12-letter words containing d, p, a, r
- pindaric ode — an ode consisting of several units, each of which is composed of a strophe and an antistrophe of identical form followed by a contrasting epode.
- piperic acid — a saturated organic acid (C12H10O4), derived from plants in the pepper family, that forms yellow crystals and can be oxidized to produce piperonal
- pirate radio — radio broadcasting illegally
- place-holder — Mathematics, Logic. a symbol in an expression that may be replaced by the name of any element of the set.
- plagiohedral — (of a crystal) having faces arranged obliquely in a helix.
- plaid screen — [XEROX PARC] A "special effect" that occurs when certain kinds of memory smashes overwrite the control blocks or image memory of a bit-mapped display. The term "salt and pepper" may refer to a different pattern of similar origin. Though the term as coined at PARC refers to the result of an error, some of the X demos induce plaid-screen effects deliberately as a display hack.
- plasterboard — a material used for insulating or covering walls, or as a lath, consisting of paper-covered sheets of gypsum and felt.
- plat du jour — the special or featured dish of the day on a restaurant menu.
- plate girder — an iron or steel beam built up from plates and shapes welded or riveted together, usually including a plate or plates for a web, four angle irons forming two flanges, and a pair of plates to reinforce the flanges.
- platform bed — a bed, originating in Scandinavia in the 1930s, consisting of a simple shallow box for holding a mattress situated on a slightly recessed pedestal.
- play reading — the activity when a group of people read the parts of a play
- playing card — one of the conventional set of 52 cards in four suits, as diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs, used in playing various games of chance and skill.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- pointed arch — an arch having a pointed apex.
- polar wander — the movement of the earth's magnetic poles with respect to the geographic poles
- pompeian red — a dull, grayish red.
- ponce around — If you say that someone is poncing around or poncing about, you mean that they are not doing something properly, quickly, or seriously.
- poodle-faker — a young man or newly commissioned officer who makes a point of socializing with women; ladies' man
- port de bras — (used with a singular verb) the technique of moving the arms properly.
- postal order — money order.
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard
- postcardware — Shareware that borders on freeware, in that the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to real estate "sales" in which $1 changes hands just to keep the transaction from being a gift.)
- postdoctoral — of or relating to study or professional work undertaken after the receipt of a doctorate: postdoctoral courses.
- poster board — a thick, fairly stiff cardboard composed of layers of paper or paper pulp compressed together and typically used to support displays.
- postgraduate — of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or consisting of post-graduates: a postgraduate seminar.
- postmeridian — of or relating to the afternoon.
- postprandial — after a meal, especially after dinner: postprandial oratory; a postprandial brandy.
- pot marigold — calendula (def 1).
- powder flask — a small flask of gunpowder formerly carried by soldiers and hunters.
- powder paper — Pharmacology. charta (def 2).
- praseodymium — a rare-earth, metallic, trivalent element, named from its green salts. Symbol: Pr; atomic weight: 140.91; atomic number: 59; specific gravity: 6.77 at 20°C.
- prayer beads — the beads of the rosary
- pre-assigned — Law. to transfer: to assign a contract.
- pre-disaster — a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure.
- pre-packaged — Pre-packaged foods have been prepared in advance and put in plastic or cardboard containers to be sold.
- pre-prandial — You use pre-prandial to refer to things you do or have before a meal.
- preadmission — (in a reciprocating engine) admission of steam or the like to the head of the cylinder near the end of the stroke, as to cushion the force of the stroke or to allow full pressure at the beginning of the return stroke.
- preannounced — to make known publicly or officially; proclaim; give notice of: to announce a special sale.
- preassembled — assembled prior to purchase
- precedential — of the nature of or constituting a precedent.
- precipitated — to hasten the occurrence of; bring about prematurely, hastily, or suddenly: to precipitate an international crisis.
- predeparture — of, pertaining to or implemented during the stage prior to departure
- predesignate — to designate beforehand.
- predestinate — Theology. to foreordain by divine decree or purpose.
- prediagnosis — Medicine/Medical. the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition. the decision reached from such an examination. Abbreviation: Dx.
- predischarge — of or pertaining to the period prior to discharge, esp prior to discharge from hospital or from employment
- predominance — the state, condition, or quality of being predominant: the predominance of the rich over the poor.
- preformatted — the shape and size of a book as determined by the number of times the original sheet has been folded to form the leaves. Compare duodecimo, folio (def 2), octavo, quarto.
- pregenerated — to bring into existence; cause to be; produce.