17-letter words containing e, c, l
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- scarlet lightning — scarlet lychnis.
- scarlet pimpernel — a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.
- scentless mayweed — a similar and related plant, Matricaria maritima, with scentless leaves
- schmidt telescope — a wide-angle reflecting telescope used primarily for astronomical photography, in which spherical aberration and coma are reduced to a minimum by means of a spherical mirror with a corrector plate near its focus.
- school attendance — a measure of the number of children who attend school and the amount of time they are present
- school counsellor — a counsellor who is based in a school
- schwedler's maple — a variety of the Norway maple, Acer platanoides schwedleri, producing red leaves that subsequently turn green.
- scrape the barrel — to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
- scrophulariaceous — belonging to the Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family of plants.
- sea grant college — a college or university doing research on marine resources under the U.S. National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966.
- sea-island cotton — a long-staple cotton, Gossypium barbadense, raised originally in the Sea Islands and now grown chiefly in the West Indies.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- second lieutenant — an Army, Air Force, or Marine officer of the lowest commissioned rank. Compare ensign (def 4).
- secondary glazing — insulation by means of a second pane of glass, or a sheet of plastic: a simple form of double glazing
- secondary quality — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- secondary sealing — Secondary sealing is a system of wiper seals used in floating roof tanks.
- secretary-general — the head or chief administrative officer of a secretariat.
- securities dealer — a person who buys and sells securities
- selective amnesia — the deliberate forgetting of something
- selective service — compulsory military service.
- self-acknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
- self-belay device — (in climbing) a device used to pay out a safety rope as required
- self-commendation — the act of commending; recommendation; praise: commendation for a job well done.
- self-condemnation — the act of condemning.
- self-conditioning — Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.
- self-confirmation — the act of confirming.
- self-consecration — the act of setting oneself to a task or vocation without ordination by others or by a religious body.
- self-conservation — the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
- self-constituting — to compose; form: mortar constituted of lime and sand.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-dissociation — an act or instance of dissociating.
- self-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- self-introduction — the act of introducing or the state of being introduced.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- self-recollection — the act or power of recollecting, or recalling to mind; remembrance.
- self-renunciation — renunciation of one's own will, interests, etc.
- self-reproduction — the act or process of reproducing.
- self-satisfaction — a usually smug satisfaction with oneself, one's achievements, etc.
- self-significance — importance; consequence: the significance of the new treaty.
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- semi-monopolistic — a person who has a monopoly.
- semimicroanalysis — any analytical method in which the weight of the sample is between 10 and 100 milligrams.
- seminal principle — a potential, latent within an imperfect object, for attaining full development.
- senatus consultum — a decree of the senate of ancient Rome.
- sentencing circle — a method of dispensing justice amongst native Canadian peoples involving discussion between offenders, victims, and members of the community
- septicemic plague — an especially dangerous form of plague in which the infecting organisms invade the bloodstream. Compare plague (def 2).
- sequential access — of or relating to a storage medium, as magnetic tape, in which records must be accessed by reading or writing from the beginning of the file.