17-letter words containing c, a, g, l, i, o
- functional change — a change in the grammatical function of a word, as in the use of the noun input as a verb or the noun fun as an adjective.
- garlic mayonnaise — mayonnaise flavoured with garlic
- genealogical tree — family tree.
- genetic algorithm — (GA) An evolutionary algorithm which generates each individual from some encoded form known as a "chromosome" or "genome". Chromosomes are combined or mutated to breed new individuals. "Crossover", the kind of recombination of chromosomes found in sexual reproduction in nature, is often also used in GAs. Here, an offspring's chromosome is created by joining segments choosen alternately from each of two parents' chromosomes which are of fixed length. GAs are useful for multidimensional optimisation problems in which the chromosome can encode the values for the different variables being optimised.
- geographical mile — nautical mile.
- geological survey — U.S. Government. a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1879, that studies the nation's water and mineral resources, makes topographic surveys, and classifies and leases public lands.
- gestatorial chair — a ceremonial chair on which the pope is carried
- gigaelectron volt — one billion electron-volts. Abbreviation: GeV, Gev.
- glastonbury chair — a folding chair having legs crossed front-to-back and having arms connected to the back and to the front seat rail.
- glycosaminoglycan — any of a class of polysaccharides derived from hexosamine that form mucins when complexed with proteins: formerly called mucopolysaccharide.
- go like hot cakes — to be sold very quickly or in large quantities
- good-time charlie — an affable, sociable, pleasure-loving man.
- graafian follicle — one of the small vesicles containing a developing ovum in the ovary of a mammal.
- grand union canal — a canal in S England linking London and the Midlands: opened in 1801
- guglielmo marconi — Guglielmo [goo-lyel-maw] /guˈlyɛl mɔ/ (Show IPA), Marchese, 1874–1937, Italian electrical engineer and inventor, especially in the field of wireless telegraphy: Nobel Prize in physics 1909.
- gunboat diplomacy — diplomatic relations involving the use or threat of military force, especially by a powerful nation against a weaker one.
- high-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent carbon
- hippocampal gyrus — a convolution on the inner surface of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum, bordering the hippocampus.
- histopathological — the science dealing with the histological structure of abnormal or diseased tissue; pathological histology.
- historiographical — the body of literature dealing with historical matters; histories collectively.
- ideogrammatically — In terms of, or by means of, ideograms.
- ignoratio elenchi — the fallacy of offering proof irrelevant to the proposition in question.
- illegal procedure — a penalty assessed against the offensive team for a technical rules violation, as in assuming an illegal formation.
- inspector general — a comedy (1836) by Gogol.
- inspector-general — a comedy (1836) by Gogol.
- integral function — an entire function.
- integrated school — (in New Zealand) a private or church school that has joined the state school system
- jumping-off place — a place for use as a starting point: Paris was the jumping-off place for our tour of Europe.
- kensington palace — a royal residence in Kensington Gardens, in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea; dating from the 17th century, it was improved and extended by Sir Cristopher Wren
- lagging indicator — A lagging indicator is an economic indicator that changes following a change in the economy, such as unemployment.
- lago de nicaragua — Spanish name of Lake Nicaragua.
- leading indicator — A leading indicator is an economic indicator that changes before a change in the economy, and that can be used to predict future economic or financial activity.
- legal aid society — an organization providing free legal guidance and service to persons who cannot afford a lawyer.
- legal proceedings — court case
- lexicographically — the writing, editing, or compiling of dictionaries.
- line of scrimmage — an imaginary line parallel to the goal lines that passes from one sideline to the other through the point of the football closest to the goal line of each team.
- linking consonant — a consonant inserted between two vowels in speech
- logic programming — (artificial intelligence, programming, language) A declarative, relational style of programming based on first-order logic. The original logic programming language was Prolog. The concept is based on Horn clauses. The programmer writes a "database" of "facts", e.g. wet(water). ("water is wet") and "rules", e.g. mortal(X) :- human(X). ("X is mortal is implied by X is human"). Facts and rules are collectively known as "clauses". The user supplies a "goal" which the system attempts to prove using "resolution" or "backward chaining". This involves matching the current goal against each fact or the left hand side of each rule using "unification". If the goal matches a fact, the goal succeeds; if it matches a rule then the process recurses, taking each sub-goal on the right hand side of the rule as the current goal. If all sub-goals succeed then the rule succeeds. Each time a possible clause is chosen, a "choice point" is created on a stack. If subsequent resolution fails then control eventually returns to the choice point and subsequent clauses are tried. This is known as "backtracking". Clauses may contain logic variables which take on any value necessary to make the fact or the left hand side of the rule match a goal. Unification binds these variables to the corresponding subterms of the goal. Such bindings are associated with the choice point at which the clause was chosen and are undone when backtracking reaches that choice point. The user is informed of the success or failure of his first goal and if it succeeds and contains variables he is told what values of those variables caused it to succeed. He can then ask for alternative solutions.
- logical operation — Boolean operation.
- lymphangiographic — Relating to lymphangiography.
- macro-linguistics — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- magellanic clouds — either of two irregular galactic clusters in the southern heavens that are the nearest independent star system to the Milky Way.
- magnetic monopole — a hypothetical very heavy particle with an isolated magnetic north pole or magnetic south pole.
- magnetoelasticity — the phenomenon, consisting of a change in magnetic properties, exhibited by a ferromagnetic material to which stress is applied.
- malay archipelago — an extensive island group in the Indian and Pacific oceans, SE of Asia, including the Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccas, and the Philippines.
- many-valued logic — the study of logical systems in which the truth-values that a proposition may have are not restricted to two, representing only truth and falsity
- medicochirurgical — pertaining to medicine and surgery.
- memetic algorithm — (algorithm) A genetic algorithm or evolutionary algorithm which includes a non-genetic local search to improve genotypes. The term comes from the Richard Dawkin's term "meme". One big difference between memes and genes is that memes are processed and possibly improved by the people that hold them - something that cannot happen to genes. It is this advantage that the memetic algorithm has over simple genetic or evolutionary algorithms. These algorithms are useful in solving complex problems, such as the "Travelling Salesman Problem," which involves finding the shortest path through a large number of nodes, or in creating artificial life to test evolutionary theories. Memetic algorithms are one kind of metaheuristic. (07 July 1997)
- messier catalogue — a catalogue of 103 nonstellar objects, such as nebulae and galaxies, prepared in 1781–86. An object is referred to by its number in this catalogue, for example the Andromeda Galaxy is referred to as M31
- michigan bankroll — a large roll of paper money in small denominations.