17-letter words containing t, h, a, l
- paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- pan and tilt head — a mounting device on which a camera may be rotated in a horizontal plane (pan) or in a vertical plane (tilt)
- parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
- partially sighted — unable to see properly so that even with corrective aids normal activities are prevented or seriously hindered
- pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
- past life therapy — a form of hypnosis or meditation based on the belief that an individual's present problems are rooted in events that occurred before birth in this life
- pastoral symphony — the Symphony No. 6 in F major (1807–08) by Ludwig van Beethoven.
- pastoral theology — the branch of theology dealing with the responsibilities of members of the clergy to the people under their care.
- pathological liar — a person who tells lies frequently, with no rational motive for doing so.
- patriarchal cross — a Latin cross having a shorter crosspiece above the customary one.
- peach bark beetle — a bark beetle, Phloeotribus liminaris, that feeds on and nests in peach and other drupaceous trees.
- pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
- peer of the realm — any of a class of peers in Great Britain and Ireland entitled by heredity to sit in the House of Lords.
- penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
- phenethyl alcohol — a colorless, viscous, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 8 H 1 0 O, having a faint roselike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
- phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
- phenylacetic acid — a white crystalline, aromatic acid, C 8 H 8 O 2 , used in the manufacture of penicillin and in perfumes.
- philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
- phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
- photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
- photovoltaic cell — a photocell in which an electromotive force is generated by a photovoltaic effect.
- phumiphon aduldet — (Phumiphon Aduldet; Bhumibol Adulyadej) born 1927, king of Thailand since 1946.
- physical activity — sth involving use of the body
- physical training — fitness coaching
- pile on the agony — to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
- platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
- play along (with) — to join in or cooperate (with)
- play with oneself — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- plug and feathers — an apparatus for splitting stone, consisting of two tapered bars (feathers) inserted into a hole drilled into the stone, between which a narrow wedge (plug) is hammered to spread them.
- pocket battleship — a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.
- polioencephalitis — a disease characterized by inflammation of the gray matter of the brain.
- potato leafhopper — any of various leafhoppers that are serious pests, damaging a wide variety of cultivated and wild plants, especially potatoes.
- pre-technological — of or relating to technology; relating to science and industry.
- preferential shop — a shop in which union members are preferred, usually by agreement of an employer with a union.
- prothoracic gland — either of a pair of endocrine glands in the anterior thorax of some insects, functioning to promote the series of molts from hatching to adulthood.
- pseudo-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- psychoeducational — designating or of psychological methods, as intelligence tests, used in evaluating learning ability
- pythagorean scale — the major scale as derived acoustically by Pythagoras from the perfect fifth.
- racial harassment — persecution on the basis of race
- radio in the loop — Wireless Local Loop
- red and the black — a novel (1832) by Stendhal.
- rehospitalization — the act, process, or state of being hospitalized.
- relative humidity — the amount of water vapor in the air, expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount that the air could hold at the given temperature; the ratio of the actual water vapor pressure to the saturation vapor pressure. Abbreviation: RH, rh.
- relative pathname — (file system) A path relative to the working directory. Its first character can be anything but the pathname separator.
- reticulate python — a python, Python reticulatus, of southeastern Asia and the East Indies, sometimes growing to a length of 32 feet (10 meters): usually considered to be the largest snake in the world.