1915, proprietary name (Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y.), arbitrary coinage, in which eager etymologists see implications of Greek pyr "fire" and perhaps Latin rex "king;" but the prosaic inventors say it was based on pie (n.1), because pie dishes were among the first products made from it. The -r- is purely euphonious.
pyracanth
pyramid
pyre
Pyrenees
pyretic
Pyrex
pyrexia
pyrgologist
pyrite
pyro-
pyroclastic