17-letter words containing c, a, l, u
- olympic mountains — a mountain range in NW Washington: part of the Coast Range. Highest peak: Mount Olympus, 2427 m (7965 ft)
- olympic peninsula — a large peninsula of W Washington
- opportunistically — adhering to a policy of opportunism; practicing opportunism.
- optical computing — (hardware) (Or "Optical Signal Processing") Operating on data represented using electromagnetic radiation, e.g. visible light, instead of the electrical signals used in a conventional electronic digital computer. Electronic digital computers are built from transistors. These form components that store data and logic gates that perform the low-level Boolean operations such as AND, OR and NOT that are the basis of all digital computation. The optical equivalent requires material with a non-linear refractive index such that light beams can interact with each other to perform the same Boolean operations. Though the photons that carry optical signals offer some theoretical advantages over the electrons that carry electronic signals, there are many practical problems that would have to be overcome before optical computing could compete in terms of cost, power and speed.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- parallel computer — parallel processor
- particularization — to make particular.
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- phonological rule — an operation in generative phonology that substitutes one sound or class of sounds for another in a phonological derivation.
- physical pendulum — any apparatus consisting of a body of possibly irregular shape allowed to rotate freely about a horizontal axis on which it is pivoted (distinguished from simple pendulum).
- piccadilly circus — a traffic circle and open square in W London, England: theater and amusement center.
- plastics industry — the industry that makes plastics
- ploughman's lunch — a light lunch consisting of bread and cheese, and sometimes pickled onions.
- pluvius insurance — insurance against rain
- pocket calculator — an electronic calculator small enough to be carried on one's person.
- police procedural — a mystery novel, film, or television drama that deals realistically with police work.
- political refugee — a person who has fled from a homeland because of political persecution.
- polymorphonuclear — (of a leukocyte) having a lobulate nucleus.
- portable computer — (computer) (Commonly, "laptop") A portable personal computer you can carry with one hand. Some laptops run so hot that it would be quite uncomforable to actually use them on your lap for long. The term "notebook" is often used to describe these, though it also implies a low weight (less than 2kg). A "luggable" is one you could carry in one hand but is so heavy you wouldn't want to. One that can by easily operated while held in one hand is a "palmtop". The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1 but see the link below for other contenders.
- postbaccalaureate — bachelor's degree.
- poststructuralism — a variation of structuralism, often seen as a critique, emphasizing plurality of meaning and instability of concepts that structuralism uses to define society, language, etc.
- pre-qualification — a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like.
- probability curve — a curve that describes the distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.
- procurator fiscal — In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
- product liability — the responsibility of a manufacturer for injury or loss caused by its product.
- product placement — Product placement is a form of advertising in which a company has its product placed where it can be clearly seen during a film or television programme.
- production values — the quality of a media production (such as a film) in regards to elements such as colours, quality, style, etc
- prostatic utricle — a small pouch near the prostate gland that opens into the urethra.
- prudence crandall — Prudence, 1803–90, U.S. educator and civil-rights activist.
- pseudepigraphical — certain writings (other than the canonical books and the Apocrypha) professing to be Biblical in character.
- pseudo-biological — pertaining to biology.
- pseudo-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudo-moralistic — a person who teaches or inculcates morality.
- psychoeducational — designating or of psychological methods, as intelligence tests, used in evaluating learning ability
- public accountant — an accountant whose services are available to the public at large, in contrast to one employed on a full-time basis by a company.
- public assistance — government aid to the poor, disabled, or aged or to dependent children, as financial assistance or food stamps.
- purple of cassius — a purple pigment precipitated as a sol by the interaction of gold chloride and a solution of stannic acid and stannous chloride: used chiefly in the manufacture of ruby glass, ceramic glazes, and enamels.
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- pyroligneous acid — a yellowish, acidic, water-soluble liquid, containing about 10 percent acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood: used for smoking meats.
- pyrosulfuric acid — a strong, crystalline acid, H2S2O7, prepared commercially as a heavy, oily, fuming liquid: used in making explosives and dyes, as a sulfating agent, etc.
- quadratic formula — the formula for determining theroots of a quadratic equation from its coefficients: .
- qualified success — If you describe something as a qualified success, you mean that it is only partly successful.
- quality assurance — a system for ensuring a desired level of quality in the development, production, or delivery of products and services: Quality assurance for nursing homes begins with a set of standards. Abbreviation: QA.
- quality paperback — a softbound book that is usually larger and more expensive than a mass market paperback and is sold primarily in bookstores as a trade book.
- quantum cell wire — (electronics, computing) (Or "quantum wire", "binary wire") Quantum cells arranged in a line to carry signals. Adjacent cells with the same orientation are at a low energy state and a change of orientation at one end of a quantum wire propagates along the wire, transmitting a signal. However, unlike conventional wire, since only the orientation of charge pairs changes, no current flows. Circuits created using quantum cell wires are referred to as Quantum-dot Wireless Digital Circuits, see quantum dot, Quantum-dot Cellular Automata.
- quasquicentennial — pertaining to or marking a period of 125 years.