17-letter words containing p, h, o, l
- paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleobiogeography — the study of the distribution of ancient plants and animals and their relation to ancient geographic features.
- parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
- parker house roll — a soft dinner roll made by folding a flat disk of dough in half.
- pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
- pastoral symphony — the Symphony No. 6 in F major (1807–08) by Ludwig van Beethoven.
- pastoral theology — the branch of theology dealing with the responsibilities of members of the clergy to the people under their care.
- pathological liar — a person who tells lies frequently, with no rational motive for doing so.
- patriarchal cross — a Latin cross having a shorter crosspiece above the customary one.
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- peer of the realm — any of a class of peers in Great Britain and Ireland entitled by heredity to sit in the House of Lords.
- penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- perchloroethylene — tetrachloroethylene.
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
- pharmacologically — the science dealing with the preparation, uses, and especially the effects of drugs.
- phenethyl alcohol — a colorless, viscous, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 8 H 1 0 O, having a faint roselike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
- philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
- philosopher kings — the Platonic ideal of a ruler, philosophically trained and enlightened.
- phlebotomus fever — sandfly fever.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- phonological rule — an operation in generative phonology that substitutes one sound or class of sounds for another in a phonological derivation.
- photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
- photoluminescence — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- photovoltaic cell — a photocell in which an electromotive force is generated by a photovoltaic effect.
- phumiphon aduldet — (Phumiphon Aduldet; Bhumibol Adulyadej) born 1927, king of Thailand since 1946.
- pile on the agony — to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
- pincushion flower — scabious2 (def 1).
- plains of abraham — a high plain adjoining the city of Quebec, Canada: battlefield where the English under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm in 1759.
- platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
- play along (with) — to join in or cooperate (with)
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- ploughman's lunch — a light lunch consisting of bread and cheese, and sometimes pickled onions.
- plymouth brethren — a religious sect founded c. 1827, strongly Puritanical in outlook and prohibiting many secular occupations for its members. It combines elements of Calvinism, Pietism, and millenarianism, and has no organized ministry
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- police helicopter — a helicopter used in police operations, for example in traffic control, or for observation
- polioencephalitis — a disease characterized by inflammation of the gray matter of the brain.
- polymorphonuclear — (of a leukocyte) having a lobulate nucleus.
- polystyrene chips — small pieces of polystyrene used for insulating or packing
- polyvinyl alcohol — a colorless, water-soluble, thermoplastic resin, derived by the hydrolysis of polyvinyl acetate: used chiefly as an adhesive and as a sizing agent in the manufacture of textiles, paper, and plastics.
- positive theology — a theological approach or tradition in which the nature of God is thought to be knowable and is understood through positive statements. See also cataphasis (def 2).
- potato leafhopper — any of various leafhoppers that are serious pests, damaging a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants, especially potatoes.
- pre-technological — of or relating to technology; relating to science and industry.
- preferential shop — a shop in which union members are preferred, usually by agreement of an employer with a union.
- prothoracic gland — either of a pair of endocrine glands in the anterior thorax of some insects, functioning to promote the series of molts from hatching to adulthood.