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

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Answer 2

why can’t you hear a pteradactyl in the bathroom? because the p is silent.

Answer 3

They’re Greek words. They are meant to be pronounced, but someone with a perverse sense of humor, successfully persuaded English speaking people they have to do mental gymnastics when pronouncing words derived or transliterated from Greek.

Similar tomfoolery with vowels, alphabet letters and hy- words. I blame Erasmus for those.

Only Monty Python got it right.

Answer 4

They’re Greek words. They are meant to be pronounced, but someone with a perverse sense of humor, successfully persuaded English speaking people they have to do mental gymnastics when pronouncing words derived or transliterated from Greek.

Similar tomfoolery with vowels, alphabet letters and hy- words. I blame Erasmus for those.

Only Monty Python got it right.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

Because they aren’t English words. They’re Greek. Pt, like Pt, like Ptolemaic. Psych, like Psyche (literally translated to “soul” in this context). English is less a language of its own and more an amalgam of other languages all mishmoshed together like linguistic chowder. It’s hard to learn, not because it’s really all that complicated, but because you basically have to learn snippets of, like, 20 other languages, some of them long dead, for it to be intuitive.

Answer 9

Because they aren’t English words. They’re Greek. Pt, like Pt, like Ptolemaic. Psych, like Psyche (literally translated to “soul” in this context). English is less a language of its own and more an amalgam of other languages all mishmoshed together like linguistic chowder. It’s hard to learn, not because it’s really all that complicated, but because you basically have to learn snippets of, like, 20 other languages, some of them long dead, for it to be intuitive.

Answer 10

Because they aren’t English words. They’re Greek. Pt, like Pt, like Ptolemaic. Psych, like Psyche (literally translated to “soul” in this context). English is less a language of its own and more an amalgam of other languages all mishmoshed together like linguistic chowder. It’s hard to learn, not because it’s really all that complicated, but because you basically have to learn snippets of, like, 20 other languages, some of them long dead, for it to be intuitive.