0%

19-letter words containing o, p, e, r, a

  • binomial experiment — an experiment consisting of a fixed number of independent trials each with two possible outcomes, success and failure, and the same probability of success. The probability of a given number of successes is described by a binominal distribution
  • bit-paired keyboard — (hardware)   (Obsolete, or "bit-shift keyboard") A non-standard keyboard layout that seems to have originated with the Teletype ASR-33 and remained common for several years on early computer equipment. The ASR-33 was a mechanical device (see EOU), so the only way to generate the character codes from keystrokes was by some physical linkage. The design of the ASR-33 assigned each character key a basic pattern that could be modified by flipping bits if the SHIFT or the CTRL key was pressed. In order to avoid making the thing more of a Rube Goldberg kluge than it already was, the design had to group characters that shared the same basic bit pattern on one key. Looking at the ASCII chart, we find: high low bits bits 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001 010 ! " # $ % & ' ( ) 011 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 This is why the characters !"#$%&'() appear where they do on a Teletype (thankfully, they didn't use shift-0 for space). This was *not* the weirdest variant of the QWERTY layout widely seen, by the way; that prize should probably go to one of several (differing) arrangements on IBM's even clunkier 026 and 029 card punches. When electronic terminals became popular, in the early 1970s, there was no agreement in the industry over how the keyboards should be laid out. Some vendors opted to emulate the Teletype keyboard, while others used the flexibility of electronic circuitry to make their product look like an office typewriter. These alternatives became known as "bit-paired" and "typewriter-paired" keyboards. To a hacker, the bit-paired keyboard seemed far more logical - and because most hackers in those days had never learned to touch-type, there was little pressure from the pioneering users to adapt keyboards to the typewriter standard. The doom of the bit-paired keyboard was the large-scale introduction of the computer terminal into the normal office environment, where out-and-out technophobes were expected to use the equipment. The "typewriter-paired" standard became universal, "bit-paired" hardware was quickly junked or relegated to dusty corners, and both terms passed into disuse.
  • blackstrap molasses — the molasses remaining after the maximum quantity of sugar has been extracted from the raw material
  • blast from the past — You can use a blast from the past as a light-hearted way of referring to something such as an old song or fashion that you hear or notice again, and which reminds you of an earlier time.
  • breach of the peace — A breach of the peace is noisy or violent behaviour in a public place which is illegal because it disturbs other people.
  • brown paper bag bug — (programming)   A programming bug that is so stupid that it makes the programmer want to put a brown paper bag over his head.
  • brush-tailed possum — any of several widely-distributed Australian possums of the genus Trichosurus
  • by one's bootstraps — by one's own efforts; unaided
  • camouflage passport — a passport from a non-existent country intended to conceal the bearer's true nationality (from hijackers, kidnappers, etc)
  • campernelle jonquil — a narcissus, Narcissus odorus, of the amaryllis family, having clusters of two to four fragrant yellow flowers.
  • cape york peninsula — large peninsula in NE Australia, part of Queensland, between the Gulf of Carpentaria & the Coral Sea
  • captains courageous — a novel (1897) by Rudyard Kipling.
  • carbon steel piping — Carbon steel piping is pipes made of steel with carbon as the main alloying component, used for transporting fluids.
  • caterpillar tractor — a tractor powered by a Caterpillar track
  • cathodic protection — a technique for protecting metal structures, such as steel ships and pipelines, from electrolytic corrosion by making the structure the cathode in a cell, either by applying an electromotive force directly or by putting it into contact with a more electropositive metal
  • cerebrospinal fluid — the clear colourless fluid in the spaces inside and around the spinal cord and brain
  • chamber of deputies — the lower house of the legislature of certain countries, as Italy.
  • champagne corks pop — If you say that champagne corks are popping, you mean that people are celebrating something.
  • chemical processing — Chemical processing is a way of making changes to chemical compounds.
  • chemolithoautotroph — (biology) A chemoautotroph or lithoautotroph.
  • chlorobromide paper — a relatively fast printing paper coated with an emulsion of silver chloride and silver bromide.
  • christmas pantomime — pantomime (def 5).
  • cinematographically — a motion-picture projector.
  • clinical depression — depression in a patient that meets defined criteria and that is deemed to merit treatment
  • coherent parallel c — (language)   A data parallel version of C.
  • college-preparatory — preparing a student for academic work at the college level.
  • colonial experience — experience of farming, etc, gained by a young Englishman in colonial Australia
  • columnar epithelium — epithelium consisting of one or more layers of elongated cells of cylindrical or prismatic shape.
  • combination therapy — a therapy that combines two or more drugs, or two or more treatments
  • command interpreter — (operating system)   A program which reads textual commands from the user or from a file and executes them. Some commands may be executed directly within the interpreter itself (e.g. setting variables or control constructs), others may cause it to load and execute other files. When an IBM PC is booted BIOS loads and runs the MS-DOS command interpreter into memory from file COMMAND.COM found on a floppy disk or hard disk drive. The commands that COMMAND.COM recognizes (e.g. COPY, DIR, PRN) are called internal commands, in contrast to external commands which are executable files.
  • command performance — A command performance is a special performance of a play or show which is given for a head of state.
  • community programme — (in Britain) a former government scheme to provide temporary work for people unemployed for over a year
  • compact disc player — a machine for playing compact discs
  • compact disc writer — (storage)   (CD burner) A device that can write data to Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) or Compact Disc Rewritable (CD-RW) discs. Now both these CD formats are often combined with a DVD writer.
  • compact disk player — a device for playing compact disks.
  • complementary angle — either of two angles whose sum is 90°
  • complementary color — Art. one of a pair of primary or secondary colors opposed to the other member of the pair on a schematic chart or scale (color wheel) as green opposed to red, orange opposed to blue, or violet opposed to yellow. Compare analogous color. the relationship of these pairs of colors perceived as completing or enhancing each other.
  • complete quadrangle — a plane figure consisting of four points connected by six lines
  • complimentary close — the part of a letter that by convention immediately precedes the signature, as “Very truly yours,” “Cordially,” or “Sincerely yours.”.
  • comptroller general — the director of the General Accounting Office
  • compulsory purchase — purchase of a house or other property by a local authority or government department for public use or to make way for development, regardless of whether or not the owner wishes to sell
  • computed tomography — computerized axial tomography. Abbreviation: CT.
  • computer dictionary — Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
  • computer peripheral — a device that is attached to and controlled by a computer, such as a scanner, printer, or external hard drive
  • computer programmer — a person whose job is to write computer programs
  • computer simulation — an event, process, or scenario that is created on a computer
  • confocal microscope — a light microscope with an optical system designed to reject background from matter outside the focal plane and therefore allowing images of different sections of a specimen to be obtained
  • consultation period — a period during which consultations are held before a policy decision is made
  • container transport — the transport of cargo in containers
  • contemplative order — a religious order whose members are devoted to prayer rather than works.
Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?