23-letter words containing i, d, e, a, o
- moving target indicator — a Doppler-radar presentation that indicates moving targets only, stationary objects reflecting signals that the system rejects. Abbreviation: MTI.
- multimedia compact disc — (storage) (MMCD) A CD-ROM standard for storing 4.7 GB of data including video. MMCD is being developed by a large numer of computer manufacturers and is expected to be shipped in late 1996 or early 1997. Initially it will be aimed at the consumer market, then perhaps in CD-ROM format for computers, and maybe later on erasble CD.
- near-infrared radiation — the shorter wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared region of the spectrum, extending from about 0.75 to 2.5 micrometers, usually radiation reflected from plant materials.
- negative bending moment — a bending moment that produces convex bending at the supports of a continuously supported beam
- nondisclosure agreement — a legal contract in which one or more parties agree to keep information, as a trade secret, confidential and protected for a specific amount of time. Abbreviation: NDA.
- nonessential amino acid — an amino acid that can be synthesized in the body
- not dry behind the ears — free from moisture or excess moisture; not moist; not wet: a dry towel; dry air.
- o'reilly and associates — The leading publisher of information on the Internet, Unix, the X Window System and other open systems. They also provide the Global Network Navigator service.
- object-oriented fortran — (language) (OOF) An object-oriented extension of Fortran, in which data items can be grouped into objects, which can be instantiated and executed in parallel. It was available for Sun, Iris, iPSC, and nCUBE, but is no longer supported. E-mail: Donna Reese <[email protected]>.
- of many years' standing — You can use the expression of many years' standing to say that something has had a particular function or someone has had a particular role for many years. For example, if a place is your home of ten years' standing, it has been your home for ten years.
- on-line data processing — the storing or processing of data on a computer using the internet
- one-hundred share index — the average prices for shares of the largest, most actively traded, 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange
- order of military merit — an order awarded to members of the Canadian Forces for conspicuous merit; established in 1972
- order of the visitation — a religious order of nuns founded in 1610 by St Francis of Sales and dedicated to contemplation and the cultivation of humility, gentleness, and sisterly love
- ordinary life insurance — life insurance with premiums paid throughout the lifetime of the insured.
- overnight accommodation — accommodation provided by an establishment (such as a hotel) where guests can sleep or spend the night
- painting and decorating — interior decoration
- parasexual reproduction — reproduction by recombination of genes from genetically dissimilar nuclei within binucleate or multinucleate cells, as in filamentous fungi.
- parliamentary democracy — a system of government in which people elect representatives to a parliament to make laws, for example Canada and the UK
- partial differentiation — the process of finding one of the partial derivatives of a function of several variables.
- participatory democracy — individual participation by citizens in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, especially directly rather than through elected representatives.
- patient confidentiality — the law that a doctor or medical practitioner cannot reveal anything said to them by their patients during consultation or treatment
- percentage distribution — a frequency distribution is which individual frequencies are shown as a percentage of the total frequencies
- peroxymonosulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
- philadelphia pepper pot — pepper pot (def 1).
- photoelectric magnitude — the magnitude of a star determined using a photometer plus a filter to select light or other radiation of the desired wavelength
- physical memory address — physical address
- plain old documentation — (text) (pod, occasionally "POD") A simple markup language used to embed documentation, literate programming-style, in Perl programs. Pod readers and converters are part of the standard Perl distribution and the documentation provided with Perl is all in pod format.
- polish lowland sheepdog — a strongly-built medium-sized sheepdog of a Polish breed with a long thick shaggy coat that covers the eyes
- polybrominated biphenyl — PBB.
- positive discrimination — special opportunities
- postcode discrimination — discrimination on the basis of the area where someone lives, with relation to employment, credit rating, etc
- potassium acid tartrate — cream of tartar.
- precipitation hardening — a process in which alloys are strengthened by the formation, in their lattice, of a fine dispersion of one component when the metal is quenched from a high temperature and aged at an intermediate temperature
- preferred provider plan — A preferred provider plan is a health insurance plan in the U.S. written by an organization of hospitals and physicians who provide services to clients of a particular insurance company.
- presidential government — a system of government in which the powers of the president are constitutionally separate from those of the legislature.
- private limited company — a company whose shares can be bought by the public
- process hazard analysis — Process hazard analysis is calculating what might be a hazard in a process, how likely it is to happen, and what should be done if someone or something is exposed to this hazard.
- product differentiation — the real or illusory distinction between competing products in a market
- professional misconduct — a violation of the rules or boundaries set by the governing body of a profession
- program design language — Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which management forces one to design programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead of little or no benefit. See also flow chart.
- programmer brain damage — (humour) (PBD) A classification of a bug which was obviously introduced by an incompetent or short-sighted programmer. Compare UBD. See also brain-damaged.
- psychomotor retardation — a generalized slowing of psychological and physical activity, frequently occurring as a symptom of severe depression.
- publicly-quoted company — a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange
- put the record straight — to correct an error or misunderstanding
- quantum electrodynamics — the quantum field theory that deals with the electromagnetic field and its interaction with electrons and positrons. Abbreviation: QED.
- queen charlotte islands — a group of about 150 islands off the W coast of Canada: part of British Columbia. Pop: about 6000 (latest est). Area: 9596 sq km (3705 sq miles)
- radio direction finding — the act or process of finding the direction to a radio source by comparing the signal strength of antennae pointing in different directions
- rank outsider/outsiders — If one of the people in a competition is described as a rank outsider, they are considered to have very little chance of winning.
- rate-of-climb indicator — a flight instrument that indicates the rate of climb or descent of an aircraft.