9-letter words containing s, a, m, i
- islamabad — Islamic Republic of, a republic in S Asia, between India and Afghanistan: formerly part of British India; known as West Pakistan from 1947–71 to distinguish it from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). 310,403 sq. mi. (803,881 sq. km). Capital: Islamabad.
- islomania — an obsessional enthusiasm or partiality for islands
- ismailian — a member of the Ismaʿiliya sect.
- ismailiya — a branch of Shiʿism, including in its number the Assassins and the Druses, having an esoteric philosophy and asserting Ismaʿil to be the seventh divinely inspired imam in the succession from Ali.
- isogamete — one of a pair of conjugating gametes, exhibiting no differences in form, size, structure, or sex.
- isogamous — having two similar gametes in which no differentiation can be distinguished, or reproducing by the union of such gametes (opposed to heterogamous).
- isomerase — any of a class of enzymes that catalyze reactions involving intramolecular rearrangements.
- istambuli — a native or inhabitant of Istanbul.
- italicism — Italianism, especially an idiom or a characteristic of the Italian language.
- jacksmith — a smith who makes devices that enable the turning of meat while being roasted
- james iii — Stuart, James Francis Edward.
- james vii — title as king of Scotland of James II of England and Ireland
- jansenism — the doctrinal system of Cornelis Jansen and his followers, denying free will and maintaining that human nature is corrupt and that Christ died for the elect and not for all humanity.
- jeremiads — Plural form of jeremiad.
- jessamine — a female given name, form of Jasmine.
- kabbalism — The study of the Kabbalah.
- kagoshima — a seaport on S Kyushu, in SW Japan.
- kaiserdom — The dignity, rank or office of a kaiser; the state of being a kaiser.
- kaiserism — autocratic rule, like that of a German kaiser.
- kalsomine — to wash or cover with calcimine.
- kamikazes — Plural form of kamikaze.
- kilograms — Plural form of kilogram.
- kinswoman — a female relative.
- kissagram — Alternative form of kissogram.
- kissogram — A novelty greeting or message delivered by a man or woman who accompanies it with a kiss, arranged as a humorous surprise for the recipient.
- kusimanse — (zoology) Several species of dwarf mongoose in genus Crossarchus.
- labialism — a tendency, sometimes habitual, to make sounds labial, as in pronouncing the l in love as a w- like sound.
- labourism — Support for the labour movement, the development of a collective organization of working people to campaign for better working conditions and treatment.
- laconisms — Plural form of laconism.
- lacrimoso — sad or mournful
- ladysmith — a city in W Natal, in the E Republic of South Africa: besieged by Boers 1889–1900.
- lambskins — Plural form of lambskin.
- laminates — Plural form of laminate.
- laminitis — inflammation of sensitive laminae in the hoof of a horse, caused by stressful events, as trauma, infection, or parturition.
- lampadist — (in ancient Greece) a competitor in a race run by young men with torches
- landmines — Plural form of landmine.
- lasherism — (jargon, algorithm) (Harvard) A program that solves a standard problem (such as the Eight Queens Puzzle or implementing the life algorithm) in a deliberately nonstandard way. Distinguished from a crock or kluge by the fact that the programmer did it on purpose as a mental exercise. Such constructions are quite popular in exercises such as the Obfuscated C contest, and occasionally in retrocomputing. Lew Lasher was a student at Harvard around 1980 who became notorious for such behaviour.
- last mile — the distance walked by a condemned person from his or her cell to the place of execution.
- lathyrism — a disorder of humans and domestic animals caused by ingestion of the seeds of some legumes of the genus Lathyrus and marked by spastic paralysis and pain.
- legalisms — strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.
- lemniscal — relating to a lemniscate
- lexigrams — Plural form of lexigram.
- life mask — a cast of the face of a living person.
- ligaments — Plural form of ligament.
- limaceous — Characteristic of slugs (of the family Limacidae).
- limescale — A white, chalky deposit of calcium carbonate found in kettles, washing machines etc., especially in a hard water area.
- link arms — If two or more people link arms, or if one person links arms with another, they stand next to each other, and each person puts their arm round the arm of the person next to them.
- liposomal — Cell Biology. a microscopic artificial sac composed of fatty substances and used in experimental research of the cell.
- localisms — Plural form of localism.
- machinist — a person who operates machinery, especially a skilled operator of machine tools.