22-letter words containing v, a, s, c

interpretive semantics — a school of semantic theory based on the doctrine that the rules that relate sentences to their meanings form an autonomous system, separate from the rules that determine what is grammatical in a language
java community process — (project) (JCP) An organization controlled by Sun Microsystems to further the growth of the Java language and runtime. The JCP produces standards called Java Standard Requests, which are "requests" in the same sense as RFCs.
john vincent atanasoff — (person) John Vincent Atanasoff, 1903-10-04 - 1995-06-15. An American mathemetical physicist, and the inventor of the electronic digital computer. Between 1937 and 1942 he built the Atanasoff-Berry Computer with Clifford Berry, at the Iowa State University. Atanasoff was born on 1903-10-04 in Hamilton, New York. In 1925, he got a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida. In 1926 he received a Master's degree in Maths from Iowa State University. He received a PhD as a theoretical physicist from the University of Wisconsin in 1930. While an associate professor of mathematics and physics at Iowa State University, Atanasoff began to envision a digital computational device, believing analogue devices to be too restrictive. Whilst working on his electronic digital computer, Atanasoff was introduced to a graduate student named Clifford Berry, who helped him build the computer. The first prototype of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer was demonstrated in December 1939. Although no patent was awarded for the new computer, in 1973 US District Judge Earl R. Larson declared Atanasoff the inventor of the digital computer (declaring the ENIAC patent invalid). Atanasoff was awarded the National Medal of Technology by US President Bush on 1990-11-13. He died following a stroke on 1995-06-15.
metasyntactic variable — (grammar) Strictly, a variable used in metasyntax, but often used for any name used in examples and understood to stand for whatever thing is under discussion, or any random member of a class of things under discussion. The word foo is the canonical example. To avoid confusion, hackers never (well, hardly ever) use "foo" or other words like it as permanent names for anything. In filenames, a common convention is that any filename beginning with a metasyntactic-variable name is a scratch file that may be deleted at any time. To some extent, the list of one's preferred metasyntactic variables is a cultural signature. They occur both in series (used for related groups of variables or objects) and as singletons. Here are a few common signatures: bazola, ztesch: Stanford (from mid-'70s on). zxc, spqr, wombat: Cambridge University (England). shme: Berkeley, GeoWorks, Ingres. Pronounced /shme/ with a short /e/. blarg, wibble: New Zealand Of all these, only "foo" and "bar" are universal (and baz nearly so). The compounds foobar and "foobaz" also enjoy very wide currency. Some jargon terms are also used as metasyntactic names; barf and mumble, for example. See also Commonwealth Hackish for discussion of numerous metasyntactic variables found in Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
microwave spectroscopy — the determination of those frequencies of the microwave spectrum that are selectively absorbed by certain materials, providing information about atomic, molecular, and crystalline structure.
multiplicative inverse — reciprocal (def 9).
name service switching — Domain Name System
non-restrictive clause — a relative clause that describes or supplements but is not essential in establishing the identity of the antecedent and is usually set off by commas in English. In This year, which has been dry, is bad for crops the clause which has been dry is a nonrestrictive clause.
on the crest of a wave — If you say that you are on the crest of a wave, you mean that you are feeling very happy and confident because things are going well for you.
open source initiative — (body) (OSI) An organisation dedicated to managing and promoting the Open Source Definition for the good of the community.
oracle parallel server — (database) (OPS) An Oracle configuration that allows for multiple Oracle servers running on seperate computers to access the same database files simultaneously. Normally used for high availability, running parallel servers can improve performance by spreading out CPU load, however, it requires data to be partitioned correctly. This feature is enabled with the Parallel Server Option (or "PSO").
overstay one's welcome — to stay (at a party, on a visit, etc), longer than pleases the host or hostess
percussive maintenance — (jargon) The fine art of whacking a device to get it working, possibly using a fine adjuster.
physiographic province — a geographic region in which climate and geology have given rise to an array of landforms different from those of surrounding regions.
pizza delivery service — a service whereby a pizza restaurant delivers pizzas to customers who order by telephone
price variation clause — a clause in a contract allowing the seller to vary the selling price under certain conditions
progressive participle — present participle.
reactive schizophrenia — a type of schizophrenia of rapid onset and brief duration that occurs in response to environmental factors.
remote access services — (communications) (RAS) A service provided by Windows NT which allows most of the services which would be available on a network to be accessed over a modem link. The service includes support for dialup and logon, and then presents the same network interface as the normal network drivers (albeit slightly slower!). It is not necessary to run Windows NT on the client - there are client versions for other Windows operating systems.
reproductive isolation — the conditions, as physiological or behavioral differences or geographical barriers, that prevent potentially interbreeding populations from cross-fertilization.
reverse discrimination — the unfair treatment of members of majority groups resulting from preferential policies, as in college admissions or employment, intended to remedy earlier discrimination against minorities.
rural delivery service — mail delivery operated primarily to deliver and collect mail in rural communities with no other convenient postal facilities.
save the children fund — a development agency which raises money for deprived children around the world
scandinavian peninsula — large peninsula in N Europe, consisting of Norway & Sweden
second vatican council — the twenty-first Roman Catholic ecumenical council (1962–65) convened by Pope John XXIII. Its 16 documents redefined the nature of the church, gave bishops greater influence in church affairs, and increased lay participation in liturgy.
selective transmission — a transmission in which the available forward and reverse gears may be engaged in any order, without passing progressively through the different changes of gear.
somatic nervous system — the section of the nervous system responsible for sensation and control of the skeletal muscles
special delivery stamp — a stamp of special design, having a value indicating an extra fee in addition to the regular postage, and affixed to an item of mail to ensure its special delivery.
speculative philosophy — philosophy embodying beliefs insusceptible of proof and attempting to gain insight into the nature of the ultimate by intuitive or a priori means.
spinal accessory nerve — accessory nerve.
subjective probability — a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
surface effect vehicle — ACV (def 2).
the atlantic provinces — certain of the Canadian provinces with coasts facing the Gulf of St Lawrence or the Atlantic: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador
the maritime provinces — another name for the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, but often excluding Newfoundland and Labrador
the nature conservancy — a US charitable environmental organization, founded in 1951, that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive
the pennsylvania dutch — a group of German-speaking people in E Pennsylvania, descended from 18th-century settlers from SW Germany and Switzerland
to bend over backwards — If you say that someone is bending over backwards to be helpful or kind, you are emphasizing that they are trying very hard to be helpful or kind.
universal product code — a bar code that indicates price, product classification, etc., and can be read electronically, as at checkout counters in supermarkets. Abbreviation: UPC.
university of michigan — (body, education) A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. 70% of the University's students graduated in the top 10% of their high school class. 90% rank in the top 20% of their high school class. 60% of the students receive financial aid. The main Ann Arbor Campus lies in the Huron River valley, 40 miles west of Detroit. The campus boasts 2700 acres with 200 buildings, six million volumes in 23 libraries, nine museums, seven hospitals, hundreds of laboratories and institutes, and over 18000 microcomputers.
valencia simple tasker — (operating system) (VSTa) A small microkernel based Unix-like operating system, taking ideas from QNX and Plan 9, available under GPL.
valvular insufficiency — abnormal closure of a heart valve resulting in failure to prevent regurgitation of blood.
varicella zoster virus — a type of herpesvirus that causes chickenpox and shingles.
video graphics adapter — Video Graphics Array
video graphics adaptor — Video Graphics Array
videocassette recorder — See VCR.
wolfram von eschenbach — c1170–c1220, German poet.

Was this page helpful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page

Tell us why?