19-letter words containing p, a
- photopolymerization — polymerization induced by light.
- photoreconnaissance — reconnaissance using aerial photography.
- 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 addressing — (networking) The low level addressing scheme used on Ethernet. The 48-bit destination Ethernet address in a packet is compared with the receiving node's Ethernet address. Compare IP address.
- 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.
- physically impaired — with reduced or weakened physical capacity
- physician assistant — a person trained and certified to perform various medical procedures under the supervision of a physician
- piece de resistance — the principal dish of a meal.
- piece of the action — the process or state of acting or of being active: The machine is not in action now.
- piggyback investing — Piggyback investing is a situation in which a broker repeats a trade on his own behalf immediately after trading for an investor, because he thinks the investor may have inside information.
- pileated woodpecker — a large, black-and-white American woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, having a prominent red crest.
- pilgrimage of grace — a rebellion in 1536 in N England against the Reformation and Henry VIII's government
- pillars of hercules — the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules
- 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.
- pirates of penzance — an operetta (1879) by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
- pistachio ice cream — ice cream flavoured with pistachios
- pistol-handle knife — a table knife, especially of the 18th century, having a slightly curved handle resembling the grip of a flintlock pistol.
- planning permission — In Britain, planning permission is official permission that you must get from the local authority before building something new or adding something to an existing building.
- plastic deformation — In plastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it and does not go back to its original state when the stress is removed.
- play fast and loose — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- play footsie (with) — to touch feet or rub knees (with) in a caressing way, as under the table
- play the devil with — Theology. (sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan. a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
- play to the gallery — a raised area, often having a stepped or sloping floor, in a theater, church, or other public building to accommodate spectators, exhibits, etc.
- pleased to meet you — greeting
- pneumatic conveying — Pneumatic conveying is the movement of powdered or granulated solids using air.
- pneumoencephalogram — an encephalogram made after the replacement of the cerebrospinal fluid by air or gas, rarely used since the development of the CAT scanner.
- pneumogastric nerve — the vagus nerve.
- pocket-handkerchief — handkerchief (def 1).
- poincare conjecture — Mathematics. the question of whether a compact, simply connected three-dimensional manifold is topologically equivalent to a three-dimensional sphere.
- point the finger at — to accuse or blame
- pointe-aux-trembles — a city in S Quebec, in E Canada, N of Montreal, on the St. Lawrence.
- police headquarters — building where police are stationed
- political geography — the branch of human geography that deals with the relationship between political processes and spatial structures (regions, territories, etc)
- political scientist — A political scientist is someone who studies, writes, or lectures about political science.
- political-scientist — a social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government.
- politically correct — marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or ecology: The actor’s comment about unattractive women was not politically correct. The CEO feels that people who care about being politically correct are overly sensitive. Abbreviations: PC, P.C.
- polycarboxylic acid — a type of carboxylic acid containing two or more carboxyl groups
- polyclonal antibody — a mixture of antibodies of different specificities, as in the serum of a person immunized to various antigens.
- polyphosphoric acid — any one of a series of oxyacids of phosphorus with the general formula Hn+2PnO3n+1. The first member is pyrophosphoric acid (n = 2) and the series includes the highly polymeric metaphosphoric acid. The higher acids exist in an equilibrium mixture
- popular sovereignty — the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
- population genetics — the branch of genetics concerned with the hereditary makeup of populations.
- population pressure — the force exerted by a growing population upon its environment, resulting in dispersal or reduction of the population.
- port jackson willow — an Australian acacia tree, Acacia cyanophylla, introduced in the 19th century into South Africa, where it is now regarded as a pest
- portuguese-speaking — being a speaker of Portuguese; having Portuguese as the national language
- positional notation — a type of numeration in which the position of a digit affects its value.
- post-and-rail fence — a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
- postage and packing — the cost of packing and mailing an item bought by post
- postal savings bank — any of the savings banks formerly operated by local post offices and limited to small accounts.