12-letter words containing e, m, t, o, p
- intercompare — (of members of a group) to compare each member against all other members
- isoperimeter — a figure whose perimeter is equal to that of another.
- isoperimetry — the study of isoperimeters.
- jump shooter — a player skilled at jump shots.
- ken thompson — (person) The principal inventor of the Unix operating system and author of the B language, the predecessor of C. In the early days Ken used to hand-cut Unix distribution tapes, often with a note that read "Love, ken". Old-timers still use his first name (sometimes uncapitalised, because it's a login name and mail address) in third-person reference; it is widely understood (on Usenet in particular) that without a last name "Ken" refers only to Ken Thompson. Similarly, Dennis without last name means Dennis Ritchie (and he is often known as dmr). Ken was first hired to work on the Multics project, which was a huge production with many people working on it. Multics was supposed to support hundreds of on-line logins but could barely handle three. In 1969, when Bell Labs withdrew from the project, Ken got fed up with Multics and went off to write his own operating system. People said "well, if zillions of people wrote Multics, then an OS written by one guy must be Unix!". There was some joking about eunichs as well. Ken's wife Bonnie and son Corey (then 18 months old) went to visit family in San Diego. Ken spent one week each on the kernel, file system, etc., and finished UNIX in one month along with developing SPACEWAR (or was it "Space Travel"?). See also back door, brute force, demigod, wumpus.
- kleptomaniac — a person who has kleptomania.
- laparotomies — Plural form of laparotomy.
- laparotomize — to perform a laparotomy on.
- leontopodium — any plant of the Eurasian alpine genus Leontopodium, esp L. alpinum
- leopard moth — a moth, Zeuzera pyrina, having white wings spotted with black and larvae that bore into the wood of various trees and shrubs.
- leptosomatic — a person of asthenic build.
- leptospermum — any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Leptospermum, of the myrtle family, native to Australia and adjacent areas and often cultivated as ornamentals in milder climates.
- lithospermum — any annual or perennial herbs and small shrubs of the genus lithospermum, of the borage family, native to Europe, N America, and northern Asia, and having white, blue, or yellow flowers
- lopez mateos — Adolfo [ah-th awl-faw] /ɑˈðɔl fɔ/ (Show IPA), 1910–69, Mexican lawyer and politician: president of Mexico 1958–64.
- lumpectomies — Plural form of lumpectomy.
- macropterous — having long or large wings or fins.
- madreporites — Plural form of madreporite.
- magnetograph — a recording magnetometer, used especially for recording variations in the earth's magnetic field.
- magnetooptic — pertaining to the effect of magnetism upon the propagation of light.
- magnetopause — the boundary between the earth's magnetosphere and interplanetary space, about 40,000 miles (65,000 km) above the earth, marked by an abrupt decrease in the earth's magnetic induction.
- magnotherapy — Any of several alternative medicine therapies using magnetism.
- major planet — planet (def 1a).
- major-planet — Astronomy. Also called major planet. any of the eight large heavenly bodies revolving about the sun and shining by reflected light: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune, in the order of their proximity to the sun. Until 2006, Pluto was classified as a planet ninth in order from the sun; it has been reclassified as a dwarf planet. a similar body revolving about a star other than the sun. (formerly) a celestial body moving in the sky, as distinguished from a fixed star, applied also to the sun and moon.
- mapplethorpe — Robert, 1946–89, U.S. photographer.
- massotherapy — treatment by massage.
- master point — a point awarded to a bridge player who has won or placed in an officially recognized tournament.
- mastigophore — Any flagellate of the phylum Mastigophora.
- meadow pipit — a common European songbird, Anthus pratensis, with a pale brown speckled plumage: family Motacillidae (pipits and wagtails)
- median point — centroid (def 2).
- mediatorship — the position of a mediator
- meeting post — a timber with a chamfer at the outer edge of a lock gate that fits against the meeting post of another lock gate.
- meganthropus — a proposed genus of extinct, late lower Pleistocene primates based on two large lower jaws found in Java, and believed to be either Australopithecine or human.
- melanotropin — MSH.
- mephibosheth — a son of Jonathan, and the grandson of Saul. II Sam 4:4.
- meroplankton — a floating mass of eggs and larvae of organisms that are nektonic or benthic in their adult stage; temporary plankton.
- mesoplankton — plankton that live at middle depths.
- mesopotamian — an ancient region in W Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers: now part of Iraq.
- metabotropic — Describing a neurotransmitter or cell receptor whose action is mediated by metabolic functions (e.g. enzyme activation).
- metacomputer — an interconnected and balanced set of computers that operate as a single unit
- metal polish — cleaning fluid designed to clean, polish or add shine to metal
- metallograph — a microscope for observing the microstructure of metals.
- metallophone — any musical instrument consisting of a graduated series of metal bars that may either be struck by hammers operated manually or played with a keyboard.
- metamorphism — Geology. a change in the structure or constitution of a rock due to natural agencies, as pressure and heat, especially when the rock becomes harder and more completely crystalline.
- metamorphist — a member of a group of 16th century Christians who believed that the humanly body of Jesus Christ metamorphosed into God during the Ascension
- metamorphize — (transitive) To transform or change; metamorphose.
- metamorphose — to change the form or nature of; transform.
- metamorphous — metamorphic.
- metaphorical — a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”. Compare mixed metaphor, simile (def 1).
- metapolitics — political theory: often used derogatorily
- meteorograph — an instrument for automatically recording various meteorological conditions, as barometric pressure and temperature, at the same time.