15-letter words containing p, a, r, l
- optical printer — a film printer used in making optical effects, consisting basically of a camera that photographs the image with special lenses to enlarge, reduce, distort, etc., and a projector that transfers the image to the print stock, as distinguished from a contact printer.
- optical scanner — the process of interpreting data in printed, handwritten, bar-code, or other visual form by a device (optical scanner or reader) that scans and identifies the data.
- optical storage — optical disk drive
- oriental carpet — Oriental rug.
- ornithodelphian — of or relating to mammals of the class Ornithodelphia
- orthopaedically — in an orthopaedic manner
- outside caliper — a caliper whose legs turn inward so that it can measure outside dimensions, as the diameter of a rod.
- over-capitalise — to fix the total amount of securities of a corporation in excess of the limits set by law or by sound financial policy.
- over-compliance — the act of conforming, acquiescing, or yielding.
- over-particular — of or relating to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than to others or all; special rather than general: one's particular interests in books.
- over-population — to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities: Expanding industry has overpopulated the western suburbs.
- overapplication — excessive application
- overcapitalized — Simple past tense and past participle of overcapitalize.
- overcapitalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of overcapitalize.
- overspeculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- ovoviviparously — in an ovoviviparous manner
- paedophile ring — a group of people who take part in illegal sexual activity involving children
- paid-in surplus — surplus paid in by purchasers of stock certificates sold at a premium.
- painter's colic — Pathology. lead poisoning causing intense intestinal pain.
- palaeoanthropic — relating to palaeoanthropology
- palaeogeography — the study of geographical features of the geological past
- palaeontography — the branch of palaeontology concerned with the description of fossils
- palato-alveolar — articulated with the blade or tip of the tongue approaching or touching the alveolar ridge and the main body of the tongue near the hard palate; having a primary alveolar articulation and a secondary palatal articulation.
- palindromically — a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.
- palliative-care — medical care focused on improving the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses, as by treating symptoms and providing emotional support.
- pamprodactylous — having all four toes directed forward, as in swifts and colies.
- paperbark maple — a shrub or tree, Acer griseum, native to China, cultivated for its attractive papery brownish bark.
- paracel islands — a group of uninhabited islets and reefs in the N South China Sea, the subject of territorial claims by China and Vietnam
- paracetaldehyde — paraldehyde.
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- paradise valley — a town in SW Arizona.
- paraheliotropic — (of leaves) turning away from light; sun-avoiding
- paralation lisp — Embeds the paralation model in Common LISP. Available from MIT Press, (800)356-0343.
- paralinguistics — the study of paralanguage.
- parallel cousin — a cousin who is the child either of one's mother's sister or of one's father's brother.
- parallel motion — a mechanism arranged so as to impart rectilinear motion to a rod connected to a lever that moves through an arc.
- parallel pascal — (language) A data-parallel language, similar to Actus and Glypnir.
- parallel-veined — having closely spaced longitudinal veins, as the leaves of most monocotyledonous plants.
- parallelopipeda — plural of parallelopipedon
- parasiticalness — the condition or characteristic of being parasitic
- parent language — an earlier language from which another is derived.
- parenthetically — of, pertaining to, noting, or of the nature of a parenthesis: several unnecessary parenthetic remarks.
- parhelic circle — a white, horizontal band passing through the sun, either incomplete or extending around the horizon, produced by the reflection of the sun's rays from the vertical faces of ice prisms in the atmosphere.
- parkinson's law — the statement, expressed facetiously as if a law of physics, that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.
- parliamentarian — a person who is expert in the formal rules and procedures of deliberative assemblies and other formal organizations.
- parliamentarily — in a parliamentary manner
- part and parcel — a portion or division of a whole that is separate or distinct; piece, fragment, fraction, or section; constituent: the rear part of the house; to glue the two parts together.
- partial denture — an artificial replacement of one or several of the teeth (partial denture) or all of the teeth (full denture) of either or both jaws; dental prosthesis.
- partial eclipse — astronomy
- partial product — the result obtained when a number is multiplied by one digit of a multiplier