17-letter words containing n, o, i, f, l
- fore-and-aft sail — any of various sails, as jib-headed sails, gaff sails, lugsails, lateen sails, spritsails, staysails, and jibs, that do not set on yards and whose normal position, when not trimmed, is in a fore-and-aft direction amidships.
- foreign relations — (used with a singular verb) the field of foreign affairs: an expert in foreign relations.
- formative element — a morpheme that serves as an affix, not as a base, or root, in word formation.
- fouquier-tinville — Antoine Quentin [ahn-twan kahn-tan] /ɑ̃ˈtwan kɑ̃ˈtɛ̃/ (Show IPA), 1747?–95, French revolutionist: prosecutor during the Reign of Terror.
- fractal dimension — (mathematics) A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
- fractionalization — Separation into parts by fractionalizing.
- fraternal society — a club or other association, usually of men, having a limited membership and devoted to professional, religious, charitable, or social activities.
- freewill offering — a voluntary religious contribution made in addition to what may be expected or required.
- french provincial — noting, pertaining to, or resembling a style of furnishings and decoration originating in the provinces of France in the 18th century, derived from but less ornate than styles then current in Paris and featuring simply carved wood furniture, often with decorative curved moldings.
- french revolution — the revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, and ended with Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory and seizure of power in 1799.
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- front-line player — a regular player on a sports team or one who plays in the farthest forward position
- front-wheel drive — a drive system in which engine power is transmitted through the front wheels only.
- frostbite sailing — the sport of sailing in temperate latitudes during the winter despite cold weather.
- fulgencio batista — Fulgencio [fool-hen-syaw] /fulˈhɛn syɔ/ (Show IPA), (Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar) 1901–73, Cuban military leader: dictator of Cuba 1934–40; president 1940–44, 1952–59.
- full linear group — the group of all nonsingular linear transformations mapping a finite-dimensional vector space into itself.
- full-motion video — (video) (FMV) Any kind of video that is theoretically capable of changing the entire content on the screen fast enough that the transitions are not obvious to the human eye, i.e. about 24 times a second or more. In practise most video encoding relies on the fact that in most video there is relatively little change from one frame to the next. This allows for compression of the video data. The term is used, chiefly in computer games, in contrast to techniques such as the use of sprites that move against a more-or-less fixed background.
- function complete — (programming) State of a software component or system such that each function described by the software's functional specification can be reached by at least one functional path, and attempts to operate as specified.
- function inlining — (programming) Defining a member function's implementation within the class where it was also declared. This is usually reserved for small functions since the inline function must be re-compiled for every instance of the class.
- functional change — a change in the grammatical function of a word, as in the use of the noun input as a verb or the noun fun as an adjective.
- functional isomer — any of several structural isomers that have the same molecular formula but with the atoms connected in different ways and therefore falling into different functional groups.
- golf ball printer — IBM 2741
- graafian follicle — one of the small vesicles containing a developing ovum in the ovary of a mammal.
- guinea-hen flower — checkered lily.
- half-round chisel — a cold chisel with a semicircular cutting edge used for making narrow channels
- hall of residence — Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term.
- have feelings for — to be emotionally or sexually attracted to
- hillel foundation — a national organization, founded in 1924 by the B'nai B'rith, that institutes and administers programs designed to enrich the religious, cultural, and social life of Jewish college students.
- homo floresiensis — a possible species of very small, primitive human: its fossils were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003.
- homolytic fission — the dissociation of a molecule into two neutral fragments
- hydrogen fluoride — a colorless corrosive gas, HF, the anhydride of hydrofluoric acid, used chiefly as a catalyst and in the fluorination of hydrocarbons.
- hyperinflationary — (economics) Having very high levels of inflation.
- immunofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or using immunofluorescence.
- implicit function — See at implicit (def 4).
- in double figures — An amount or number that is in single figures is between zero and nine. An amount or number that is in double figures is between ten and ninety-nine. You can also say, for example, that an amount or number is in three figures when it is between one hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine.
- in one fell swoop — to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
- in the front line — Someone who is in the front line has to play a very important part in defending or achieving something.
- incomplete flower — a flower without one or more of the normal parts, as carpels, sepals, petals, pistils, or stamens.
- inertial platform — self-contained navigational devices used in inertial guidance, along with their mounting.
- integral function — an entire function.
- interconfessional — common to or occurring between churches having different confessions.
- internal conflict — psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot's suspense: Hamlet's inaction is caused by internal conflict.
- interprofessional — following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.
- island of the sun — Sicily: the island where Helius kept his oxen.
- it's your funeral — If someone says to you 'It's your funeral', they think your decision or your actions will have bad consequences for you, but they are unwilling to interfere.
- john of salisbury — c1115–80, English prelate and scholar.
- julian of norwich — ?1342–?1413, English mystic and anchoress: best known for the Revelations of Divine Love describing her visions
- jumping-off place — a place for use as a starting point: Paris was the jumping-off place for our tour of Europe.
- juvenile offender — a child or young person who has been found guilty of some offence, act of vandalism, or antisocial behaviour before a juvenile court
- lady of the night — a tropical American shrub, Brunfelsia americana, of the nightshade family, having berrylike yellow fruit and fragrant white flowers.