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19-letter words containing a, f, d

  • developable surface — a surface that can be flattened onto a plane without stretching or compressing any part of it, as a circular cone.
  • diamond ring effect — a phenomenon, sometimes observed immediately before and after a total eclipse of the sun, in which one of Baily's beads is much brighter than the others, resembling a diamond ring around the moon.
  • diamond-leaf laurel — a tree, Pittosporum rhombifolium, of Australia, having coarsely toothed, oval or diamond-shaped leaves and white flowers, widely planted as an ornamental in the southwestern U.S.
  • dictionary of names — a dictionary of given names that indicates whether a name is usually male, female, or unisex and often includes origins as well as meanings; for example, as by indicating that Evangeline, meaning “good news,” comes from Greek. Used primarily as an aid in selecting a name for a baby, dictionaries of names may also include lists of famous people who have shared a name and information about its current popularity ranking.
  • difference equation — (mathematics)   A relation between consecutive elements of a sequence. The first difference is D u(n) = u(n+1) - u(n) where u(n) is the nth element of sequence u. The second difference is u(n+2) + a u(n+1) + b u(n) = 0 can be converted to a difference equation (in this case, a second order linear difference equation): D2 u(n) + p D u(n) + q u(n) = 0 and vice versa. a, b, p, q are constants.
  • differential backup — (operating system)   A kind of backup that copies all files that have changed since the last full backup. Each differential backup will include all files in previous differential backups since the full backup so to restore a version of a file, you only need to search the full backup and the relevant differential backup. Some systems support differential backup by associating an "Archive" flag with each file and setting this flag whenever the file is modified to indicate that it should be included in the next backup. A differential backup does not change this flag, whereas an incremental backup resets it.
  • differential driver — (hardware)   An electronic device (commonly an integrated circuit), containing two amplifiers, used to drive a differential line.
  • diffraction grating — a band of equidistant, parallel lines, usually more than 5000 per inch (2000 per centimeter), ruled on a glass or polished metal surface for diffracting light to produce optical spectra.
  • diffraction pattern — the phenomenon exhibited by wave fronts that, passing the edge of an opaque body, are modulated, thereby causing a redistribution of energy within the front: it is detectable in light waves by the presence of a pattern of closely spaced dark and light bands (diffraction pattern) at the edge of a shadow.
  • digital certificate — (communications, security)   An attachment to an electronic mail message used for security purposes, e.g. to verify that a user sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply. An individual wishing to send an encrypted message applies for a digital certificate from a certificate authority (CA). The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. The CA makes its own public key readily available on the Internet. The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender's public key and identification information held within the certificate.
  • disablement benefit — (in Britain) a noncontributory benefit payable to a person disabled through injury or disease caused by their work
  • disenfranchisements — Plural form of disenfranchisement.
  • distinctive feature — a feature of the sound system of a language that serves as the crucial distinguishing mark between two phonemes, as the distinctive feature of voicing, which distinguishes b from p in English, or nasality, which distinguishes m from b and p.
  • diversified farming — the practice of producing a variety of crops or animals, or both, on one farm, as distinguished from specializing in a single commodity.
  • draw someone's fire — to attract the criticism or censure of someone
  • drink the health of — to salute or celebrate with a toast
  • elastic deformation — In elastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it but goes back to its original state when the stress is removed.
  • electrostatic field — an electric field associated with static electric charges
  • end of transmission — (character)   (EOT) The mnemonic for ASCII character 4.
  • expeditionary force — An expeditionary force is a group of soldiers who are sent to fight in a foreign country.
  • factitious disorder — any of various syndromes, as Münchausen syndrome, characterized by physical or psychological symptoms intentionally produced by a person and under voluntary control.
  • fahd ibn abdul aziz — 1923–2005, king of Saudi Arabia (1982–2005)
  • fair-weather friend — a person who cannot be relied on in situations of hardship or difficulty
  • fall by the wayside — to cease or fail to continue doing something
  • fallacy of division — the fallacy of inferring that a property of the whole is also a property of parts or members of the whole (opposed to fallacy of composition).
  • family-sized packet — a large packet
  • fashion coordinator — a person in a department store or other establishment who coordinates activities centered upon or related to fashion, as fashion themes, shows, displays, and promotion.
  • fault-based testing — (testing)   Software testing using test data designed to demonstrate the absence of a set of pre-specified faults; typically, frequently occurring faults. For example, to demonstrate that the software handles or avoids divide by zero correctly, the test data would include zero.
  • feast of dedication — Hanukkah.
  • feather-duster worm — any tube-dwelling polychaete worm of the families Sabellidae and Serpulidae, the numerous species having a crown of feathery tentacles used in feeding and respiration.
  • feather-tail glider — pygmy glider.
  • fernando de noronha — an island in the S Atlantic, about 125 miles (200 km) E of easternmost tip of Brazil: a Brazilian penal colony. 10 sq. mi. (26 sq. km).
  • few and far between — not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.
  • feynman, richard p. — Richard P. Feynman
  • fifteenth amendment — an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibiting the restriction of voting rights “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”.
  • financial ombudsman — any of five British ombudsmen: the Banking Ombudsman, set up in 1986 to investigate complaints from bank customers; the Building Society Ombudsman, set up in 1987 to investigate complaints from building society customers; the Insurance Ombudsman, set up in 1981 to investigate complaints by policyholders (since 1988 this ombudsman has also operated a Unit Trust Ombudsman scheme); the Investment Ombudsman set up in 1989 to investigate complaints by investors (the Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints by personal investors); and the Pensions Ombudsman, set up in 1993 to investigate complaints regarding pension schemes
  • finds its/their way — If something finds its way somewhere, it comes to that place, especially by chance.
  • first-sale doctrine — a legal principle allowing the purchaser of a lawfully made copy of a copyright-protected work to sell or give away that copy without permission but not to reproduce it.
  • five o'clock shadow — the rather dark stubble that appears on a man's face some hours after shaving, typically in the late afternoon if he shaved in the morning.
  • five-o'clock shadow — the rather dark stubble that appears on a man's face some hours after shaving, typically in the late afternoon if he shaved in the morning.
  • fixed cost contract — a contract in which the costs do not vary
  • fixed exchange rate — finance: set rate of exchange
  • fixed-rate mortgage — a home mortgage for which equal monthly payments of interest and principal are paid over the life of the loan, usually for a term of 30 years.
  • fixed-term contract — a contract for a particular and fixed period
  • fixed-wing aircraft — a heavier-than-air aircraft capable of flight whose lift is generated not by wing motion relative to the aircraft, but by forward motion through the air
  • floating foundation — a foundation used in yielding soil, having for its footing a raft tending to displace a weight greater than that of the building.
  • florida velvet bean — a tropical vine, Mucuna deeringiana, of the legume family, having showy, purple flowers in drooping clusters and black, hairy pods: grown as an ornamental.
  • fluophosphoric acid — fluorophosphoric acid.
  • fluoride toothpaste — toothpaste containing a small amount of fluoride as protection against tooth decay
  • forward engineering — (process)   The traditional process of moving from high-level abstractions and logical, implementation-independent designs to the physical implementation of a system. Contrast reverse engineering.
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