28-letter words containing l, s, e, r
- pleuropneumonialike organism — any antibiotic-resistant mycoplasma causing a form of pneumonia in humans. Abbreviation: PPLO.
- potassium antimonyl tartrate — a white, water-soluble, sweet and metallic-tasting, poisonous powder or granules, C 4 H 4 KO 7 Sb, used as a mordant for dyeing textiles and leather, and in medicine as an expectorant, for inducing vomiting, and for infections by schistosomes.
- precious little/precious few — If you say that there is precious little of something, you are emphasizing that there is very little of it, and that it would be better if there were more. Precious few has a similar meaning.
- probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
- put one's cards on the table — a usually rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses, as to write information on or printed as a means of identifying the holder: a 3″ × 5″ file card; a membership card.
- quick mail transfer protocol — (communications) (QMTP) An SMTP replacement that works better over high latency links as it doesn't require as much interaction as SMTP. QMTP listens on port 209 and is used by qmail.
- raise specification language — (language) (RSL) (RAISE = Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering). A wide-spectrum specification and design language developed by ESPRIT Project 315 at CRI A/S, Denmark. Systems may be modular, concurrent and nondeterministic. Specifications may be applicative or imperative, explicit or implicit, abstract or concrete.
- real time streaming protocol — (multimedia, networking, protocol) (RTSP) An application layer protocol for controlling delivery of a stream of real-time multimedia content. RTSP allows users to start playing from a certain position. It does not actually deliver the data, but works alongside existing delivery channels such as UDP, TCP, or IP multicast. RTSP was developed by RealNetworks, Netscape Communications, and Columbia University, and is described in RFC 2326, April 1998. RTSP is an IETF proposed standard.
- real-estate investment trust — an unincorporated trust created for the purpose of investing in real property or to extend credit to those engaged in construction. Abbreviation: REIT.
- real-time transport protocol — (protocol) (RTP) An Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data such as audio and video. RTP itself does not guarantee real-time delivery of data, but it does provide mechanisms for the sending and receiving applications to support streaming data. Typically, RTP runs on top of the UDP protocol, although the specification is general enough to support other transport protocols. RTP has received wide industry support. Netscape intends to base its LiveMedia technology on RTP, and Microsoft claims that its NetMeeting product supports RTP.
- reflexive transitive closure — Two elements, x and y, are related by the reflexive transitive closure, R+, of a relation, R, if they are related by the transitive closure, R*, or they are the same element.
- regular expression converter — CONVERT
- religious society of friends — a sect founded by George Fox in England about 1650, opposed to oath-taking and war.
- revised version of the bible — a recension of the Authorized Version, prepared by British and American scholars, the Old Testament being published in 1885, and the New Testament in 1881.
- richardson's ground squirrel — a ground squirrel of the NW USA and Canada, Citellus richardsoni
- scanning electron microscope — a device in which the specimen is examined point by point directly in a moving electron beam, and electrons reflected by the specimen are used to form a magnified, three-dimensional image on a television screen. Abbreviation: SEM.
- second law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
- second-order lambda-calculus — (language) (SOL) A typed lambda-calculus.
- self-regulating organization — one of several British organizations set up in 1986 under the auspices of the Securities and Investment Board to regulate the activities of London investment markets
- semiconservative replication — replication.
- service advertising protocol — (networking) (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
- sexually transmitted disease — any disease characteristically transmitted by sexual contact, as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, and chlamydia. Abbreviation: STD.
- silicon-controlled rectifier — a semiconductor rectifier whose forward current between two electrodes, the anode and cathode, is initiated by means of a signal applied to a third electrode, the gate. The current subsequently becomes independent of the signal. It is a type of thyristor
- simulation oriented language — (language) (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
- single in-line memory module — (storage) (SIMM) A small circuit board or substrate, typically about 10cm x 2cm, with RAM integrated circuits or die on one or both sides and a single row of pins along one long edge. Several SIMMs are mounted with their substrates at right-angles to the main circuit board (the motherboard). This configuration allows greater packing density than direct mounting of, e.g. DIL (dual in-line) RAM packages on the motherboard. In 1993 one SIMM typically held one or four megabytes, by early 1997 one could hold 8, 16, or 32 MB.
- single sideband transmission — a method of transmitting radio waves in which either the upper or the lower sideband is transmitted, the carrier being either wholly or partially suppressed. This reduces the required bandwidth and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- special power of appointment — authority to appoint persons from a particular class to take an estate or interest in property
- special theory of relativity — the state or fact of being relative.
- spectral luminous efficiency — a measure of the efficiency of radiation of a given wavelength in producing a visual sensation. It is equal to the ratio of the radiant flux at a standard wavelength to that at the given wavelength when the standard wavelength is chosen so that the maximum value of this ratio is unity
- strictly decreasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than the image of the smaller point.
- strictly increasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is greater than the image of the smaller point.
- strike while the iron is hot — Chemistry. a ductile, malleable, silver-white metallic element, scarcely known in a pure condition, but much used in its crude or impure carbon-containing forms for making tools, implements, machinery, etc. Symbol: Fe; atomic weight: 55.847; atomic number: 26; specific gravity: 7.86 at 20°C. Compare cast iron, pig iron, steel, wrought iron.
- supplemental security income — income provided by the U.S. government to needy aged, blind, and disabled persons. Abbreviation: SSI.
- systemic lupus erythematosus — an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the connective tissues, occurring mainly among middle-aged women, chiefly characterized by skin eruptions, joint pain, recurrent pleurisy, and kidney disease. Abbreviation: SLE.
- systems administrators guild — (body, job) (SAGE) A special technical group of the USENIX Association.
- tannu tuva people's republic — former name of Tuva Autonomous Republic.
- television interface adaptor — (hardware, graphics) (TIA) The graphics chip in the Atari 2600, also used as a sound chip for some arcade game.
- the everglades national park — the Florida park established to preserve the flora and fauna of the Everglade swamps
- the last word/the final word — If someone has the last word or the final word in a discussion, argument, or disagreement, they are the one who wins it or who makes the final decision.
- the line of least resistance — If you take the line of least resistance in a situation, you do what is easiest, even though you think that it may not be the right thing to do. In American English, you usually talk about the path of least resistance.
- the long and the short of it — the essential points or facts
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- the world owes them a living — If you say that someone thinks that the world owes them a living, you are criticizing them because they think it is their right to have a comfortable life without having to make any effort at all.
- through rose-colored glasses — with optimism, esp. undue optimism
- tissue plasminogen activator — an anticlotting enzyme, naturally occurring in small amounts in the blood.
- to come to a screeching halt — (of a motor vehicle) to stop suddenly, causing the brakes or tyres to produce a high-pitched sound
- to get off to a flying start — If someone or something gets off to a flying start, or makes a flying start, they start very well, for example in a race or a new job.
- to leave a lot to be desired — If you say that something leaves a lot to be desired, you mean that it is not as good as it should be.
- to make a clean breast of it — If you make a clean breast of something, you tell someone the truth about yourself or about something wrong that you have done.