22-letter words containing a, e, t, i, o
- automatic send receive — (hardware) (ASR) Part of a designation for a hard-copy terminal, manufactured by Teletype Corporation, which could be commanded remotely to send the contents of its paper tape reader. The ASR-33 was the most common minicomputer terminal in the early 1970s.
- autoxidation-reduction — disproportionation.
- axonometric projection — a geometric drawing of an object, such as a building, in three dimensions showing the verticals and horizontals projected to scale but with diagonals and curves distorted, so that the whole appears inclined
- bacterial endocarditis — a bacterial infection of the inner lining of the heart, most often of the heart valves, characterized by fever, enlarged spleen, and heart murmur.
- balance sheet equation — A balance sheet equation is a basic accounting equation that states that assets equal liabilities plus equity.
- baldassare castiglione — Baldassare [bahl-dahs-sah-re] /ˌbɑl dɑsˈsɑ rɛ/ (Show IPA), 1478–1529, Italian diplomat and author.
- ballistic galvanometer — a type of galvanometer for measuring surges of current. After deflection the instrument returns slowly to its original reading
- bank deposit insurance — the protection of bank deposits against the insolvency of banks in the U.S., up to a specified maximum per account that is revised periodically, under special insurance through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
- bankruptcy proceedings — the legal business of a bankruptcy case
- baptismal regeneration — the doctrine that regeneration and sanctification are received in and through baptism.
- basic operating system — (operating system) (BOS) An early [when?] IBM operating system. According to folklore, BOS was the predecessor to TOS on the IBM 360 and it was IPL'd from a card reader. It may have been intended for very small 360's with no disks and limited tape drives. BOS died out really early [when?] as disks such as the 2311 and 2314 became common with the IBM 360, whereas disks had been a real luxury on the IBM 7090.
- battle of the atlantic — the struggle for control of the sea routes around the United Kingdom during World War II, esp 1940–43
- be of the opinion that — to believe that
- beats the shit outa me — (exclamation) (BSOM) "I don't understand it". The last thing you say as you walk out on someone whose system you can't fix.
- behaviour modification — the use of techniques to change someone's behaviour by reinforcing desired behaviour
- being from outer space — a monster; an imaginary creature
- benoit de sainte-maure — 12th-century French trouvère: author of the Roman de Troie, which contains the episode of Troilus and Cressida
- bernoulli's lemniscate — Analytic Geometry. lemniscate.
- beta-indoleacetic acid — indoleacetic acid.
- bidirectional printing — (hardware) A feature of a printer whose printer head can print both when moving left to right and when moving right to left. Also known as "boustrophedonic".
- big bend national park — a national park in W Texas, on the Rio Grande. 1080 sq. mi. (2800 sq. km).
- black-scholes equation — a partial differential equation used to estimate the changing value of an option over time
- book of original entry — a book in which transactions are recorded before being transferred into a ledger.
- borderline personality — Psychiatry. a personality disorder characterized by instability in many areas, as mood, identity, self-image, and behavior, and often manifested by impulsive actions, suicide attempts, inappropriate anger, or depression.
- brachiocephalic artery — a major artery, arising from the arch of the aorta, that supplies blood to the right arm and the head.
- break (or keep) faith — to be disloyal (or loyal) to one's beliefs, principles, etc.
- bring down the curtain — If something brings down the curtain on an event or situation, it causes or marks the end of it.
- british library method — (algorithm) Brute force searching. According to legends circulating in the 1970s, in the British Library books are searched for by examining each book sequentially in the first shelf, then the next shelf, continuing until the book is found or the entire library has been searched. The term was referred to in a Dutch coursebook, "Inleiding In De Informatica" (Introduction to Informatics) from a course given by C.H.A. Koster and Th.A. Zoethout. This was based on a course given at the TU Berlin.
- bug-for-bug compatible — Same as bug-compatible, with the additional implication that much tedious effort went into ensuring that each (known) bug was replicated.
- cast in one's lot with — to share in the activities or fortunes of (someone else)
- catch sight of someone — If you catch sight of someone, you suddenly see them, often briefly.
- categorical imperative — (in the ethics of Kant) the unconditional moral principle that one's behaviour should accord with universalizable maxims which respect persons as ends in themselves; the obligation to do one's duty for its own sake and not in pursuit of further ends
- cease-and-desist order — an order by a government agency to a person or corporation to terminate a business practice found by the agency to be illegal or unfair.
- centimeter-gram-second — designating or of a system of measurement in which the centimeter, gram, and second are the units of length, mass, and time, respectively
- central locking device — a small device that controls the central locking on a motor vehicle
- certificate of deposit — a negotiable certificate issued by a bank in return for a deposit of money for a term of up to five years
- charity begins at home — If you say charity begins at home, you mean that people should deal with the needs of people close to them before they think about helping others.
- chemical sympathectomy — the chemical destruction of one or more parts of the sympathetic nervous system
- chemical-sympathectomy — sympathectomy (def 2).
- chicago board of trade — a major exchange in the United States that deals in futures, notably of grains and metals. Abbreviation: CBT.
- chlorotrifluoromethane — a colorless gas, CClF 3 , used chiefly as a refrigerant, in the hardening of metals, and in pharmaceutical processing.
- chromosomal aberration — any irregularity or abnormality of chromosome distribution, number, structure, or arrangement.
- cognitive architecture — (architecture) A computer architecure involving non-deterministic, multiple inference processes, as found in neural networks. Cognitive architectures model the human brain and contrast with single processor computers. The term might also refer to software architectures, e.g. fuzzy logic.
- collateral circulation — circulation of blood through a network of minor vessels that become enlarged and joined with adjacent vessels when a major vein or artery is impaired, as by obstruction.
- color graphics adapter — (hardware, graphics) (CGA) One of IBM's earliest hardware video display standards for use in IBM PCs. CGA can display 80*25 or 40*25 text in 16 colors, 640*200 pixels of graphics in two colors or 320*200 in four colors (IBM PC video modes 0-6). It is now obsolete.
- command line interface — (operating system) A means of communication between a program and its user, based solely on textual input and output. Commands are input with the help of a keyboard or similar device and are interpreted and executed by the program. Results are output as text or graphics to the terminal. Command line interfaces usually provide greater flexibility than graphical user interfaces, at the cost of being harder for the novice to use. Consequently, some hackers look down on GUIs as designed For The Rest Of Them.
- commissioner for oaths — a solicitor authorized to authenticate oaths on sworn statements
- common external tariff — the common tariff of charges imposed by the members of a customs union on imports from non-members
- common snapping turtle — a large aggressive North American river turtle, Chelydra serpentina, having powerful hooked jaws and a rough shell
- communication channels — the ways in which people communicate