23-letter words containing m, a, s
- communist-international — an international organization (1919–43), founded in Moscow, uniting Communist groups of various countries and advocating the attainment of their ends by violent revolution. Also called Comintern, Communist International. Compare international (def 6).
- compact disc read-write — Compact Disc Rewritable
- compact disc recordable — (storage) (CD-R) A write-once version of CD-ROM. CD-Rs can hold about 650 megabytes of data. They are very durable and can be read by normal CD-ROM drives, but once data has been written it cannot be altered. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-R discs have a dye-based recording layer and an additional golden reflecting layer. Digital information is written to the disc by burning (forming) pits in the recording layer in a pattern corresponding to that of a conventional CD. The laser beam heats the substrate and recording layer to approximately 250 C. The recording layer melts and the substrate expands into the space that becomes available. See also CD-RW and DVD-RAM.
- compact disc rewritable — (storage) (CD-RW) A rewritable version of CD-ROM. A CD-RW drive can write about 650 megabytes of data to CD-RW media an unlimited number of times. Most CD-RW drives can also write once to CD-R media. CD-RW media cannot be read by CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997 due to the reduced reflectivity (15% compared to 70%) of CD-RW media. CD-RW drives and media are currently (1999) more expensive than CD-R drives and media. CD-R is sometimes considered a better technology for archival purposes as the data cannot be accidentally modified or tampered with, and encourages better archival practices. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-WR discs have a phase-change recording layer and an additional silver (aluminium) reflecting layer. A laser beam can melt crystals in the recording layer into a non-crystalline amorphous phase or anneal them slowly at a lower temperature back to the crystalline state. The different reflectance of the areas make them appear as the 'pits' and 'lands' of a standard CD. See also CD-R and DVD-RAM.
- comparative advertising — a form of advertising in which a product is compared favourably with similar products on the market
- comparative linguistics — the study of the correspondences between languages that have a common origin.
- completely normal space — a normal topological space in which every subspace is normal.
- composite colour signal — a colour television signal in which luminance and two chrominance components are encoded into a single signal
- computer-based training — Computer-Aided Instruction
- conformational analysis — the study of the spatial arrangement of atoms or groups of atoms in a molecule and the way in which this influences chemical behaviour
- connection machine lisp — (language) Lisp with a parallel data structure, the 'xapping', an array of values assigned to an array of sites.
- constitutional monarchy — a monarchy governed according to a constitution that limits and defines the powers of the sovereign
- criminal justice system — the combination of courts and legal processes that deal with crime
- criminal records bureau — (in England and Wales) a service offering employers and voluntary organizations access to police, health, and education records
- cryptococcal meningitis — a form of meningitis resulting from opportunistic infection by a cryptococcus fungus, occurring in persons who are immunodeficient.
- cut sb's umbilical cord — If you say that one person, organization, or country has cut its umbilical cord with another, you mean that they have done something that makes them more independent.
- cybercrime as a service — (security, legal) (CaaS) A kind of software as a service that involves performing illegal online activities (cybercrime) on behalf of others for money. Cybercrime as a service represents an evolution of online crime from the sale of illegal products such as malware and exploit kits to offering everything necessary to arrange a cyber fraud or to conduct a cyber attack. As well as providing malicious code, the service provider also rents out the infrastructure to control the distribution and operation of the malware, e.g., bullet-proof hosting or huge botnets.
- cyclohexylsulfamic acid — cyclamic acid.
- d'arsonval galvanometer — a galvanometer consisting of a large, fixed magnet and a light coil that swings in the magnetic field.
- dacryocystorhinostomies — Plural form of dacryocystorhinostomy.
- data acquisition system — A data acquisition system is a system that acquires data, generally by digitizing analog channels and storing the data in digital form.
- descriptive metaphysics — the philosophical study of the structure of how we think about the world
- deterministic automaton — (theory) A finite-state automaton in which the overall course of the computation is completely determined by the program, the starting state, and the initial inputs. The class of problems solvable by such automata is the class P (see polynomial-time algorithm).
- dialectical materialism — the economic, political, and philosophical system of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that combines traditional materialism and Hegelian dialectic
- diamondback rattlesnake — either of two large, highly venomous rattlesnakes of the genus Crotalus, having diamond-shaped markings on the back.
- discrimination learning — a learning process in which an organism learns to react differently to different stimuli
- disjunctive normal form — (DNF) A logical formula consisting of a disjunction of conjunctions where no conjunction contains a disjunction. E.g. the DNF of (A or B) and C is (A and C) or (B and C).
- dissociate oneself from — to deny or repudiate any connection with
- do someone's heart good — to make someone happy; please someone
- draw/make a distinction — If you draw a distinction or make a distinction, you say that two things are different.
- drop into someone's lap — to cause to be someone's responsibility
- dsp32 assembly language — A high-level assembly language for the DSP32 Programmable DSP Chip.
- dual sensory impairment — the condition of being affected by sight and hearing loss
- electronic mail address — (messaging) (Usually "e-mail address") The string used to specify the source or destination of an electronic mail message. E.g. "[email protected]". The RFC 822 standard is probably the most widely used on the Internet. X.400 was once used in Europe and Canada. UUCP-style (bang path) addresses or other kinds of source route became virtually extinct in the 1990s. In the example above, "john" is the local part which is the name of a mailbox on the destination computer. If the sender and recipient use the same computer, or the same LAN, for electronic mail then the local part is usually all that is required. If they use different computers, e.g. they work at different companies or use different Internet service providers, then the "host part", e.g. "sales.acme.com" must be appended after an "@". This usually takes the form of a fully qualified domain name or, within a large organisation, it may be just the hostname part, e.g. "sales". The destination computer named by the host part is usually a server of some kind rather than an individual's workstation or PC. The user's mail is stored on the server and read later via client mail software running on the user's computer. Large organisations, such as universities will often set up a global alias directory which maps a simple user name such as "jsmith" to an address which contains more information such as "[email protected]". This hides the detailed knowledge of where the message will be delivered from the sender, making it much easier to redirect mail if a user leaves or moves to a different department for example.
- eliminative materialism — (in philosophy of mind) the theory that people's common-sense understanding of the mind is false and that certain classes of mental states that most people believe in do not exist
- embarrassment of riches — If you say that someone has an embarrassment of riches, you mean that they have so many good things that these things are a problem.
- endorsement advertising — the practice of saying that you approve of a company or product by appearing in advertisements for it
- exchange rate mechanism — European financial system
- experimental psychology — the scientific study of the individual behaviour of man and other animals, esp of perception, learning, memory, motor skills, and thinking
- fifth marquis lansdowne — Henry Charles Keith, 5th Marquis of Lansdowne, Lansdowne, 5th Marquis of.
- finite element analysis — Finite element analysis is a type of computer-based analysis which calculates variations of quantities such as temperature or stress in a body by dividing it into small parts with no spaces between them.
- forewarned is forearmed — If you say 'Forewarned is forearmed', you are saying that if you know about a problem or situation in advance, you will be able to deal with it when you need to.
- functional requirements — (specification) What a system should be able to do, the functions it should perform. This term is used at both the user requirements analysis and software requirements specifications phases in the software life-cycle. An example of a non-functional requirement is an initialisation sequence incorporated into the software that is specific to a given customer.
- galilean transformation — the equations in classical mechanics that relate position and time in two frames of reference that are moving uniformly with respect to each other. Compare inertial system, relativity (def 2).
- ge information services — (networking, company) One of the leading on-line services, started on 1st October 1985, providing subscribers with hundreds of special interest areas, computer hardware and software support, award-winning multi-player games, the most software files in the industry (over 200 000), worldwide news, sports updates, business news, investment strategies, and Internet electronic mail and fax (GE Mail). Interactive conversations (Chat Lines) and bulletin boards (Round Tables) with associated software archives are also provided. GEnie databases (through the ARTIST gateway) allow users to search the full text of thousands of publications, including Dun & Bradstreet Company Profiles; a GEnie NewsStand with more than 900 newspapers, magazines, and newsletters; a Reference Center with information ranging from Agriculture to World History; the latest in medical information from MEDLINE; and patent and trademark registrations. Telephone: +1 (800) 638 9636. TDD: +1 (800) 238 9172. E-mail: <[email protected]>.
- german baptist brethren — Church of the Brethren.
- german southwest africa — a former name of Namibia.
- give something a rub-up — to smooth or polish something
- grant-maintained school — a school funded directly by central government
- graphical kernel system — (graphics, standard) (GKS) The widely recognised standard ANSI X3.124 for graphical input/output. GKS is worked on by the ISO/IEC group JTC1/SC24. It provides applications programmers with standard methods of creating, manipulating, and displaying or printing computer graphics on different types of computer graphics output devices. It provides an abstraction to save programmers from dealing with the detailed capabilities and interfaces of specific hardware. GKS defines a basic two-dimensional graphics system with: uniform input and output primitives; a uniform interface to and from a GKS metafile for storing and transferring graphics information. It supports a wide range of graphics output devices including such as printers, plotters, vector graphics devices, storage tubes, refresh displays, raster displays, and microfilm recorders.