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19-letter words containing r, e, p, u

  • priority scheduling — (operating system)   Processes scheduling in which the scheduler selects tasks to run based on their priority as opposed to, say, a simple round-robin. Priorities may be static or dynamic. Static priorities are assigned at the time of creation, while dynamic priorities are based on the processes' behaviour while in the system. For example, the scheduler may favour I/O-intensive tasks so that expensive requests can be issued as early as possible. A danger of priority scheduling is starvation, in which processes with lower priorities are not given the opportunity to run. In order to avoid starvation, in preemptive scheduling, the priority of a process is gradually reduced while it is running. Eventually, the priority of the running process will no longer be the highest, and the next process will start running. This method is called aging.
  • private prosecution — a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
  • privatization issue — an issue of shares available for purchase by members of the public when a publicly owned organization is transferred to the private sector
  • procedural language — (language)   Any programming language in which the programmer specifies an explicit sequences of steps to follow to produce a result (an algorithm). The term should not be confused with "imperative language" - a language that specifies explicit manipulation of state. An example (non-imperative) procedural language is LOGO, which specifies sequences of steps to perform but does not have an internal state. Other procedural languages include Basic, Pascal, C, and Modula-2. Both procedural and imperative languages are in contrast to declarative languages, in which the programmer specifies neither explicit steps nor explicit state manipulation.
  • progressive judaism — Reform Judaism.
  • property speculator — a person who takes part in property speculation
  • proto-indo-european — the unattested prehistoric parent language of the Indo-European languages; Indo-European.
  • provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
  • pseudo-aristocratic — of or relating to government by an aristocracy.
  • pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
  • pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
  • pseudo-experimental — pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
  • pseudo-hieroglyphic — noting or pertaining to a script dating from the second millennium b.c. that appears to be syllabic and to represent the Phoenician language and that is inscribed on objects found at Byblos.
  • pseudo-intransitive — denoting an occurrence of a normally transitive verb in which a direct object is not explicitly stated or forms the subject of the sentence, as in Margaret is cooking or these apples cook well
  • pseudo-professional — following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.
  • pseudohermaphrodite — an individual having internal reproductive organs of one sex and external sexual characteristics resembling those of the other sex or being ambiguous in nature. Compare hermaphrodite (def 1).
  • pseudorandom number — (programming)   One of a sequence of numbers generated by some algorithm so as to have an even distribution over some range of values and minimal correlation between successive values. Pseudorandom numbers are used in simulation and encryption. They are pseudorandom not random because the sequence eventually repeats exactly and is entirely determined by the initial conditions. One of the simplest algorithms is x[i+1] = (a * x[i] + c) mod m but this repeats after at most m numbers and successive numbers are closely related. Better algorithms generally use more previous numbers to calculate the next number.
  • public-interest law — a branch of law that often utilizes class-action suits to protect the interest of a large group or of the public at large, as in matters relating to racial discrimination, air pollution, etc.
  • puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
  • pugwash conferences — international peace conferences of scientists held regularly to discuss world problems: Nobel peace prize 1995 awarded to Joseph Rotblat (1908–2005) , one of the founders of the conferences, secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97)
  • pull in one's horns — one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain ungulate mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes.
  • puncture repair kit — set of tools for patching a bicycle tyre
  • purse-string suture — a suture for a circular opening, stitched around the edge, that closes it when pulled.
  • put a figure on sth — When you put a figure on an amount, you say exactly how much it is.
  • put one's finger on — any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
  • put the skids under — a plank, bar, log, or the like, especially one of a pair, on which something heavy may be slid or rolled along.
  • put up the shutters — to close business at the end of the day or permanently
  • quartermaster corps — the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for supplying food, clothing, fuel, and equipment and for the operation of commissaries, laundries, etc.
  • radiopharmaceutical — any of a number of radioactive drugs used diagnostically or therapeutically.
  • rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
  • rapture of the deep — nitrogen narcosis.
  • reactor temperature — The reactor temperature is the temperature at various stages in a reactor in an FCC unit.
  • reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
  • reconceptualization — to form into a concept; make a concept of.
  • recording equipment — devices used for sound reproduction
  • reduction potential — (in a galvanic cell) the potential of the electrode at which reduction occurs.
  • reflux oesophagitis — inflammation of the gullet caused by regurgitation of stomach acids, producing heartburn: may be associated with a hiatus hernia
  • republic of ireland — John, 1838–1918, U.S. Roman Catholic clergyman and social reformer, born in Ireland: archbishop of St. Paul, Minn., 1888–1918.
  • republic of letters — the collective body of literary people.
  • republic of vietnam — the name (from 1955–75) for South Vietnam, as an independent republic, following the division of the country in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
  • republique malgache — French name of Malagasy Republic.
  • reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
  • respiratory failure — a condition in which the respiratory system is unable to provide an adequate supply of oxygen or to remove carbon dioxide efficiently
  • resplendent quetzal — See under quetzal (def 1).
  • revenue expenditure — the amount of money spent by a business or organisation on general operating costs such as rent, insurance, heating, maintenance etc
  • ring up the curtain — to begin a theatrical performance
  • room-temperature iq — (abuse)   (IBM) 80 or below. Used in describing the expected intelligence range of the luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius thermometers. See drool-proof paper.
  • ruffini's corpuscle — an end organ of certain sensory neurons that branches out parallel to the skin and responds to steady pressure.
  • sb's spiritual home — your spiritual home is the place where you feel that you belong, usually because your ideas or attitudes are the same as those of the people who live there
  • scale down (or up) — to reduce (or increase), often according to a fixed ratio or proportion
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