potemkin (en)

(biographical name) Grigory Aleksandrovich 1739–1791 Russ. field marshal & statesman / (noun) an impressive facade or show designed to hide an undesirable fact or condition

potlatch (en)

(noun) a ceremonial feast of the American Indians of the northwest coast marked by the host's lavish distribution of gifts or sometimes destruction of property to demonstrate wealth and generosity with the expectation of eventual reciprocation / (noun) a social event or celebration / (verb) to give (as a gift) especially with the expectation of a gift in return / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch for (as a tribe or group) / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch

praetorians (en)

(adjective) of, forming, or resembling the Roman imperial bodyguard / (adjective) of or relating to a praetor

prandial (en)

(adjective) of or relating to a meal

praxis (en)

(noun) ; action practice; as / (noun) exercise or practice of an art, science, or skill / (noun) customary practice or conduct / (noun) practical application of a theory

precariat (en)

(precarious + proletariat) a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, due to lack of job security; emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberalism; Guy Standing has a book on this

precept (en)

(noun) a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action / (noun) an order issued by legally constituted authority to a subordinate official

predella (en)

a step or platform on which an altar is placed

prefigure (en)

(verb) be an early indication or version of (something).

prelapsarian (en)

(adjective) characteristic of or belonging to the time or state before the fall of humankind

prelinguistic (en)

of or at a stage before the development of language (by the human species) or the acquisition of speech (by a child).

prenominate (en)

(adjective) previously mentioned / (verb) to mention previously

prepotent (en)

(adjective) having exceptional power, authority, or influence / (adjective) exceeding others in power

prescinds (en)

(verb) to withdraw one's attention / to detach for purposes of thought / leave out of consideration

preterite (en)

(adjective) bygone former / (noun) past tense

prevaricate (en)

(verb) to deviate from the truth; equivocate

primitive accumulation (en)

a economic theory relating to the origin of capital (Adam Smith saw it as a peaceful process with natural imbalances in wealth distribution; Karl Marx saw it as a violent enclosure of the commons etc etc)

primogeniture (en)

(noun) the state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents / (noun) an exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son

primum non nocere (la)

first, do no harm

privatistic (en)

concerned with ideas or issues only in so far as they affect one as an individual; self-interested, individualistic

probity (en)

(noun) adherence to the highest principles and ideals; uprightness

Procrustean (en)

(adjective) of, relating to, or typical of Procrustes (a smith from Greek mythology) / (adjective) marked by arbitrary often ruthless disregard of individual differences or special circumstances / (noun) a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily forced

prodrome (en)

(noun) a premonitory symptom of disease

profluence (en)

(noun) : a copious or smooth flowing

prolegomena (en)

a critical or discursive introduction to a book (from Ancient Greek)