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16-letter words starting with p

  • postfix notation — (language)   (Or "Reverse Polish Notation", RPN) One of the possible orderings of functions and operands: in postfix notation the functions are preceded by all their operands. For example, what may normally be written as "1+2" becomes "1 2 +". Postfix notation is well suited for stack based architectures but modern compilers reduced this advantage considerably. The best-known language with postfix syntax is FORTH. Some Hewlett-Packard calculators use it, e.g. HP-25, HP-29C, HP-41C, HP-23SII. Compare: infix notation, prefix notation.
  • postindependence — Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.
  • postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
  • postscript point — (unit, text)   The variant of the point used by Postscript, equal to 0.3527777778 mm, or 1/72 inch.
  • potassium iodide — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KI, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic emulsions, as a laboratory reagent, in the preparation of Gram's solution for biological staining, and in medicine as an expectorant and to treat thyroid conditions.
  • potato tuberworm — the larva of the potato moth.
  • potemkin village — a pretentiously showy or imposing façade intended to mask or divert attention from an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition.
  • potential energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
  • pourriture noble — noble rot.
  • poverty-stricken — suffering from poverty; extremely poor: poverty-stricken refugees.
  • powerfully built — (of a person, esp a man) big and physically strong, with large muscles
  • powerpc platform — (architecture, standard)   (PPCP, PReP - PowerPC Reference Platform, formerly CHRP - Common Hardware Reference Platform) An open system standard, designed by IBM, intended to ensure compatibility among PowerPC-based systems built by different companies. The PReP standard specifies the PCI bus, but will also support ISA, MicroChannel and PCMCIA. PReP-compliant systems will be able to run the Macintosh OS, OS/2, WorkplaceOS, AIX, Solaris, Taligent and Windows NT. IBM systems will (of course) be PReP-compliant. Apple's first PowerPC Macintoshes will not be compliant, but future ones may be.
  • poynting theorem — the theorem that the rate of flow of electromagnetic energy through unit area is equal to the Poynting vector, i.e. the cross product of the electric and magnetic field intensities
  • practical effect — Usually, practical effects. a special effect that is created live on the set of a film, using real-world objects.
  • practical reason — (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.
  • practice manager — the manager of a business such as a medical practice, dental practice, or legal practice
  • practice session — a period of training that takes place over a set period of time, for example an hour or several hours
  • practice teacher — student teacher
  • praetorian guard — the bodyguard of a military commander, especially the imperial guard stationed in Rome.
  • pragmatic theory — the theory of truth that the truth of a statement consists in its practical consequences, especially in its agreement with subsequent experience.
  • prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
  • pre-conversation — informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
  • pre-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
  • pre-independence — Also, independency. the state or quality of being independent.
  • pre-registration — the act of registering.
  • pre-solicitation — the act of soliciting.
  • pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
  • precast concrete — ready-formed cement mixture
  • precinct captain — the captain of the police responsible for a district of a city
  • precinct station — a police station for police responsible for a district of a city
  • preconcentration — the act of concentrating; the state of being concentrated.
  • precontemplation — the act of contemplating; thoughtful observation.
  • predetermination — to settle or decide in advance: He had predetermined his answer to the offer.
  • predispositional — the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.
  • preemptive right — a privilege given to an existing shareholder to buy a portion of a new stock issue at the offering price on a pro-rata per-share basis.
  • preference share — a share of preferred stock.
  • preference stock — preferred stock.
  • premier division — a football or soccer league division consisting of the top ten Scottish football teams
  • premillennialism — the doctrine or belief that the Second Coming of Christ will precede the millennium.
  • premillennialize — to support or believe in premillennialism.
  • prerevolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
  • prescription pad — a pad of prescriptions used by doctors, etc
  • presence chamber — the special room in which a great personage, as a sovereign, receives guests, holds audiences, etc.
  • presence of mind — a calm state of mind that allows one to think clearly or act effectively in an emergency.
  • presentation box — a specially designed and attractive box to hold a product, and make it look more impressive
  • preserved ginger — fresh ginger preserved in syrup and used in cooking, esp desserts
  • prespecification — the act of specifying.
  • press conference — a prearranged interview with news reporters, held to elicit publicity or, as granted by a dignitary, public official, research scientist, etc., to fulfill a request from the press.
  • pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
  • pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
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