22-letter words containing p, a, r, t, i, s
- operational data store — (database) (ODS) A group of integrated databases designed to support the monitoring of operations. Unlike function oriented databases, an ODS contains subject-oriented, dynamic, current enterprise-wide information that is continually updated to show the current state of operations.
- outside awareness port — (humour) (OAP) A humorous IBM term for a window (the glass kind) rather than the GUI kind.
- parallel server option — Oracle Parallel Server
- parker morris standard — (in Britain) a set of minimum criteria for good housing construction, design, and facilities, recommended by the 1961 report of the Central Housing Advisory Committee chaired by Sir Parker Morris. Subsequent governments have urged private and local authority house-builders to achieve these standards
- paroxysmal tachycardia — tachycardia that begins and subsides suddenly.
- partnerships for peace — a subsidiary organization of NATO, comprising former Warsaw Pact countries that wish to be allied with NATO but have not been granted full NATO membership: established in 1994
- passive matrix display — (hardware) A type of liquid crystal display which relies on persistence to maintain the state of each display element (pixel) between refresh scans. The resolution of such displays is limited by the ratio between the time to set a pixel and the time it takes to fade. Contrast active matrix display.
- peanut-butter sandwich — a sandwich with a filling of peanut-butter
- percussive maintenance — (jargon) The fine art of whacking a device to get it working, possibly using a fine adjuster.
- personal rapid transit — a short system of small, self-propelled, automated, rubber-tired vehicles that usually run on elevated concrete tracks and allow a passenger a limited selection of routes, as in an amusement park or at an airport. Abbreviation: PRT.
- personal relationships — relationships between people, especially those between friends, lovers and family members
- phase alternating line — (television) (PAL) The video signal format used in the UK [where else?]. PAL uses Amplitude Modulation for the video information, and Frequency Modulation for the audio information. The phase of the colour subcarrier is reversed on alternate lines which (together with the use of a delay line) allows the receiver to cancel any phase errors introduced in the path between the studio and the end-user's receiver. Such phase errors are quite common and would cause the displayed colours to shift in hue. The US equivalent, NTSC, does not have this feature and thus requires a user control to correct for transmission phase errors, hence the mis-expansion "Never Twice the Same Colour".
- planck's radiation law — the law that energy associated with electromagnetic radiation, as light, is composed of discrete quanta of energy, each quantum equal to Planck's constant times the corresponding frequency of the radiation: the fundamental law of quantum mechanics.
- planetary transmission — A planetary transmission is a special form of geared drive in which the input and output shafts are on the same axis.
- plastic pin grid array — (hardware, processor) (PPGA) The package used for certain Intel Celeron processors. PPGA processors fit into Socket 370 motherboard sockets. The Plastic Pin Grid Array packaging is similar to that used on Pentium processors. The silicon core is covered by a heat slug that faces down toward the motherboard. The Celeron 300A to the 533 use a PPGA package. The Celeron 566 onward use a FC-PGA package. Celeron processors are also available in Slot 1 SEPP packaging.
- play one's cards right — a usually rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses, as to write information on or printed as a means of identifying the holder: a 3″ × 5″ file card; a membership card.
- point of sale terminal — the store, dealer, or other retail outlet where an item is sold: from manufacturer to point-of-sale.
- point-of-sale terminal — the store, dealer, or other retail outlet where an item is sold: from manufacturer to point-of-sale.
- portable standard lisp — (language) (PSL) A dialect of Lisp from Utah University. PSL is available as a kit for 68000 and also runs on VAX. It compiles Lisp to C-code virtual machine language.
- portuguese east africa — former name of Mozambique (def 1).
- portuguese west africa — a republic in SW Africa: formerly an overseas province of Portugal; gained independence Nov. 11, 1975. 481,226 sq. mi. (1,246,375 sq. km). Capital: Luanda.
- post office department — former name of United States Postal Service.
- postmortem examination — dissection and examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death
- potassium ferricyanide — a bright-red, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, K 3 Fe(CN) 6 , used chiefly in the manufacture of pigments, as Prussian blue, and of paper, especially blueprint paper.
- potassium ferrocyanide — a lemon-yellow, crystalline, water-soluble solid, K 4 Fe(CN) 6 ⋅3H 2 O, used chiefly in casehardening alloys having an iron base and in dyeing wool and silk.
- potassium permanganate — a very dark purple, crystalline, water-soluble solid, KMnO 4 , used chiefly as an oxidizing agent, disinfectant, laboratory reagent, and in medicine as an astringent and antiseptic.
- potassium-argon dating — a method for estimating the age of a mineral or rock, based on measurement of the rate of decay of radioactive potassium into argon.
- practice makes perfect — If you say 'practice makes perfect', you mean that it is possible to learn something or develop a skill if you practise enough. People often say this to encourage someone to keep practising.
- preestablished harmony — (in the philosophy of Leibnitz) synchronous operation of all monads, since their simultaneous creation, in accordance with the preexisting plan of God.
- price variation clause — a clause in a contract allowing the seller to vary the selling price under certain conditions
- probationary assistant — a teacher in the first probationary years
- process cinematography — cinematography in which the main or foreground action or scene is superimposed on or combined with simulated or separately filmed background action or scenery to produce special visual effects.
- program transformation — The systematic development of efficient programs from high-level specifications by meaning-preserving program manipulations. Also known as optimisation. See fusion, loop combination, peephole optimisation, register allocation, tupling, unfold/fold.
- programmed instruction — a progressively monitored, step-by-step teaching method, employing small units of information or learning material and frequent testing, whereby the student must complete or pass one stage before moving on to the next.
- progressive participle — present participle.
- pronunciation spelling — a spelling intended to match a certain pronunciation more closely than the traditional spelling does, as gonna for going to , kinda for kind of (meaning “rather”), git for get , or lite for light.
- propositional attitude — a relation between a person and a proposition, such as belief, desire, intention, etc
- propositional calculus — propositional logic
- propositional function — sentential function.
- protestant reformation — reformation (def 2).
- prothonotary apostolic — a member of the first college of prelates of the Roman Curia.
- psychological thriller — book, movie: suspense story
- public domain software — public domain
- pulmonary tuberculosis — tuberculosis of the lungs.
- raster image processor — (application, printer) (RIP) A device (usually hardware but can be software) that takes a Page Description Language description of a page and converts it into a bitmap for printing.
- reactive schizophrenia — a type of schizophrenia of rapid onset and brief duration that occurs in response to environmental factors.
- recreational therapist — someone who specializes in therapy by means of recreational activities engaged in by the patient
- relationship marketing — a marketing strategy in which a company seeks to build long-term relationships with its customers by providing consistent satisfaction
- replacement cost basis — Replacement cost basis is a method of valuing insured property in which the cost of replacing property is calculated without a reduction for depreciation.
- reproductive isolation — the conditions, as physiological or behavioral differences or geographical barriers, that prevent potentially interbreeding populations from cross-fertilization.