17-letter words containing e, s, p, l
- leizhou peninsula — a peninsula of SE China, in SW Guangdong province, separated from Hainan Island by Hainan Strait
- lepidopterologist — One who studies lepidopterology.
- lesser periwinkle — a Eurasian apocynaceous evergreen plant of the genus Vinca,; V. minor, having trailing stems and blue flowers
- let something rip — If you let something rip, you do it as quickly or as forcefully as possible. You can say 'let it rip' or 'let her rip' to someone when you want them to make a vehicle go as fast as it possibly can.
- level compensator — an automatic gain control device used in the receivers of telegraphic circuits.
- liberty of speech — freedom of speech.
- life imprisonment — long-term prison sentence
- lighthouse keeper — a person who mans a lighthouse and makes sure that the light is working properly
- lipopolysaccaride — a molecule, consisting of lipid and polysaccharide components, that is the main constituent of the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria
- lisp machine lisp — (language) An extension of Maclisp, now called Zetalisp.
- load displacement — the weight, in long tons, of a cargo vessel loaded so that the summer load line touches the surface of the water.
- lymphadenopathies — Plural form of lymphadenopathy.
- lymphocytopoiesis — Lymphopoiesis.
- m-expression lisp — (MLISP) The original "meta-language" syntax of Lisp, designed by John McCarthy in 1962. MLISP was intended for external use in place of the parenthesised S-expression syntax.
- make no apologies — If you say that you make no apologies for what you have done, you are emphasizing that you feel that you have done nothing wrong.
- malagasy republic — former name of Madagascar.
- malayo-polynesian — a family of languages extending from Madagascar to the central Pacific, including Malagasy, Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog, and Polynesian
- meissen porcelain — Dresden china.
- melissopalynology — The study of honey and its composition.
- mercuric sulphide — a compound of mercury, usually existing as a black solid (metacinnabarite) or a red solid (cinnabar or vermilion), which is used as a pigment. Formula: HgS
- metalloproteinase — (enzyme) Any of several proteinases that have a metal atom (often zinc) at their active centre.
- microencapsulated — Encapsulated using microencapsulation.
- middle-age spread — an increase in bulk, especially in the waist and buttocks, associated with the onset of middle age and the body's decreasing ability to metabolize calories efficiently.
- midsagittal plane — a plane passing through the nasion when the skull is oriented in the Frankfurt horizontal.
- mississippi delta — an area between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers in the northwest of the state of Mississippi; it is very flat and fertile
- mother spleenwort — a fern, Asplenium bulbiferum, of tropical Africa and Australasia, the fronds often bearing bulbils that sprout into new plants while still attached, grown as an ornamental.
- multiple exposure — the filming of more than one scene in a single frame
- multiple neuritis — polyneuritis.
- muscle dysmorphia — a mental disorder primarily affecting males, characterized by obsessions about a perceived lack of muscularity, leading to compulsive exercising, use of anabolic steroids, etc. Compare body dysmorphic disorder.
- net present value — an assessment of the long-term profitability of a project made by adding together all the revenue it can be expected to achieve over its whole life and deducting all the costs involved, discounting both future costs and revenue at an appropriate rate
- neurophysiologist — the branch of physiology dealing with the functions of the nervous system.
- neuropsychologist — A neurologist or psychologist whose speciality is neuropsychology.
- non-stereotypical — a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.
- non-thermoplastic — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- nonaccomplishment — Something that does not achieve the intended goal.
- not spare oneself — to exert oneself to the full
- old age pensioner — An old age pensioner is a person who is old enough to receive an pension from their employer or the government.
- old contemptibles — the British expeditionary force to France in 1914
- old people's home — An old people's home is a place where old people live and are cared for when they are too old to look after themselves.
- olympic peninsula — a large peninsula of W Washington
- omphalomesenteric — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to the umbilicus and mesentery.
- operation sealion — the codename for Hitler's proposed invasion (1940) of Great Britain
- optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- 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.
- parcplace systems — (company) A company spun-off from Xerox PARC that developed the original version of VisualWorks.
- parker house roll — a soft dinner roll made by folding a flat disk of dough in half.