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16-letter words starting with p

  • part way through — mid-way; before the end
  • partial fraction — one of the fractions into which a given fraction can be resolved, the sum of such simpler fractions being equal to the given fraction: Partial fractions of 5/(x2−x) are 5/(x−1) and −5/x.
  • partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
  • partial ordering — a relation defined on a set, having the properties that each element is in relation to itself, the relation is transitive, and if two elements are in relation to each other, the two elements are equal.
  • partial pressure — the pressure that a gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the same volume as the mixture at the same temperature.
  • particle physics — the branch of physics that deals with the properties and behavior of elementary particles.
  • parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
  • pascal's limacon — limaçon.
  • pascal's theorem — the theorem that the lines joining adjacent vertices of a hexagon intersect the same straight line if alternate vertices lie on two intersecting straight lines.
  • pass-band filter — band-pass filter
  • passage to india — a novel (1924) by E. M. Forster.
  • passenger pigeon — an extinct pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, once found in great numbers in North America, noted for its sustained migratory flights.
  • passive immunity — immunity resulting from the injection of antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes from another organism or, in infants, from the transfer of antibodies through the placenta or from colostrum.
  • passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
  • passport control — identity check at airport, etc.
  • past progressive — a verb form consisting of an auxiliary be in the past tense followed by a present participle and used especially to indicate that an action or event was incomplete or in progress at a point of reference in the past, as was sleeping in I was sleeping when the phone rang.
  • pastoral epistle — any one of three New Testament books, I or II Timothy or Titus, that stress pastoral and ecclesiastical concerns.
  • patched-together — makeshift; roughly made from disparate elements
  • patent ambiguity — uncertainty of meaning created by the obscure or ambiguous language appearing on the face of a written instrument.
  • paterson's curse — a purple-flowered noxious plant, Echium plantagineum, a close relative of viper's bugloss, naturalized in Australia and NZ where its harmfulness to livestock has prompted attempts to limit its spread
  • pathetic fallacy — the endowment of nature, inanimate objects, etc., with human traits and feelings, as in the smiling skies; the angry sea.
  • pattern matching — 1. A function is defined to take arguments of a particular type, form or value. When applying the function to its actual arguments it is necessary to match the type, form or value of the actual arguments against the formal arguments in some definition. For example, the function length [] = 0 length (x:xs) = 1 + length xs uses pattern matching in its argument to distinguish a null list from a non-null one. There are well known algorithm for translating pattern matching into conditional expressions such as "if" or "case". E.g. the above function could be transformed to 2. Descriptive of a type of language or utility such as awk or Perl which is suited to searching for strings or patterns in input data, usually using some kind of regular expression.
  • pattern practice — (in foreign-language learning) a technique for practicing a linguistic structure in which students repeat a sentence or other structure, each time substituting a new element, such as a new verb, as directed by the teacher, or transforming the original structure, as in changing a statement to a question.
  • paulinus of nola — Saint. ?353–431 ad, Roman consul and Christian poet; bishop of Nola (409–431). Feast day: June 22
  • pavillon chinois — crescent (def 6).
  • pay-as-you-throw — denoting a system for waste collection in which households are charged according to the amount of refuse they leave
  • pays de la loire — a region of W France, on the Bay of Biscay: generally low-lying, drained by the River Loire and its tributaries; agricultural
  • peace campaigner — someone who campaigns for peace or an end to conflict
  • peace conference — a conference where representatives of warring governments or countries sign a treaty to end conflict
  • peace initiative — the first or opening move in negotiating an end to conflict or negotiating peace
  • peach tree borer — the larva of any of several clearwing moths, as Sanninoidea exitiosa, that bore into the wood of the peach and other drupaceous trees.
  • peano arithmetic — (mathematics)   Giuseppe Peano's system for representing natural numbers inductively using only two symbols, "0" (zero) and "S" (successor). This system could be expressed as a recursive data type with the following Haskell definition: data Peano = Zero | Succ Peano The number three, usually written "SSS0", would be Succ (Succ (Succ Zero)). Addition of Peano numbers can be expressed as a simple syntactic transformation: plus Zero n = n plus (Succ m) n = Succ (plus m n) (1995-03-28)
  • pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
  • pearly razorfish — See under razorfish.
  • peasants' revolt — the first great popular rebellion in English history (1381), caused by the imposition of an unpopular poll tax: it lasted less than a month and failed as a social revolution
  • pectoralis major — the larger of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
  • pectoralis minor — the smaller of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
  • peegee hydrangea — a widely cultivated hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, having pyramidal clusters of persistent flowers that are white on opening and turn pinkish as they mature.
  • pelagian islands — a group of Italian islands (Lampedusa, Linosa, and Lampione) in the Mediterranean, between Tunisia and Malta. Pop: 6066 (2004 est). Area: about 27 sq km (11 sq miles)
  • pelagic division — the biogeographic realm or zone that comprises the open seas and oceans, including water of all depths.
  • pelican crossing — place to cross road
  • pencil and paper — An archaic information storage and transmission device that works by depositing smears of graphite on bleached wood pulp. More recent developments in paper-based technology include improved "write-once" update devices which use tiny rolling heads similar to mouse balls to deposit coloured pigment. All these devices require an operator skilled at so-called "handwriting" technique. These technologies are ubiquitous outside hackerdom, but nearly forgotten inside it. Most hackers had terrible handwriting to begin with, and years of keyboarding tend to have encouraged it to degrade further. Perhaps for this reason, hackers deprecate pencil-and-paper technology and often resist using it in any but the most trivial contexts.
  • pencil sharpener — tool for sharpening pencils to a point
  • peninsular state — Florida (used as a nickname).
  • pension benefits — the benefits that are paid to a person in accordance with his pension scheme
  • pension mortgage — an arrangement whereby a person takes out a mortgage and pays the capital repayment instalments into a pension fund and the interest to the mortgagee. The loan is repaid out of the tax-free lump sum proceeds of the pension plan on the borrower's retirement
  • pension provider — the company or organization that makes provision for a person's pension
  • pentatonic scale — a scale having five tones to an octave, as one having intervals that correspond to the five black keys of a piano octave.
  • pentothal sodium — thiopental sodium
  • people smuggling — People smuggling or people trafficking is the practice of bringing immigrants into a country illegally.
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