12-letter words containing s, e, l, o, m
- nasal demons — Recognised shorthand on the Usenet group comp.std.c for any unexpected behaviour of a C compiler on encountering an undefined construct. During a discussion on that group in early 1992, a regular remarked "When the compiler encounters [a given undefined construct] it is legal for it to make demons fly out of your nose" (the implication is that the compiler may choose any arbitrarily bizarre way to interpret the code without violating the ANSI C standard). Someone else followed up with a reference to "nasal demons", which quickly became established.
- necrophilism — necrophilia.
- nematologist — One who studies nematology.
- neofeudalism — A theorized contemporary rebirth of policies of governance, economy and public life reminiscent of those present in many feudal societies.
- neoplatonism — a philosophical system, originated in the 3rd century a.d. by Plotinus, founded chiefly on Platonic doctrine and Eastern mysticism, with later influences from Christianity. It holds that all existence consists of emanations from the One with whom the soul may be reunited.
- neotribalism — Ideology that humans have evolved to live in a tribal, as opposed to a modern society.
- nielsbohrium — dubnium: symbol, Ns: the name originally proposed by Russian scientists for this element
- nomenclators — Plural form of nomenclator.
- nonsegmental — Not segmental.
- normalities' — conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.
- norman wells — a settlement in the W Northwest Territories, in NW Canada, on the Mackenzie River: oil wells.
- normlessness — Quality of being normless.
- numbers pool — Also called numbers, numbers game, numbers racket. an illegal daily lottery in which money is wagered on the appearance of certain numbers in some statistical listing or tabulation published in a daily newspaper, racing form, etc.
- numerologist — A practitioner of numerology.
- oil minister — a government official responsible for the oil industry in their country
- oligospermia — (medicine) Low volume of semen.
- olympic-size — of the dimensions or length prescribed for the Olympic Games and other major athletic competitions: an Olympic-size speed-skating oval.
- omnisciently — having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; perceiving all things.
- omnishambles — Chiefly British Informal. a situation, especially in politics, in which poor judgment results in disorder or chaos with potentially disastrous consequences.
- oscillometer — an instrument for measuring oscillations, especially those of the arterial pulse.
- oscillometry — an instrument for measuring oscillations, especially those of the arterial pulse.
- osteomalacia — a condition characterized by softening of the bones with resultant pain, weakness, and bone fragility, caused by inadequate deposition of calcium or vitamin D.
- osteomalacic — a condition characterized by softening of the bones with resultant pain, weakness, and bone fragility, caused by inadequate deposition of calcium or vitamin D.
- overmodestly — in an extremely modest manner
- oversimplify — make too simple
- philomelides — a king of Lesbos who wrestled and killed every opponent until he himself was defeated by Odysseus.
- phlebotomist — a specialist in phlebotomy.
- photorealism — a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.
- pleiochasium — a flowering system in which several buds come out at the same time
- pleiotropism — the condition of a gene affecting more than one characteristic of the phenotype
- pleomorphism — existence of an organism in two or more distinct forms during the life cycle; polymorphism.
- pleomorphous — characterized by pleomorphism
- plumbiferous — yielding or containing lead.
- plumulaceous — having the texture of down.
- pole compass — (formerly) a ship's compass elevated on a wooden pole to isolate it as much as possible from local magnetism.
- policymakers — a person responsible for making policy, especially in government.
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polyribosome — polysome.
- pommel horse — a padded, somewhat cylindrical floor-supported apparatus, similar to a vaulting horse but having two graspable pommels on top, used by men for hand-supported balancing, rotating, and swinging maneuvers.
- postal meter — a postal franking machine
- postimperial — of, relating to, or designating the period after an empire
- postmedieval — occurring or existing after the Middle Ages, of or related to the period after the Middle Ages
- primulaceous — belonging to the plant family Primulaceae.
- problematics — problems or difficulties in a particular situation or subject
- proper psalm — a psalm used only on a particular day or feast
- pseudocoelom — the body cavity of certain invertebrate metazoan animals between the body wall and the intestine, which is not lined with a mesodermal epithelium.
- reform flask — an English salt-glazed stoneware flask of the early 19th century formed as an effigy of one of the figures connected with the Reform Bill of 1832.
- reg-symbolic — An early system on the IBM 704.
- sales volume — quantity of goods sold
- salmon steak — a thick slice of salmon