16-letter words containing a, c, e, n
- lettre de change — bill of exchange.
- lever escapement — an escapement in which a pivoted lever, made to oscillate by the escape wheel, engages a balance staff and causes it to oscillate.
- lexical analyser — (language) (Or "scanner") The initial input stage of a language processor (e.g. a compiler), the part that performs lexical analysis.
- lexical analysis — (programming) (Or "linear analysis", "scanning") The first stage of processing a language. The stream of characters making up the source program or other input is read one at a time and grouped into lexemes (or "tokens") - word-like pieces such as keywords, identifiers, literals and punctuation. The lexemes are then passed to the parser.
- like cat and dog — quarrelling savagely
- limited monarchy — a monarchy that is limited by laws and a constitution.
- limited-monarchy — a limited train, bus, etc.
- lipstick lesbian — a lesbian who is feminine in manner or appearance; a femme.
- little black ant — a widely distributed ant, Monomorium minimum, sometimes a household pest.
- local government — the administration of the civic affairs of a city, town, or district by its inhabitants rather than by the state or country at large.
- logical relation — A relation R satisfying f R g <=> For all a, b, a R b => f a R g b This definition, by Plotkin, can be used to extend the definition of a relation on the types of a and b to a relation on functions.
- lord chamberlain — (in Britain) the chief official of the royal household
- lorenz attractor — (mathematics) (After Edward Lorenz, its discoverer) A region in the phase space of the solution to certain systems of (non-linear) differential equations. Under certain conditions, the motion of a particle described by such as system will neither converge to a steady state nor diverge to infinity, but will stay in a bounded but chaotically defined region. By chaotic, we mean that the particle's location, while definitely in the attractor, might as well be randomly placed there. That is, the particle appears to move randomly, and yet obeys a deeper order, since is never leaves the attractor. Lorenz modelled the location of a particle moving subject to atmospheric forces and obtained a certain system of ordinary differential equations. When he solved the system numerically, he found that his particle moved wildly and apparently randomly. After a while, though, he found that while the momentary behaviour of the particle was chaotic, the general pattern of an attractor appeared. In his case, the pattern was the butterfly shaped attractor now known as the Lorenz attractor.
- louisiana french — French as spoken in Louisiana; Cajun. Abbreviation: LaF.
- lourenco marques — former name of Maputo.
- low-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.04 and 0.25 per cent carbon
- lower california — Baja California.
- lucas van leyden — (Lucas Hugensz) 1494–1533, Dutch painter and engraver.
- lymphangiectasia — (medicine) dilation of the lymphatic vessels.
- lymphangiectasis — Alt form lymphangiectasia.
- mach's principle — the proposition that there is no absolute space and that the inertia and acceleration of a body are determined by all of the matter of the universe.
- machiavellianism — of, like, or befitting Machiavelli.
- machine language — machine code
- machine learning — The ability of a machine to improve its performance based on previous results.
- machine moulding — the process of making moulds and cores for castings by mechanical means, usually by compacting the moulding sand by vibration instead of by ramming down
- machine operator — someone who operates mechanical equipment
- machine readable — of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.
- machine washable — suitable for washing in a washing machine
- machine-readable — of or relating to data encoded on an appropriate medium and in a form suitable for processing by computer.
- machinist's mate — a petty officer trained to operate, repair, etc. ships' engines
- mackinaw blanket — a thick woolen blanket, often woven with bars of color, formerly used in the northern and western U.S. by Indians, loggers, etc.
- maclaurin series — a Taylor series in which the reference point is zero.
- macpherson strut — an automobile suspension-system component that consists of a strut combined with a spring and shock absorber and connects the wheel to the frame of the vehicle.
- macroenvironment — (biology) The large-scale and long-term environment and conditions that affect an organism.
- macrorestriction — In physical gene mapping, the digestion of DNA of high molecular weight with a restriction enzyme having a low number of restriction sites.
- magazine section — a magazinelike section in the Sunday editions of many newspapers, containing articles rather than news items and often letters, reviews, stories, puzzles, etc.
- magellanic cloud — either of two irregular galactic clusters in the southern heavens that are the nearest independent star system to the Milky Way.
- magnesiochromite — (mineral) A chromite species with the formula MgCr2O4.
- magnetic anomaly — a departure from the normal magnetic field of the earth.
- magnetic bearing — the bearing of a point relative to that of the nearest magnetic pole.
- magnetic circuit — the closed path described by magnetic flux. It is analogous to the electric circuit with resistance, where flux, reluctance, and magnetomotive force correspond to electric current, resistance, and electromotive force.
- magnetic compass — a compass having a magnetized needle generally in line with the magnetic poles of the earth.
- magnetic equator — aclinic line.
- magnetic pick-up — a type of record player pick-up in which the stylus moves an iron core in a coil, causing a changing magnetic field that produces the current
- magnetic pyrites — Mineralogy. pyrrhotite.
- magneto-electric — of or relating to the induction of electric current or electromotive force by means of permanent magnets.
- magnetoacoustics — (used with a singular verb) the branch of physics studying the effects of magnetism on acoustics or their interaction.
- magnetochemistry — the study of magnetic and chemical phenomena in their relation to one another.
- magnetoreceptors — Plural form of magnetoreceptor.
- magnetostriction — a change in dimensions exhibited by ferromagnetic materials when subjected to a magnetic field.