17-letter words containing f, e, i, s, a
- flea in one's ear — a sharp rebuke
- flickertail state — North Dakota (used as a nickname).
- fluvioterrestrial — (of animals) able to live in rivers and on land
- fore-and-aft sail — any of various sails, as jib-headed sails, gaff sails, lugsails, lateen sails, spritsails, staysails, and jibs, that do not set on yards and whose normal position, when not trimmed, is in a fore-and-aft direction amidships.
- foreign relations — (used with a singular verb) the field of foreign affairs: an expert in foreign relations.
- foreign secretary — foreign minister.
- foundation course — A foundation course is a course that you do at some colleges and universities in order to prepare yourself for a longer or more advanced course.
- fourier transform — a mapping of a function, as a signal, that is defined in one domain, as space or time, into another domain, as wavelength or frequency, where the function is represented in terms of sines and cosines.
- fractal dimension — (mathematics) A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
- francis ferdinand — 1863–1914, archduke of Austria: heir apparent to the thrones of Austria and Hungary whose assassination precipitated the outbreak of World War I (nephew of Francis Joseph I).
- frankenstein food — any foodstuff that has been genetically modified
- fraternal society — a club or other association, usually of men, having a limited membership and devoted to professional, religious, charitable, or social activities.
- freight insurance — insurance paid on goods in transport
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- frostbite sailing — the sport of sailing in temperate latitudes during the winter despite cold weather.
- fulgencio batista — Fulgencio [fool-hen-syaw] /fulˈhɛn syɔ/ (Show IPA), (Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar) 1901–73, Cuban military leader: dictator of Cuba 1934–40; president 1940–44, 1952–59.
- functional isomer — any of several structural isomers that have the same molecular formula but with the atoms connected in different ways and therefore falling into different functional groups.
- gaseous diffusion — the passage of gas through microporous barriers, a technique used for isotope separation, especially in the preparation of fuel for nuclear reactors.
- get a rise out of — to get up from a lying, sitting, or kneeling posture; assume an upright position: She rose and walked over to greet me. With great effort he rose to his knees.
- get to first base — Baseball. the first in counterclockwise order of the bases from home plate. the position of the player covering the area of the infield near first base.
- give satisfaction — to satisfy
- go-faster stripes — (jargon) chrome. Mainstream in some parts of UK.
- grain of paradise — Usually, grains of paradise. one of the pungent, peppery seeds of an African plant, Aframomum melegueta, of the ginger family, used to strengthen cordials and in veterinary medicine.
- great vowel shift — a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
- half-round chisel — a cold chisel with a semicircular cutting edge used for making narrow channels
- hall of residence — Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term.
- have feelings for — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
- have it in for sb — If someone has it in for you, they dislike you and try to cause problems for you.
- house of ill fame — a house of prostitution; brothel
- if all else fails — You say if all else fails to suggest what could be done in a certain situation if all the other things you have tried are unsuccessful.
- image intensifier — any of various devices for amplifying the intensity of an optical image, sometimes used in conjunction with an image converter
- impersonification — (archaic) the act of impersonating; impersonation.
- in forma pauperis — as a poor person; i.e. without paying court costs
- in someone's face — the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin.
- indefatigableness — The state of being indefatigable.
- inefficaciousness — Lack of efficacy.
- infinitive clause — a clause containing an infinitive as its main or only verb form, as to speak clearly in Try to speak clearly.
- intensive farming — battery rearing of animals
- interconfessional — common to or occurring between churches having different confessions.
- interfenestration — a space between two windows.
- interprofessional — following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.
- intraspecifically — Between individuals of the same species.
- isherwood framing — a system for framing steel vessels in which light, closely spaced, longitudinal frames are connected by heavy, widely spaced transverse frames with deep webs.
- island of the sun — Sicily: the island where Helius kept his oxen.
- it's your funeral — If someone says to you 'It's your funeral', they think your decision or your actions will have bad consequences for you, but they are unwilling to interfere.
- job specification — a detailed description of the qualifications, skills, and experience required for a particular post of employment
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- kolar gold fields — a city in S India, in SE Karnataka: a major gold-mining centre since 1881. Pop: 176 000 (2005 est)
- lead a dog's life — a domesticated canid, Canis familiaris, bred in many varieties.
- league of nations — an international organization to promote world peace and cooperation that was created by the Treaty of Versailles (1919): dissolved April 1946.