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17-letter words containing o, p

  • optical astronomy — the branch of observational astronomy using telescopes to observe or photograph celestial objects in visible light.
  • optical carrier 3 — (networking)   (OC-3) A SONET rate of 3 * 51.84 = 155.52 megabits per second, which matches STS-3.
  • optical carrier n — (networking)   (OC-n) A SONET rate of n times 51.84 megabits per second.
  • optical computing — (hardware)   (Or "Optical Signal Processing") Operating on data represented using electromagnetic radiation, e.g. visible light, instead of the electrical signals used in a conventional electronic digital computer. Electronic digital computers are built from transistors. These form components that store data and logic gates that perform the low-level Boolean operations such as AND, OR and NOT that are the basis of all digital computation. The optical equivalent requires material with a non-linear refractive index such that light beams can interact with each other to perform the same Boolean operations. Though the photons that carry optical signals offer some theoretical advantages over the electrons that carry electronic signals, there are many practical problems that would have to be overcome before optical computing could compete in terms of cost, power and speed.
  • optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
  • oregon crab apple — a shrub or small tree, Malus fusca, of the rose family, of the northwestern coast of North America, having hairy leaves, white flowers, and yellow or green oblong fruit.
  • organ-pipe cactus — a treelike or columnar cactus, Lemaireocereus marginatus, of Mexico, having a central, erect spine surrounded by spreading spines in clusters of five to eight, and funnel-shaped, brownish-purple flowers.
  • organic psychosis — a severe mental illness produced by damage to the brain, as a result of poisoning, alcoholism, disease, etc
  • organophosphorous — Misspelling of organophosphorus.
  • origin of species — (On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) a treatise (1859) by Charles Darwin setting forth his theory of evolution.
  • ortho-nitrophenol — any compound derived from phenol by the replacement of one or more of its ring hydrogen atoms by the nitro group.
  • out of proportion — exaggerated, excessive
  • over-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
  • over-compensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
  • over-presumptuous — full of, characterized by, or showing presumption or readiness to presume in conduct or thought, as by saying or doing something without right or permission.
  • overstep the mark — If someone oversteps the mark, they behave in a way that is considered unacceptable.
  • pacific northwest — the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies
  • pacific tree frog — a common terrestrial frog, Hyla regilla, of western North America, having a dark stripe along each side of the head.
  • packaging company — a company that packages goods on behalf of the producer
  • pair annihilation — Physics. annihilation (def 3a).
  • pair of compasses — compass (def 7)
  • palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
  • palaeoarchaeology — the branch of archaeology concerned with the earliest fossil remains
  • palaeoclimatology — the study of climates of the geological past
  • palaeoethnobotany — the study of fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
  • paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
  • paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
  • paleobiogeography — the study of the distribution of ancient plants and animals and their relation to ancient geographic features.
  • paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
  • palette of narmer — a king of Egypt identified by modern scholars as the Menes of tradition and depicted as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt on an ancient slate tablet (Narmer Palette or Palette of Narmer) c3200 b.c. with relief carvings on both sides.
  • pan potentiometer — a control on a stereo sound mixing desk by means of which the relative levels in right- and left-hand channels can be adjusted and hence the apparent position of the recorded or broadcast sound source within the stereo panorama can be controlled
  • panama canal zone — Canal Zone.
  • papanicolaou test — Pap test.
  • paradoxical sleep — REM sleep.
  • parallel computer — parallel processor
  • parallelogram law — Mathematics, Physics. a rule for adding two vectors, as forces (parallelogram of forces) by placing the point of application of one at the point of origin of the other and obtaining their sum by constructing the line connecting the two remaining end points, the sum being the diagonal of the parallelogram whose adjacent sides are the two vectors.
  • paraperiodic acid — the crystalline compound H5IO6, an oxyacid of iodine
  • parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
  • parathyroidectomy — the excision of a parathyroid gland.
  • paratyphoid fever — Also called paratyphoid fever. an infectious disease, similar in some of its symptoms to typhoid fever but usually milder, caused by any of several bacilli of the genus Salmonella other than S. typhi.
  • parents anonymous — (in Britain) an association of local voluntary self-help groups offering help through an anonymous telephone service to parents who fear they will injure their children, or who have other problems in managing their children
  • parker house roll — a soft dinner roll made by folding a flat disk of dough in half.
  • particle velocity — the velocity of a point in a medium that is undergoing wave motion.
  • particularization — to make particular.
  • parts of kesteven — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
  • parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
  • pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
  • passamaquoddy bay — an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between Maine and New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River.
  • passenger station — a station used by passengers
  • passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
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