17-letter words containing y
- butterfly diagram — a graphical butterfly-shaped representation of the sunspot density on the solar disc in the 11-year sunspot cycle
- buyers' inflation — inflation in which rising demand results in a rise in prices.
- buys ballot's law — a law stating that if an observer stands with his back to the wind in the N hemisphere, atmospheric pressure is lower on his left, and vice versa in the S hemisphere
- buys-ballot's law — the law stating that if one stands with one's back to the wind, in the Northern Hemisphere the atmospheric pressure will be lower on one's left and in the Southern Hemisphere it will be lower on one's right: descriptive of the relationship of horizontal winds to atmospheric pressure.
- by return of post — by the next mail in the opposite direction
- by the same token — You use by the same token to introduce a statement that you think is true for the same reasons that were given for a previous statement.
- cabbage butterfly — a common white butterfly (Pieris rapae) whose green larvae feed upon cabbage and related plants
- cache consistency — cache coherency
- calcium cyanamide — a white crystalline compound formed by heating calcium carbide with nitrogen. It is important in the fixation of nitrogen and can be hydrolysed to ammonia or used as a fertilizer. Formula: CaCN2
- calcium hydroxide — a white crystalline slightly soluble alkali with many uses, esp in cement, water softening, and the neutralization of acid soils. Formula: Ca(OH)2
- calf's-foot jelly — a jelly made from the stock of boiled calves' feet and flavourings, formerly often served to invalids
- call-by-reference — (programming) An argument passing convention where the address of an argument variable is passed to a function or procedure, as opposed to passing the value of the argument expression. Execution of the function or procedure may have side-effects on the actual argument as seen by the caller. The C language's "&" (address of) and "*" (dereference) operators allow the programmer to code explicit call-by-reference. Other languages provide special syntax to declare reference arguments (e.g. ALGOL 60). See also call-by-name, call-by-value, call-by-value-result.
- camberwell beauty — a nymphalid butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, of temperate regions, having dark purple wings with cream-yellow borders
- camera-ready copy — type matter ready to be photographed for plate-making without further alteration
- campus university — a university in which the buildings, often including shops and cafés, are all on one site
- canarybird flower — a nasturtium, Tropaeolum peregrinum, of Peru, having round, deeply lobed leaves and yellow flowers.
- capacity audience — a situation when the maximum number of people possible are watching an event
- carbonyl chloride — phosgene
- carboxyhemoglobin — a compound formed in the blood when carbon monoxide occupies the positions on the hemoglobin molecule normally taken by oxygen, resulting in cellular oxygen starvation
- cardiac glycoside — any of a group of drugs used to stimulate the heart in cases of heart failure, obtained from a number of plants, as the foxglove, squill, or yellow oleander.
- cardiorespiratory — of, relating to, or affecting the heart and respiratory system.
- carry a torch for — If you say that someone is carrying a torch for someone else, you mean that they secretly admire them or love them.
- carrying capacity — the maximum number of individuals that an area of land can support, usually determined by their food requirements
- case-study method — Also called case-study method [keys-stuhd-ee] /ˈkeɪsˈstʌd i/ (Show IPA). the teaching or elucidation of a subject or issue through analysis and discussion of actual cases, as in business education.
- cast/run your eye — If you cast your eye or run your eye over something, you look at it or read it quickly.
- catalytic cracker — a unit in an oil refinery in which mineral oils with high boiling points are converted to fuels with lower boiling points by a catalytic process
- causality paradox — the hypothetical cause-and-effect of time travel and making changes in the past that would affect current actions.
- celebrity wedding — a wedding of famous people, usually reported at length in celebrity magazines
- center of gravity — The center of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- centre of gravity — The centre of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.
- chadless keypunch — (hardware) A card punch which cut little U-shapes in punched cards, rather than punching out a circle or rectangle. The U's made a hole when folded back. One of the Jargon File's correspondents believed that the term "chad" derived from the Chadless keypunch. Obviously, if the Chadless keypunch didn't make them, then the stuff that other keypunches made had to be "chad". The assertion that the keypunch was named after its inventor is not supported by any record in US or UK patents or surname references.
- chancery division — (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice
- charles henry dow — Charles Henry, 1851–1902, U.S. journalist and publisher: a founder of Dow Jones company.
- chartered company — a company formed for the purpose of exploration and colonization
- chartered society — a society that has an official charter
- chemical property — Chemistry. a property or characteristic of a substance that is observed during a reaction in which the chemical composition or identity of the substance is changed: Combustibility is an important chemical property to consider when choosing building materials.
- chemopallidectomy — an operation for treating Parkinson's disease and certain other diseases characterized by muscular rigidity, consisting of destroying a specific part of the corpus striatum by injecting it with a chemical, usually alcohol.
- chemoradiotherapy — (medicine) A combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy used to treat some cancers.
- chicklet keyboard — (spelling) It's spelled "chiclet keyboard".
- child pornography — pornography using a child or children as the subject.
- chincoteague pony — a wild pony found on certain islands off the Virginia coast, apparently descended from Moorish ponies shipwrecked in this vicinity in the 16th century.
- chlortetracycline — an antibiotic used in treating many bacterial and rickettsial infections: obtained from the bacterium Streptomyces aureofaciens. Formula: C22H23ClN2O8
- cholecystectomies — Plural form of cholecystectomy.
- choreographically — As if choreographed.
- chromolithography — the process of making coloured prints by lithography
- chronographically — a timepiece fitted with a recording device, as a stylus and rotating drum, used to mark the exact instant of an occurrence, especially in astronomy.
- churchyard beetle — a blackish nocturnal ground beetle, Blaps mucronata, found in cellars and similar places
- cinnamic aldehyde — a yellowish oil, C 9 H 8 O, having a cinnamonlike odor, used chiefly as a scent in the manufacture of flavorings and perfumes.
- circular velocity — the velocity at which a body must move in order to maintain an orbit at the outer edge of the earth's atmosphere.
- circumlocutionary — a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.