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17-letter words containing c, d

  • exception handler — Special code which is called when an exception occurs during the execution of a program. If the programmer does not provide a handler for a given exception, a built-in system exception handler will usually be called resulting in abortion of the program run and some kind of error indication being returned to the user. Examples of exception handler mechanisms are Unix's signal calls and Lisp's catch and throw.
  • exceptional child — a gifted child
  • facts and figures — details; precise information
  • fairness doctrine — a policy mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, requiring radio and television stations to grant equal time to a political candidate, group, etc., to present an opposing viewpoint to one already aired.
  • fancy dress party — a party at which the guests wear fancy dress
  • fendalton tractor — a four-wheel drive recreational vehicle
  • fiddleback spider — brown recluse spider.
  • field penny-cress — the common penny-cress, Thlaspi arvense.
  • field post office — a place to which mail intended for military units in the field is sent to be sorted and forwarded
  • field sales force — a team of people selling a product or service in the field as opposed to over the telephone, etc
  • fifth commandment — “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee”: fifth of the Ten Commandments.
  • financial adviser — A financial adviser is someone whose job it is to advise people about financial products and services.
  • fine-toothed comb — a comb with fine, closely set teeth
  • finite difference — difference (def 9c).
  • first commandment — “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”: first of the Ten Commandments.
  • first-aid classes — classes which teach people how to give immediate medical help in an emergency
  • first-order logic — (language, logic)   The language describing the truth of mathematical formulas. Formulas describe properties of terms and have a truth value. The following are atomic formulas: True False p(t1,..tn) where t1,..,tn are terms and p is a predicate. If F1, F2 and F3 are formulas and v is a variable then the following are compound formulas: The "order" of a logic specifies what entities "For all" and "Exists" may quantify over. First-order logic can only quantify over sets of atomic propositions. (E.g. For all p . p => p). Second-order logic can quantify over functions on propositions, and higher-order logic can quantify over any type of entity. The sets over which quantifiers operate are usually implicit but can be deduced from well-formedness constraints. In first-order logic quantifiers always range over ALL the elements of the domain of discourse. By contrast, second-order logic allows one to quantify over subsets.
  • five-spice powder — a mixture of spices used especially in Chinese cooking, usually including cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, pepper, and star anise.
  • flagrante delicto — Law. in the very act of committing the offense.
  • floating dry dock — a dock that floats and can be lowered in the water for the entrance of a ship, and then raised for use as a dry dock
  • fluid lubrication — lubrication in which bearing surfaces are separated by an oil film sustained by the motion of the parts
  • foot-pound-second — of or relating to the system of units in which the foot, pound, and second are the principal units of length, mass, and time. Abbreviation: fps, f.p.s.
  • forced convection — Forced convection is convection in which the movement of fluid does not happen naturally but is helped by a device such as a fan or pump.
  • forensic evidence — evidence obtained by the use of science, for example DNA evidence, etc
  • forensic medicine — the application of medical knowledge to questions of civil and criminal law, especially in court proceedings.
  • forward contracts — Forward contracts are agreements to buy something in the future for a price that has been agreed today.
  • foucault pendulum — a pendulum that demonstrates the rotation of the earth by exhibiting an apparent change in its plane of oscillation.
  • foundation course — A foundation course is a course that you do at some colleges and universities in order to prepare yourself for a longer or more advanced course.
  • fourfold purchase — a tackle that is composed of a rope passed through two fourfold blocks in such a way as to provide mechanical power in the ratio of 1 to 5 or 1 to 4, depending on whether hauling is done on the running or the standing block and without considering friction. Compare tackle (def 2).
  • fractal dimension — (mathematics)   A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
  • frames per second — (unit)   (fps) The unit of measurement of the frame rate of a moving image.
  • francis ferdinand — 1863–1914, archduke of Austria: heir apparent to the thrones of Austria and Hungary whose assassination precipitated the outbreak of World War I (nephew of Francis Joseph I).
  • frederick pollock — Sir Frederick, 1845–1937, English legal scholar and author.
  • frederick william — 1795–1861, king of Prussia 1840–61 (brother of William I of Prussia).
  • freedom of speech — the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.
  • french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
  • full load current — A full load current is the largest current that a motor or other device is designed to carry under particular conditions.
  • further education — adult education.
  • galactic latitude — the angular distance from the galactic equator of a point on the celestial sphere.
  • gaucher's disease — a rare inherited disorder of fat metabolism that causes spleen and liver enlargement, abnormal fragility and pain of the bones, and progressive neurologic disturbances, leading to early death.
  • general discharge — a discharge from military service of a person who has served honorably but who has not met all the conditions of an honorable discharge.
  • giovanni demedici — Catherine de', Catherine de Médicis.
  • giscard d'estaing — Valéry [va-ley-ree] /va leɪˈri/ (Show IPA), born 1926, French political leader: president 1974–81.
  • glycosphingolipid — (biochemistry) a lipid that contains at least one monosaccharide unit and either a sphingoid or a ceramide.
  • gnu privacy guard —
  • go for the doctor — to make a great effort or move very fast, esp in a horse race
  • good-time charlie — an affable, sociable, pleasure-loving man.
  • grand climacteric — Physiology. a period of decrease of reproductive capacity in men and women, culminating, in women, in the menopause.
  • grand touring car — GT (def 2).
  • grand union canal — a canal in S England linking London and the Midlands: opened in 1801
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