physis (en)

a Greek theological, philosophical, and scientific term usually translated into English as "nature".

piacular (en)

sacrificial, expiatory; making or requiring atonement

picaresque (en)

(adjective) of or relating to rogues or rascals / (adjective) of, relating to, suggesting, or being a type of fiction dealing with the episodic adventures of a usually roguish protagonist / (noun) one that is picaresque

picayune (en)

petty; worthless

picric (en)

(noun) a toxic yellow crystalline phenol derivative C6H3N3O7 structurally similar to TNT and used especially as a high explosive and as a dye or mordant

pier-glass (en)

a large mirror, used originally to fill wall space between windows

pietistic (en)

(adjective) of or relating to Pietism / (adjective) of or relating to religious devotion or devout persons / (adjective) marked by overly sentimental or emotional devotion to religion; religiose

Pigouvian tax (en)

a tax levied on any market activity that generates negative externalities

PIIGS (en)

the five eurozone nations that were considered weaker economically following the financial crisis: Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain

pillion (en)

a seat for a passenger behind a motorcyclist

piquant (en)

pleasantly stimulating or exciting to the mind OR spicy

Piranesi (en)

an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons

pisteis (en)

in Aristotle's definition of rhetoric: the means of persuasion, divided between the atechnic (inartistic) and entechnic (artistic)

plangent (en)

loud, reverberating, and often melancholy

planification (en)

the management of resources according to a plan of economic or political development (from the French planifier)

planned laissez-faire (en)

a paradox described by Hungarian economist Karl Polanyi in The Great Transformation, refering to the actions of states in ensuring the existence of free markets

plashing (en)

(verb) to cause a splashing or spattering effect / (verb) to break the surface of (water); splash

Plaza Accord (en)

(or, Plaza Agreement) between France, West Germany, Japan, the US, and the UK, to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche Mark by intervening in currency markets, in 1985

plebiscite (en)

(noun) a vote by which the people of an entire country or district express an opinion for or against a proposal especially on a choice of government or ruler

plenipotentiary (en)

(adjective) invested with full power / (adjective) of or relating to a plenipotentiary / (noun) a person and especially a diplomatic agent invested with full power to transact business / (noun) a diplomatic agent ranking below an ambassador but possessing full power and authority

pleonasm (en)

(noun) the use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense (as in the man he said); redundancy

pleroma (en)

(noun) Gnosticism) the spiritual universe as the abode of God and of the totality of the divine powers and emanations. / (in Christian theology) the totality or fullness of the Godhead which dwells in Christ.

ploce (en)

a figure of speech in which a word is separated or repeated by way of emphasis; the repetition of a word functions as a different part of speech or in different contexts (e.g., "In that great victory, Caesar was Caesar!")

plosives (en)

(noun) stop constant (in phonetics)

plutocracy (en)

(noun) government by the wealthy / (noun) a controlling class of the wealthy