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22-letter words containing f, e, r, i

  • curvature of the spine — a condition in which the spine is abnormally curved
  • cycle of reincarnation — A term coined by Ivan Sutherland ca. 1970 to refer to a well-known effect whereby function in a computing system family is migrated out to special-purpose peripheral hardware for speed, then the peripheral evolves toward more computing power as it does its job, then somebody notices that it is inefficient to support two asymmetrical processors in the architecture and folds the function back into the main CPU, at which point the cycle begins again. Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in graphics-processor (blitter) design, and at least one or two in communications and floating-point processors. Also known as "the Wheel of Life", "the Wheel of Samsara" and other variations of the basic Hindu/Buddhist theological idea.
  • damn with faint praise — If someone damns something with faint praise, they say something about it which sounds quite nice but is not enthusiastic, and shows that they do not have a high opinion of it.
  • days of wine and roses — a period of happiness and prosperity.
  • direct public offering — A direct public offering is stock offered directly for sale to investors by a company without the use of underwriters or brokers.
  • director of admissions — a member of a university staff who is in overall charge of admissions to the university and its courses
  • dog's dinner/breakfast — You describe something as a dog's breakfast or dog's dinner in order to express your disapproval of it, for example because it is very untidy, badly organized, or badly done.
  • east african community — an association established in 1967 by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to promote closer economic and social ties between member states: dissolved in 1977, but reformed in 1999, and joined in 2007 by Burundi and Rwanda
  • existential quantifier — quantifier
  • extended affix grammar — (language, grammar)   (EAG) A formalism for describing both the context free syntax and the context sensitive syntax of languages. EAGs belong to the family of two-level grammars. They are very closely related to two-level van Wijngaarden grammars. EAG can be used as a specification formalism, specifying in relations rather than functions, or as a relational programming language like PROLOG.
  • facsimile transmission — an international system of transmitting a written, printed, or pictorial document over the telephone system by scanning it photoelectrically and reproducing the image after transmission
  • fall prey to something — To fall prey to something bad means to be taken over or affected by it.
  • far-infrared radiation — the longer wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared region of the spectrum, beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, from 50 to 1000 micrometers. Abbreviation: FIR.
  • fast fourier transform — (algorithm)   (FFT) An algorithm for computing the Fourier transform of a set of discrete data values. Given a finite set of data points, for example a periodic sampling taken from a real-world signal, the FFT expresses the data in terms of its component frequencies. It also solves the essentially identical inverse problem of reconstructing a signal from the frequency data. The FFT is a mainstay of numerical analysis. Gilbert Strang described it as "the most important algorithm of our generation". The FFT also provides the asymptotically fastest known algorithm for multiplying two polynomials. Versions of the algorithm (in C and Fortran) can be found on-line from the GAMS server here.
  • federal crop insurance — insurance against the failure of certain crops provided to farmers and producers by the Federal Government
  • federal district court — district court (def 2).
  • federal maritime board — the body responsible for regulating commerce by US and international shipping in US waters
  • ferdinand von zeppelin — Count Ferdinand von [fer-di-nahnt fuh n] /ˈfɛr dɪˌnɑnt fən/ (Show IPA), 1838–1917, German general and aeronaut: designer and manufacturer of the zeppelin.
  • fermi-dirac statistics — the branch of quantum statistics used to calculate the permitted energy arrangements of the particles in a system in terms of the exclusion principle
  • fifth earl of roseberyArchibald Philip Primrose [prim-rohz] /ˈprɪmˌroʊz/ (Show IPA), 5th Earl of, 1847–1929, British statesman and author: prime minister 1894–95.
  • file transfer protocol — (FTP) A client-server protocol which allows a user on one computer to transfer files to and from another computer over a TCP/IP network. Also the client program the user executes to transfer files. It is defined in STD 9, RFC 959. See also anonymous FTP, FSP, TFTP.
  • financial underwriting — Financial underwriting is the process of assessing whether the proposed sum insured and product are reasonable when considering the possible financial loss to the client.
  • first cab off the rank — the first person, etc, to do or take advantage of something
  • fitzgerald contraction — the hypothesis that a moving body exhibits a contraction in the direction of motion when its velocity is close to the speed of light.
  • fixed investment trust — unit trust (def 1).
  • fixed point combinator — (mathematics)   (Y) The name used in combinatory logic for the fixed point function, also written as "fix".
  • flat-screen television — A flat-screen television is a television with a flat, narrow screen.
  • flexible-rate mortgage — adjustable-rate mortgage.
  • floating exchange rate — a system in which the value of a currency fluctuates against other currencies in accordance with market forces
  • flocculent precipitate — a woolly-looking precipitate, as aluminum hydroxide formed by the addition of ammonia to an aluminum-salt solution.
  • forced place insurance — Forced place insurance is insurance taken out by a bank or creditor on an uninsured debtor's behalf on a property that is being used as collateral.
  • fort benjamin harrison — a military reservation and U.S. Army training center in central Indiana, NE of Indianapolis.
  • frequency distribution — the correspondence of a set of frequencies with the set of categories, intervals, or values into which a population is classified.
  • frequency shift keying — (communications)   (FSK) The use of frequency modulation to transmit digital data, i.e. two different carrier frequencies are used to represent zero and one. FSK was originally used to transmit teleprinter messages by radio (RTTY) but can be used for most other types of radio and land-line digital telegraphy. More than two frequencies can be used to increase transmission rates.
  • fresh out of something — If you are fresh out of something, you have recently used the last of it and have none left.
  • friar minor conventual — a friar belonging to a branch of the Franciscan order that separated from the Observants in the 15th century, and that observes a modification of the rule of St. Francis. Also called Conventual. Compare Friar Minor, capuchin (def 4).
  • frictional electricity — static electricity generated by friction
  • fringed with something — having a specified thing around the edge
  • full english breakfast — morning meal of eggs, bacon, etc.
  • genetic fingerprinting — DNA fingerprinting.
  • get (or have) wind of — to get (or have) information or a hint concerning; hear (or know) of
  • give a person what for — to punish or reprimand a person severely
  • give it up for someone — to applaud someone
  • government osi profile — (networking, standard)   (GOSIP) A subset of OSI standards specific to US Government procurements, designed to maximize interoperability in areas where plain OSI standards are ambiguous or allow excessive options.
  • gravitational redshift — (in general relativity) the shift toward longer wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a source in a gravitational field, especially at the surface of a massive star.
  • gulf of saint lawrence — a deep arm of the Atlantic off the E coast of Canada between Newfoundland and the mainland coasts of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia
  • halfwave rectification — a rectifier that changes only one half of a cycle of alternating current into a pulsating, direct current.
  • hammersmith and fulham — a borough of Greater London on the River Thames: established in 1965 by the amalgamation of Fulham and Hammersmith. Pop: 174 200 (2003 est). Area: 16 sq km (6 sq miles)
  • have other fish to fry — have sth else to do
  • help a person off with — to assist a person in the removal of (clothes)
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