17-letter words containing a, t, f, u, l
- hairline fracture — a very fine crack in a bone
- henry of portugal — ("the Navigator") 1394–1460, prince of Portugal: sponsor of geographic explorations.
- hillel foundation — a national organization, founded in 1924 by the B'nai B'rith, that institutes and administers programs designed to enrich the religious, cultural, and social life of Jewish college students.
- infinitive clause — a clause containing an infinitive as its main or only verb form, as to speak clearly in Try to speak clearly.
- integral function — an entire function.
- island of the sun — Sicily: the island where Helius kept his oxen.
- it's your funeral — If someone says to you 'It's your funeral', they think your decision or your actions will have bad consequences for you, but they are unwilling to interfere.
- lady of the house — the female head of a household (usually preceded by the).
- lance of courtesy — a lance having a blunt head to prevent serious injury by a jouster to an opponent.
- language transfer — transfer (def 20).
- last-in first-out — stack
- law of the jungle — a system or mode of action in which the strongest survive, presumably as animals in nature or as human beings whose activity is not regulated by the laws or ethics of civilization.
- league of nations — an international organization to promote world peace and cooperation that was created by the Treaty of Versailles (1919): dissolved April 1946.
- letters of marque — a former government document authorizing an individual to make reprisals on the subjects of an enemy nation, specif. to arm a ship and capture enemy merchant ships and cargo
- low-hanging fruit — the fruit that grows low on a tree and is therefore easy to reach
- macfarlane burnet — Sir (Frank) Macfarlane [muh k-fahr-luh n] /məkˈfɑr lən/ (Show IPA), 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.
- magnesium sulfate — a white, water-soluble salt, MgSO 4 , used chiefly in medicine and in the processing of leather and textiles.
- make the dust fly — earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
- manganese sulfate — a pink, water-soluble, usually tetrahydrate salt, MnSO 4 ⋅4H 2 O, used chiefly in fertilizers, paints, and varnishes.
- manufacturability — The condition of being manufacturable.
- metallofullerenes — Plural form of metallofullerene.
- monarch butterfly — a large, deep-orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of milkweed.
- natural frequency — the frequency at which a system vibrates when set in free vibration
- newfoundland time — a form of civil time observed on the island of Newfoundland, one and one-half hours later than Eastern time and a half hour later than Atlantic time.
- out of all reason — unreasonable
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
- plug and feathers — an apparatus for splitting stone, consisting of two tapered bars (feathers) inserted into a hole drilled into the stone, between which a narrow wedge (plug) is hammered to spread them.
- political refugee — a person who has fled from a homeland because of political persecution.
- potassium sulfate — a crystalline, water-soluble solid, K 2 SO 4 , used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers, alums, and mineral water, and as a reagent in analytical chemistry.
- pre-qualification — a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like.
- procurator fiscal — In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
- quadratic formula — the formula for determining theroots of a quadratic equation from its coefficients: .
- rational function — a function that can be written as the quotient of two polynomials with integral coefficients.
- reduction formula — a formula, such as sin (90° ± A) = cos A, expressing the values of a trigonometric function of any angle greater than 90° in terms of a function of an acute angle
- reflection nebula — a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that reflects the light of neighboring stars.
- return of capital — A return of capital is a situation in which you receive back money that was previously invested.
- san andreas fault — an active strike-slip fault in W United States, extending from San Francisco to S California and forming the on-land portion of the western margin of the North American Plate.
- self-perpetuating — continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- self-renunciation — renunciation of one's own will, interests, etc.
- separating funnel — a large funnel having a tap in its output tube, used to separate immiscible liquids
- silk manufacturer — a person or business that is involved in the manufacture of silk thread and fabric
- south farmingdale — a town on central Long Island, in SE New York.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- stannous fluoride — a white, crystalline powder, SnF 2 , slightly soluble in water: used as a source of fluorine in the prevention of dental caries, especially as a toothpaste additive.
- star-of-jerusalem — meadow salsify.
- statue of liberty — a large copper statue, on Liberty Island, in New York harbor, depicting a woman holding a burning torch: designed by F. A. Bartholdi and presented to the U.S. by France; unveiled 1886.
- strike-slip fault — a geological fault on which the movement is along the strike of the fault
- sulfurated potash — a yellowish-brown mixture consisting mainly of potassium polysulfides and potassium thiosulfate, used in treating mange.