19-letter words containing p, a, l, t
- old spanish customs — irregular practices among a group of workers to gain increased financial allowances, reduced working hours, etc
- open the floodgates — If events open the floodgates to something, they make it possible for that thing to happen much more often or much more seriously than before.
- operational testing — (testing) A US DoD term for testing performed by the end-user on software in its normal operating environment.
- optical double star — two stars that appear as one if not viewed through a telescope with adequate magnification, such as two stars that are separated by a great distance but are nearly in line with each other and an observer (optical double star) or those that are relatively close together and comprise a single physical system (physical double star)
- optical mark reader — (hardware) (OMR) A special scanning device that can read carefully placed pencil marks on specially designed documents. OMR is frequenty used in forms, questionnaires, and answer-sheets.
- oral interpretation — the study and practice of vocally expressing the meaning of written compositions, especially of literature.
- outplacement agency — an agency that provides counselling and careers advice, esp to redundant executives, which is paid for by their previous employer
- oxidation potential — (in a galvanic cell) the potential of the electrode at which oxidation occurs.
- palaeoethnobotanist — someone who studies fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleoanthropologist — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- papal infallibility — the dogma that the pope cannot err in a solemn teaching addressed to the whole church on a matter of faith or morals.
- parallactic ellipse — the apparent ellipse, as seen against the background of more distant stars, described annually by a nearby star because of the earth's orbital motion around the sun. Compare parallax (def 2).
- parallel projection — a projection from one plane to a second plane in which the lines joining points on the first plane and corresponding images are parallel.
- parliament building — structure housing legislative offices
- parliamentary agent — (in Britain) a person who is employed to manage the parliamentary business of a private group
- parthenogenetically — development of an egg without fertilization.
- particle dispersoid — A particle dispersoid is a suspension of solid particles in a gas.
- particle kinematics — Particle kinematics is the study of the movement of particles, without considering the forces that cause this movement.
- particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
- particle technology — Particle technology is knowledge and study which relates to particles, and is used in industry.
- particular negative — a proposition of the form “Some S is not P.” Symbol: O.
- particular solution — a solution of a differential equation containing no arbitrary constants.
- party-column ballot — Indiana ballot.
- pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
- patrol torpedo boat — PT boat.
- paumotu archipelago — Tuamotu Archipelago.
- peak listening time — the time at which the highest numbers of audiences are listening to the radio
- perfoliate bellwort — a slender plant, Uvularia perfoliata, of the lily family, of eastern North America, having pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers.
- peridental membrane — periodontal membrane.
- periodontal disease — any of various mixed bacterial infections that affect the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth.
- peritoneal dialysis — a form of dialysis in which the peritoneum is used as an autogenous semipermeable membrane
- perpetual adoration — uninterrupted adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
- perpetual debenture — a bond or debenture that can either never be redeemed or cannot be redeemed on demand
- perpetual inventory — a form of stock control in which running records are kept of all acquisitions and disposals
- persian gulf states — group of Arab sheikdoms along the Persian Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, & United Arab Emirates
- personal stationery — headed notepaper
- personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
- phacoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
- phakoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
- phenylethyl alcohol — phenethyl alcohol.
- phenylthiocarbamide — a crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C 6 H 5 NHCSNH 2 , that is either tasteless or bitter, depending upon the heredity of the taster, and is used in medical genetics and as a diagnostic.
- photopolymerization — polymerization induced by light.
- photovoltaic effect — the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.
- phthalocyanine blue — a pigment used in painting, derived from copper phthalocyanine and characterized chiefly by its brilliant, dark-blue color and by permanence.
- physical impairment — A physical impairment is a condition in which a part of a person's body is damaged or is not working properly.
- physical sequential — (file format) (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
- pileated woodpecker — a large, black-and-white American woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, having a prominent red crest.
- pinwheel escapement — a clock escapement in which two pallets, usually of unequal length, alternately engage and release pins set on the escape wheel perpendicular to its plane of rotation.
- pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.