p-

Meanings

1. para-

1. Initialism of position (prefixed to a number) (indicates the placing of a competitor in (starting, during, after) a competition).
2. Initialism of para- (prefixed as part of a chemical's name) (In isomeric benzene derivatives, having the two substituents in opposite (1,4) positions (compare ortho- and meta-)).

1. Scribal abbreviation of pre-.

Etymology

An orthographic borrowing from Medieval Latin p͛-, an abbreviation of prae- (whence English pre-).