19-letter words containing p, e, d
- co-respondent shoes — men's two-coloured shoes, usually black and white or brown and white
- command interpreter — (operating system) A program which reads textual commands from the user or from a file and executes them. Some commands may be executed directly within the interpreter itself (e.g. setting variables or control constructs), others may cause it to load and execute other files. When an IBM PC is booted BIOS loads and runs the MS-DOS command interpreter into memory from file COMMAND.COM found on a floppy disk or hard disk drive. The commands that COMMAND.COM recognizes (e.g. COPY, DIR, PRN) are called internal commands, in contrast to external commands which are executable files.
- command line option — (software) (Or "option", "flag", "switch", "option switch") An argument to a command that modifies its function rather than providing data. Options generally start with "-" in Unix or "/" in MS-DOS. This is usually followed by a single letter or occasionally a digit. More recently, GNU software adopted the --longoptionname style, usually in addition to traditional, single-character, -x style equivalents. Some commands require each option to be a separate argument, introduced by a new "-" or "/", others allow multiple option letters to be concatenated into a single argument with a single "-" or "/", e.g. "ls -al". A few Unix commands (e.g. ar, tar) allow the "-" to be omitted. Some options may or must be followed by a value, e.g. "cc prog.c -o prog", sometimes with and sometimes without an intervening space.
- command performance — A command performance is a special performance of a play or show which is given for a head of state.
- compact disc player — a machine for playing compact discs
- compact disc writer — (storage) (CD burner) A device that can write data to Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) or Compact Disc Rewritable (CD-RW) discs. Now both these CD formats are often combined with a DVD writer.
- compact disk player — a device for playing compact disks.
- competitive bidding — a system by which a contract is awarded to the lowest bidder
- complete quadrangle — a plane figure consisting of four points connected by six lines
- compound microscope — an instrument for magnifying small objects, consisting of a lens of short focal length for forming an image that is further magnified by a second lens of longer focal length
- compression molding — a method of molding thermosetting plastic by closing a mold on it, forming the material by heat and pressure.
- computed tomography — computerized axial tomography. Abbreviation: CT.
- computer dictionary — Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
- computer-controlled — controlled by computers, esp without direct human intervention
- consultation period — a period during which consultations are held before a policy decision is made
- contemplative order — a religious order whose members are devoted to prayer rather than works.
- correspondence card — a piece of card, often with the sender's name and address printed on the top, designed to be used for sending brief notes to people through the post
- counterpoise bridge — another name for bascule bridge
- counterproductively — In a counterproductive way.
- court correspondent — (in Britain) a journalist who covers stories about the royal family
- covered-dish supper — a meal to which guests contribute food, as casseroles.
- cracked compression — Cracked compression is a separation process for separating hydrocarbons further, with an increase in the pressure of the cracked gas.
- creative department — the department of a company or organization responsible for the design and creation of advertisements and marketing materials
- credit default swap — a contract in which the parties exchange the exposure to loss should a creditor fail to make a payment when it comes due back
- cuboidal epithelium — epithelium consisting of one or more layers of cells of cuboid or polyhedral shape.
- cup-and-saucer vine — a woody, Mexican vine, Cobaea scandens, of the phlox family, having bell-shaped, violet-colored or greenish-purple flowers with an inflated, leaflike calyx and long, curved stamens.
- current expenditure — expenditure taking place within the financial year in question
- daisy-wheel printer — a type of printer that uses a daisywheel
- dangling participle — a participle intended to modify a noun but having the wrong grammatical relationship to it as for example having left in the sentence Having left Europe for good, Peter's future seemed bleak indeed
- data encryption key — (DEK) Used for the encryption of message text and for the computation of message integrity checks (signatures). See cryptography.
- data protection act — (legal) (DPA) A UK law guaranteeing rights to individuals in relation to personal data that others hold on them. For example, under the DPA, you have the right to see what data a company holds on you.
- de-compartmentalize — to divide into categories or compartments.
- deaf without speech — (usually of a prelingually deaf person) able to utter sounds but not speak
- debugging by printf — (programming) The debugging technique where the programmer inserts print statements into a program so that when run the program leaves a "trail of breadcrumbs" allowing him to see which parts were executed. The information output may just be a short string to indicate that a particular point in the code has been reached or it might be a complete stack trace. The output typically just goes to the window or terminal in which the program is running or may be written to a log file.
- defence expenditure — the amount that a country spends on military measures or resources
- deflate compression — deflate
- deflationary spiral — Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.
- dendrogeomorphology — (geology) the science that uses dendrochronology to study changes to the Earth's surface over time.
- dental receptionist — a receptionist working in a dental surgery
- department chairman — the chairman of a university department
- department of labor — the department of the U.S. federal government that promotes and improves the welfare, opportunities, and working conditions of wage earners. Abbreviation: DOL.
- department of state — the department of the U.S. federal government that sets forth and maintains the foreign policy of the U.S., especially in negotiations with foreign governments and international organizations. Abbreviation: DOS.
- departmentalisation — Alternative spelling of departmentalization.
- departmentalization — to divide into departments.
- dependable software — software reliability
- depletion allowance — a tax allowance granted in certain industries, such as the oil and gas industries, to compensate for the depletion of the oil, gas, etc owned by the company
- descriptive grammar — an approach to grammar that is concerned with reporting the usage of native speakers without reference to proposed norms of correctness or advocacy of rules based on such norms.
- detective inspector — a police officer who investigates crime and who ranks above a detective sergeant but below a detective chief inspector
- developable surface — a surface that can be flattened onto a plane without stretching or compressing any part of it, as a circular cone.
- development company — a company that buys land and builds houses, offices, shops, or factories on it, or buys existing buildings and makes them more modern