Why do so many words in English begin with a silent “p” like psychiatrist or pterodactyl?

Question

Why do so many words in English begin with a silent “p” like psychiatrist or pterodactyl?

In: 1812

Answer 1

Because those aren’t actually English words, they are Greek (in the case of those two) or Latin.

Psychiatrist literally means “mind healer” (from Greek psykhe, ‘mind/soul’ + iatreia, ‘to heal/healing’). Similarly, pterodactylus is Latinized Greek, meaning “wing-fingers.”