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24-letter words containing s, e, r, i, a

  • chesapeake bay retriever — a strongly built variety of retriever with a short thick, slightly wavy coat in straw colour, reddish gold, or brown
  • chromaticity coordinates — three numbers used to specify a colour, each of which is equal to one of the three tristimulus values divided by their sum
  • chronic fatigue syndrome — Chronic fatigue syndrome is an illness that is thought to be caused by a virus, and which affects people for a long period of time. Its symptoms include tiredness and aching muscles. The abbreviation CFS is often used.
  • circuit court of appeals — court of appeals (sense 2)
  • coal-fired power station — a power station that generates electricity by the burning of coal
  • colony collapse disorder — a pathological condition affecting a large number of honeybee colonies, in which various stresses may lead to the abrupt disappearance of worker bees from the hive, leaving only the queen and newly hatched bees behind and thus causing the colony to stop functioning. Abbreviation: CCD.
  • compact disc interactive — (storage)   (CD-i) An embedded application of CD-ROM allowing the user limited interaction with films, games and educational applications via a special controller.
  • compensatory lengthening — the lengthening of a vowel when a following consonant is weakened or lost, as the change from Old English niht [nikht] /nɪxt/ (Show IPA) to night [nahyt] /naɪt/ (Show IPA) with loss of [kh] /x/ (Show IPA) and lengthening of [i] /ɪ/ (Show IPA) to a vowel that eventually became [ahy] /aɪ/ (Show IPA).
  • computer design language — (language)   An ALGOL-like language for computer design.
  • computer-assisted makeup — pagination (def 4a).
  • condensed matter physics — the branch of physics that deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter, especially solids; the study of the electromagnetic, structural, and thermodynamic properties of solids.
  • condensed-matter physics — the branch of physics that deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter, especially solids; the study of the electromagnetic, structural, and thermodynamic properties of solids.
  • congestive heart failure — heart failure characterized by weakness, breathlessness, and abnormal congestion in the circulatory system, esp. in the lungs or lower legs
  • conservation of momentum — the principle that the total linear or angular momentum in any isolated system is constant, provided that no external force is applied
  • consonantal alliteration — the use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word or each stressed syllable in a line of verse, as in around the rock the ragged rascal ran
  • constant linear velocity — (storage)   (CLV) A way of controlling the rotation of the disks in a disk drive in which the linear velocity of the disk surface relative to the read/write heads is kept constant. In order to achieve constant linear velocity, the disk must rotate faster (at a higher angular velocity) when reading or writing tracks closer to the centre. Having a constant linear read/write speed along the track means that the electrical signal to and from the heads has a constant data rate (bits per second), thus simplifying the timing of the drive electronics somewhat. However, rotating at less than the maximum possible rate sacrifices some potential performance compared to the alternative, constant angular velocity. Also, varying the rate causes more vibration and consumes more energy.
  • constantinopolitan creed — a formal statement of the chief tenets of Christian belief, adopted by the first Nicene Council.
  • consultant paediatrician — a paediatrician who has attained the rank of consultant
  • cooperative multitasking — (parallel, operating system)   A form of multitasking where it is the responsibility of the currently running task to give up the processor to allow other tasks to run. This contrasts with pre-emptive multitasking where the task scheduler periodically suspends the running task and restarts another. Cooperative multitasking requires the programmer to place calls at suitable points in his code to allow his task to be descheduled which is not always easy if there is no obvious top-level main loop or some routines run for a long time. If a task does not allow itself to be descheduled all other tasks on the system will appear to "freeze" and will not respond to user action. The advantage of cooperative multitasking is that the programmer knows where the program will be descheduled and can make sure that this will not cause unwanted interaction with other processes. Under pre-emptive multitasking, the scheduler must ensure that sufficient state for each process is saved and restored that they will not interfere. Thus cooperative multitasking can have lower overheads than pre-emptive multitasking because of the greater control it offers over when a task may be descheduled. Cooperative multitasking is used in RISC OS, Microsoft Windows and Macintosh System 7.
  • curiosity killed the cat — You say 'Curiosity killed the cat' in order to tell someone that they should not try to find out about something which does not concern them.
  • data encryption standard — (DES) The NBS's popular, standard encryption algorithm. It is a product cipher that operates on 64-bit blocks of data, using a 56-bit key. It is defined in FIPS 46-1 (1988) (which supersedes FIPS 46 (1977)). DES is identical to the ANSI standard Data Encryption Algorithm (DEA) defined in ANSI X3.92-1981. DES has been implemented in VLSI. SunOS provides a des command which can make use of DES hardware if fitted. Neither the software nor the hardware are supposed to be distributed outside the USA.
  • decentralized processing — the use of word processing or data processing units in stand-alone or localized situations
  • definite relative clause — a relative clause with a definite relative pronoun as subordinating word, as that they said in We heard the things that they said.
  • descriptive bibliography — the aspect of bibliography concerned with the close physical study and description of books and other works.
  • destructive distillation — the decomposition of a complex substance, such as wood or coal, by heating it in the absence of air and collecting the volatile products
  • dictionary and thesaurus — a dictionary that includes a separate section listing terms with synonyms and antonyms. An online reference site, such as Reference.com, provides immediate electronic access to several dictionaries and a thesaurus as well as to other reference sources.
  • differential association — a theory that criminal and deviant behavior is learned through close and frequent association with criminal or deviant behavior patterns, norms, and values.
  • digital switched network — (communications)   (DSN) The completely digital version of the PSTN.
  • dionysius the areopagite — 1st century a.d, Athenian scholar: converted to Christianity by Saint Paul c50.
  • diphenylaminechlorarsine — adamsite.
  • disestablishmentarianism — a person who favors the separation of church and state, especially the withdrawal of special rights, status, and support granted an established church by a state; an advocate of disestablishing a state church.
  • display screen equipment — Visual Display Unit
  • disturbance of the peace — a malicious and willful intrusion on the peace and quiet of a community or neighbourhood
  • domestic relations court — in some states, a court with jurisdiction over matters involving relations within the family or household, as between husband and wife or parent and child
  • domestic-relations court — court of domestic relations.
  • east riding of yorkshire — a county of NE England, a historical division of Yorkshire on the North Sea and the Humber estuary: became part of Humberside in 1974; reinstated as an independent unitary authority in 1996, with a separate authority for Kingston upon Hull: chiefly agricultural and low-lying, with various industries in Hull. Administrative centre: Beverley. Pop (excluding Hull): 321 300 (2003 est). Area (excluding Hull): 748 sq km (675 sq miles)
  • ecole normale superieure — (body)   (ENS) A higher education and research institution in Paris, France.
  • electromagnetic spectrum — the complete range of electromagnetic radiation from the longest radio waves (wavelength 105 metres) to the shortest gamma radiation (wavelength 10–13 metre)
  • electronic point of sale — a computerized system for recording sales in retail shops, using a laser scanner at the cash till to read bar codes on the packages of the items sold
  • emotional roller coaster — a situation or experience that alternates between making you feel excited, exhilarated, or happy and making you feel sad, disappointed, or desperate
  • endotracheal anaesthesia — a method of administering gaseous anaesthetics to animals through a tube inserted into the trachea
  • english springer spaniel — breed of dog
  • environmental assessment — a formal assessment of the impact a project will have on the environment
  • erythroblastosis fetalis — an anaemic blood disease of a fetus or newborn child, characterized by erythroblasts in the circulating blood: caused by a blood incompatibility between mother and fetus
  • european investment bank — a financial institution of the European Union which is based in Luxembourg and which provides loans, especially to the less economically developed countries of the EU
  • exponential distribution — a continuous single-parameter distribution used esp when making statements about the length of life of certain materials or waiting times between randomly occurring events. Its density function is p(x) = λe–λx for positive λ and nonnegative x, and it is a special case of the gamma distribution
  • extra-sensory perception — Extra-sensory perception means knowing without using your ordinary senses such as sight and hearing. Some people believe this is possible. The abbreviation ESP is also used.
  • failure-directed testing — (programming)   (Or "heuristics testing") Software testing based on the knowledge of the types of errors made in the past that are likely for the system under test.
  • federal power commission — FPC.
  • federal reserve district — the district served by a certain Federal Reserve Bank.
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