13-letter words that end in a
- british india — the 17 provinces of India formerly governed by the British under the British sovereign: ceased to exist in 1947 when the independent states of India and Pakistan were created
- broca-aphasia — a type of aphasia caused by a lesion in Broca's area of the brain, characterized by misarticulated speech and lack of grammatical morphemes.
- butterfly pea — any of several leguminous plants of the genus Clitoria, as C. mariana, of North America, having pale-blue flowers.
- cactus dahlia — a double-flowered variety of dahlia
- cainotophobia — Alternative form of cainophobia.
- caltanissetta — a city in central Sicily: sulphur mines. Pop: 61 438 (2001)
- camera lucida — an instrument attached to a microscope, etc to enable an observer to view simultaneously the image and a drawing surface to facilitate the sketching of the image
- cancerophobia — a morbid dread of being afflicted by cancer
- candid camera — a small camera that may be used to take informal photographs of people, usually without their knowledge
- carcinophobia — Inordinate dread of contracting cancer.
- cardiomegalia — abnormal enlargement of the heart.
- caribbean sea — an almost landlocked sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by the Caribbean islands, Central America, and the N coast of South America. Area: 2 718 200 sq km (1 049 500 sq miles)
- central india — a former political agency in central India uniting various native states and subordinate agencies: now incorporated into Madhya Pradesh.
- chamber opera — an opera requiring few performers and a small orchestra.
- chaparral pea — a thorny leguminous Californian shrub, Pickeringia montana, with reddish-purple showy flowers
- chilean guava — a tropical shrub or small tree, Ugni molinae, of the myrtle family, having leathery, oval leaves, rose-pink flowers, and blue-black, edible fruit.
- cholesteatoma — A destructive and expanding keratinizing squamous epithelium in the middle ear and/or mastoid process.
- cholesteremia — cholesterolemia.
- christian era — the period beginning with the year of Christ's birth. Dates in this era are labelled ad, those previous to it bc
- chromesthesia — (neurology, psychology) sound-to-color synaesthesia.
- chthonophagia — (disease) A disease characterized by the impulsive consumption of dirt, observed in some parts of the southern United States as well as the West Indies.
- city dionysia — (in ancient Athens) the chief festival in honor of Dionysus, celebrated in early spring and notable for the performance of dithyrambs, tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays.
- civitavecchia — a city on the Tyrrhenian Sea in W central Italy: chief port of Rome.
- cleistothecia — (in certain ascomycetous fungi) a closed, globose ascocarp from which the ascospores are released only by its rupture or decay.
- colour camera — a camera that takes colour photographs
- common iguana — the green iguana (Iguana iguana)
- conservatoria — Plural form of conservatorium.
- corel ventura — (text, graphics) (Previously "Ventura Publisher") The first full-featured desktop publishing program available for the IBM personal computer and compatibles. Ventura Publisher was originally distributed by Ventura, a wholy owned subsiduary of Xerox Corporation but was acquired by Corel Corporation in September 1993.
- corpora lutea — corpus luteum
- costume drama — any theatrical production, film, television presentation, etc, in which the performers wear the costumes of a former age
- crackle china — porcelain or pottery with intentional crazing
- cryptesthesia — allegedly paranormal perception, as clairvoyance or clairaudience.
- customer data — Customer data is information held on file about customers by a store or other business, usually including names, contact details, and buying habits.
- cyanobacteria — a group of photosynthetic bacteria (phylum Cyanobacteria) containing a blue photosynthetic pigment
- cyberchondria — unfounded anxiety concerning the state of one's health brought on by visiting health and medical websites
- dieffenbachia — any of various plants belonging to the genus Dieffenbachia, of the arum family, native to tropical America, often cultivated as houseplants for their decorative foliage.
- direct cinema — a rigorous form of cinéma vérité, especially as practiced by some American cinematographers in the late 1950s, in which only indigenous sound is used.
- disaster area — a region or locality in which the population is generally affected by the occurrence of a major disaster, as a widespread flood, an explosion causing extensive damage, or the like.
- do one's nana — to become very angry
- dod-std-2167a — (standard) A DoD standard specifying the overall process for the development and documentation of mission-critical software systems.
- dresden china — porcelain ware produced at Meissen, Germany, near Dresden, after 1710.
- dyslipidaemia — Alternative spelling of dyslipidemia.
- dysmenorrhoea — painful menstruation.
- dysrationalia — The inability to think and behave rationally despite adequate intelligence.
- east malaysia — part of Malaysia, consisting of the states of Sabah and Sarawak, which occupy the N part of the island of Borneo
- enantiodromia — (psychiatry, according to Carl Jung) The principle whereby the superabundance of one force inevitably produces its opposite, as with physical equilibrium.
- encephalalgia — pain in the head; headache
- enchondromata — Plural form of enchondroma.
- encyclopaedia — (chiefly, UK, Australia) alternative spelling of encyclopedia.
- enterotoxemia — Blood poisoning caused by an enterotoxin.