stato-, stat-, sta-, -static, -stasi, staso-, -stasis, -stasia, -stacy, -stitute, -stitution, -sist

(Latin: standing, to stay, to make firm, fixed; cause to stand, to put, to place, to put in place, to remain in place; to stand still)

pressure (s) (noun), pressures (pl)
1. A force which is used to bear weight down on something: When Susan hurt herself badly while doing gardening, she put pressure on the wound to stop it bleeding.
2. The force which is created by the amount of liquid or gas in a container: The pressure in the sealed pot made it possible for the food to be prepared in a shorter amount of time than without such a special pot.
3. The act of persuading or threatening a person to do something: Jack put a lot of pressure on his sister so that she would not reveal his secret to his girlfriend.
4. The stress and demands a person experiences when very important issues are pending and must be done in a short time: Sometimes Mrs. Smart experienced a lot of pressure when she had to finish correcting the exams to return to the students the following day!
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
—Classic Crossword Puzzles
pressure (verb), pressures; pressured; pressuring
To attempt to coerce, push, or influence an individual into doing something: Jane told me that her boyfriend pressured her into staying out with him beyond the time she was to be home again.
pressurize (verb), pressurizes; pressurized; pressurizing
1. To press something tightly into a space or container: Some cooks utilize pots with lids that pressurize the contents when food is being prepared for eating.
2. To cause the air inside an area, such as in an aircraft, to be the same as, or close to, a normal breathing area: Jane told her husband when she returned home that the system that usually pressurizes air in the passenger airplane failed to operate properly for a short time and the condition caused a great deal of terror for the passengers before it was returned to the normal functioning mode.
proctostasis (s) (noun), protostases (pl)
Irregular and difficult evacuation of the bowels due to an intestinal obstruction: Sherry went to her doctor because she had pains in her abdomen and difficulties when she went to the bathroom, and Dr. Smith diagnosed this health issue as proctostasis.
prostate (s) (noun), prostates (pl)
1. A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the bladder: Chestnut shaped, the prostate surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder.

The prostate is actually not one but many glands, 30-50 in number, between which is abundant tissue containing many bundles of smooth muscle. The secretion of the prostate is a milky fluid that is discharged into the urethra at the time of the ejaculation of semen.
2. Etymology: from Middle French prostate, from Medieval Latin prostata, "the prostate" from Greek prostates, "prostate (gland)", from prostates "one standing in front", from proistanai, "set before", from pro-, "before" plus histanai, "cause to stand".

Herophilus, a Greek anatomist and surgeon

Herophilus c.335-c.280 B.C., born in Chalcedon, was the founder of the Alexandria school of anatomy.

The origin of the name prostate is rather strange. The word is from the Greek prostates, "to stand before". The anatomist Herophilus called it the prostate because, as he saw the situation, it "stands before" the testes.

    He was—
  • one of the first to conduct post-mortem examinations.
  • the first to dissect the human body to compare it with that of other animals.
  • credited with describing the brain, liver, spleen, sexual organs, and nervous system, dividing the latter into sensory and motor.
  • the first to measure or time the pulse, for which he used a water clock.
Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Chambers Harrap Publishers, Ltd., 1997.
Merriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 1995.
prostitute (s) (noun), prostitutes (pl)
A woman who pursues sexual intercourse in exchange for money: The citizens in the town wanted to prohibit prostitutes from practising their occupation within the town limits.
prostitute (verb), prostitutes; prostituted; prostituting
To throw away an ability or skill on something which is worthless in order just to earn some money: Grace prostituted her wonderful talent of becoming a pianist in order to get paid more with working for an advertising company.
prostitution (s) (noun), prostitutions (pl)
1. The practice of or the pursuance of sexual activity with a person for money: Some women have decided to go into prostitution instead of living in poverty and drug addiction.
2. A degradation or devaluation of a person's talents for a dishonorable purpose: The commercial advertising job Jack had was a prostitution of his extreme gift of composing piano music.
pyrostat (s) (noun), prostates (pl)
1. A thermostat that operates at very high temperatures: There was a pyrostat integrated in the new stove Susan had which regulated the supply of heat she wanted to use for cooking.
2. An automatic sensing device that triggers an alarm or extinguisher if there happens to be a fire: The pyrostat started instantly when the flames broke out in the kitchen of Mary's house.
reconstituent (s) (noun), reconstituents (pl)
A remedy that reconstructs or restores that which is wasted by disease: Dr. Smithson recommended a reconstituent for rebuilding the tissue on Carla's hand which was badly burned by the fire on the stove in her kitchen.
reconstitute (verb), reconstitutes; reconstituted; reconstituting
1. To provide a new structure to something: The electricity in Sam's old house had to be reconstituted, repaired and brought up to the newest and accepted safety standards.
2. To mix a liquid with a dehydrated food to restore it to its initial consistency or texture: For their camping trip Grace bought some dried tomatoes and noodles which had to be reconstituted with water to prepare them for dinner.
reinstate (verb), reinstates; reinstated; reinstating
1. To re-establish to a previous rank or status: In some countries the draft has been reinstated, especially in times of war.
2. To bring back into usefulness or existence: The old teapot was repaired and reinstated in the kitchen for enjoying afternoon tea.
reinstatement (s) (noun), reinstatements (pl)
The case of reviving something to its former state: The citizens of the town wanted to go swimming in their public swimming pool, which had been repaired the year before, and demanded its reinstatement!
resist (verb), resists; resisted; resisting
1. To fend off or to oppose something or someone: The principal, Mr. Brown, was dissapointed when the staff rejected and resisted his suggestion of increasing the number of parent-teacher conferences.
2. To fight or to hold out against something: The burglar tried to resist being arrested after being caught stealing the jewels.
3. To avoid or to refuse something: It was so hard for Nancy to resist eating ice cream because she was on a diet to lose weight.
4. To withstand something: James tried to resist the cold outside by putting on warm boots, a winter coat, and a woolen scarf.
resistance (s) (noun), resistances (pl)
1. A refusal to accept something: Little Susi put up a lot of resistance when told she should put on her pyjamas and go to bed!
2. Opposition offered by one force to another: The aggressive mob presented no resistance to the police officers when asked to disperse.
3. Immunity of a person's body toward diseases and germs: Somehow Tom showed good resistance in getting the flu like everybody else in his family.
4. The force that decelerates a moving vehicle or object: Most cars are made to lessen wind resistance by being very smooth and without any sharp hinderances.
5. The absence of responsiveness to an insecticide, drug, etc.: Some plants and insects have shown resistance to certain chemicals caused by continued exposure or genetic variation or mutation.

Related word families intertwined with "to place, placing, to put; to add; to stay; to attach" word units: fix-; pon-; prosth-; the-, thes-.