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18-letter words containing p, y, o, s, i

  • presentation layer — (networking)   The second highest layer (layer 6) in the OSI seven layer model. Performs functions such as text compression, code or format conversion to try to smooth out differences between hosts. Allows incompatible processes in the application layer to communicate via the session layer. Documents: ITU Rec. X.226 (ISO 8823), ITU Rec. X.216 (ISO 8822).
  • priority inversion — (parallel)   The state of a concurrent system where a high priority task is waiting for a low priority task which is waiting for a medium priority task. The system may become unstable and crash under these circumstances. In an operating system that uses multiple tasks, each task (or context) may be given a priority. These priorities help the scheduler decide which task to run next. Consider tasks, L, M, and H, with priorities Low, Medium, and High. M is running and H is blocked waiting for some resource that is held by L. So long as any task with a priority higher than L is runable, it will prevent task L, and thus task H, from running. Priority inversion is generally considered either as a high-level design failure or an implementation issue to be taken into account depending on who is talking. Most operating systems have methods in place to prevent or take inversion into account. Priority inheritance is one method. The most public instance of priority inversion is the repeated 'fail-safe' rebooting of the Mars Pathfinder. base station ('Sagan Memorial Station').
  • processionary moth — a moth of the family Thaumetopoeidae, esp the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea), the larvae of which leave the communal shelter nightly for food in a V-shaped procession
  • productivity bonus — an extra payment made to workers for being more productive or yielding more favourable results than normal
  • property insurance — insurance coverage for land and housing
  • proprietary rights — rights of ownership
  • protective custody — detention of a person by the police solely as protection against a possible attack or reprisal by someone.
  • pseudo-symptomatic — pertaining to a symptom or symptoms.
  • psychopathological — the science or study of mental disorders.
  • psychosociological — psychological and sociological
  • psychotechnologist — a specialist in psychotechnology
  • psychotherapeutics — psychotherapy.
  • publishing company — a firm which publishes books
  • pulmonary embolism — the blockage of a pulmonary artery, often by a blood clot, that stops the flow of blood to the lungs and which can result in death if untreated
  • pygmy hippopotamus — a small hippopotamus, Choeropsis liberiensis, of forests and swamps in western Africa.
  • pyrosulphuric acid — a fuming liquid acid made by adding sulphur trioxide to concentrated sulphuric acid. Formula: H2S2O7
  • registered company — a company which has officially registered its business
  • respiratory arrest — cessation of breathing
  • respiratory system — the system by which oxygen is taken into the body and an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place; in mammals the system includes the nasal passages, pharynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs.
  • safety-deposit box — a lockable metal box or drawer, especially in a bank vault, used for safely storing valuable papers, jewelry, etc.
  • secondary syphilis — the second stage of syphilis, characterized by eruptions of the skin and mucous membrane.
  • separation anxiety — the normal fear and apprehension expressed by infants when removed from their mothers or approached by strangers.
  • september holidays — a period of time in September when people do not have to go to school, college or work
  • set priority level — (SPL) The way traditional Unix kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt priority levels and thus blocking lower level interrupts.
  • shop till you drop — If you shop till you drop, you do a large amount of shopping.
  • silvery spleenwort — a fern, Diplazium pycnocarpon, of eastern North America, having fronds from 20 to 30 inches (50.8 to 76.2 cm) long on yellowish-green stalks.
  • sling psychrometer — a psychrometer so designed that the wet-bulb thermometer can be ventilated, to expedite evaporation, by whirling in the air.
  • slow-motion replay — a showing again in slow motion of a sequence of action, esp of part of a sporting contest immediately after it happens
  • sociopsychological — of, relating to, or characterized by interrelated social and psychological factors.
  • sodium hyposulfite — sodium thiosulfate.
  • sodium polysulfide — a yellow-brown, water-soluble, granular powder, Na 2 S n , used chiefly in the manufacture of sulfur dyes, insecticides, and synthetic rubber.
  • solitary sandpiper — a North American sandpiper, Tringa solitaria, of inland wetlands, having a brownish-gray, white-spotted back and whitish underparts.
  • solubility product — the maximum number of undissociated ions, of an electrolyte in a saturated solution, capable at a given temperature of remaining in equilibrium with the undissolved phase of the solution.
  • specific viscosity — a measure of the resistance to flow of a fluid, expressed as the ratio of the absolute viscosity of the fluid to that of a reference fluid (usually water in the case of liquids)
  • spectrocolorimetry — the quantitative measure of colors by spectrophotometry.
  • spectroheliography — the process of obtaining an image of the sun in light of a particular wavelength, such as calcium or hydrogen, showing the distribution of the element over the surface and in the solar atmosphere, using a spectroheliograph
  • sperry corporation — (company)   The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
  • spherical geometry — the branch of geometry that deals with figures on spherical surfaces.
  • statutory sick pay — the pay an employee is legally entitled to when sick
  • subsidiary company — a company whose controlling interest is owned by another company.
  • summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
  • superstring theory — any supersymmetric string theory in which each type of elementary particle is treated as a vibration of a single fundamental string (superstring) at a particular frequency.
  • supportive therapy — any treatment, such as the intravenous administration of certain fluids, designed to reinforce or sustain the physiological well-being of a patient
  • system-programming — a program, as an operating system, compiler, or utility program, that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer (opposed to application program).
  • systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
  • television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
  • the encyclopedists — the writers of the French Encyclopedia (1751-72) edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, which contained the advanced ideas of the period
  • to play favourites — to display favouritism
  • to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
  • to spill your guts — if someone spills their guts, they tell you everything about something secret or private
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