Emily Dickinson Lexicon

P,

is the sixteenth letter of the English Alphabet, and a labial articulation formed by a close compression of the anterior part of the lips, as in ep. It is convertible into b and f, sometimes into v, and in Greek, into φ. This letter is found in the oriental languages, from which it was received into the Greek and Latin; except however the Arabic, which has not this letter, and the Arabians can not easily pronounce it. In some words which we have borrowed from the Greek, p is mute, as in psalm, ptisan; but is not silent in English words, unless it may be in receipt, and a few irregular words. P aspirated or followed by h, represents the Greek φ, which answers to the English f, as in philosophy. As an abbreviation, P. stands for Publius, pondo, &c.; P. A. DIG. for patricia dignitas; P. C. for Patres Conscripti; P. F. for Publius Fabius; P. P. for propositum publice; P. R. for populus Romanus; P. R. S. for prætoris sententia; P. R. S. P. for præses provinciæ. P. M. stands for post meridiem, afternoon. As a numeral, P, like G, stands for one hundred, and with a dash over it, P̅, for four hundred thousand. Among physicians, P. stands for pugil, or the eighth part of a handful; P. Æ. for partes æquales, equal parts of the ingredients; P. P. for pulvis patrum, or the Jesuits' bark in powder; and ppt. for præparatus, prepared. – Encyc.