17-letter words containing s, p, a, n
- east grand rapids — a town in W central Michigan, near Grand Rapids.
- eastern townships — an area of central Canada, in S Quebec: consists of 11 townships south of the St Lawrence
- egyptian brackets — (programming, humour) A humourous term for K&R indent style, referring to the "one hand up in front, one down behind" pose which popular culture inexplicably associates with Egypt.
- elliptical spring — An elliptical spring is a spring that is made from two springs in the shape of elongated ovals laid cut in half and back-to-back.
- encephalomyelitis — Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, typically due to acute viral infection.
- enlarged prostate — disorder of male reproductive gland
- 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
- european standard — a specification to be used as a consistent rule or guideline in the manufacture or selling of a certain product or service traded within Europe
- experimental lisp — (language) (xlisp) An experimental programming language combining a subset of Common Lisp with an object-oriented extension capability (Class and Object types). It was implemented by David Micheal Betz at Apple to allow experimentation with object-oriented programming on small computers. The C source code has been ported to Unix, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari, and MS-DOS. Version 2.1 of the interpreter, by Tom Almy is closer to Common Lisp. E-mail: Tom Almy <[email protected]>.
- extrasolar planet — any other celestial body revolving around a star, illuminated by light from that star
- factory inspector — a person who inspects factories
- fancy dress party — a party at which the guests wear fancy dress
- fee-paying school — a school which charges fees to parents of pupils
- first performance — the first time that a play or concert is performed
- fitness programme — a plan to help someone improve their health and physical condition
- flat as a pancake — without any curves or bumps
- foolscap envelope — an envelope of dimensions suitable to hold an unfolded sheet of foolscap paper
- frames per second — (unit) (fps) The unit of measurement of the frame rate of a moving image.
- francisco pizarro — Francisco [fran-sis-koh;; Spanish frahn-thees-kaw,, -sees-] /frænˈsɪs koʊ;; Spanish frɑnˈθis kɔ,, -ˈsis-/ (Show IPA), c1470–1541, Spanish conqueror of Peru.
- galapagos islands — a group of 15 islands in the Pacific west of Ecuador, of which they form a province: discovered (1535) by the Spanish; main settlement on San Cristóbal. Pop: 18 640 (2001). Area: 7844 sq km (3028 sq miles)
- garden apartments — a complex of low apartment buildings surrounded by lawn or landscaped areas
- gause's principle — the principle that similar species cannot coexist for long in the same ecological niche
- general paralysis — a syphilitic brain disorder characterized by chronic inflammation and degeneration of cerebral tissue resulting in mental and physical deterioration.
- get one's back up — the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
- graduated pension — the money that an employee receives after retirement if they have paid into the graduated pension scheme
- grain of paradise — Usually, grains of paradise. one of the pungent, peppery seeds of an African plant, Aframomum melegueta, of the ginger family, used to strengthen cordials and in veterinary medicine.
- greensand process — a process for casting iron with sand not previously heated.
- handicap register — a list of the disabled people in its area that a local authority had a duty to compile under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
- heating apparatus — an apparatus that heats something
- hope against hope — the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best: to give up hope.
- hospital gangrene — Pathology. a contagious, often fatal gangrene, especially involving amputation stumps and war wounds, occurring usually in crowded, ill-kept hospitals, and caused by putrefactive bacteria.
- hot-and-sour soup — a spicy Chinese soup made with pork, chicken, beans, vinegar, etc., served hot
- housekeeping cart — A housekeeping cart is a large metal basket on wheels which is used by a cleaner in a hotel to move clean bed linen, towels, and cleaning equipment.
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- hyperpolarisation — Alternative spelling of hyperpolarization.
- 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.
- iberian peninsula — Also called Iberian Peninsula. a peninsula in SW Europe, comprising Spain and Portugal.
- immunosuppressant — (pharmacology) Capable of immunosuppression, immunosuppressive.
- impersonalization — to make impersonal: The dial system impersonalized the telephone.
- impersonification — (archaic) the act of impersonating; impersonation.
- 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.
- impracticableness — The state of being impracticable; impracticability.
- impressionability — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- improvisationally — In an improvisational way.
- imputation system — a former taxation system in which some, or all, of the corporation tax on a company was treated as a tax credit on account of the income tax paid by its shareholders on their dividends; discontinued from 1999
- in forma pauperis — as a poor person; i.e. without paying court costs
- in the past tense — using a past tense verb
- in/into disrepair — If something is in disrepair or is in a state of disrepair, it is broken or in bad condition.
- inappropriateness — not appropriate; not proper or suitable: an inappropriate dress for the occasion.