17-letter words containing s, a, y, e
- emergency rations — food and drink that is designated for use in an emergency: for example, in a famine, after a plane crash, when hill-walkers or mountaineers are stranded, etc.
- encephalomyelitis — Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, typically due to acute viral infection.
- epistemologically — In a manner that pertains to epistemology.
- escaping tendency — a property of a gas, related to its partial pressure, that expresses its tendency to escape or expand, given by d(log ef) = dμ/ RT, where μ is the chemical potential, R the gas constant, and T the thermodynamic temperature
- ethinyloestradiol — Alternative form of ethinylestradiol.
- exclusionary rule — a legal rule that evidence obtained illegally, as from a search without a warrant, may not be introduced at trial
- exemplary damages — law: fine imposed as a deterrent
- factory inspector — a person who inspects factories
- fancy dress party — a party at which the guests wear fancy dress
- feasibility study — (systems analysis) Part of the systems develpment life cycle which aims to determine whether it is sensible to develop some system. The most popular model of feasibility study is "TELOS", standing for Technical, Economic, Legal, Operational, Schedule. Technical Feasibility: does the technology exist to implement the proposed system? Is it a practical proposition? Economic Feasibility: is the system cost-effective? Do benefits outweigh costs? Legal Feasibility: is there any conflict between the proposed system and legal requirements, e.g. the Data Protection Act? Operational Feasibility: are the current work practices and procedures adequate to support the new system? Schedule Feasibility: can the system be developed in time? After the feasibility study, the requirements analysis should be carried out.
- fee-paying school — a school which charges fees to parents of pupils
- footmen's gallery — the rearmost section of seats in the balcony of an English theater, especially in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
- foreign secretary — foreign minister.
- fraternal society — a club or other association, usually of men, having a limited membership and devoted to professional, religious, charitable, or social activities.
- gamblers' fallacy — the fallacy that in a series of chance events the probability of one event occurring increases with the number of times another event has occurred in succession
- game as ned kelly — extremely brave; indomitable
- gamma-ray burster — a source of gamma-ray bursts
- garden strawberry — a plant which has white flowers and red edible fruits and is spread by runners, Fragaria ananassa
- garlic mayonnaise — mayonnaise flavoured with garlic
- gastroenterostomy — the making of a new passage between the stomach and the duodenum (gastroduodenostomy) or, especially, the jejunum (gastrojejunostomy)
- gastrojejunostomy — See under gastroenterostomy.
- general paralysis — a syphilitic brain disorder characterized by chronic inflammation and degeneration of cerebral tissue resulting in mental and physical deterioration.
- general secretary — the chief administrator of an organization
- geological survey — U.S. Government. a division of the Department of the Interior, created in 1879, that studies the nation's water and mineral resources, makes topographic surveys, and classifies and leases public lands.
- glymphatic system — Anatomy. the system or process by which cerebrospinal fluid moves through channels formed by glia, cleansing the mammalian brain of harmful waste.
- go by the wayside — to be put aside on account of something more urgent
- great grey shrike — the bird Lanius excubitor
- guardhouse lawyer — a person in military service, especially an inmate of a guardhouse or brig, who is or claims to be an authority on military law, regulations, and soldiers' rights.
- gulf war syndrome — a group of symptoms occurring in some Gulf War veterans, most commonly including headache and memory loss, muscle pain, skin disorders, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments, possibly caused by exposure to chemical weapons, vaccines, infectious diseases, or other factors.
- haematocrystallin — Alternative form of hematocrystallin.
- have it both ways — to try to get the best of a situation, argument, etc, by chopping and changing between alternatives or opposites
- heritage industry — an industry that manages the historical sites, buildings, and museums in a particular place, with the aim of encouraging tourism
- heterochlamydeous — (of a plant) having a perianth consisting of distinct sepals and petals
- highways engineer — a civil engineer trained and specialized in the planning, construction, maintenance, etc of highways and roads
- homeland security — national defence
- hospitality suite — a suite or room, as in a hotel or convention center, rented by a business firm, political candidate, or the like, to meet and entertain clients, potential customers, etc.
- house of assembly — the legislature or the lower house of the legislature in certain countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- household cavalry — (in Britain) cavalry units forming part of the ceremonial guard of the monarch.
- how's-your-father — sexual intercourse
- hydrotherapeutics — hydrotherapy.
- hyper-peristalsis — the progressive wave of contraction and relaxation of a tubular muscular system, especially the alimentary canal, by which the contents are forced through the system.
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- hyperbolic spiral — rθ = a, (where a is a constant)
- hyperpolarisation — Alternative spelling of hyperpolarization.
- hypocholesteremia — an abnormally low amount of cholesterol in the blood.
- hypoglossal nerve — either one of the twelfth pair of cranial nerves, consisting of motor fibers that innervate the muscles of the tongue.
- hyposensitization — The state or process of being reduced in sensitivity especially to an allergen.
- illinois waterway — a waterway system in N Illinois made up of canals and rivers connecting Lake Michigan in Chicago with the Mississippi River. 336 miles (541 km) long.
- imperialistically — In an imperialistic manner.
- implosion therapy — a form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient's life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.