16-letter words containing r, o, s, a, l
- kekule's formula — the structural formula of benzene represented as a hexagonal ring with alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms.
- kingdom of arles — a kingdom in SE France which had dissolved by 1378: known as the Kingdom of Burgundy until about 1200
- kirchhoff's laws — the law that the algebraic sum of the currents flowing toward any point in an electric network is zero.
- kleptoparasitism — The parasitic theft of captured prey, nest material, etc. from animals of the same or another species.
- knapsack problem — the problem of determining which numbers from a given collection of numbers have been added together to yield a specific sum: used in cryptography to encipher (and sometimes decipher) messages.
- knights of labor — a secret workingmen's organization formed in 1869 to defend the interests of labor.
- labour relations — Labour relations refers to the relationship between employers and employees in industry, and the political decisions and laws that affect it.
- labour-intensive — Labour-intensive industries or methods of making things involve a lot of workers. Compare capital-intensive.
- lactovegetarians — Plural form of lactovegetarian.
- ladies'-eardrops — lady's-earrings.
- lady of pleasure — a prostitute.
- laparoscopically — By means of laparoscopy.
- latissimus dorsi — a broad, flat muscle on each side of the midback, the action of which draws the arm backward and downward and rotates the front of the arm toward the body.
- law of parsimony — a principle according to which an explanation of a thing or event is made with the fewest possible assumptions.
- lawson criterion — (in a hypothetical nuclear fusion reactor) the requirement that in order for the energy produced by fusion to exceed the energy expended in causing the fusion, the product of the density of the fuel and the time during which it is confined at that density (Lawson product) must be greater than a certain number that depends on the kind of fuel used.
- learning process — a process of learning
- leasehold reform — reform of the law relating to leasehold property
- legal separation — judicial separation.
- leptosporangiate — (of ferns) having each sporangium developing from a single cell, rather than from a group, and normally with specialized explosive spore dispersal
- lesser spearwort — a Eurasian ranunculaceous plant, R. flammula, of the genus Ranunculus, which grows in wet places and has long narrow leaves and yellow flowers
- levallois-perret — a suburb of Paris, in N France, on the Seine.
- libation-bearers — Choëphori.
- liberal unionist — a Liberal who opposed Gladstone's policy of Irish Home Rule in 1886 and after
- lick observatory — the astronomical observatory of the University of California, situated on Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California, and having a 120-inch (3-meter) reflecting telescope and a 36-inch (91-cm) refracting telescope.
- lissajous figure — the series of plane curves traced by an object executing two mutually perpendicular harmonic motions.
- listen to reason — be persuaded
- loan translation — the process whereby a compound word or expression is created by literal translation of each of the elements of a compound word or expression in another language, as marriage of convenience from French mariage de convenance.
- local oscillator — the oscillator in a superheterodyne receiver whose output frequency is mixed with the incoming modulated radio-frequency carrier signal to produce the required intermediate frequency
- lonely hearts ad — an advertisement placed by someone who is trying to find a lover or a friend
- lord howe island — an island in the S Pacific, E of Australia: a dependency of New South Wales. 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km).
- lords-and-ladies — (used with a singular verb) cuckoopint.
- lost river range — a mountain range in E central Idaho. Highest peak, Borah Peak (also highest in the state), 12,662 feet (3862 meters).
- lost-wax process — a process of investment casting in which a refractory mold is built up around a pattern of wax and then baked so as to melt and drain off the wax.
- louisiana french — French as spoken in Louisiana; Cajun. Abbreviation: LaF.
- lourenco marques — former name of Maputo.
- low-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.04 and 0.25 per cent carbon
- macro-linguistic — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- macrolinguistics — a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
- mail-order house — a retail firm that conducts its business by receiving orders and shipping its merchandise through the mail and that supplies its customers with catalogs, circulars, etc.
- malacostracology — (obsolete) carcinology, the study of crustaceans.
- malchus-porphyry — (Malchus) a.d. c233–c304, Greek philosopher.
- marginal costing — a method of cost accounting and decision making used for internal reporting in which only marginal costs are charged to cost units and fixed costs are treated as a lump sum
- marine biologist — scientist who studies sea life
- marseille prolog — (language) One of the two main dialects of Prolog, the other being Edinburgh Prolog. The difference is largely syntax. The original Marseille Interpreter (1973) was written in Fortran.
- marsh cinquefoil — a variety of cinquefoil, Potentilla palustris, that grows in marshy areas
- marsupialization — (surgery) The surgical technique of cutting a slit into a cyst and suturing its edges to form a continuous surface from the exterior to the interior of the cyst, allowing it to drain freely.
- medieval cornish — the Cornish language of the Middle Ages, usually dated from the 14th century to 1600.
- medieval history — the branch of history dealing with the Middle Ages
- megakaryoblastic — (cytology) Of or pertaining to a megakaryoblast.
- memorial service — ceremony held in commemoration