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16-letter words containing p, i, a, t, g, o

  • operating system — (operating system)   (OS) The low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running. The OS may be split into a kernel which is always present and various system programs which use facilities provided by the kernel to perform higher-level house-keeping tasks, often acting as servers in a client-server relationship. Some would include a graphical user interface and window system as part of the OS, others would not. The operating system loader, BIOS, or other firmware required at boot time or when installing the operating system would generally not be considered part of the operating system, though this distinction is unclear in the case of a rommable operating system such as RISC OS. The facilities an operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up around the machines on which it runs. Example operating systems include 386BSD, AIX, AOS, Amoeba, Angel, Artemis microkernel, BeOS, Brazil, COS, CP/M, CTSS, Chorus, DACNOS, DOSEXEC 2, GCOS, GEORGE 3, GEOS, ITS, KAOS, Linux, LynxOS, MPV, MS-DOS, MVS, Mach, Macintosh operating system, Microsoft Windows, MINIX, Multics, Multipop-68, Novell NetWare, OS-9, OS/2, Pick, Plan 9, QNX, RISC OS, STING, System V, System/360, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, TRUSIX, TWENEX, TYMCOM-X, Thoth, Unix, VM/CMS, VMS, VRTX, VSTa, VxWorks, WAITS.
  • operating-system — the collection of software that directs a computer's operations, controlling and scheduling the execution of other programs, and managing storage, input/output, and communication resources. Abbreviation: OS.
  • operationalizing — Present participle of operationalize.
  • ophthalmological — Pertaining to ophthalmology.
  • ophthalmologists — Plural form of ophthalmologist.
  • optical scanning — 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.
  • organoleptically — In an organoleptic manner.
  • orthographically — In an orthographical manner; using proper spelling, capitalization and grammar.
  • osculating plane — the plane containing the circle of curvature of a point on a given curve.
  • overcapitalizing — Present participle of overcapitalize.
  • overcompensating — Present participle of overcompensate.
  • overcomplicating — Present participle of overcomplicate.
  • pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
  • packing fraction — Physics. a measure of the stability of an atomic nucleus, equal to 10 4 multiplied by the mass defect and divided by the mass number.
  • paleoclimatology — the branch of paleogeography dealing with the study of paleoclimates.
  • partial ordering — a relation defined on a set, having the properties that each element is in relation to itself, the relation is transitive, and if two elements are in relation to each other, the two elements are equal.
  • passage to india — a novel (1924) by E. M. Forster.
  • past progressive — a verb form consisting of an auxiliary be in the past tense followed by a present participle and used especially to indicate that an action or event was incomplete or in progress at a point of reference in the past, as was sleeping in I was sleeping when the phone rang.
  • pension mortgage — an arrangement whereby a person takes out a mortgage and pays the capital repayment instalments into a pension fund and the interest to the mortgagee. The loan is repaid out of the tax-free lump sum proceeds of the pension plan on the borrower's retirement
  • percentage point — difference: one per cent
  • petrol rationing — a scheme rationing the amount of petrol that an individual is allowed to purchase
  • phagocytic index — the average number of bacteria ingested per phagocyte in an incubated mixture of bacteria, phagocytes, and blood serum: used in determining the opsonic index.
  • phantasmagorical — having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination.
  • pharmacogenetics — the branch of pharmacology that examines the relation of genetic factors to variations in response to drugs.
  • phosphor fatigue — screen saver
  • photocoagulation — a surgical technique using an intense beam of light from a laser or a xenon-arc bulb to seal blood vessels or coagulate tissue, used primarily in ophthalmology to repair detached retinas or to treat certain kinds of retinopathy.
  • photolithography — the technique or art of making photolithographs.
  • photozincography — a type of photoengraving using a sensitized zinc plate.
  • phylogenetically — the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
  • pitch-cone angle — (in a bevel gear) the apex angle of the truncated cone (pitch cone) which forms the reference surface on which the teeth of a bevel gear are cut
  • play off against — If you play people off against each other, you make them compete or argue, so that you gain some advantage.
  • pneumatic trough — a trough filled with liquid, especially water, for collecting gases in bell jars or the like by displacement.
  • point of sailing — the bearing of a sailing vessel, considered with relation to the direction of the wind.
  • pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
  • portrait gallery — a gallery where pictures are displayed
  • portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
  • posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
  • potemkin village — a pretentiously showy or imposing façade intended to mask or divert attention from an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition.
  • potential energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
  • praetorian guard — the bodyguard of a military commander, especially the imperial guard stationed in Rome.
  • pragmatic theory — the theory of truth that the truth of a statement consists in its practical consequences, especially in its agreement with subsequent experience.
  • pre-registration — the act of registering.
  • prestidigitation — sleight of hand; legerdemain.
  • processing plant — a factory where raw materials are treated or prepared by a special method, esp one where food is treated in order to preserve it
  • prognostic chart — a chart showing the predicted state of the atmosphere for a given time in the future.
  • program director — a chief executive responsible for selecting and scheduling programs.
  • programmatically — by using a computer program: You can set the value in each field programmatically with a simple algorithm. The background shapes can be programmatically drawn and animated.
  • programme editor — someone responsible for editing, overseeing and selecting the content of radio or television programmes
  • project guardian — (project, security)   A project which grew out of the ARPA support for Multics and the sale of Multics systems to the US Air Force. The USAF wanted a system that could be used to handle more than one security classification of data at a time. They contracted with Honeywell and MITRE Corporation to figure out how to do this. Project Guardian led to the creation of the Access Isolation Mechanism, the forerunner of the B2 labeling and star property support in Multics. The DoD Orange Book was influenced by the experience in building secure systems gained in Project Guardian.
  • project planning — project management
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