Etymology dictionary

pyrolatry (n.) — pyx (n.)

pyrolatry (n.)

"fire-worship," 1660s, from pyro- + -latry "worship of." Related: Pyrolater.

"manganese dioxide," a common ore, 1828, from Greek elements pyro- "by heat, by fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire") + lysis "a loosening" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart"). The name was given in Roman times, when the substance was used, in a heated state, to de-colorize glass.

pyrolysis (n.)

"decomposition by the action of heat," 1879, from pyro- + -lysis. Related: Pyrolytic; pyrolyse.

pyromancy (n.)

"divination by means of fire," late 14c., piromaunce, from Old French piromance and directly from Medieval Latin piromantia; see pyro- + -mancy. Related: Pyromantic.

pyromania (n.)

form of insanity marked by a mania for destroying things by fire, 1840, from pyro- "fire" + mania "madness, frenzy." Used in German in the 1830s.

An older word for it was incendiarism.

pyromaniac (adj.)

"of, pertaining to, characterized by, or affected with pyromania," 1855, from pyromania. As a noun from 1861, "person possessed of an irresistible impulse to burn things." Related: Pyromaniacal.

pyrophobia (n.)

"morbid fear of fire," 1871, from pyro- "fire" + -phobia "fear."

pyrophoric (adj.)

"having the property of taking fire upon exposure to air," 1779, from Modern Latin pyrophorus, literally "fire-bearing," from Greek pyrophoros, from pyro- (see pyro-) + phoros "bearer," from pherein "to carry" (from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry"). Related: Pyrophorous.

Pyrophorus is by 1778 as the name of fine, powdery substances capable of catching fire spontaneously on exposure to air; with a capital P-, as the name given to the genus of the most brilliant of the American fireflies, from 1809.

pyrotechnic (adj.)

1704, "of or pertaining to the use of fire" (a sense now obsolete); 1825, "of or pertaining to fireworks and the art of making them," from pyrotechny "the manufacture and use of gunpowder" (1570s), from pyro- "fire" + Latinized form of Greek tekhnē "art" (see techno-).

Figurative use, "brilliant, explosive display," is attested from 1847. Related: Pyrotechnical (1610s, from pyrotechny).

pyrotechnics (n.)

"the art of making and using fireworks," 1729, from pyrotechnic (also see -ics). Figurative sense is from 1901. Related: Pyrotechnist.

pyrotechny (n.)

1570s, "the management and mechanical application of fire" (a sense now obsolete); 1630s, "the fabrication of fireworks for military and commercial purposes," from pyro- "fire" + Latinized form of Greek tekhnē "art" (see techno-).

pyrotechnician (n.)

"manufacturer of fireworks, one skilled in pyrotechny," 1729, from pyrotechnic + -an.

pyroxene (n.)

type of mineral, 1800; from Greek pyr "fire" (see pyro-) + xenos "stranger" (see xeno-). According to OED, so named in 1796 by Abbé Haüy, French mineralogist, "because he thought it 'a stranger in the domain of fire' or alien to igneous rocks." Related: Pyroxenic.

pyrrhic (n.)

"dance in armor" (1590s), also a type of metrical foot of two short syllables (1620s), from Latin pyrrhicha, from Greek pyrrikhē orkhēsis, the war-dance of ancient Greece, in quick and light measure, accompanied by the flute, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name means "reddish, red-haired," from pyrrhos "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire"). As an adjective, "of or pertaining to the pyrrhic," from 1749.

Pyrrhic (adj.)

"of or pertaining to King Pyrrhus of Epirus," 1885, usually in the phrase Pyrrhic victory "success obtained at too great a cost," in reference to Pyrrhus's rout of Roman armies at Asculum, in Apulia, 279 B.C.E., which came at such cost to his own troops that he was unable to follow up and attack Rome itself, and is said to have remarked, "one more such victory and we are lost." The name is Greek and means "reddish" or "red-haired," from pyrrhos "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire").

Pyrrhonic (adj.)

1590s, "pertaining to Pyrrho" (Greek Pyrrhōn, c. 360-c. 275 B.C.E.), skeptic philosopher of Elis, who held the impossibility of attaining certainty of knowledge. The name means "reddish" or "red-haired," from pyrrhos "flame-colored," from pyr "fire" (from PIE root *paewr- "fire"). Related: Pyrrhonism; Pyrrhonist.

Pythagorean (adj.)

1540s, from Latin Pythagoreus "of or pertaining to Pythagoras" of Samos, Greek philosopher (6c. B.C.E.) said to have travelled to Egypt and Babylon, whose teachings included transmigration of the soul and vegetarianism (these are some of the commonest early allusions in English).

Also in reference to a school he supposedly founded in Crotona in Italy. As a noun, "a follower of Pythagoras," by 1540s. The Pythagorean theorem is the 47th of the first book of Euclid: The area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides.

Pythia (n.)

"priestess of Apollo at Delphi," who received his oracles in the inner sanctuary of the great temple, 1842, from Greek pythia (hiereia) "(Priestess) of Pythian Apollo," from a variant form of Pythios, an epithet of Apollo, from Pytho, older name of the region of Delphi (see python).

Pythian (adj.)

c. 1600, "pertaining to Delphi or Delphic Apollo," from Pythia + -an. As a noun from 1590s. The Pythian Games were one of the four great national festivals of ancient Greece, held every four years at Delphi in honor of Apollo.

pythoness (n.)

late 14c., phitonesse, Phitonissa, "woman with the power of soothsaying," from Old French phitonise (13c.) and Medieval Latin phitonissa, from Late Latin pythonissa, used in Vulgate of the Witch of Endor (I Samuel xxviii.7), and often treated as her proper name. It is the fem. of pytho "familiar spirit;" which ultimately is connected with the title of the prophetess of the Delphic Oracle, Greek pythia hiereia, from Pythios, an epithet of Apollo, from Pythō, an older name of the region of Delphi (see python). The classical spelling was restored 16c.

python (n.)

1580s, name of a fabled serpent, slain by Apollo near Delphi, from Latin Python, from Greek Pythōn "serpent slain by Apollo," probably related to Pythō, the old name of Delphi. Chaucer has it (late 14c.) as Phitoun.

This might be related to pythein "to rot," or from PIE *dhubh-(o)n-, from *dheub- "hollow, deep, bottom, depths," and used in reference to the monsters who inhabit them. Loosely used for "any very large snake," hence the zoological application to large non-venomous snakes of the tropics (1836, originally in French). Related: Pythonic.

Pythonesque (adj.)

1975, in reference to the style of humor popularized by the comedy troupe in the British TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus."

pyuria (n.)

"presence of pus in the urine," 1787, from medical Latin (by 1760s), from pyo- + -uria (see urine).

pyx (n.)

c. 1400, "a box," especially, in Church use, the vessel in which the host or consecrated bread is kept, from Latin pyxis, from Greek pyxis "box-wood; a box" (originally one made of box-wood), from pyxos "box-wood; box-tree," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps a loan-word from Italy, where the tree is native.

In nautical use from 1680s as "the metal box in which the compass is suspended." Hence also Pyxis as the name of a Southern constellation proposed 1760s by Lacaille (along with Puppis, Carina, and Vela) to be made from parts of the unwieldy ancient Argo, though Malus "mast" also was long used for this part.