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26-letter words containing a, c, t, i, n, o

  • continuation passing style — (language)   (CPS) An intermediate language for Scheme that implements continuation passing style. The CPS language is semantically clean and is used for the SML/NJ compiler.
  • contrary to popular belief — You use contrary to popular belief to introduce a statement that is the opposite to what is thought to be true by most ordinary people.
  • conversational implicature — an inference that can be drawn from an utterance, as from one that is seemingly illogical or irrelevant, by examining the degree to which it conforms to the canons of normal conversation and the way it functions pragmatically within the situation, as when “The phone is ringing,” said in a situation where both speaker and listener can clearly hear the phone, can be taken as a suggestion to answer the phone.
  • convertible term insurance — A convertible term insurance is a life insurance policy which pays out if the policyholder dies within a specified period of time, but also allows them to convert to another type of plan.
  • coordinated universal time — Universal Time as periodically adjusted to coordinate with atomic clocks: it serves as the official international basis for standard time
  • copying garbage collection — A garbage collection method where memory is divided into two equal halves, known as the "from space" and "to space". Garbage collection copies active cells from the from space to the to space and leaves behind an invisible pointer (an "indirection") from the old position to the new copy. Once all active cells have been copied in one direction, the spaces are swapped and the process repeated in the opposite direction.
  • damage limitation exercise — an activity pursued to make the bad results of something as small as possible, when it is impossible to avoid bad results completely
  • dichlorophenoxyacetic acid — a chloride derivative of phenol and acetic acid, C6H3Cl2OCH2COOH, used to destroy broad-leaved weeds without injuring grass; 2,4-D
  • discrete fourier transform — (mathematics)   (DFT) A Fourier transform, specialized to the case where the abscissas are integers. The DFT is central to many kinds of signal processing, including the analysis and compression of video and sound information. A common implementation of the DFT is the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). See also discrete cosine transform.
  • electrochemical equivalent — the mass of an element liberated from its ions or converted into them by one coulomb of electric charge
  • electronic countermeasures — (in electronic warfare) actions intended to interfere with an enemy's use of electromagnetic radiation equipment
  • electronic data processing — 1.   (application)   (EDP) data processing by computers. 2.   (company)   The name of Honeywell's computer business between 1960, when it gained complete ownership of Datamatic Corporation, and 1963, when it was officially renamed Honeywell Inc.
  • electronic programme guide — an on-screen guide that enables viewers of digital television to select programmes using a handheld device
  • enhanced capabilities port — (hardware)   (ECP) The most common parallel printer interface on current (1997) IBM PC compatibles. Enhanced Capabilities Port is defined in standard IEEE 1284. It is bi-directional and faster than earlier parallel ports. Not to be confused with Extended Capabilities Port.
  • enhanced directory service — (operating system)   (EDS) A common, distributed, integrated, directory service with centralized and/or replicated administration.
  • european defence community — a plan proposed in 1950 to form a defence force including countries such as West Germany, France, and Italy. This plan was never carried out.
  • event description language — (language)   (EDL)
  • extended capabilities port — (hardware)   (ECP) A parallel printer interface for IBM PC compatibles, supported by several, mainly US, manufacturers. Not to be confused with the more common Enhanced Capabilities Port.
  • external-combustion engine — a heat engine in which the working fluid is heated in an external boiler or heat exchanger and is thus isolated from the process of fuel combustion
  • feast of st peter's chains — a former festival in England, held on August 1, in which bread made from the first harvest of corn was blessed.
  • federal networking council — (FNC) The coordinating group of representatives from federal agencies involved in the development and use of federal networking, especially those networks using TCP/IP and the Internet. Current members include representatives from DOD, DOE, DARPA, NSF, NASA, and HHS.
  • finitely additive function — a set function that upon operating on the union of a finite number of disjoint sets gives the same result as the sum of the functional values of each set.
  • first-class honours degree — an honours degree of the highest class
  • floating-point accelerator — (hardware)   (FPA) Additional hardware to perform functions on floating point numbers such as addition, multiplication, logarithms, exponentials, trigonometric functions and various kinds of rounding and error detection. A floating point accelerator often functions as a co-processor to the CPU. The term "floating-point accelerator" suggests a physically larger system, often an extra circuit board, whereas a "floating-point unit" is probably a single chip or even part of a chip.
  • fourth generation computer — (architecture)   A computer built using Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) integrated circuits, especially a microcomputer based on a microprocesseor, or a parallel processor containing two to thousands of CPUs. VLSI made it routine to fabricate an entire CPU, main memory, or similar device with a single integrated circuit that can be mass produced at very low cost. This has resulted in new classes of machines such as personal computers, and high performance parallel processors that contains thousands of CPUs.
  • fractional crystallization — the process of separating the components of a solution on the basis of their different solubilities, by means of evaporating the solution until the least soluble component crystallizes out
  • free collective bargaining — independent negotiation between one or more trade unions and one or more employers or an employers' organization on the incomes and working conditions of the employees
  • freedom of information act — a law enacted in 1966 requiring that government records except those relating to national security, confidential financial data, and law enforcement be made available to the public on request. Abbreviation: FOIA.
  • gastroesophageal sphincter — a ring of smooth muscle fibers connecting the esophagus and stomach.
  • general protection failure — (GPF, or General Protection Fault) An addressing error, caught by the processor's memory protection hardware, that cannot be attributed to any expected condition such as a page fault.
  • geotechnical investigation — Geotechnical investigation is a process in which the physical qualities of a site are evaluated in order to determine if the site is suitable and safe for the proposed purpose.
  • german democratic republic — a former country in central Europe: created in 1949 from the Soviet zone of occupied Germany established in 1945: reunited with West Germany in 1990. 41,827 sq. mi. (108,333 sq. km). Capital: East Berlin.
  • grand army of the republic — an organization, founded in 1866, composed of men who served in the U.S. Army and Navy during the Civil War: its last member died in 1956. Abbreviation: G.A.R.
  • grand canyon national park — a national park in N Arizona, including part of the Grand Canyon and the area around it. 1009 sq. mi. (2615 sq. km).
  • gulf intracoastal waterway — a mostly inland water route, partly natural and partly artificial, extending 1550 miles (2500 km) along the Atlantic coast from Boston to Florida Bay (Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway) and 1116 miles (1800 km) along the Gulf coast from Carrabelle, Fla., to Brownsville, Tex. (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) constructed to protect small craft from the hazards of the open sea.
  • hardware abstraction layer — (operating system)   (HAL) The layer of Microsoft Windows NT where they have isolated their assembly language code.
  • have one's cake and eat it — to enjoy both of two desirable but incompatible alternatives
  • histocompatibility antigen — any antigen on the surface of tissue or blood cells that provokes the immune response and subsequent rejection when transplanted to an individual of a different antigenic type, thus determining whether the tissues or organs of a donor and recipient are histocompatible.
  • historical-cost accounting — a method of accounting that values assets at the original cost. In times of high inflation profits can be overstated
  • hitch your wagon to a star — any of various kinds of four-wheeled vehicles designed to be pulled or having its own motor and ranging from a child's toy to a commercial vehicle for the transport of heavy loads, delivery, etc.
  • horse of a different color — a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.
  • human-computer interaction — (software, hardware)   (HCI) The study of how humans interact with computers, and how to design computer systems that are easy, quick and productive for humans to use. See also Human-Computer Interface.
  • hydraulic torque converter — an apparatus in which a fluid, usually oil, transmits torque from one shaft to another, producing a different torque in the other shaft.
  • i bet/i'll bet/you can bet — You use expressions such as 'I bet', 'I'll bet', and 'you can bet' to indicate that you are sure something is true.
  • in a cold sweat/in a sweat — If someone is in a cold sweat or in a sweat, they feel frightened or embarrassed.
  • individualized instruction — a teaching method tailored to the skills, abilities, and interests of the individual student
  • integrated data processing — IDP.
  • interactive voice response — (communications)   (IVR) A telecommunications system, prevelant with PBX and voice mail systems, that uses a prerecorded database of voice messages to present options to a user, typically over telephone lines. User input is retrieved via DTMF tone key presses. When used in conjunction with voice mail, for example, these systems typically allow users to store, retrieve, and route messages, as well as interact with an underlying database server which may allow for automated transactions and data processing. (15 Sept 1997)
  • internal combustion engine — An internal combustion engine is an engine that creates its energy by burning fuel inside itself. Most cars have internal combustion engines.
  • internal-combustion engine — an engine of one or more working cylinders in which the process of combustion takes place within the cylinders.
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