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15-letter words containing c, h, e

  • cineradiography — the filming of motion pictures through a fluoroscope or x-ray machine.
  • citrus whitefly — See under whitefly.
  • class hierarchy — (programming)   In object-oriented programming, a set of classes related by inheritance. Each class is a "subclass" of another class - its "superclass". The subclass contains all the features of its superclass, but may add new features or redefine existing features. The features of a class are the set of attributes (or "properties") that an object of that class has and the methods that can be invoked on it. If each class has a just one superclass, this is called single inheritance. The opposite is multiple inheritance, under which a class may have multiple superclasses. Single inheritance gives the class hierarchy a tree structure whereas multiple inheritance gives a directed graph. Typically there is one class at the top of the hierarchy which is the "object" class, the most general class that is an ancestor of all others and which has no superclass. In computing, as in genealogy, trees grow downwards, which is why subclasses are considered to be "below" their superclasses. When invoking a method on an object, the method is first looked for in the object's class, then the superclass of that class, and so on up the hierarchy until it is found. Thus a class need only define those methods which are specific to it and it will inherit all other methods from all its superclasses. An object of the subclass can do everything that an object of the superclass can and possible more.
  • clear the decks — to prepare for action, as by removing obstacles from a field of activity or combat
  • clearheadedness — The quality of being clearheaded.
  • climb the walls — any of various permanent upright constructions having a length much greater than the thickness and presenting a continuous surface except where pierced by doors, windows, etc.: used for shelter, protection, or privacy, or to subdivide interior space, to support floors, roofs, or the like, to retain earth, to fence in an area, etc.
  • close the books — to balance accounts in order to prepare a statement or report
  • coachwhip snake — a slender nonvenomous snake, Masticophis flagellum, of the US
  • cobble together — If you say that someone has cobbled something together, you mean that they have made or produced it roughly or quickly.
  • cocktail shaker — a container in which cocktails are mixed
  • coffee whitener — a milk substitute to put in coffee
  • collenchymatous — Relating to collenchyma.
  • come to nothing — plan, idea: fail
  • common shelduck — a large, brightly coloured gooselike duck of the Old World, Tadorna tadorna
  • community chest — a fund raised by voluntary contribution for local welfare activities
  • complete theory — (logic)   An abstract logical theory in which all true statements have formal proofs within the theory.
  • complex-machine — Older Use. an automobile or airplane. a typewriter.
  • comprehendingly — In an comprehending manner; knowingly.
  • comprehensively — Something that is done comprehensively is done thoroughly.
  • comprehensivize — to make (an educational system) comprehensive
  • comptrollership — controller (def 1).
  • computer ethics — (philosophy)   Ethics is the field of study that is concerned with questions of value, that is, judgments about what human behaviour is "good" or "bad". Ethical judgments are no different in the area of computing from those in any other area. Computers raise problems of privacy, ownership, theft, and power, to name but a few. Computer ethics can be grounded in one of four basic world-views: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, or Existentialism. Idealists believe that reality is basically ideas and that ethics therefore involves conforming to ideals. Realists believe that reality is basically nature and that ethics therefore involves acting according to what is natural. Pragmatists believe that reality is not fixed but is in process and that ethics therefore is practical (that is, concerned with what will produce socially-desired results). Existentialists believe reality is self-defined and that ethics therefore is individual (that is, concerned only with one's own conscience). Idealism and Realism can be considered ABSOLUTIST worldviews because they are based on something fixed (that is, ideas or nature, respectively). Pragmatism and Existentialism can be considered RELATIVIST worldviews because they are based or something relational (that is, society or the individual, respectively). Thus ethical judgments will vary, depending on the judge's world-view. Some examples: First consider theft. Suppose a university's computer is used for sending an e-mail message to a friend or for conducting a full-blown private business (billing, payroll, inventory, etc.). The absolutist would say that both activities are unethical (while recognising a difference in the amount of wrong being done). A relativist might say that the latter activities were wrong because they tied up too much memory and slowed down the machine, but the e-mail message wasn't wrong because it had no significant effect on operations. Next consider privacy. An instructor uses her account to acquire the cumulative grade point average of a student who is in a class which she instructs. She obtained the password for this restricted information from someone in the Records Office who erroneously thought that she was the student's advisor. The absolutist would probably say that the instructor acted wrongly, since the only person who is entitled to this information is the student and his or her advisor. The relativist would probably ask why the instructor wanted the information. If she replied that she wanted it to be sure that her grading of the student was consistent with the student's overall academic performance record, the relativist might agree that such use was acceptable. Finally, consider power. At a particular university, if a professor wants a computer account, all she or he need do is request one but a student must obtain faculty sponsorship in order to receive an account. An absolutist (because of a proclivity for hierarchical thinking) might not have a problem with this divergence in procedure. A relativist, on the other hand, might question what makes the two situations essentially different (e.g. are faculty assumed to have more need for computers than students? Are students more likely to cause problems than faculty? Is this a hold-over from the days of "in loco parentis"?).
  • computer-phobia — a person who distrusts or is intimidated by computers.
  • connected graph — (mathematics)   A graph such that there is a path between any pair of nodes (via zero or more other nodes). Thus if we start from any node and visit all nodes connected to it by a single edge, then all nodes connected to any of them, and so on, then we will eventually have visited every node in the connected graph.
  • connoisseurship — a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste: a connoisseur of modern art.
  • conservatorship — the legal status of a person appointed by a court to protect the interests of someone, such as a child, who is unable to manage his or her own affairs
  • consumer choice — the range of competing products and services from which a consumer can choose
  • contour feather — any of the feathers that cover the body of an adult bird, apart from the wings and tail, and determine its shape
  • copenhagen blue — a greyish-blue colour
  • copper sulphate — a copper salt found naturally as chalcanthite and made by the action of sulphuric acid on copper oxide. It usually exists as blue crystals of the pentahydrate that form a white anhydrous powder when heated: used as a mordant, in electroplating, and in plant sprays. Formula: CuSO4
  • copying machine — a machine that makes copies of original documents, especially by xerography.
  • corn on the cob — Corn on the cob is the long rounded part of the maize or corn plant on which small yellow seeds grow, and which is eaten as a vegetable.
  • corn-leaf aphid — a green aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis, widely distributed in the U.S.: a pest of corn and other grasses.
  • council chamber — the room in which council meetings are held
  • countercathexis — (psychology) The suppression or repression of mental energy.
  • countercharging — Present participle of countercharge.
  • countercharming — Present participle of countercharm.
  • counterchecking — Present participle of countercheck.
  • counterflashing — (construction) Formed metal or elastomeric sheeting secured on or into a wall, curb, pipe or other surface, to cover and protect the upper edge of a base flashing and its associated fasteners.
  • countermarching — Present participle of countermarch.
  • counterpunching — Present participle of counterpunch.
  • counterpurchase — barter, especially of products or materials between international companies or importers and exporters.
  • counterweighted — Simple past tense and past participle of counterweight.
  • country kitchen — a large kitchen with ample areas for food preparation and eating.
  • coup de theatre — a dramatic turn of events, esp in a play
  • couples therapy — a counseling procedure that attempts to improve the adaptation and adjustment of two people who form a conjugal unit.
  • court of arches — the court of appeal of the Province of Canterbury, formerly held under the arches of Bow Church
  • cradle snatcher — someone who marries or has an affair with a much younger person
  • crash programme — a short intensive programme to learn a skill, language, etc
  • crashworthiness — the ability of a vehicle structure to withstand a crash
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