19-letter words containing y, n, e
- physical sequential — (file format) (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
- piggy-in-the-middle — Piggy-in-the-middle or pig-in-the-middle is a game in which two children throw a ball to each other and a child standing between them tries to catch it.
- piggyback investing — Piggyback investing is a situation in which a broker repeats a trade on his own behalf immediately after trading for an investor, because he thinks the investor may have inside information.
- play fast and loose — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pneumatic conveying — Pneumatic conveying is the movement of powdered or granulated solids using air.
- polyethylene glycol — any of a series of polymers of ethylene glycol, having a molecular weight of from about 200 to 6000, obtained by condensation of ethylene glycol or of ethylene oxide and water, used as an emulsifying agent and lubricant in ointments, creams, etc.
- polyphonic ringtone — (in mobile phones) a ringtone in which more than one musical note is played at the same time
- polytene chromosome — a giant, cross-banded chromosome that results from multiple replication of its genetic material with the duplicated chromatin strands remaining closely associated.
- popular sovereignty — the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
- post-polio syndrome — Pathology. muscle weakness occurring several decades after recovery from a polio infection, caused by fatiguing of collateral nerve axons developed during physical rehabilitation.
- preliminary hearing — initial court session
- primary containment — Primary containment is the main means of preventing leaks and spills using equipment in direct content with the oil or gas being stored or transported.
- priority scheduling — (operating system) Processes scheduling in which the scheduler selects tasks to run based on their priority as opposed to, say, a simple round-robin. Priorities may be static or dynamic. Static priorities are assigned at the time of creation, while dynamic priorities are based on the processes' behaviour while in the system. For example, the scheduler may favour I/O-intensive tasks so that expensive requests can be issued as early as possible. A danger of priority scheduling is starvation, in which processes with lower priorities are not given the opportunity to run. In order to avoid starvation, in preemptive scheduling, the priority of a process is gradually reduced while it is running. Eventually, the priority of the running process will no longer be the highest, and the next process will start running. This method is called aging.
- property settlement — an agreement between a divorcing husband and wife covering the division of their assets
- provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
- psychic determinism — the theory that all aspects of a person's psychological makeup arise from specific causes or forces, as previous experiences or instinctual drives, which may be conscious or unconscious.
- psychoendocrinology — the study of the relationship between the endocrine system and various symptoms or types of mental illness.
- psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
- psychotechnological — of or relating to psychotechnology
- pyrenees-orientales — a department in S France. 1600 sq. mi. (4145 sq. km). Capital: Perpignan.
- pythagorean theorem — Pythagoras's Theorem
- queen anne's bounty — a fund formed by Queen Anne in 1704 for the augmentation of the livings of the poorer Anglican clergy. In 1948 the administrators of the fund were replaced by the Church Commissioners for England
- rayleigh scattering — the scattering of light by particles that are very small in relation to the wavelength of the light, and in which the intensity of the scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength.
- recording secretary — an officer charged with keeping the minutes of meetings and responsible for the records.
- redbrick university — any new or little-known university, especially one built since World War II to educate students in industrial regions, emphasizing technical subjects rather than the classics, and often partially supported by government funds.
- regression analysis — Statistics. a procedure for determining a relationship between a dependent variable, as predicted success in college, and an independent variable, as a score on a scholastic aptitude test, for a given population. The relationship is expressed as an equation for a line (regres·sion·line) or curve (regres·sion·curve) in which any coefficient (regression coefficient) of the independent variable in the equation has been determined from a sample population.
- respiratory pigment — any of several colored protein substances, as hemoglobin and hemocyanin, in the circulatory system of animals and some plants, that combine reversibly with oxygen that is carried to the tissues
- restricted currency — a non-convertible currency
- restriction enzymes — any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of DNA molecules at specific sites: used for gene splicing in recombinant DNA technology and for chromosome mapping.
- riemannian geometry — Also called elliptic geometry. the branch of non-Euclidean geometry that replaces the parallel postulate of Euclidean geometry with the postulate that in a plane every pair of distinct lines intersects. Compare hyperbolic geometry.
- right-eyed flounder — any of several flatfishes of the family Pleuronectidae, having both eyes on the right side of the head.
- royal correspondent — a journalist who reports on matters relating to royalty
- san fernando valley — valley in SW Calif., partly in NW Los Angeles: c. 260 sq mi (673 sq km)
- sanitary protection — Sanitary protection is sanitary towels or tampons.
- sea of tranquillity — Astronomy. Mare Tranquillitatis.
- secondary dentition — the permanent dentition
- secondary education — education at high-school level
- secondary infection — an infection resulting from another infection
- secondary intention — See under intention (def 5b).
- secondary picketing — the picketing by strikers of a place of work that supplies goods to or distributes goods from their employer
- secondary processes — the conscious mental activity and logical thinking controlled by the ego and influenced by environmental demands.
- secondary qualities — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- secondary structure — the arrangement of a polypeptide into a regular alpha helix, beta structure, or random coil configuration by the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds along the length of the chain.
- secondary-intention — an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.
- see one's way clear — to be willing (to do something)
- segmentation cavity — blastocoel.
- self-congratulatory — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.
- self-responsibility — the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management.
- semidetached binary — a pair of stars that are so close together that mass transfer occurs from one to the other
- senatorial courtesy — the practice in the U.S. Senate of confirming only those presidential appointees approved by both senators from the state of the appointee, or by the senior senator of the president's party.