17-letter words containing n, a, i, l
- sinbad the sailor — a merchant in The Arabian Nights who makes seven adventurous voyages
- sinclair research — (company) A British microelectronics developer and manufacturer. Evolving from Sinclair Radionics in 1979, Sinclair Research was owned by Sir Clive Sinclair. Sinclair Radionics produced electronic components and devices (such as calculators and pocket radios and televisions), but Sinclair Research began by producing some of the first 8-bit home microcomputers. Sinclair produced five microcomputers from 1980 to 1987, all based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor (except for the QL, which used the Motorola 68008 - a variant on the 68000). The 1K kit-build ZX80, introduced in 1980, was followed by the 1K ZX81 (expandable to 16K) in 1981, the 16K (expandable to 48K) ZX Spectrum in 1982 (then superseded by two distinct 48K models and a 128K model in 1986) and the QL (Quantum Leap) in 1984. A portable laptop computer, the Z88, was released in 1987 under the Cambridge Computers banner. Of them all, the ZX Spectrum was the best known, and it went on to become the most popular microcomputer of its time in the United Kingdom and in many other territories. This was partly due to its ease of use, and also due to its enormous software catalogue, covering games, word processing, music, programming and graphics. Glorious "mine's-better-than-yours" battles were fought (and still are today) between owners of Spectrums and Commodore 64s over who had the best machine. Sir Clive's financial problems in the mid-80s led him to sell the rights to the Sinclair brand to Amstrad in April 1986. This led to further models of the Spectrum being released from 1986 to 1988 and also an IBM PC-compatible based internally on Amstrad's own PC range. Sir Clive was not involved with the production of these computers, and no computer with the Sinclair name has been produced since.
- single-name paper — commercial paper bearing only the signature of the maker.
- single-track road — a road that is only wide enough for one vehicle
- sinus of valsalva — any of the pouches of the aorta and the pulmonary artery opposite the flaps of the semilunar valves into which blood returning to the heart flows, closing the valves.
- situational irony — irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.
- slap on the wrist — a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
- sleep deprivation — a condition in which you have not had enough sleep
- sleeping quarters — the rooms where people sleep in a large building or complex or on a boat etc
- slenderness ratio — aspect ratio (def 4a).
- slenderness-ratio — Aeronautics. the ratio of the span of an airfoil to its mean chord.
- sliding vane pump — A sliding vane pump is a pump in which the vanes (=flat parts) are the main sealing element between the suction and discharge areas.
- slings and arrows — Slings and arrows are unpleasant things that happen to you and that are not your fault.
- smarandache logic — neutrosophic logic
- social accounting — the analysis of the economy by sectors leading to the calculation and publication of economic statistics, such as gross national product and national income
- social assistance — welfare program
- social conscience — the state of being aware of the problems that affect a lot of people in society, such as being poor or having no home, and wanting to do something to help these people
- social enterprise — a business organization that works to benefit society as a whole
- social networking — the development of social and professional contacts; the sharing of information and services among people with a common interest.
- social notworking — the practice of spending time unproductively on social networking websites, esp when one should be working
- social settlement — settlement (def 14).
- socially included — benefiting from social inclusion
- socioeconomically — of, relating to, or signifying the combination or interaction of social and economic factors: socioeconomic study; socioeconomic status.
- socratic elenchus — the drawing out of the consequences of a position in order to show them to be contrary to some accepted position
- soil conservation — any of various methods to achieve the maximum utilization of the land and preserve its resources through such controls as crop rotation, prevention of soil erosion, etc.
- solicitor general — a law officer who maintains the rights of the state in suits affecting the public interest, next in rank to the attorney general.
- south farmingdale — a town on central Long Island, in SE New York.
- south lanarkshire — a council area of S Scotland, comprising the S part of the historical county of Lanarkshire: included within Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996: has uplands in the S and part of the Glasgow conurbation in the N: mainly agricultural. Administrative centre: Hamilton. Pop: 303 010 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- south sea islands — the islands in the S Pacific that constitute Oceania
- southern triangle — the constellation Triangulum Australe.
- spanish civil war — the civil war in Spain 1936–39.
- spanish influenza — the pandemic respiratory infection that spread throughout the world during 1917–18.
- sparc xterminal 1 — (computer) Sun's lowest cost networked Unix desktop, it is board-upgradeable to a SPARC 4. It comes with a choice of frame buffers: 8-bit colour, Turbo GX, or Turbo GX plus. This product was expected to replace the SPARCclassic X. UK availability was planned for March 1995.
- spatial frequency — the measure of fine detail in an optical image in terms of cycles per millimetre
- spatial summation — the act or process of summing.
- special constable — a person recruited for temporary or occasional police duties, esp in time of emergency
- special education — education that is modified or particularized for those with singular needs, as disabled or maladjusted people, slow learners, or gifted children.
- special messenger — a postal worker who delivers mail by special delivery
- special schooling — the system of educating children with special needs in schools designed to meet their needs
- spectrum analysis — the determination of the constitution or condition of bodies and substances by means of the spectra they produce.
- spherical polygon — a closed figure formed by arcs of great circles on a spherical surface.
- spinal anesthesia — interruption of conduction of nerve impulses by the injection of an anesthetic into the spinal canal that reduces sensitivity to pain without loss of consciousness.
- spinal meningitis — infection of spinal membrane
- spiritual healing — faith healing
- split keyboarding — the act or practice of editing data from one terminal on another terminal
- split personality — multiple personality.
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- spot-illustration — a rounded mark or stain made by foreign matter, as mud, blood, paint, ink, etc.; a blot or speck.
- sri international — (company) One of the world's largest contract research firms. Founded in 1946 in conjuction with Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, they later became fully independent and were incorporated as a non-profit organisation under U.S. and California laws. SRI does research and development in many areas, independently and for hire. They produce and sell reports on the independent research. Address: Menlo Park, California, USA; Cambridge, UK.
- stannous chloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, SnCl 2 ⋅2H 2 O, used chiefly as a reducing and tinning agent, and as a mordant in dyeing with cochineal.