15-letter words containing a, l, e, t
- eight-bit clean — (software) A term which describes a system that deals correctly with extended character sets which (unlike ASCII) use all eight bits of a byte. Many programs and communications systems assume that all characters have codes in the range 0 to 127. This leaves the top bit of each byte free for use as a parity bit or some kind of flag bit. These assumptions break down when the program is used in some non-english-speaking countries with larger alphabets. If a binary file is transmitted via a communications link which is not eight-bit clean, it will be corrupted. To combat this you can encode it with uuencode which uses only ASCII characters. There are some links however which are not even "seven-bit clean" and cause problems even for uuencoded data.
- elaborated code — a way of talking which is explicit and does not assume that the listener shares the same assumptions and understandings as the speaker
- elastic rebound — a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake
- elder statesman — experienced, respected figure
- electing a pope — (electronics, humour) (From the smoke signals given out when the guys in funny hats choose a new Pope) Causing an integrated circuit or other electronic component to emit smoke by passing too much current through it. See magic smoke.
- electra complex — the sexual attachment of a female child to her father
- electra paradox — the supposed paradox that one may know something to be true of an object under one description but not another, as when Electra knew that Orestes was her brother but not that the man before her was her brother although he was Orestes. This shows the predicate "knows" to be intensional, that Electra's knowledge here is de dicto, and that the statement of it yields an opaque context
- electric charge — Electric charge is an amount of electricity that is held in or carried by something.
- electric guitar — electrically-amplified guitar
- electric shaver — razor powered by electricity
- electrification — The act of electrifying, or the state of being charged with electricity.
- electroanalyses — Plural form of electroanalysis.
- electroanalysis — (physics, chemistry) Any of several electrochemical forms of analysis.
- electrochemical — (chemistry) of, or relating to a chemical reaction brought about by electricity.
- electrodialyses — Plural form of electrodialysis.
- electrodialysis — Dialysis in which the movement of ions is aided by an electric field applied across the semipermeable membrane.
- electrodialytic — Relating to electrodialysis.
- electrodynamics — The branch of mechanics concerned with the interaction of electric currents with magnetic fields or with other electric currents.
- electromagnetic — Of or relating to the interrelation of electric currents or fields and magnetic fields.
- electromyograms — Plural form of electromyogram.
- electromyograph — A device used in electromyography to generate electromyograms.
- electron camera — a camera which uses electron beams, esp a television camera that converts an optical image into an electrical signal
- electronegative — Electrically negative.
- electronic game — any of various small handheld computerized games, usually battery-operated, having a small screen on which graphics are displayed and buttons to operate the game
- electronic mail — (messaging) (e-mail) Messages automatically passed from one computer user to another, often through computer networks and/or via modems over telephone lines. A message, especially one following the common RFC 822 standard, begins with several lines of headers, followed by a blank line, and the body of the message. Most e-mail systems now support the MIME standard which allows the message body to contain "attachments" of different kinds rather than just one block of plain ASCII text. It is conventional for the body to end with a signature. Headers give the name and electronic mail address of the sender and recipient(s), the time and date when it was sent and a subject. There are many other headers which may get added by different message handling systems during delivery. The message is "composed" by the sender, usually using a special program - a "Mail User Agent" (MUA). It is then passed to some kind of "Message Transfer Agent" (MTA) - a program which is responsible for either delivering the message locally or passing it to another MTA, often on another host. MTAs on different hosts on a network often communicate using SMTP. The message is eventually delivered to the recipient's mailbox - normally a file on his computer - from where he can read it using a mail reading program (which may or may not be the same MUA as used by the sender). Contrast snail-mail, paper-net, voice-net. The form "email" is also common, but is less suggestive of the correct pronunciation and derivation than "e-mail". The word is used as a noun for the concept ("Isn't e-mail great?", "Are you on e-mail?"), a collection of (unread) messages ("I spent all night reading my e-mail"), and as a verb meaning "to send (something in) an e-mail message" ("I'll e-mail you (my report)"). The use of "an e-mail" as a count noun for an e-mail message, and plural "e-mails", is now (2000) also well established despite the fact that "mail" is definitely a mass noun. Oddly enough, the word "emailed" is actually listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. It means "embossed (with a raised pattern) or arranged in a net work". A use from 1480 is given. The word is derived from French "emmailleure", network. Also, "email" is German for enamel.
- electrosurgical — Relating to electrosurgery.
- elegiac couplet — a couplet composed of a dactylic hexameter followed by a dactylic pentameter
- elephant's-foot — a monocotyledonous plant, Testudinaria elephantipes, of southern Africa, with a very large starchy tuberous stem, covered in corky scales: family Dioscoreaceae
- eleutherodactyl — (of a bird) having the hind toe free
- eleutheromaniac — Having a passionate mania for freedom.
- eleutherophobia — the fear of freedom
- eleventh-grader — a student in the eleventh grade of high school
- elm bark beetle — the bark-boring beetle (Scolytus multistriatus) that feeds on the bark of elm trees and carries Dutch elm disease
- elm leaf beetle — a beetle (Pyrrhalta luteola) that feeds on the leaves of elm trees while in both its larval and adult stages
- emotional wreck — a person who is feeling very sad, confused, or desperate because of something bad that has happened to them
- enamel painting — the art or process of decorating an object made of metal, porcelain, etc. using enamel paint
- encephalization — (biology) the amount of brain mass exceeding that related to an animal's total body mass.
- encephalopathic — Relating to encephalopathy.
- enfant terrible — If you describe someone as an enfant terrible, you mean that they are clever but unconventional, and often cause problems or embarrassment for their friends or families.
- engraving plate — a metal, usually steel, plate on which an image is engraved in order to be reproduced
- ennerdale water — a lake in NW England, in Cumbria in the Lake District. Length: 4 km (2.5 miles)
- enterobacterial — relating to enterobacteria
- entomologically — In terms of entomology.
- entrepreneurial — Characterized by the taking of financial risks in the hope of profit; enterprising.
- environmentally — In a manner affecting one's environment.
- epicyclic train — a cluster of gears consisting of a central gearwheel with external teeth (the sun), a coaxial gearwheel of greater diameter with internal teeth (the annulus), and one or more planetary gears engaging with both of them to provide a large gear ratio in a compact space
- epistemological — Of or pertaining to epistemology or theory of knowledge, as a field of study.
- equalitarianism — Egalitarianism.
- erythema solare — inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun
- erythromelalgia — A rare neurovascular peripheral pain disorder in which blood vessels, usually in the lower extremities or hands, are episodically blocked, then become hyperemic and inflamed.