American Word Origins

America in So Many Words: Words That Have Shaped America, by Allan Metcalf and David K. Barnhart, published by Houghton Mifflin Company
From apple pie to zero hour, canoe to jukebox, these are the words of American English, arranged chronologically starting with the settlement of Jamestown. The tidbits of information provided are thus of historical as well as linguistic interest.
On this page: P.D.Q. to punk.
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Title Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y

P:  A
P.D.Q. (word origin: 1875)
parched corn (word origin: 1622)
passsenger pigeon (word origin: 1783)
patent (in law)
PC (abbreviation)
peter out (phrase)
Pilgrim (in religion)
planter (mechanical device)
Podunk (town)
poison ivy (plant)
pothole (in geology)
prohibition (liquor)
public school (education, United States)