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22-letter words containing a, e, r, i, u

  • nominal semidestructor — (abuse)   Slang for "National Semiconductor", found among other places in the 4.3BSD networking sources. During the late 1970s to mid-1980s this company marketed a series of microprocessors including the National Semiconductor 16000 and National Semiconductor 32000. At one point early in the great microprocessor race, the specs on these chips made them look like serious competition for the rising Intel 80x86 and Motorola 680x0 series. Unfortunately, the actual parts were notoriously flaky and never implemented the full instruction set promised in their literature, apparently because the company couldn't get any of the mask steppings to work as designed. They eventually sank without trace, joining the Zilog Z8000 and a few even more obscure also-rans in the graveyard of forgotten microprocessors.
  • non-euclidean geometry — geometry based upon one or more postulates that differ from those of Euclid, especially from the postulate that only one line may be drawn through a given point parallel to a given line.
  • non-maskable interrupt — (NMI) An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11 or 680x0 or the NMI line on an 80x86. In contrast with a priority interrupt (which might be ignored, although that is unlikely), an NMI is *never* ignored.
  • non-restrictive clause — a relative clause that describes or supplements but is not essential in establishing the identity of the antecedent and is usually set off by commas in English. In This year, which has been dry, is bad for crops the clause which has been dry is a nonrestrictive clause.
  • nonspecular reflection — the diffuse reflection of sound or light waves
  • normal order reduction — Under this evaluation strategy an expression is evaluated by reducing the leftmost outermost redex first. This method will terminate for any expression for which termination is possible, whereas applicative order reduction may not. This method is equivalent to passing arguments unevaluated because arguments are initially to the right of functions applied to them. See also computational adequacy theorem.
  • north atlantic current — an ocean current flowing NE toward the British Isles, formed by the convergence of the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current SE of Newfoundland.
  • occupational therapist — professional who assists with rehabilitation
  • ocean marine insurance — insurance covering risks involving the transporting of persons or goods on the high seas.
  • of the first magnitude — of the greatest importance
  • on a shoestring budget — with very little money to spend
  • one's ears are burning — one is aware of being the topic of another's conversation
  • open source initiative — (body)   (OSI) An organisation dedicated to managing and promoting the Open Source Definition for the good of the community.
  • operating instructions — instructions on how to use something (such an electrical appliance, etc)
  • organizational culture — the customs, rituals, and values shared by the members of an organization that have to be accepted by new members
  • outside awareness port — (humour)   (OAP) A humorous IBM term for a window (the glass kind) rather than the GUI kind.
  • over-industrialization — the large-scale introduction of manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activity into an area, society, country, etc.
  • particular affirmative — a proposition of the form “Some S is P.” Symbol: I.
  • peanut-butter sandwich — a sandwich with a filling of peanut-butter
  • percussive maintenance — (jargon)   The fine art of whacking a device to get it working, possibly using a fine adjuster.
  • picture of dorian gray — a novel (1891) by Oscar Wilde.
  • polymyalgia rheumatica — a chronic inflammatory disease, common among older persons, characterized by recurrent episodes of muscle pain and stiffness, sometimes leading to cardiovascular complications or blindness.
  • portuguese east africa — former name of Mozambique (def 1).
  • portuguese west africa — a republic in SW Africa: formerly an overseas province of Portugal; gained independence Nov. 11, 1975. 481,226 sq. mi. (1,246,375 sq. km). Capital: Luanda.
  • potassium ferricyanide — a bright-red, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, K 3 Fe(CN) 6 , used chiefly in the manufacture of pigments, as Prussian blue, and of paper, especially blueprint paper.
  • potassium ferrocyanide — a lemon-yellow, crystalline, water-soluble solid, K 4 Fe(CN) 6 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly in casehardening alloys having an iron base and in dyeing wool and silk.
  • potassium permanganate — a very dark purple, crystalline, water-soluble solid, KMnO 4 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent, disinfectant, laboratory reagent, and in medicine as an astringent and antiseptic.
  • price variation clause — a clause in a contract allowing the seller to vary the selling price under certain conditions
  • private-equity company — an organization that uses private equity to gain control of and manage companies
  • productivity agreement — an agreement whereby the employees of an organization agree to changes which are intended to improve productivity in return for an increase in pay or other benefits
  • programmed instruction — a progressively monitored, step-by-step teaching method, employing small units of information or learning material and frequent testing, whereby the student must complete or pass one stage before moving on to the next.
  • pronunciation spelling — a spelling intended to match a certain pronunciation more closely than the traditional spelling does, as gonna for going to , kinda for kind of (meaning “rather”), git for get , or lite for light.
  • propositional attitude — a relation between a person and a proposition, such as belief, desire, intention, etc
  • public domain software — public domain
  • pulmonary tuberculosis — tuberculosis of the lungs.
  • punctuated equilibriumtheory of, Biology. a hypothesis holding that the evolution of species proceeds in a characteristic pattern of relative stability for long periods of time interspersed with much shorter periods during which many species become extinct and new species emerge. Also called punctuationalism. Compare gradualism (def 3).
  • quantitative character — a character or trait that is transmitted by quantitative inheritance.
  • quarter inch cartridge — (storage)   /kwik/ (QIC) a type of magnetic tape and tape drive. Development standards for QIC make it possible for tapes written on one QIC drive to be read on another. QIC drives are made to work with different lengths of tape. The model number of the drive consists of QIC followed by a number which indicates the drives tape capacity in megabytes (MB).
  • received pronunciation — the pronunciation of British English considered to have the widest geographical distribution and the fewest regional peculiarities, originally the pronunciation of educated speakers in southern England and traditionally that used in the public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge universities, adopted by many speakers elsewhere in England and widely used in broadcasting. Abbreviation: RP.
  • recruitment consultant — A recruitment consultant is a person or service that helps professional people to find work by introducing them to potential employers.
  • rectangular coordinate — Usually, rectangular coordinates. either of two Cartesian coordinates in which the axes meet at right angles.
  • reinstitutionalization — to make institutional.
  • reliable communication — (communications)   Communication where messages are guaranteed to reach their destination complete and uncorrupted and in the order they were sent. This reliability can be built on top of an unreliable protocol by adding sequencing information and some kind of checksum or cyclic redundancy check to each message or packet. If the communication fails, the sender will be notified. Transmission Control Protocol is a reliable protocol used on Ethernet.
  • reproductive isolation — the conditions, as physiological or behavioral differences or geographical barriers, that prevent potentially interbreeding populations from cross-fertilization.
  • retrograde ejaculation — ejaculation of semen backward toward the bladder instead of forward through the urethra.
  • revolutionary calendar — the calendar of the French First Republic, adopted in 1793 and abandoned in 1805, consisting of 12 months, each of 30 days, and 5 intercalary days added at the end of the year (6 every fourth year). The months, beginning at the autumnal equinox, are Vendémiaire, Brumaire, Frimaire, Nivôse, Pluviôse, Ventôse, Germinal, Floréal, Prairial, Messidor, Thermidor, and Fructidor.
  • rheumatoid spondylitis — ankylosing spondylitis.
  • rocky mountain juniper — a juniper, Juniperus scopulorum, of western North America, that yields a soft, reddish wood used for making fences, pencils, etc., and that is also grown as an ornamental.
  • rocky mountain oysters — mountain oyster.
  • round-table discussion — a discussion held at a meeting of parties or people on equal terms
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