pace – (in stating a contrary opinion) with due deference to (the person named).

papabile - suitable for high office (originally to be pope)

par avion - by airmail

par excellence - being the supreme example of its kind

pari-mutuel - a form of betting in which the losers’ stakes are shared among those backing the first three places

pari passu - with equal speed; simultaneously

parti pris - prejudice, prejudiced

pas de chat - a leap in dancing, especially in classical ballet, in which each foot in turn is raised to the opposite knee

pas de deux - a dance for two people

pas glisse – a glisse; a sliding step in which the flat of the foot is often used

pas seul-a solo dance

passim - (of allusions or references in a published work) to be found at various places throughout the text)

pate de foie gras - a paste of fatted goose liver

pave – a paved street, road, or path; a setting of jewels placed closely together.

paysage – a rural landscape

pensee – a thought or reflection put into literary form; an aphorism.

pension – a Continental, especially French, boarding-house providing full or half board at a fixed rate

per annum - for each year

per capita - for each person

pere - (added to a surname to distinguish a father from a son) the father, senior (compare FILS).

 

per pro. - through the agency of (used in signatures)

 

per se – in itself

 

persona grata – a person (especially a diplomat) acceptable to certain others.

 

persona non grata - an unacceptable person

 

petanque — a game like bowls, played originally and chiefly in the south of France.

 

petition principii - the logical fallacy of begging the question

 

petit-maitre - a dandy, coxcomb

 

petit mal - a mild form of epilepsy

 

piece de resistance – the most important item

 

pied-a-terre – a small dwelling for occasional use

 

pis alter—a course of action followed as a last resort

 

pissoir- a public urinal

 

placet- an affirmative vote in an assembly

 

plat dujour- the special dish on a day’s menu

 

plus ca change - the true nature of a thing never change

 

pollu - a French private soldier, especially as a nickname

 

pons asinorum - any difficult problem that defeats the slow-witted

 

porte-cochere - a roofed porch at an entrance, where vehicles discharge passengers

 

poste restante - a direction that a letter is to be kept at a post office until collected

 

post-partum - after childbirth

 

pot-au-feu - a traditional thick French soup

 

pourboire - a gratuity or tip

 

predikant — a minister of the South Africa Dutch Reformed Church

 

prima facie -on a first impression, on the face of it.

 

primum mobile - the main source of motion or action; in medieval astronomy, an outermost sphere believed to revolve round the earth in 24 hours and cause the inner spheres to revolve

 

primus inter pares – a first or most important among equals

 

pro forma -as a matter of form (especially of an invoice sent in advance)

 

pro hac vice - for their occasion only

 

proneur— a person who extols; a flatterer

 

pro rata - in proportion

 

prosit-an expression used colloquially in drinking someone’s health

 

pro tempore - for the time being

 

proxime accessit – the person who comes second in an examination