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Definition of P - 34 dictionary results

P, p

  [pee]
Use P in a Sentence
–noun, plural P's or Ps, p's or ps.
1. the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any spoken sound represented by the letter P or p, as in pet, supper, top, etc.
3. something having the shape of a P.
4. a written or printed representation of the letter P or p.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter P or p.

P

 
1. Education. (as a rating of student performance) passing.
2. Chess. pawn.
3. Electronics. plate.
4. poor.
5. Grammar. predicate.
6. Protestant.

P

 
Symbol.
1. the 16th in order or in a series, or, when I is omitted, the 15th.
2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 400. Compare Roman numerals.
3. Genetics. parental.
4. Chemistry. phosphorus.
5. Physics.
a. power.
b. pressure.
c. proton.
d. space inversion.
e. poise2.
6. Biochemistry. proline.

p

 
1. penny; pence.
2. Music. softly.
Origin:
< It piano

P-

 
Military.
(in designations of fighter aircraft) pursuit: P-38.

p-

 
Chemistry.
para- 1 (def. 2).

P.

 
1. pastor.
2. father. Origin:
< L Pater
3. peseta.
4. peso.
5. post.
6. president.
7. pressure.
8. priest.
9. prince.
10. progressive.

p.

 
1. page.
2. part.
3. participle.
4. past.
5. father. Origin:
< L pater
6. Chess. pawn.
7. penny; pence.
8. per.
9. Grammar. person.
10. peseta.
11. peso.
12. Music. softly. Origin:
< It piano
13. pint.
14. pipe.
15. Baseball. pitcher.
16. pole.
17. population.
18. after. Origin:
< L post
19. president.
20. pressure.
21. purl.

Hey⋅se

  [hahy-zuh]
–noun
Paul (Jo⋅hann von)  [poul yoh-hahn fuhn] , 1830–1914, German playwright, novelist, poet, and short-story writer: Nobel prize 1910.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mo·men·tum   (mō-měn'təm)   
n.   pl. mo·men·ta (-tə) or mo·men·tums
  1. Symbol p Physics A measure of the motion of a body equal to the product of its mass and velocity. Also called linear momentum.
    1. Impetus of a physical object in motion.
    2. Impetus of a nonphysical process, such as an idea or a course of events: The soaring rise in interest rates finally appeared to be losing momentum.
  3. Philosophy An essential or constituent element; a moment.

[Latin mōmentum, movement, from *movimentum, from movēre, to move; see meuə- in Indo-European roots.]
p 1 or P   (pē)   
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 documentary source of certain portions of the Pentateuch that have a formal style, contain genealogical lists and descriptions of rituals, and use the Tetragrammaton to refer to God.
p 2  
Physics
The symbol for momentum.
p 3  
abbr.  
  1. piano (musical direction)
  2. proton
P 1  
The symbol for the element phosphorus.
P 2  
abbr.  
  1. Genetics parental generation
  2. Physics parity
  3. pass
  4. pawn (chess)
  5. Bible Peter
  6. petite
  7. Physics pressure
par·i·ty 1   (pār'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. par·i·ties
  1. Equality, as in amount, status, or value.
  2. Functional equivalence, as in the weaponry or military strength of adversaries: "A problem that has troubled the U.S.-Soviet relationship from the beginning has been the issue of parity" (Charles William Maynes).
  3. The equivalent in value of a sum of money expressed in terms of a different currency at a fixed official rate of exchange.
  4. Equality of prices of goods or securities in two different markets.
  5. A level for farm-product prices maintained by governmental support and intended to give farmers the same purchasing power they had during a chosen base period.
  6. Mathematics The even or odd quality of an integer. If two integers are both odd or both even, they are said to have the same parity; if one is odd and one even, they have different parity.
  7. Abbr. P Physics
    1. An intrinsic symmetry property of subatomic particles that is characterized by the behavior of the wave function of such particles under reflection through the origin of spatial coordinates.
    2. A quantum number, either +1 (even) or -1 (odd), that mathematically describes this property.
    3. The even or odd quality of the number of 1's or 0's in a binary code, often used to determine the integrity of data especially after transmission.
    4. A parity bit.
  8. Computer Science
    1. The even or odd quality of the number of 1's or 0's in a binary code, often used to determine the integrity of data especially after transmission.
    2. A parity bit.

[French parité, from Old French parite, from Late Latin paritās, from pār, par-, equal; see pair.]
pawn 2   (pôn)   
n.  
  1. Abbr. P Games A chess piece of lowest value that may move forward one square at a time or two squares in the first move, capture other pieces only on a one-space diagonal forward move, and be promoted to any piece other than a king upon reaching the eighth rank.
  2. A person or an entity used to further the purposes of another: an underdeveloped nation that was a pawn in international politics.

[Middle English, from Old French pedon, paon, from Medieval Latin pedō, pedōn-, foot soldier, from Late Latin, one who has wide feet, from Latin pēs, ped-, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
Pe·ter   (pē'tər)   
n.   Bible Abbr. Pet. or Pt or P
See Table at Bible.
phos·pho·rus   (fŏs'fər-əs)   
n.  
  1. Symbol P A highly reactive, poisonous, nonmetallic element occurring naturally in phosphates, especially apatite, and existing in three allotropic forms, white (or sometimes yellow), red, and black. An essential constituent of protoplasm, it is used in safety matches, pyrotechnics, incendiary shells, and fertilizers and to protect metal surfaces from corrosion. Atomic number 15; atomic weight 30.9738; melting point (white) 44.1°C; boiling point 280°C; specific gravity (white) 1.82; valence 3, 5. See Table at element.
  2. A phosphorescent substance.

[Latin Phōsphorus, morning star, from Greek phōsphoros, bringing light, morning star : phōs, light; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots + -phoros, -phorous.]
pi·a·no 2   (pē-ä'nō, pyä'-)   
adv.   & adj. Abbr. p
In a soft or quiet tone. Used chiefly as a direction.
n.   pl. pi·a·nos
A passage to be played softly or quietly.

[Italian, from Late Latin plānus, smooth, graceful, from Latin, flat; see pelə-2 in Indo-European roots.]
pres·sure   (prěsh'ər)   
n.  
    1. The act of pressing.
    2. The condition of being pressed.
  2. The application of continuous force by one body on another that it is touching; compression.
  3. Abbr. P Physics Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
  4. Meteorology Atmospheric pressure.
  5. A compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will: pressure to conform; peer-group pressure.
  6. Urgent claim or demand: under the pressure of business; doesn't work well under pressure.
  7. An oppressive condition of physical, mental, social, or economic distress.
  8. A physical sensation produced by compression of a part of the body.
  9. Archaic A mark made by application of force or weight; an impression.
tr.v.   pres·sured, pres·sur·ing, pres·sures
  1. To force, as by overpowering influence or persuasion.
  2. To pressurize.
  3. To pressure-cook.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pressūra, from pressus, past participle of premere, to press; see per-4 in Indo-European roots.]
pro·ton   (prō'tŏn')   
n.   Abbr. p
A stable, positively charged subatomic particle in the baryon family having a mass 1,836 times that of the electron. See Table at subatomic particle.

[From Greek prōton, neuter of prōtos, first; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]
pro·ton'ic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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P

P\ (p[=e]), the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a nonvocal consonant whose form and value come from the Latin, into which language the letter was brought, through the ancient Greek, from the Ph[oe]nician, its probable origin being Egyptian. Etymologically P is most closely related to b, f, and v; as hobble, hopple; father, paternal; recipient, receive. See B, F, and M. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 247, 248, and 184-195.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : P
Spanish: pág. (abreviatura de página),
German: S.; Seiten,
Japanese: …ページ
More Translations »

P 
a rare letter in the initial position in Gmc., in part because by Grimm's Law PIE p- became Gmc. f-; even with early L. borrowings, -p- takes up only a little over 4 pages in J.R. Clark Hall's "Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary," compared to 31 pages for B and more than 36 for F. But it now is the third most common initial letter in the Eng. vocabulary, and with C and S, comprises nearly a third of the words in the dictionary, a testimonial to the flood of words that have entered the language since 1066 from L., Gk., and Fr. To mind one's Ps and Qs (1779), possibly is from confusion of these letters among children learning to write. Another theory traces it to old-time tavern-keepers tracking their patrons' bar tabs in pints and quarts. But cf. also to be P and Q (1612), "to be excellent," a slang phrase said to derive from prime quality.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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P

A Nasdaq stock symbol specifying that it is the company's first class of preferred shares.

Investopedia Commentary

Nasdaq-listed securities have four or five characters. If a fifth letter appears, it indicates that the issue is other than a single issue of common or capital stock.

Related Links

Understanding The Ticker Tape
The Tale Of Two Exchanges: NYSE And Nasdaq

See also: Nasdaq, Preferred Stock, Stock Symbol

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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p

  1. Used in the dividend column of stock transaction tables in newspapers to indicate an initial dividend: .50p.
  2. Used in mutual fund transaction tables in newspapers to indicate that a distribution cost is charged.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: P
Function: abbreviation
1 parental
2 part
3 percentile
4 pharmacopoeia
5 pint
6 pole
7population
8 position
9 positive
10 posterior
11 pressure
12 pulse
13 pupil

Main Entry: P
Function: symbol
1 parental generation —usually used with a subscript: P1 for the first, P2 for the second, etc.
2phosphorus
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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P
The symbol for the element phosphorus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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P  
  1. The symbol for parity.
  2. The symbol for phosphorus.
  3. The symbol for power.
  4. The symbol for pressure.

phosphorus   (fŏs'fər-əs)  Pronunciation Key 
Symbol P
A highly reactive, poisonous nonmetallic element occurring naturally in phosphates, especially in the mineral apatite. It exists in white (or sometimes yellow), red, and black forms, and is an essential component of protoplasm. Phosphorus is used to make matches, fireworks, and fertilizers and to protect metal surfaces from corrosion. Atomic number 15; atomic weight 30.9738; melting point (white) 44.1°C; boiling point 280°C; specific gravity (white) 1.82; valence 3, 5. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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p

see mind one's p's and q's.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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p
  1. momentum
  2. piano (musical direction)
  3. proton
  4. punctuation
P
  1. pale
  2. parental generation
  3. parity
  4. parking available
  5. pass
  6. pawn
  7. petite
  8. phosphorus
  9. poor
  10. Portugal (international vehicle ID)
  11. pressure
  12. professional (as in personal ads)
  13. punter
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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