P

Multiple Entries:
  P    p    penny    phosphorus    poise  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
P1 (also p)

▶noun (pl. Ps or P's)

• 1 the sixteenth letter of the alphabet.

• 2 denoting the next after O in a set of items, categories, etc.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
P2

▶abbreviation

• 1 (in tables of sports results) games played.

• 2 (on road signs and street plans) parking.

• 3 peta- (10¹⁵).

• 4 Physics poise (unit of viscosity).

• 5 Portugal (international vehicle registration).

• 6 proprietary.

▶symbol the chemical element phosphorus.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
p

▶abbreviation

• 1 page.

• 2 (p-) Chemistry para-.

• 3 Brit. penny or pence.

• 4 Music piano (softly).

• 5 pico- (10⁻¹²).

• 6 Chemistry denoting electrons and orbitals possessing one unit of angular momentum. [from principal, orig. applied to lines in atomic spectra.]

▶symbol

• 1 Physics pressure.

• 2 Statistics probability.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
penny/ˈpeni/

▶noun (pl. for separate coins pennies, for a sum of money pence)

• 1 (abbrev.: p) a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound.

  ■ (abbrev.: d) a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling and 240th of a pound.

  ■ N. Amer. informal a one-cent coin.

  ■ (in biblical use) a denarius.

• 2 [with neg.] (a penny) no money at all.

– phrases
be two (or ten) a penny chiefly Brit. be plentiful and thus of little value.
in for a penny, in for a pound expressing an intention to see an undertaking through, however much time, effort, or money this entails.
pennies from heaven unexpected benefits.
the penny drops informal, chiefly Brit. one finally realizes something.
a penny for your thoughts a request to someone to say what they are thinking about.

– origin OE penig, penning of Gmc origin; perh. rel. to pawn2 and (with ref. to shape) pan1.

usage: On the different uses of the plural forms pence and pennies, see usage at pence.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
phosphorus /ˈfɒsf(ə)rəs/

▶noun the chemical element of atomic number 15, a poisonous, combustible non-metal which exists as a yellowish waxy solid which ignites spontaneously in air and glows in the dark (white phosphorus), and as a less reactive form used in making matches (red phosphorus). (Symbol: P)

– origin C17: from L., from Gk phōsphoros, from phōs ‘light’ + -phoros ‘-bringing’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
poise1

▶noun

• 1 graceful and elegant bearing.

  ■ composure and dignity of manner.

• 2 archaic balance; equilibrium.

▶verb

• 1 be or cause to be balanced or suspended.

• 2 (as adj. poised) composed and elegant or self-assured.

• 3 (be poised to do something) be ready and prepared to do something.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘weight’): from OFr. pois, peis (n.), peser (v.), from an alt. of L. pensum ‘weight’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
poise2 (abbrev.: P)

▶noun Physics a unit of dynamic viscosity, such that a tangential force of one dyne per square centimetre causes a velocity change of one centimetre per second between two parallel planes separated by one centimetre in a liquid.

– origin early 20th cent.: from the name of Jean L. M. Poiseuille (1799–1869), French physician.