19-letter words containing l, a, v
- niccolo machiavelli — Niccolò di Bernardo [neek-kaw-law dee ber-nahr-daw] /ˌnik kɔˈlɔ di bɛrˈnɑr dɔ/ (Show IPA), 1469–1527, Italian statesman, political philosopher, and author.
- nominative absolute — a construction consisting in English of a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun in the nominative case followed by a predicate lacking a finite verb, used as a loose modifier of the whole sentence, as the play done in The play done, the audience left the theater.
- non-volatile memory — non-volatile storage
- nonforfeiture value — any benefit, as cash or other form of insurance, available to a life-insurance policyholder who discontinues premium payments on the policy.
- north valley stream — a town on W Long Island, in SE New York.
- novell data systems — (company) A small computer hardware company building CP/M Z80-based systems. They later went on to become Novell, Inc. and develop Novell Netware.
- oak-leaved geranium — a geranium, Pelargonium quercifolium, of southern Africa, having oaklike leaves with purple veins and sparse clusters of purple flowers with darker markings.
- observation balloon — a balloon that is used for gathering information and reconnaissance purposes and spotting aircraft
- off-highway vehicle — An off-highway vehicle is a vehicle, such as one used for construction or agriculture, that is intended for use on steep or uneven ground.
- old church slavonic — the oldest attested Slavic language, an ecclesiastical language written first by Cyril and Methodius in a Bible translation of the 9th century and continued in use for about two centuries. It represents the South Slavic, Bulgarian dialect of 9th-century Salonika with considerable addition of other South and West Slavic elements. Abbreviation: OCS.
- olive-backed thrush — Swainson's thrush.
- over-centralization — the act or fact of centralizing; fact of being centralized.
- over-commercialized — to make commercial in character, methods, or spirit.
- over-sentimentality — the quality or state of being sentimental or excessively sentimental.
- overplay one's hand — If you say that someone is overplaying something such as a problem, you mean that they are making it seem more important than it really is.
- palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
- parainfluenza virus — any of a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections with influenza-like symptoms, esp in children
- particular negative — a proposition of the form “Some S is not P.” Symbol: O.
- peak envelope power — (communications) (PEP) The maximum power output by a radio transmitter over one complete RF cycle at any modulation.
- perpetual inventory — a form of stock control in which running records are kept of all acquisitions and disposals
- photovoltaic effect — the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.
- play the devil with — Theology. (sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan. a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
- 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.
- postal savings bank — any of the savings banks formerly operated by local post offices and limited to small accounts.
- pre-order traversal — traversal
- preferential voting — a system of voting designed to permit the voter to indicate an order of preference for the candidates on the ballot.
- private first class — a soldier ranking above a private and below a corporal or specialist fourth class in the U.S. Army, and above a private and below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- professional advice — advice given by someone trained in a particular and relevant profession or job
- provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
- psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
- pyorrhea alveolaris — a chronic periodontitis of the gums and tooth sockets, characterized by the formation of pus and, usually, by loosening of the teeth
- pyorrhea-alveolaris — Pathology. a discharge of pus.
- radioactive fallout — the settling to the ground of airborne particles ejected into the atmosphere from the earth by explosions, eruptions, forest fires, etc., especially such settling from nuclear explosions (radioactive fallout) Compare rainout.
- rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
- rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
- reciprocal leveling — leveling between two widely separated points in which observations are made in both directions to eliminate the effects of atmospheric refraction and the curvature of the earth.
- relative complement — the set of elements contained in a given set that are not elements of another specified set.
- relative impediment — a fact or circumstance that disqualifies from lawful marriage persons who are closely related.
- removable cartridge — a hard disk enclosed in a case that can be removed from the disk drive, having more storage than floppy disks.
- removable hard disk — (storage) A type of magnetic disk, or possibly magneto-optical disk which is not permanently attached to the disk drive (not a fixed disk) but which can be taken out and replaced, allowing many disks to be used in the same drive. The term "removable disk" would seem to be applicable to floppy disks but is generally reserved for hard disks in suitable cartridges such as those made by Syquest, Iomega and others. Removable disk packs were common on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 in use in the 1970s except that the drives were the size of washing machines and the disk packs as big as car wheels. Removable disks became popular on microcomputers in the 1990s as a cheap way of expanding disk space, transporting large amounts of data between computers and storing backups. Large, cheap fixed hard disks and USB memory sticks have made removable disks less attractive.
- renaissance revival — a mid-Victorian architectural style adapting the classical forms of 15th- and 16th-century Italian architecture, especially palace architecture, usually characterized by blocklike massing, with refined classicized decorative detail around regularly organized windows.
- republic of vietnam — the name (from 1955–75) for South Vietnam, as an independent republic, following the division of the country in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
- reverse charge call — callee pays fees
- reversible reaction — a reaction that, depending on ambient conditions, can proceed in either of two directions: the production of the reaction products from the reactants, or the production of the original reactants from the formed reaction products. Compare equilibrium (def 4).
- revival of learning — the Renaissance in its relation to learning, especially in literature (Revival of Literature or Revival of Letters)
- roosevelt corollary — a corollary (1904) to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that the U.S. might intervene in the affairs of an American republic threatened with seizure or intervention by a European country.
- rural free delivery — former name for rural delivery service. Abbreviation: R.F.D.
- salvage archaeology — the collection of archaeological data and materials from a site in danger of imminent destruction, as from new construction or flooding.
- san fernando valley — valley in SW Calif., partly in NW Los Angeles: c. 260 sq mi (673 sq km)
- san salvador island — an island in the central Bahamas: the first land in the New World seen by Christopher Columbus (1492). Area: 156 sq km (60 sq miles)