1041
Phnom Penh
RESEARCH usually for three or more years, and writing a
THESIS (=long report on what you have studied and discover-
ed). Someone who has a PhD is said to have a doctorate and
is given the title of Dr: Jacqueline Hope, PhD
pheas·ant /'fezənt/ n pl pheasants or pheasant a large
long-tailed bird shot for food, the male of which is usually
brightly coloured -> see picture at BIRD
CULTURAL NOTE Pheasants can legally be shot in certain
seasons in Britain and the US. In Britain, this is a mainly
UPPER-CLASS sport.
phe·no·bar·bi·tone /ˌfiːnə'bɑːbtəʊn||-'bɑːr-/ BrE ||
phe·no·bar·bi·tal /-bɪtl||-bɪtəl/ especially AmE - n [U] a
powerful calming drug that helps a person to sleep
phe·nom·e·nal /fɪ'nɒmɪnəl||-'nɑː-/ adj 1 usually apprec very
unusual; EXTRAORDINARY: phenomenal strength | a phenom-
enal (=very powerful) memory 2 [no comp.] fml known
through the senses: a phenomenal experience —ly adj: phe-
nomenally strong
phe·nom·e·non /fɪ'nɒmɪnən||fɪ'nɑːmǝn, -nɑn/ n pl. -na
/nə/ 1 a fact, event, type of behaviour etc, that exists and
can be experienced by the senses, especially one that is
unusual and/or of scientific interest: Magnetism is a natural
phenomenon. | Snow in Egypt is an almost unknown
phenomenon. | International terrorism is not just a recent
phenomenon. 2 a very unusual person, thing, event etc: A
child who could play the piano at the age of two would indeed
be a phenomenon.
pher·o·mone /'ferəməʊn/ n a chemical that is produced by
people's and animals' bodies and is thought to influence the
behaviour of other people or animals
phew /fjuː:/ also whew interj (a quick short whistling breath,
either in or out, expressing tiredness, shock, or RELIEF)
phi·al /'faɪəl/ also vial n a small bottle, especially for liquid
medicines: a phial of morphine
Phi Be·ta Kap·pa /ˌfaɪ ˌbiːtə ˈkæpə/ n 1 an old and
respected US HONOR SOCIETY (=a society for people who do
very well in their studies at university or college). Phi Beta
Kappa was started in 1776, and students are elected to it in
their third or fourth year of college. 2 a member of this
society
Phil·a·del·phi·a /ˌfɪlə'delfiə/ a city in the US state of
Pennsylvania, which is an important port and an industrial
and financial centre. Philadelphia, which is informally
called Philly, is the fifth largest city in the US. The Declara-
tion of Independence from Britain was signed in Philadel-
phia in 1776, and the city was the first capital of the new
United States.
,Philadelphia 'Orchestra, the a US ORCHESTRA (=a large
group of musicians) based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
,Philadelphia 'Phillies, the a Major League Baseball team
based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their home STADIUM is
the Citizens Bank Park. They have won five National League
PENNANTS and one World Series CHAMPIONSHIP.
phi·lan·der·er /fɪ'lændərə/ n old-fash derog a man who
amuses himself by having (sexual) relations with (many)
women, with no serious intentions —dering adj, n [A;U]
phil·an·throp·ic /ˌfɪlən'θrɒpɪk || -'θrɑː-/ adj of or showing
philanthropy: a philanthropic attitude | our philanthropic
institutions —ally /kli/ adv
phi·lan·thro·pist /fɪ'lænθrəpɪst/ n a person who helps
those who are poor or in trouble, especially a rich person
who gives generous gifts of money
phi·lan·thro·py /fɪ'lænθrəpi/ n {U} a feeling of kindness
and love for all people, especially as shown in an active way
by giving help or money to people who are poor or in
trouble
phi·lat·e·ly /fɪ'lætəli/ n [U] tech stamp collecting —list n
—lic /ˌfɪlə'telɪk/ adj
Phil·by, Kim /'fɪlbi, kɪm/ (1911–88) a British SPY (=someone
who gives secret information to a country's enemies). He was
a member of the British Secret Intelligence Service during and
after World War II, but all the time he was secretly working
for the SOVIET UNION. He escaped to Russia in 1963. -> see
also BLUNT, Anthony, BURGESS, Guy, MACLEAN, Donald
Phil·har·mo·ni·a Or·ches·tra, the /ˌfɪləmʊniə
'ɔːkɪstrə, ˌfɪlhaɪ-||-haːrməniə 'ɔːr-/ a leading British
ORCHESTRA (=large group of musicians playing together),
based in London and started in 1945
Phil·har·mon·ic, philharmonic /ˌfɪlə'mɒnɪk, ˌfɪlhɑː-
||ˌfɪlər'mɑː- fɪlhɑːr-/ adj used in the names of ORCHESTRAS:
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Phil·ip, Prince /'fɪlɪp/ -> see DUKE OF EDINBURGH
Philip 'Morris trademark a US tobacco company, the largest
maker of cigarettes in the US, whose products include MARL-
BORO cigarettes
phi·lip·pic /fɪ'lɪpɪk/ n lit or fml a bitter angry speech attacking
someone in public
Phil·ip·pines, the /'fɪlɪpiːnz||ˌfɪlə'piːnz/ a country made
up of over 7000 islands off the southeast coast of Asia.
Population: 76,498,735 2001). Capital: Manila. The Philip-
pines were a COLONY of the US from 1898 until they became
fully independent in 1948. US influence is still strong, and
until 1991 there were important US military bases there.
Since the 1970s Muslim REBELS (=people who are fighting
the people in authority) have been fighting a war for
independence in the southern Philippines. People from the
Philippines are called Filipinos. -> see also AQUINO, Marcos
phil·i·stine /'fɪlɪstaɪn||-stiːn/ n derog a person who does not
understand and actively dislikes art, literature, music, beau-
tiful things etc, and is proud to remain in this condition
—tinism /'tɪnɪzəm/ n [U]
Philistine n in the Bible, a member of a race of people who
lived in Palestine, and who were the enemies of the ISRAEL-
ITES
Phil·ly /'fɪli/ an informal name for PHILADELPHIA
phi·lol·o·gy /fɪ'lɒlədʒi||-'lɑː-/ n [U] old-fash tech the study of
the nature and especially development of words or language
-> compare LINGUISTICS —gist n —gical /ˌfɪlə'lɒdʒɪkəl||
-'lɑː-/ adj —gically /kli/ adv
phi·los·o·pher /fɪ'lɒsəfər ||-'lɑː-/ n 1 a person who studies,
has much knowledge of, and usually teaches philosophy:
Plato, Aristotle, and the other Greek philosophers 2 a PHILO-
SOPHICAL person: If you've had as much trouble as I've had in
my life, you need to be a bit of a philosopher.
phi·losopher's 'stone n an imaginary substance that was
thought in former times to have the power to change any
other metal into gold
phil·o·soph·i·cal /ˌfɪlə'sfɪkəl ||-'sɑː-/ also
phil·o·soph·ic /ˌfɪlə'sfɪk ||-'sɑː-/ adj 1 of or about phi-
losophy: the philosophical writings of Sartre 2 [about]] apprec
accepting difficulty or unhappiness with calmness and quiet
courage: a philosophical nature | She was quite philosophical
about failing her driving test. —ly /kli/ adv: He took his
defeat philosophically.
phi·los·o·phize also -phise BrE /fɪ'lɒsəfaɪz||-'lɑː-/ v
[(about)] to reason in a PHILOSOPHICAL way
phi·los·o·phy /fɪ'lɒsəfi||-'lɑː-/ n 1 [U] the study of the
nature and meaning of existence, reality, knowledge, good-
ness etc 2 [C] any of various systems of thought having this
as its base: the philosophy of Aristotle | (fig.) Eat, drink, and be
merry – that's my philosophy! (=my rule for living life) -> see
also NATURAL PHILOSOPHY
phil·tre also -ter AmE /'fɪltə/ n especially lit a magic drink
intended to make a person fall in love
phiz·og /'fɪzɒg||-zɑːg/ n [C usually sing.] old-fash humor, especially
BrE the face
phle·bi·tis /flɪ'baɪtɪs/ n [U] a diseased swollen condition of
the tubes carrying blood through the body (VEINS)
phlegm /flem/ n [U] 1 the thick jelly-like substance (MUCUS)
produced in the nose and throat, especially when one has a
cold 2 fml, often apprec slowness in showing feeling, interest,
or activity; calmness
phleg·mat·ic /fleg'mætɪk/ adj fml, often apprec calm and unex-
citable: He's a very phlegmatic character. —ally /kli/ adv
phlox /flɒks||flɑːks/ n 1 a tall garden plant which produces
groups of brightly coloured flowers 2 AmE a low, spreading
plant which has flowers in the spring
Phnom Penh /ˌnɒm 'pen, pəˌnɒm-||ˌnɑm-/ the capital of
Cambodia. The KHMER ROUGE took control of it in 1975, and
sent most of the population to work in the country, but