22-letter words containing o, d, r, i, m
- operation desert storm — the codename for the US-led UN operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraq (1991)
- ousterhout's dichotomy — (language) John Ousterhout's division of high-level languages into "system programming languages" and "scripting languages". This distinction underlies the design of his language Tcl. System programming languages (or "applications languages") are strongly typed, allow arbitrarily complex data structures, and programs in them are compiled, and are meant to operate largely independently of other programs. Prototypical system programming languages are C and Modula-2. By contrast, scripting languages (or "glue languages") are weakly typed or untyped, have little or no provision for complex data structures, and programs in them ("scripts") are interpreted. Scripts need to interact either with other programs (often as glue) or with a set of functions provided by the interpreter, as with the file system functions provided in a UNIX shell and with Tcl's GUI functions. Prototypical scripting languages are AppleScript, C Shell, MS-DOS batch files and Tcl. Many believe that this is a highly arbitrary dichotomy, and refer to it as "Ousterhout's fallacy" or "Ousterhout's false dichotomy". While strong-versus-weak typing, data structure complexity, and independent versus stand-alone might be said to be unrelated features, the usual critique of Ousterhout's dichotomy is of its distinction of compilation versus interpretation, since neither semantics nor syntax depend significantly on whether code is compiled into machine-language, interpreted, tokenized, or byte-compiled at the start of each run, or any mixture of these. Many languages fall between being interpreted or compiled (e.g. Lisp, Forth, UCSD Pascal, Perl, and Java). This makes compilation versus interpretation a dubious parameter in a taxonomy of programming languages.
- para-aminobenzoic acid — part of the folic acid molecule, a white or yellowish, crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 7 H 7 NO 2 , the para isomer of aminobenzoic acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of dyes and pharmaceuticals and in sunscreens to protect against ultraviolet light. Abbreviation: PABA.
- paracoccidioidomycosis — a chronic infection caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, occurring in Mexico and in Central and South America, characterized by mouth and throat ulcers, weight loss, and lesions on the skin, intestines, and genitals.
- parker morris standard — (in Britain) a set of minimum criteria for good housing construction, design, and facilities, recommended by the 1961 report of the Central Housing Advisory Committee chaired by Sir Parker Morris. Subsequent governments have urged private and local authority house-builders to achieve these standards
- paroxysmal tachycardia — tachycardia that begins and subsides suddenly.
- poor richard's almanac — an almanac (1732–58) written and published by Benjamin Franklin.
- post office department — former name of United States Postal Service.
- potassium ferricyanide — a bright-red, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, K 3 Fe(CN) 6 , used chiefly in the manufacture of pigments, as Prussian blue, and of paper, especially blueprint paper.
- potassium ferrocyanide — a lemon-yellow, crystalline, water-soluble solid, K 4 Fe(CN) 6 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly in casehardening alloys having an iron base and in dyeing wool and silk.
- potassium-argon dating — a method for estimating the age of a mineral or rock, based on measurement of the rate of decay of radioactive potassium into argon.
- preestablished harmony — (in the philosophy of Leibnitz) synchronous operation of all monads, since their simultaneous creation, in accordance with the preexisting plan of God.
- primate of all england — a title of the archbishop of Canterbury.
- principal ideal domain — a commutative integral domain with multiplicative identity in which every ideal is principal.
- productivity agreement — an agreement whereby the employees of an organization agree to changes which are intended to improve productivity in return for an increase in pay or other benefits
- programmed instruction — a progressively monitored, step-by-step teaching method, employing small units of information or learning material and frequent testing, whereby the student must complete or pass one stage before moving on to the next.
- public domain software — public domain
- pyridostigmine bromide — a cholinesterase inhibitor, C 9 H 1 3 BrN 2 O 2 , used in its bromide form in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.
- quantum chromodynamics — a quantum field theory that describes quarks and gluons and their interactions, with the color of the quarks playing a role analogous to that of electric charge. Abbreviation: QCD. Also called chromodynamics. Compare color (def 18).
- range of accommodation — the range of distance over which an object can be accurately focused on the retina by accommodation of the eye.
- rapid deployment force — a U.S. military organization consisting of one Marine division and four Army divisions, established in 1979 to respond quickly to any distant threat to national interests.
- refinery modernization — Refinery modernization is the process of making a refinery more modern by using new technology or processes.
- respond to a complaint — If you respond to a complaint, you answer a customer who expressed their dissatisfaction with something.
- reverse discrimination — the unfair treatment of members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies, as in college admissions or employment, intended to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities.
- rheumatoid spondylitis — ankylosing spondylitis.
- school medical officer — a doctor who is based in a school and is responsible for the health of schoolchildren
- sick building syndrome — an illness caused by exposure to pollutants or germs inside an airtight building.
- side-impact protection — a device that is intended to protect a car and its passengers in the event of a collision at the side
- simultaneous broadcast — a programme, etc, broadcast simultaneously on radio and television
- solid dose formulation — A solid dose formation is a hard tablet made by compressing medicine in a powder form.
- st-pierre and miquelon — group of islands in the Atlantic, south of Newfoundland, constituting a political unit of France: includes the islands of St-Pierre (c. 10 sq mi, 26 sq km) & Miquelon & several islets: 93 sq mi (241 sq km); pop. 6,000
- structured programming — the design and coding of programs by a methodology (top-down) that successively breaks problems into smaller, nested subunits.
- supreme judicial court — (often initial capital letters) the highest court in some states, as Massachusetts and Maine.
- take something as read — to take something for granted as a fact; understand or presume
- the medical profession — the occupation of working as a doctor of medicine
- the muslim brotherhood — a transnational Islamic religious and political organization dedicated to the establishment of a nation based on Islamic principles, founded in Egypt in 1928
- thiamine-hydrochloride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble compound of the vitamin-B complex, containing a thiazole and a pyrimidine group, C 12 H 17 ClN 4 OS, essential for normal functioning of the nervous system, a deficiency of which results chiefly in beriberi and other nerve disorders: occurring in many natural sources, as green peas, liver, and especially the seed coats of cereal grains, the commercial product of which is chiefly synthesized in the form of its chloride (thiamine chloride or thiamine hydrochloride) for therapeutic administration, or in nitrate form (thiamine mononitrate) for enriching flour mixes.
- to cast your mind back — If you cast your mind back to a time in the past, you think about what happened then.
- to draw someone's fire — If you draw fire from someone, you cause them to shoot at you, for example because they think that you are threatening them.
- to drop someone a line — If you drop someone a line, you write to them.
- to twiddle your thumbs — If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.
- under no circumstances — not for any reason
- underground combustion — Underground combustion is the process of heating oil to allow it to flow more easily and make it easier to recover.
- united empire loyalist — any of the American colonists who settled in Canada during or after the War of American Independence because of loyalty to the British Crown
- united reformed church — (in England and Wales) a Protestant denomination formed from the union of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in 1972
- video display terminal — Computers. a computer terminal consisting of a screen on which data or graphics can be displayed. Abbreviation: VDT.
- volume of distribution — A volume of distribution is the hypothetical volume of body fluid that would be required to dissolve the amount of drug needed to achieve the same concentration in the blood.
- william lloyd garrison — William Lloyd, 1805–79, U.S. leader in the abolition movement.
- windsor and maidenhead — (since 1917) a member of the present British royal family. Compare Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (def 1).
- world communion sunday — the first Sunday in October, during which members of ecumenical churches throughout the world celebrate Holy Communion, especially to affirm their unity in Christ.