17-letter words containing f, i, n, s
- infinitive clause — a clause containing an infinitive as its main or only verb form, as to speak clearly in Try to speak clearly.
- infralapsarianism — the doctrine, held by Augustinians and by many Calvinists, that God planned the Creation, permitted the Fall, elected a chosen number, planned their redemption, and suffered the remainder to be eternally punished (opposed to supralapsarianism).
- instrument flying — the control and navigation of an aircraft by reference to its gauges, with no or only limited visual reference outside the cockpit.
- 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.
- irons in the fire — If someone has a lot of irons in the fire, they are involved in several different activities or have several different plans.
- 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.
- isthmus of panama — an isthmus linking North and South America, between the Pacific and the Caribbean. Length: 676 km (420 miles). Width (at its narrowest point): 50 km (31 miles)
- 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
- john of salisbury — c1115–80, English prelate and scholar.
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- last-in first-out — stack
- league of nations — an international organization to promote world peace and cooperation that was created by the Treaty of Versailles (1919): dissolved April 1946.
- least fixed point — (mathematics) A function f may have many fixed points (x such that f x = x). For example, any value is a fixed point of the identity function, (\ x . x). If f is recursive, we can represent it as f = fix F where F is some higher-order function and fix F = F (fix F). The standard denotational semantics of f is then given by the least fixed point of F. This is the least upper bound of the infinite sequence (the ascending Kleene chain) obtained by repeatedly applying F to the totally undefined value, bottom. I.e. fix F = LUB {bottom, F bottom, F (F bottom), ...}. The least fixed point is guaranteed to exist for a continuous function over a cpo.
- life imprisonment — long-term prison sentence
- line of scrimmage — an imaginary line parallel to the goal lines that passes from one sideline to the other through the point of the football closest to the goal line of each team.
- loose-leaf binder — a hard cover with metal rings inside which is used to hold loose pieces of paper
- luminous efficacy — the quotient of the luminous flux of a radiation and its corresponding radiant flux
- lyon king of arms — the chief herald of Scotland
- magnesium sulfate — a white, water-soluble salt, MgSO 4 , used chiefly in medicine and in the processing of leather and textiles.
- make something of — to find a use for
- man's best friend — a dog, especially as a pet.
- manifest function — any function of an institution or other social phenomenon that is planned and intentional.
- mare fecunditatis — (Sea of Fertility) a dark plain in the fourth quadrant and extending into the first quadrant of the face of the moon: about 160,000 sq. mi. (415,000 sq. km).
- master of science — a master's degree given usually in a specific branch of the natural sciences, mathematics, or technology.
- maurice of nassau — Prince of Orange 1567-1625; Du. statesman & military leader
- memoised function — memo function
- mexican stand-off — A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first.
- microsoft network — The Microsoft Network
- microsoft windows — (operating system) Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. The 1996 market share of operating systems was: DOS/Windows 70% Windows 95 15% Windows NT 2% Other 13% Versions include 1985 Windows 1, 1987 Windows 2, 1987 Windows/386, 1990 Windows 3.0, 1992 Windows 3.1, 1992 Windows for Workgroups 3.1, 1993 Windows 3.11, 1993 Windows for Workgroups 3.11, 1993 Windows NT 3.1, 1994 Windows NT 3.5, 1995 Windows 95, 199? Windows NT 4, 1998 Windows 98, Windows NT 5, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.
- mill on the floss — a novel (1860) by George Eliot.
- minister of state — (in the British Parliament) a minister, usually below cabinet rank, appointed to assist a senior minister with heavy responsibilities
- misidentification — to identify incorrectly.
- motion of censure — a motion by opposition parties criticizing the government
- munitions factory — a factory where munitions are made
- negative transfer — the obstruction of or interference with new learning because of previous learning, as when a U.S. tourist in England learns to drive on the left side of the road.
- neurofibromatosis — a dominantly inherited genetic disorder characterized by flat brown patches on the skin, neurofibromas of the skin and internal organs, and in some cases skeletal deformity.
- new lease on life — a contract renting land, buildings, etc., to another; a contract or instrument conveying property to another for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will of either lessor or lessee in consideration of rent or other compensation.
- nightshade family — the plant family Solanaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants, trees, shrubs, and vines having alternate, simple or pinnate leaves, conspicuous flowers, and fruit in the form of a berry or capsule, and including belladonna, eggplant, nightshade, peppers of the genus Capsicum, petunia, potato, tobacco, and tomato.
- nonteaching staff — employees within an academic or vocational environment whose jobs do not involve teaching
- northern kingfish — a croaker, Menticirrhus saxatilis, inhabiting Atlantic coastal waters of the U.S.
- northern studfish — See under studfish.
- not one's idea of — not what one regards as (hard work, a holiday, etc)
- nyquist frequency — (DSP) The highest frequency that can be represented in a digital signal of a specified sampling frequency. It is equal to one-half of the sampling rate. See Nyquist Theorem.
- odds-on favourite — a person, team, horse, etc that is regarded as the most likely to win a competition