12-letter words containing s, t, r, a
- juristic act — a proceeding designed to have a legal effect
- juristically — of or relating to a jurist or to jurisprudence; juridical.
- jus naturale — the rules and principles of law derived from the customs and legislation of Rome, as opposed to those derived from the customs of all nations (jus gentium) or from fundamental ideas of right and wrong implicit in the human mind (jus naturale)
- kakistocracy — government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power.
- kashmir goat — one of a long-haired breed of goat raised in Tibet and the higher elevations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and Turkey for its meat, milk, and cashmere wool.
- katamorphism — metamorphism at or near the earth's surface: breaks down complex minerals into simpler ones.
- katharevousa — The purist form of modern Greek used in traditional literary writing, as opposed to the form that is spoken and used in everyday writing (called demotic).
- kavir desert — Dasht-e-Kavir.
- keratogenous — producing horn or a horny substance.
- keratoplasty — plastic surgery performed upon the cornea, especially a corneal transplantation.
- keratotomies — Plural form of keratotomy.
- keyboardists — Plural form of keyboardist.
- kick starter — a starter, as of a motorcycle, that operates by a downward kick on a pedal.
- kinesiatrics — the treatment of disease by the use of gymnastics or muscle exercises
- kitchenwares — Plural form of kitchenware.
- korea strait — a strait between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. 120 miles (195 km) long.
- kristiansand — a seaport in S Norway.
- kristianstad — a town in S Sweden: founded in 1614 as a Danish fortress, it was finally acquired by Sweden in 1678. Pop: 75 590 (2004 est)
- laboratories — a building, part of a building, or other place equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, etc., or to manufacture chemicals, medicines, or the like.
- labour costs — the charges incurred when employing labour; the wages, etc, paid to workers, esp those employed to do physical work
- lachrymosity — suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful.
- lake torrens — a shallow salt lake in E central South Australia, about 8 m (25 ft) below sea level. Area: 5776 sq km (2230 sq miles)
- lamplighters — Plural form of lamplighter.
- land plaster — finely ground gypsum, used chiefly as a fertilizer.
- lantern fish — any of several small, deep-sea fishes of the family Myctophidae, having rows of luminous organs along each side, certain species of which migrate to the surface at night.
- laparotomies — Plural form of laparotomy.
- larval stage — Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration on coding apparently passed through by all fledgling hackers. Common symptoms include the perpetration of more than one 36-hour hacking run in a given week; neglect of all other activities including usual basics like food, sleep, and personal hygiene; and a chronic case of advanced bleary-eye. Can last from 6 months to 2 years, the apparent median being around 18 months. A few so afflicted never resume a more "normal" life, but the ordeal seems to be necessary to produce really wizardly (as opposed to merely competent) programmers. See also wannabee. A less protracted and intense version of larval stage (typically lasting about a month) may recur when one is learning a new OS or programming language.
- laser tuning — a technique for adjusting a laser's output frequency to within a specific range, especially in semiconductors.
- last honours — observances of respect at a funeral
- last quarter — the instant, approximately one week after a full moon, when half of the moon's disk is illuminated by the sun.
- latchstrings — Plural form of latchstring.
- lateral lisp — a speech defect consisting in pronouncing s and z like or nearly like the th- sounds of thin and this, respectively.
- lateral pass — a short pass thrown or tossed parallel to the line of scrimmage or slightly backward from the position of the passer.
- laticiferous — bearing or containing latex.
- latin square — a square array of numbers, letters, etc., in which each item appears exactly once in each row and column: used in statistical analysis.
- latus rectum — the chord perpendicular to the principal axis and passing through a focus of an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.
- launderettes — Plural form of launderette.
- laundry list — a lengthy, especially random list of items: a laundry list of hoped-for presents; a laundry list of someone's crimes.
- laureateship — a person who has been honored for achieving distinction in a particular field or with a particular award: a Nobel laureate.
- lay sth bare — If you lay bare something or someone, you reveal or expose them.
- lay store by — to value or reckon as important
- lead crystal — cut glass containing lead oxide
- leaf mustard — a pungent powder or paste prepared from the seed of the mustard plant, used as a food seasoning or condiment, and medicinally in plasters, poultices, etc.
- lean towards — If you lean towards or lean toward a particular idea, belief, or type of behaviour, you have a tendency to think or act in a particular way.
- leather star — a starfish, Dermasterias imbricata, of the western coast of North America, having the body covered by a thick, leathery skin.
- leatherbacks — Plural form of leatherback.
- leathernecks — Plural form of leatherneck.
- leatherwoods — Plural form of leatherwood.
- lectionaries — Plural form of lectionary.
- legislatures — a deliberative body of persons, usually elective, who are empowered to make, change, or repeal the laws of a country or state; the branch of government having the power to make laws, as distinguished from the executive and judicial branches of government.