17-letter words containing e, a
- cryptocrystalline — (of rocks) composed of crystals that can be distinguished individually only by the use of a polarizing microscope
- culpable homicide — manslaughter
- cultural exchange — an exchange of students, artists, athletes, etc., between two countries to promote mutual understanding.
- culture-fair test — a test, usually for intelligence, that does not put anyone taking it at a disadvantage, esp regarding material or cultural background
- cumulative voting — a system of voting in which each elector has as many votes as there are candidates in his constituency. Votes may all be cast for one candidate or distributed among several
- curie-temperature — the temperature beyond that at which a ferromagnetic substance exhibits paramagnetism.
- cushing's disease — a rare condition caused by excess corticosteroid hormones in the body, characterized chiefly by obesity of the trunk and face, high blood pressure, fatigue, and loss of calcium from the bones
- customs brokerage — the work of a customs broker
- customs clearance — the permission to take goods into or out of a country once customs requirements have been satisfied
- cut a good figure — to appear or behave well
- cut a person dead — to ignore a person completely
- cut a poor figure — to appear or behave badly
- cutaneous quittor — a purulent infection of horses and other hoofed animals, characterized by an acute inflammation of soft tissue above the hoof and resulting in suppuration and sloughing of the skin and usually lameness.
- cyanogen chloride — a colorless, volatile, poisonous liquid, CNCl, used chiefly in the synthesis of compounds containing the cyano group.
- cyclamen aldehyde — a colorless to light-yellow alcohol-soluble, synthetic liquid, C 13 H 18 O, having a strong floral odor, used chiefly in perfumes, especially those of soap.
- cyclooctatetraene — a colorless, flammable liquid cyclic hydrocarbon, C 8 H 8 , used in organic research.
- cylinder capacity — the cylinder volume that is swept by the pistons of an internal-combustion engine
- cyrillic alphabet — the alphabet derived from that of the Greeks, supposedly by Saint Cyril, for the writing of Slavonic languages: now used primarily for Russian, Bulgarian, and the Serbian dialect of Serbo-Croat
- cytoarchitectonic — Of or pertaining to cytoarchitectonics (cytoarchitecture).
- cytomegaloviruses — Plural form of cytomegalovirus.
- d&o insurance — D&O insurance is a personal liability insurance that provides cover to the directors and senior executives of a company.
- dagestan republic — a constituent republic of S Russia, on the Caspian Sea: annexed from Persia in 1813; rich mineral resources. Capital: Makhachkala. Pop: 2 584 200 (2002). Area: 50 278 sq km (19 416 sq miles)
- damage limitation — Damage limitation is action that is taken to make the bad results of something as small as possible, when it is impossible to avoid bad results completely.
- damp-proof course — A damp-proof course is the same as a damp course.
- dangerous driving — the act of driving a motor vehicle in a manner that falls far below that expected of a competent and careful driver and hence puts the life of the driver and the lives of other road users at risk
- dante (alighieri) — (born Durante Alighieri) 1265-1321; It. poet: wrote The Divine Comedy
- daphnis and chloe — two lovers in pastoral literature, esp in a prose idyll attributed to the Greek writer Longus
- dark-complexioned — (of a person) having a dark complexion
- darwinian fitness — fitness (def 3).
- darwinian-fitness — health.
- data service unit — (communications) (DSU or "data service unit") A device used in digital transmission for connecting a CSU (Channel Service Unit) to Data Terminal Equipment (a terminal or computer), in the same way that a modem is used for connection to an analogue medium. A DSU provides a standard interface to a user's terminal which is compatible with modems and handles such functions as signal translation, regeneration, reformatting, and timing. The transmitting portion of the DSU processeses the customers' signal into bipolar pulses suitable for transmission over the digital facility. The receiving portion of the DSU is used both to extract timing information and to regenerate mark and space information from the received bipolar signal.
- daughter language — a language that has evolved from another specified language.
- david copperfield — a novel (1850) by Charles Dickens.
- david livingstone — David, 1813–73, Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa.
- de facto standard — A widespread consensus on a particular product or protocol which has not been ratified by any official standards body, such as ISO, but which nevertheless has a large market share. The archetypal example of a de facto standard is the IBM PC which, despite is many glaring technical deficiencies, has gained such a large share of the personal computer market that it is now popular simply because it is popular and therefore enjoys fierce competition in pricing and software development.
- de-baathification — the process of removing the members and influence of the Ba'ath Party from public office in Iraq following the US-led invasion of 2003
- de-specialization — the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work: Medical students with high student loans often feel driven into specialization.
- dead in the water — If you say that someone or something is dead in the water, you are emphasizing that they have failed, and that there is little hope of them being successful in the future.
- dead man's handle — a safety switch on a piece of machinery, such as a train, that allows operation only while depressed by the operator
- dead to the world — unaware of one's surroundings, esp fast asleep or very drunk
- dead tree edition — dead tree
- deadly nightshade — a poisonous Eurasian solanaceous plant, Atropa belladonna, having dull purple bell-shaped flowers and small very poisonous black berries
- death certificate — A death certificate is an official certificate signed by a doctor which states the cause of a person's death.
- death's-head moth — a European hawk moth, Acherontia atropos, having markings resembling a human skull on its upper thorax
- deathwatch beetle — a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage death
- debrett's peerage — a list of the British aristocracy
- decellularization — (biology, medicine) The loss of cells from tissue.
- deceptive cadence — a cadence consisting of a dominant harmony followed by a resolution to a harmony other than the tonic.
- decontextualizing — to remove (a linguistic element, an action, etc.) from a context: decontextualized works of art displayed in museums.
- decriminalisation — (chiefly, British) Alternative form of decriminalization.