17-letter words containing i, l, e
- pauline privilege — (in canon law) the privilege given to converts to dissolve a marriage with an unbaptized spouse if either obstructs the religious practices of the other.
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- penitential psalm — any of the Psalms (the 6th, 32nd, 38th, 51st, 102nd, 130th, and 143rd) that give expression to feelings of penitence and that are used in various Christian liturgical services.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- peridot of ceylon — a honey-colored tourmaline, used as a gem: not a true peridot.
- period-revolution — a rather large interval of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc., because of its particular characteristics: a period of illness; a period of great profitability for a company; a period of social unrest in Germany.
- periodical cicada — seventeen-year locust.
- peripheral device — peripheral
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- personnel carrier — a vehicle used for transporting troops
- personnel officer — a worker responsible for recruiting employees and dealing with matters relating to them
- petrol filler cap — a small cover that goes over the hole in a vehicle into which you put petrol
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phenylacetic acid — a white crystalline, aromatic acid, C 8 H 8 O 2 , used in the manufacture of penicillin and in perfumes.
- phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
- philosopher kings — the Platonic ideal of a ruler, philosophically trained and enlightened.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- phonological rule — an operation in generative phonology that substitutes one sound or class of sounds for another in a phonological derivation.
- photoluminescence — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- photovoltaic cell — a photocell in which an electromotive force is generated by a photovoltaic effect.
- phumiphon aduldet — (Phumiphon Aduldet; Bhumibol Adulyadej) born 1927, king of Thailand since 1946.
- physical exercise — movements and activities done to keep your body healthy or make it stronger
- physical medicine — the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury by means of physical agents, as manipulation, massage, exercise, heat, or water.
- physical pendulum — any apparatus consisting of a body of possibly irregular shape allowed to rotate freely about a horizontal axis on which it is pivoted (distinguished from simple pendulum).
- pied-billed grebe — an American grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, having a whitish bill with a black band around it.
- pile on the agony — to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
- pillar-and-breast — room-and-pillar.
- pillion passenger — a person who travels in a seat or place behind the rider of a motorcycle, scooter, horse, etc
- pincushion flower — scabious2 (def 1).
- pipeline capacity — The pipeline capacity is the volume of oil or gas which is needed to maintain a full pipeline.
- plastic explosive — a puttylike substance that contains an explosive charge, and is detonated by fuse or by remote control: used especially by terrorists and in guerrilla warfare.
- platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- plumbing fixtures — things such as pipes, sinks, toilets that are fixed in position in a building
- pluvius insurance — insurance against rain
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- point reyes lilac — a prostrate shrub, Ceanothus gloriosus, of southern California, having leathery, roundish leaves and purplish or deep-blue flowers.
- pointer swizzling — swizzle
- poison-pen letter — A poison-pen letter is an unpleasant unsigned letter which is sent in order to upset someone or to cause trouble.
- polar continental — a type of cold, dry air mass originating at high latitudes over land areas
- polar coordinates — Usually, polar coordinates. one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis (polar angle)
- polarizing filter — a camera lens filter used to control the plane of polarization of light entering the lens.
- police department — A police department is an official organization which is responsible for making sure that people obey the law.
- police helicopter — a helicopter used in police operations, for example in traffic control, or for observation
- police procedural — a mystery novel, film, or television drama that deals realistically with police work.
- police protection — protection from danger, crime etc given by the police force to a community, city etc