17-letter words containing p, a, c, e
- palaeoarchaeology — the branch of archaeology concerned with the earliest fossil remains
- palaeoclimatology — the study of climates of the geological past
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- panama canal zone — Canal Zone.
- papanicolaou test — Pap test.
- parachute payment — a payment made to alleviate hardship resulting from a sudden loss of income
- paradoxical sleep — REM sleep.
- parallel computer — parallel processor
- paraperiodic acid — the crystalline compound H5IO6, an oxyacid of iodine
- parathyroidectomy — the excision of a parathyroid gland.
- parcplace systems — (company) A company spun-off from Xerox PARC that developed the original version of VisualWorks.
- parmesan (cheese) — a very hard, dry cheese orig. of Italy, made from skimmed cow's milk and usually grated for sprinkling on pasta, soups, etc.
- parted per tierce — tierced.
- particle kinetics — Particle kinetics is the study of the movement of particles and the forces that cause this movement.
- particle velocity — the velocity of a point in a medium that is undergoing wave motion.
- pascal's triangle — a triangular arrangement of the binomial coefficients of the expansion (x + y) n for positive integral values of n.
- passenger traffic — number of passengers
- passive obedience — unquestioning obedience to authority
- paternalistically — the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president.
- pay-cable channel — a television channel that has to be paid for
- peach bark beetle — a bark beetle, Phloeotribus liminaris, that feeds on and nests in peach and other drupaceous trees.
- peaches and cream — If you say that a woman or a girl has a peaches and cream complexion, you mean that she has very clear, smooth, pale skin.
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- per capita income — the total income of an area or country divided by the number of people in that area or country
- per procurationem — by one acting as an agent; by proxy.
- performance bonus — a monetary bonus paid to staff who have performed well in their job
- performance drugs — the drugs that are taken illegally by athletes to enhance their sporting performance
- periodical cicada — seventeen-year locust.
- peripheral device — peripheral
- permanent account — A permanent account is an account which carries its balance and is kept open from year to year.
- pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- personnel carrier — a vehicle used for transporting troops
- perspicaciousness — having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
- peterloo massacre — an incident at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, in 1819 in which a radical meeting was broken up by a cavalry charge, resulting in about 500 injuries and 11 deaths
- petrarchan sonnet — a sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd.
- petrol filler cap — a small cover that goes over the hole in a vehicle into which you put petrol
- phantom pregnancy — the occurrence of signs of pregnancy, such as enlarged abdomen and absence of menstruation, when no embryo is present, due to hormonal imbalance
- phenethyl alcohol — a colorless, viscous, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 8 H 1 0 O, having a faint roselike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phenylacetic acid — a white crystalline, aromatic acid, C 8 H 8 O 2 , used in the manufacture of penicillin and in perfumes.
- phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- phonological rule — an operation in generative phonology that substitutes one sound or class of sounds for another in a phonological derivation.