17-letter words containing s, o, y, a
- chartered society — a society that has an official charter
- classless society — a society in which class distinctions are negligible or absent
- comedy of manners — a comedy dealing with the way of life and foibles of a social group
- comity of nations — the friendly recognition accorded by one nation to the laws and usages of another
- commodity markets — stock markets in which commodities are traded
- company secretary — A company secretary is a person whose job within a company is to keep the legal affairs, accounts, and administration in order.
- conspiracy theory — A conspiracy theory is a belief that a group of people are secretly trying to harm someone or achieve something. You usually use this term to suggest that you think this is unlikely.
- constitutionality — In a particular political system, the constitutionality of a law or action is the fact that it is allowed by the constitution.
- contemporaneously — living or occurring during the same period of time; contemporary.
- contraflow system — a system of traffic lanes whose normal direction is reversed to allow traffic to move during repairs or an accident
- coordinate system — a system of coordinates that uses numbers to represent a point, line, or the like.
- copernican system — the theory published in 1543 by Copernicus which stated that the earth and the planets rotated around the sun and which opposed the Ptolemaic system
- coral honeysuckle — trumpet honeysuckle.
- coronary arteries — either of two arteries that originate in the aorta and supply the heart muscle with blood.
- counterparty risk — the risk that a person who is a party to a contract will default on their obligations under that contract
- courtship display — behaviour that is aimed at attracting a mate
- cover your tracks — If someone covers their tracks, they hide or destroy evidence of their identity or their actions, because they want to keep them secret.
- cryopreservations — the storage of blood or living tissues at extremely cold temperatures, often -196 degrees Celsius.
- cryptocrystalline — (of rocks) composed of crystals that can be distinguished individually only by the use of a polarizing microscope
- cypriot syllabary — a syllabic script in use on Cyprus in the first millennium b.c., used for the writing of Greek and of an unknown language.
- cytomegaloviruses — Plural form of cytomegalovirus.
- cytotrophoblastic — Relating to, or containing, cytotrophoblasts.
- damon and pythias — two friends noted for their mutual loyalty. Damon offered himself as a hostage for Pythias, who was to be executed for treason by Dionysius of Syracuse. When Pythias returned to save his friend's life, he was pardoned
- dehydrochlorinase — an enzyme that catalyzes the removal of hydrogen and chlorine atoms or ions from chlorinated hydrocarbons.
- delay instruction — delayed control-transfer
- deoxyribonuclease — DNase.
- dephosphorylation — the removal of a phosphate group from an organic compound, as in the changing of ATP to ADP.
- desaix de veygoux — Louis Charles Antoine [lwee sharl ahn-twan] /lwi ʃærl ɑ̃ˈtwan/ (Show IPA), 1768–1800, French general.
- despotic monarchy — absolute monarchy.
- desynchronisation — (British spelling) Alternative form of desynchronization.
- desynchronization — to cause to indicate the same time, as one timepiece with another: Synchronize your watches.
- disadvantageously — In a disadvantageous manner.
- disaster recovery — (business) (DR) Planning and implementation of procedures and facilities for use when essential systems are not available for a period long enough to have a significant impact on the business, e.g. when the head office is blown up. Disasters include natural: fire, flood, lightning, hurricane; hardware: power failure, component failure, head crash; software failure: bugs, resources; vandalism: arson, bombing, cracking, theft; data corruption or loss: human error, media failure; communications: computer network equipment, network storm, telephones; security: passwords compromised, computer virus; legal: change in legislation; personnel: unavailability of essential staff, industrial action. Companies need to plan for disaster: before: risk analysis, preventive measures, training; during: how should staff and systems respond; after: recovery measures, post mortem analysis. Hardware can usually be replaced and is usually insured. Software and data needs to be backed up off site. Alternative communication systems should be arranged in case of network failure or inaccessible premises, e.g. emergency telephone number, home working, alternative data center.
- disproportionally — not in proportion; disproportionate.
- district attorney — an officer who acts as attorney for the people or government within a specified district.
- dog and pony show — an elaborate sales, advertising, or publicity presentation or campaign.
- dress-down friday — In some companies employees are allowed to wear clothes that are less smart than usual on a Friday. This day is known as a dress-down Friday.
- early closing day — a day on which most shops in a town or area close after lunch
- eastern orthodoxy — the faith, practice, membership, and government of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- electrostatically — In an electrostatic manner, by electrostatic means.
- elementary school — primary school
- 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.
- 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
- factory inspector — a person who inspects factories
- fee-paying school — a school which charges fees to parents of pupils
- flash photography — photography using a momentary flash of artificial light as a source of illumination.
- footmen's gallery — the rearmost section of seats in the balcony of an English theater, especially in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.