17-letter words containing p, o
- 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.
- pate de foie gras — See under foie gras.
- 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.
- pay someone's way — to pay someone's share of the expenses
- peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- pecorino (cheese) — an Italian cheese made of sheep's milk; specif., such a cheese that is dry, sharp, and very hard
- 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.
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- 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.
- pension provision — the provision of a pension by the state or an employer
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- pentylenetetrazol — a white, crystalline, bitter-tasting, water-soluble powder, C 6 H 1 0 N 4 , used as a respiratory and circulatory stimulant, especially in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning, and to induce a convulsive state in the treatment of certain mental diseases.
- per capita income — the total income of an area or country divided by the number of people in that area or country
- per procurationem — by one acting as an agent; by proxy.
- perchloroethylene — tetrachloroethylene.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- perforation gauge — a marked ruler used to measure the number of perforations per unit length along the borders of a stamp.
- performance bonus — a monetary bonus paid to staff who have performed well in their job
- performance drugs — the drugs that are taken illegally by athletes to enhance their sporting performance
- peridot of ceylon — a honey-colored tourmaline, used as a gem: not a true peridot.
- period-revolution — a rather large interval of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc., because of its particular characteristics: a period of illness; a period of great profitability for a company; a period of social unrest in Germany.
- periodic function — a function of a real or complex variable that is periodic.
- periodic sentence — a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense, as in Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.
- periodical cicada — seventeen-year locust.
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- permanent account — A permanent account is an account which carries its balance and is kept open from year to year.
- permutation group — a mathematical group whose elements are permutations and in which the product of two permutations is the same permutation as is obtained by performing them in succession.
- pernicious anemia — Pernicious anemia is a very severe blood disease.
- persistent memory — non-volatile storage
- persona non grata — a person who is not welcome: He has become persona non grata in our club since his angry outburst.
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
- personal property — an estate or property consisting of movable articles both corporeal, as furniture or jewelry, or incorporeal, as stocks or bonds (distinguished from real property).
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- personnel carrier — a vehicle used for transporting troops
- personnel manager — head of Human Resources department
- personnel officer — a worker responsible for recruiting employees and dealing with matters relating to them
- perspicaciousness — having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
- perth and kinross — a council area of N central Scotland, corresponding mainly to the historical counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire: part of Tayside Region from 1975 until 1996: chiefly mountainous, with agriculture, tourism, and forestry. Administrative centre: Perth. Pop: 135 990 (2003 est). Area: 5321 sq km (2019 sq miles)
- peterloo massacre — an incident at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, in 1819 in which a radical meeting was broken up by a cavalry charge, resulting in about 500 injuries and 11 deaths
- petit bourgeoisie — The petit bourgeoisie are people in the lower middle class.
- petite bourgeoise — a woman who belongs to the petite bourgeoisie.
- petitio principii — a fallacy in reasoning resulting from the assumption of that which in the beginning was set forth to be proved; begging the question.
- petrarchan sonnet — a sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd.
- petrol filler cap — a small cover that goes over the hole in a vehicle into which you put petrol
- petty bourgeoisie — the section of the middle class with the lowest social status, generally composed of shopkeepers, lower clerical staff, etc