18-letter words containing p, r, e, c
- depth-first search — (algorithm) A graph search algorithm which extends the current path as far as possible before backtracking to the last choice point and trying the next alternative path. Depth-first search may fail to find a solution if it enters a cycle in the graph. This can be avoided if we never extend a path to a node which it already contains. Opposite of breadth first search. See also iterative deepening.
- descriptive clause — a relative clause that describes or supplements but is not essential in establishing the identity of the antecedent and is usually set off by commas in English. In This year, which has been dry, is bad for crops the clause which has been dry is a nonrestrictive clause.
- developing country — a nonindustrialized poor country that is seeking to develop its resources by industrialization
- diphosphoglycerate — an ester of phosphoric acid and glyceric acid that occurs in the blood and that promotes the release of hemoglobin-bound oxygen.
- diphtheria vaccine — a vaccine used to produce immunity against diphtheria
- diplomatic service — diplomatic corps
- discharge printing — a fabric-printing method in which the material is dyed and then certain areas are discharged so as to permit the original hue or its color replacement to act as a pattern against the colored ground.
- doctype decoration — (humour) When a web author adds a doctype declaration but doesn't bother to write valid HTML.
- dominican republic — a republic in the West Indies, occupying the E part of the island of Hispaniola. 19,129 sq. mi. (49,545 sq. km). Capital: Santo Domingo.
- domremy-la-pucelle — a village in Lorraine, NE France, SW of Nancy: birthplace of Joan of Arc.
- drop in the bucket — a deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semicircular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit, etc.; pail.
- duchenne dystrophy — the most common form of muscular dystrophy, usually affecting only boys
- due process of law — the administration of justice in accordance with established rules and principles
- echoencephalograph — a device that employs reflected ultrasonic waves to examine the position of brain structures.
- eclipsing variable — a variable star whose changes in brightness are caused by periodic eclipses of two stars in a binary system.
- economic geography — a branch of geography that deals with the relation of physical and economic conditions to the production and utilization of raw materials and their manufacture into finished products.
- egg and spoon race — a novelty race in which contestants each carry an egg in a spoon to the finish line, the winner being the first to finish without dropping or breaking the egg.
- egg-and-spoon race — a race in which runners carry an egg balanced in a spoon
- eggshell porcelain — a type of very thin translucent porcelain originally made in China
- ejaculatio praecox — premature ejaculation during sexual intercourse
- electric potential — the work required to transfer a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a given point against an electric field
- electroacupuncture — the insertion into the body of one or more needles through which an electric current is passed
- electrocardiograph — A machine used for electrocardiography.
- electron telescope — an astronomical telescope with an attachment for converting the infrared radiation emitted from the surface of planets into a visible image
- electron transport — the metabolic process in mitochondria or chloroplasts, in which electrons are transferred in stages from energy-rich compounds to molecular oxygen with liberation of energy
- electronic receipt — An electronic receipt is one created in a computerized cash register, or by an online retailer. It will usually show the date and time, how payment is made, and other details of the sale.
- electrophotography — Any of several methods of photocopying in which an image is created and then transferred between surfaces using static electricity.
- electrotherapeutic — Relating to electrotherapeutics.
- employment service — (in the United States) a government department established to collect and supply to the unemployed information about job vacancies and to employers information about availability of prospective workers
- endangered species — animal, plant becoming extinct
- energy consumption — amount of energy used
- equinoctial spring — either of the two highest spring tides that occur at the equinoxes
- erectile impotence — impotence caused by the inability of the penis to become sufficiently firm to penetrate the vagina
- european community — an economic and political association of European States that came into being in 1967, when the legislative and executive bodies of the European Economic Community merged with those of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community: subsumed into the European Union in 1993
- examination script — a script with answers written on it by an examination candidate taking a written examination
- excess profits tax — a tax on profits exceeding a certain amount
- exchange programme — an arrangement in which people from different countries visit each other's country, perhaps to strengthen links between them or to improve foreign language skills
- executive producer — a producer of a film or television programme who is involved with business or technical issues rather than the technical aspects of film or television production
- exercise equipment — equipment that can be used for exercising, such as tread mills, rowing machines, etc
- exercise programme — a programme detailing a range of physical exercises and the amount of time each exercise should be performed, used especially in gymnasiums, where they are typically tailored to individuals' needs
- expected frequency — the number of occasions on which an event may be presumed to occur on average in a given number of trials
- extermination camp — a camp where people are imprisoned and killed
- faraday dark space — the dark region between the negative glow and the positive column in a vacuum tube occurring when the pressure is low.
- feeping creaturism — /fee'ping kree"ch*r-izm/ A deliberate spoonerism for creeping featurism, meant to imply that the system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of hacks. This term isn"t really well defined, but it sounds so neat that most hackers have said or heard it. It is probably reinforced by an image of terminals prowling about in the dark making their customary noises.
- fermat's principle — Optics. the law that the path taken by a ray of light in going from one point to another point will be the path that requires the least time.
- flat address space — (architecture) The memory architecture in which any memory location can be selected from a single contiguous block by a single integer offset. Almost all popular processors have a flat address space, but the Intel x86 family has a segmented address space. A flat address space greatly simplifies programming because of the simple correspondence between addresses (pointers) and integers.
- forced development — the processing of underexposed photographic film to increase the image density
- forced perspective — the use of objects or images that are larger or smaller than they should be, to suggest that they are nearer or further away than they really are
- forward compatible — forward compatibility
- four-color problem — the problem, solved in 1976, of proving the theorem that any geographic map can be colored using only four colors so that no connected countries with a common boundary are colored the same color.