17-letter words containing e, p, i
- pan and tilt head — a mounting device on which a camera may be rotated in a horizontal plane (pan) or in a vertical plane (tilt)
- pan potentiometer — a control on a stereo sound mixing desk by means of which the relative levels in right- and left-hand channels can be adjusted and hence the apparent position of the recorded or broadcast sound source within the stereo panorama can be controlled
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- papua new guinean — a native or inhabitant of Papua New Guinea.
- papua-new-guinean — an inhabitant or native of Papua New Guinea
- paradise regained — an epic poem (1671) by John Milton.
- paradoxical sleep — REM sleep.
- parallel universe — Physics. any of a hypothetical collection of undetectable universes that are like our known universe but have branched off from our universe due to a quantum-level event. See also multiverse.
- paraperiodic acid — the crystalline compound H5IO6, an oxyacid of iodine
- parathyroidectomy — the excision of a parathyroid gland.
- paratyphoid fever — Also called paratyphoid fever. an infectious disease, similar in some of its symptoms to typhoid fever but usually milder, caused by any of several bacilli of the genus Salmonella other than S. typhi.
- parking attendant — a person who works for a traffic control agency and who issues tickets for parking violations
- parliamentary law — the body of rules, usages, and precedents that governs proceedings of legislative and deliberative assemblies.
- parted per tierce — tierced.
- partially sighted — unable to see properly so that even with corrective aids normal activities are prevented or seriously hindered
- particle kinetics — Particle kinetics is the study of the movement of particles and the forces that cause this movement.
- particle velocity — the velocity of a point in a medium that is undergoing wave motion.
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pascal's triangle — a triangular arrangement of the binomial coefficients of the expansion (x + y) n for positive integral values of n.
- passenger station — a station used by passengers
- passenger traffic — number of passengers
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- passive restraint — a safety device, as an air bag or special seat belt, that is activated automatically to protect an automobile passenger at the moment of impact when a collision occurs.
- past life therapy — a form of hypnosis or meditation based on the belief that an individual's present problems are rooted in events that occurred before birth in this life
- pasteur institute — an organization in Paris that was founded in 1887. It does research on micro-organisms and diseases
- pate de foie gras — See under foie gras.
- paternalistically — the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president.
- pauline privilege — (in canon law) the privilege given to converts to dissolve a marriage with an unbaptized spouse if either obstructs the religious practices of the other.
- peak viewing time — the time at which the largest numbers of the population are watching television
- pecorino (cheese) — an Italian cheese made of sheep's milk; specif., such a cheese that is dry, sharp, and very hard
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- penitential psalm — any of the Psalms (the 6th, 32nd, 38th, 51st, 102nd, 130th, and 143rd) that give expression to feelings of penitence and that are used in various Christian liturgical services.
- pension provision — the provision of a pension by the state or an employer
- peppermint spirit — a green or colorless alcoholic solution of the volatile oil produced by the peppermint leaf, used as a carminative and flavoring agent.
- per capita income — the total income of an area or country divided by the number of people in that area or country
- per procurationem — by one acting as an agent; by proxy.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- pere david's deer — a medium-sized, reddish-gray deer, Elaphurus davidianus, of which stocks were obtained in Peking in 1865 and brought to parks in Europe before the remaining Chinese deer were killed in 1900: the species is sustained in captivity.
- perforation gauge — a marked ruler used to measure the number of perforations per unit length along the borders of a stamp.
- peridot of ceylon — a honey-colored tourmaline, used as a gem: not a true peridot.
- period-revolution — a rather large interval of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc., because of its particular characteristics: a period of illness; a period of great profitability for a company; a period of social unrest in Germany.
- periodic function — a function of a real or complex variable that is periodic.
- periodic sentence — a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense, as in Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.
- periodical cicada — seventeen-year locust.
- peripheral device — peripheral
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- permutation group — a mathematical group whose elements are permutations and in which the product of two permutations is the same permutation as is obtained by performing them in succession.
- pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- persistent memory — non-volatile storage