18-letter words containing va
- ovariohysterectomy — Surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus.
- partial derivative — the derivative of a function with respect to one of its variables with all other variables held constant.
- partial evaluation — (compiler, algorithm) (Or "specialisation") An optimisation technique where the compiler evaluates some subexpressions at compile-time. For example, Partial evaluation might change the termination properties of the program if, for example, the expression (x * 0) was reduced to 0 it would terminate even if x (and thus x * 0) did not. It may be necessary to reorder an expression to partially evaluate it, e.g. f x y = (x + y) + 1 g z = f 3 z If we rewrite f: f x y = (x + 1) + y then the expression x+1 becomes a constant for the function g and we can say g z = f 3 z = (3 + 1) + z = 4 + z Partial evaluation of built-in functions applied to constant arguments is known as constant folding. See also full laziness.
- payment in advance — If a business asks for payment in advance, the payment must be received in full before the goods or services are delivered.
- peak-to-peak value — Peak-to-peak value is the maximum voltage change occurring during one cycle of alternating voltage or current.
- pennsylvania dutch — the descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers in Pennsylvania from southwest Germany and Switzerland.
- preservation order — In Britain, a preservation order is an official order that makes it illegal for anyone to alter or destroy something such as an old building or an area of countryside.
- private enterprise — free enterprise (def 1).
- provably difficult — The set or property of problems for which it can be proven that no polynomial-time algorithm exists, only exponential-time algorithms.
- provascular tissue — procambium.
- psychogalvanometer — a type of galvanometer for detecting and measuring psychogalvanic currents.
- puvis de chavannes — Puvis de [py-vee duh] /püˈvi də/ (Show IPA), Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre.
- racially motivated — motivated by (the hate or prejudice of) someone's race
- rr lyrae variables — any of the very regular, short-period, pulsating variable stars having periods between 1.5 and 29 hours
- seasonal variation — season-related variation
- sesto san giovanni — a city in Lombardy, N Italy: a suburb of Milan.
- sodium-vapour lamp — a type of electric lamp consisting of a glass tube containing neon and sodium vapour at low pressure through which an electric current is passed to give an orange light. They are used in street lighting
- superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
- survival mechanism — something you or your body does automatically, in order to survive in a dangerous or unpleasant situation
- teacher evaluation — the process of vetting teachers to maintain teaching standards
- thermogalvanometer — a thermoammeter for measuring small currents, consisting of a thermocouple connected to a direct-current galvanometer.
- thiruvananthapuram — a state in SW India: formerly the regions of Travancore and Cochin. 15,005 sq. mi. (38,836 sq. km). Capital: Thiruvananthapuram.
- thomas alva edison — Thomas Alva [al-vuh] /ˈæl və/ (Show IPA), 1847–1931, U.S. inventor, especially of electrical devices.
- to one's advantage — If you use or turn something to your advantage, you use it in order to benefit from it, especially when it might be expected to harm or damage you.
- townsend avalanche — avalanche (def 3).
- transylvanian alps — a mountain range in S Romania; a SW extension of the Carpathian Mountains. Highest peak: Mount Negoiu, 2548 m (8360 ft)
- tristimulus values — three values that together are used to describe a colour and are the amounts of three reference colours that can be mixed to give the same visual sensation as the colour considered
- valle de la pascua — a city in N Venezuela.
- vanadium pentoxide — a yellow to red crystalline compound, V 2 O 5 , slightly soluble in water, used as a catalyst for organic reactions, in glass to absorb ultraviolet radiation, and as a photographic developer.
- west puente valley — a town in SW California.
- yerkes observatory — an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, affiliated with the University of Chicago, and having a 40-inch (102-cm) refracting telescope, the largest refractor in the world.
- young conservative — a member of the youth section of the United Kingdom Conservative Party