from Late Latin pentecoste, from Greek pentekoste (hemera) "fiftieth (day)," fem. of pentekostos, from pentekonta "fifty," from pente "five" (see five). The Hellenic name for the Old Testament Feast of Weeks, a Jewish harvest festival observed on 50th day of the Omer (see Lev. xxiii:16).
pentecostal: 1660s, "pertaining to the Pentecost," from Latin pentecostalis (Tertullian), from pentecoste (see pentecost). With a capital P- and meaning "Pentecostalist," in reference to "Christian sect emphasizing gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Acts ii), it is attested from 1904 (noun and adjective).
penthouse (n.): pendize, early 14c., from Anglo-French pentiz, a shortening of Old French apentis "attached building, appendage," from Medieval Latin appendicium, from Latin appendere "to hang" (see append). Modern spelling is from c. 1530, by folk etymology influence of Middle French pente "slope," and English house (the meaning at that time was "attached building with a sloping roof or awning"). Originally a simple structure (Middle English homilies describe Jesus' birthplace in the manger as a "penthouse"); meaning "apartment or small house built on the roof of a skyscraper" first recorded 1921, from which time dates its association with luxury.
Pentothal: trademark name of an anaesthetic and hypnotic, 1935, refashioning of Thiopental, from pento-, in reference to the methylbutyl five-carbon group + first two letters of thiobarbiturate + chemical product suffix -ol.
penult (adj.): "last but one," 1530s, abbreviation of penultima. As a noun from 1570s.
penultima (n.): 1580s, from Latin penultima (syllaba), "the next to the last syllable of a word or verse," from fem. of Latin adjective penultimus "next-to-last," from paene "almost" + ultimus "final" (see ultimate).
penultimate (adj.): 1670s, from penultima (n.) on model of proximate.
penumbra (n.): 1660s, from Modern Latin penumbra "partial shadow outside the complete shadow of an eclipse," coined 1604 by Kepler from Latin pæne "almost" + umbra "shadow" (see umbrage). Related: Penumbral.
penurious (adj.): 1590s, from penury + -ous, or else from Medieval Latin penuriosus, from Latin penuria "penury." Originally "poverty-stricken, in a state of penury;" meaning "stingy" is first attested 1630s. Related: Penuriously.
penury (n.): c. 1400, from Latin penuria "want, need; scarcity," related to paene "scarcely."
Penzance: place in Cornwall, Pensans (late 13c.), literally "Holy Headland," from Cornish penn "head" + sans "holy."
peon (n.): unskilled worker, 1826, from Mexican Spanish peon "agricultural laborer" (especially a debtor held in servitude by his creditor), from Spanish peon "day laborer," also "pedestrian," originally "foot soldier," from Medieval Latin pedonem "foot soldier" (see pawn (n.2)). The word entered British English earlier (c. 1600) in the sense "native constable, soldier, or messenger in India," via Portuguese peao "pedestrian, foot soldier, day laborer."
peonage (n.): 1848, American English, from peon + -age.