19-letter words containing p, t, e
- orthopaedic surgery — surgery concerned with disorders of the spine and joints and the repair of deformities of these parts
- outplacement agency — an agency that provides counselling and careers advice, esp to redundant executives, which is paid for by their previous employer
- over-interpretation — the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
- overhead projection — the projection (using an overhead projector) of an enlarged image of a transparency onto a surface above and behind the person using it
- oxidation potential — (in a galvanic cell) the potential of the electrode at which oxidation occurs.
- palaeoethnobotanist — someone who studies fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
- paleoanthropologist — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- pancreatic fibrosis — cystic fibrosis.
- parachute spinnaker — a very large spinnaker used on a racing yacht.
- parallactic ellipse — the apparent ellipse, as seen against the background of more distant stars, described annually by a nearby star because of the earth's orbital motion around the sun. Compare parallax (def 2).
- parallel projection — a projection from one plane to a second plane in which the lines joining points on the first plane and corresponding images are parallel.
- parametric equation — one of two or more equations expressing the location of a point on a curve or surface by determining each coordinate separately.
- parasympathomimetic — having an effect similar to that produced when the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated
- parathyroid extract — an aqueous preparation obtained from the parathyroid gland of cattle, used in medicine chiefly in cases of parathyroid deficiency and in veterinary medicine in the treatment of tetanic convulsions.
- parathyroid hormone — a polypeptide hormone, produced in the parathyroid glands, that helps regulate the blood levels of calcium and phosphate. Abbreviation: PTH.
- parliament building — structure housing legislative offices
- parliamentary agent — (in Britain) a person who is employed to manage the parliamentary business of a private group
- parthenogenetically — development of an egg without fertilization.
- particle dispersoid — A particle dispersoid is a suspension of solid particles in a gas.
- particle kinematics — Particle kinematics is the study of the movement of particles, without considering the forces that cause this movement.
- particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
- particle technology — Particle technology is knowledge and study which relates to particles, and is used in industry.
- particular negative — a proposition of the form “Some S is not P.” Symbol: O.
- parting of the ways — When there is a parting of the ways, two or more people or groups of people stop working together or travelling together.
- paschen-back effect — a splitting of spectral lines observed when the source of a radiation is subjected to a strong magnetic field, caused when the vectors associated with the spin and orbital angular momentum exhibit individual rather than common precession.
- pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
- patent infringement — breach of copyright
- patrol torpedo boat — PT boat.
- pattern recognition — the automated identification of shapes or forms or patterns of speech.
- paumotu archipelago — Tuamotu Archipelago.
- peak listening time — the time at which the highest numbers of audiences are listening to the radio
- pecuniary advantage — financial advantage that is dishonestly obtained by deception and that constitutes a criminal offence
- pedestrian crossing — place to cross road
- pedestrian precinct — A pedestrian precinct is a street or part of a town where vehicles are not allowed.
- penecontemporaneous — formed during or shortly after the formation of the containing rock stratum: penecontemporaneous minerals.
- perfect competition — when neither producer nor consumer controls price
- perfect progressive — a verb form including the auxiliary have followed by been and a present participle, noting the continuation of an activity or event, its incompleteness or interruption, and its connection to the temporal point of reference, as in I've been waiting for over an hour, They had been talking about her before she came into the room, or In July, he will have been living here for two years.
- perfoliate bellwort — a slender plant, Uvularia perfoliata, of the lily family, of eastern North America, having pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers.
- performance anxiety — the stage fright that a person feels when they are about to perform (a play, piece of music etc) in front of an audience
- performance targets — the expected or predicted success level of an individual, company or organization
- peridental membrane — periodontal membrane.
- periodontal disease — any of various mixed bacterial infections that affect the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth.
- peritoneal dialysis — a form of dialysis in which the peritoneum is used as an autogenous semipermeable membrane
- permanent secretary — the senior civil servant responsible for running a government ministry
- perpetual adoration — uninterrupted adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
- perpetual debenture — a bond or debenture that can either never be redeemed or cannot be redeemed on demand
- perpetual inventory — a form of stock control in which running records are kept of all acquisitions and disposals
- persecution complex — an acute irrational fear that other people are plotting one's downfall and that they are responsible for one's failures
- persian gulf states — group of Arab sheikdoms along the Persian Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, & United Arab Emirates