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17-letter words containing i, o, n, p

  • optical computing — (hardware)   (Or "Optical Signal Processing") Operating on data represented using electromagnetic radiation, e.g. visible light, instead of the electrical signals used in a conventional electronic digital computer. Electronic digital computers are built from transistors. These form components that store data and logic gates that perform the low-level Boolean operations such as AND, OR and NOT that are the basis of all digital computation. The optical equivalent requires material with a non-linear refractive index such that light beams can interact with each other to perform the same Boolean operations. Though the photons that carry optical signals offer some theoretical advantages over the electrons that carry electronic signals, there are many practical problems that would have to be overcome before optical computing could compete in terms of cost, power and speed.
  • organ-pipe cactus — a treelike or columnar cactus, Lemaireocereus marginatus, of Mexico, having a central, erect spine surrounded by spreading spines in clusters of five to eight, and funnel-shaped, brownish-purple flowers.
  • organic psychosis — a severe mental illness produced by damage to the brain, as a result of poisoning, alcoholism, disease, etc
  • origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
  • ortho-nitrophenol — any compound derived from phenol by the replacement of one or more of its ring hydrogen atoms by the nitro group.
  • out of proportion — exaggerated, excessive
  • over-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
  • over-compensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
  • pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
  • packaging company — a company that packages goods on behalf of the producer
  • pair annihilation — Physics. annihilation (def 3a).
  • palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
  • paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
  • pan potentiometer — a control on a stereo sound mixing desk by means of which the relative levels in right- and left-hand channels can be adjusted and hence the apparent position of the recorded or broadcast sound source within the stereo panorama can be controlled
  • papanicolaou test — Pap test.
  • parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
  • particularization — to make particular.
  • parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
  • pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
  • passenger station — a station used by passengers
  • passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
  • pecorino (cheese) — an Italian cheese made of sheep's milk; specif., such a cheese that is dry, sharp, and very hard
  • 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.
  • pension provision — the provision of a pension by the state or an employer
  • per capita income — the total income of an area or country divided by the number of people in that area or country
  • per procurationem — by one acting as an agent; by proxy.
  • percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
  • perforation gauge — a marked ruler used to measure the number of perforations per unit length along the borders of a stamp.
  • 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.
  • periodic function — a function of a real or complex variable that is periodic.
  • periodic sentence — a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense, as in Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.
  • peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
  • permutation group — a mathematical group whose elements are permutations and in which the product of two permutations is the same permutation as is obtained by performing them in succession.
  • pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
  • persistent memory — non-volatile storage
  • 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
  • perspicaciousness — having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
  • perth and kinross — a council area of N central Scotland, corresponding mainly to the historical counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire: part of Tayside Region from 1975 until 1996: chiefly mountainous, with agriculture, tourism, and forestry. Administrative centre: Perth. Pop: 135 990 (2003 est). Area: 5321 sq km (2019 sq miles)
  • petitio principii — a fallacy in reasoning resulting from the assumption of that which in the beginning was set forth to be proved; begging the question.
  • phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
  • phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
  • phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
  • philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
  • 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.
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