12-letter words containing p, i, l
- pathological — of or relating to pathology.
- patrilateral — related through the father.
- patrilineage — lineal descent traced through the male line.
- patroclinous — inheritance in which the traits of the offspring are derived primarily from the paternal parent (opposed to matrocliny).
- pauciloquent — using few words in speech or conversation
- peace-loving — If you describe someone as peace-loving, you mean that they try to avoid quarrelling or fighting with other people.
- pearl diving — the act of diving for the precious gems pearls
- pearl hominy — whole or ground hulled corn from which the bran and germ have been removed by bleaching the whole kernels in a lye bath (lye hominy) or by crushing and sifting (pearl hominy)
- pearl millet — a tall grass, Pennisetum americanum (or P. glaucum), cultivated in Africa, Asia, and the southern U.S. for its edible seeds and as a forage plant.
- pearl primus — Pearl, 1919–1994, U.S. dancer, born in Trinidad.
- pearly white — white and lustrous as a pearl.
- peccadilloes — a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling fault.
- pectoral fin — (in fishes) either of a pair of fins usually situated behind the head, one on each side, and corresponding to the forelimbs of higher vertebrates.
- pectoriloquy — vocalization through the chest wall, indicating a cavity or consolidation of the lung
- pedantically — ostentatious in one's learning.
- pedicellaria — one of the minute pincerlike structures common to starfish and sea urchins, used for cleaning and to capture tiny prey.
- pediculation — the act or process of growing a stalk or pedicle
- pediculicide — Also, pediculicidal. destructive to lice.
- peeblesshire — a historic county in S Scotland.
- pekinologist — a person who studies the People's Republic of China
- pelecaniform — of, or having the nature of, an order (Pelecaniformes) of swimming birds having all four toes connected in a webbed foot, including pelicans and cormorants
- pelican hook — a hooklike device for holding the link of a chain or the like, consisting of a long shackle with a hinged rod held closed with a sliding ring.
- peltier heat — the heat gained or lost at a junction of a thermocouple due to the Peltier effect.
- pelvic floor — muscles beneath the pelvis
- penalization — to subject to a penalty, as a person.
- penalty kick — a free kick awarded for an infraction committed by a defensive player in the penalty area and taken by the offensive player who has been fouled from a point 12 yards (11 meters) directly in front of the goal.
- pencil cedar — the red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, or its wood.
- pencil skirt — women's garment: straight skirt
- pend oreille — a river in NE Washington, N Idaho, and SE British Columbia, flowing NW to the Columbia River. 130 miles (209 km) long.
- pennine alps — a range of the Alps between Switzerland and Italy. Highest peak: Monte Rosa, 4634 m (15 204 ft)
- pennsylvania — a state in the E United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Capital: Harrisburg. Abbreviation: PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.
- pennywhistle — a cheap toy whistle orig. sold for a penny
- pension plan — a systematic plan created and maintained, as by a corporation, to make regular payments of benefits to retired or disabled employees, either on a contributory or a noncontributory basis.
- pentapolitan — of or pertaining to a pentapolis
- penthesileia — the daughter of Ares and queen of the Amazons, whom she led to the aid of Troy. She was slain by Achilles
- peptic ulcer — an erosion of the mucous membrane of the lower esophagus, stomach, or duodenum, caused in part by the corrosive action of the gastric juice.
- peptidolytic — causing the hydrolysis of peptides.
- perceptional — the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
- perceptively — having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition: a perceptive analysis of the problems involved.
- percussional — of or relating to percussion
- peremptorily — leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal; imperative: a peremptory command.
- perenniality — lasting for an indefinitely long time; enduring: her perennial beauty.
- perfectively — in a perfective manner; thoroughly
- perfidiously — deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful: a perfidious lover.
- perichaetial — denoting the leaves in mosses that surround the archegonia and, later, the base of the sporophyte
- perimetrical — the border or outer boundary of a two-dimensional figure.
- perinatology — a field of medicine focusing on problems emerging during the perinatal period.
- periodic law — the law that the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.
- periodically — recurring at intervals of time: periodic revivals of an interest in handicrafts.
- peripherally — pertaining to, situated in, or constituting the periphery: peripheral resistance on the outskirts of the battle area.