The International Man's Glossary: A-Z

"Something about everything!"

Created and maintained by KIM WEISS. As of Monday, November 18, 2024: 10,534 entries.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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1% Rule (Internet culture):

In Internet culture, the 1% Rule is a rule of thumb pertaining to participation in an internet community, stating that only 1% of the users of a website actively create new content, while the other 99% of the participants only lurk. Variants include the 1–9–90 rule (sometimes 90–9–1 principle or the 89:10:1 ratio), which states that in a collaborative website such as a wiki, 90% of the participants of a community only view content, 9% of the participants edit content, and 1% of the participants actively create new content.

1 Trillion Dollar Coin:

The Trillion Dollar Coin is a concept that emerged during the United States debt-ceiling crisis in 2011, as a proposed way to bypass any necessity for the United States Congress to raise the country's borrowing limit, through the minting of very high value platinum coins. The concept gained more mainstream attention by late 2012 during the debates over the United States fiscal cliff negotiations and renewed debt-ceiling discussions.

See also: seigniorage.

2/20 Rule:

A type of compensation structure that hedge fund managers typically employ in which part of compensation is performance based. More specifically, this phrase refers to how hedge fund managers charge a flat 2% of total asset value as a management fee and an additional 20% of any profits earned.

3 (number):

3 (three) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4.

In religion: there are three main Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism; many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including: the Christian Holy Trinity; three people (including Jesus) were crucified at the Crucifixion; the three Theological virtues referred to 1 Corinthians 13; in Roman Catholicism, a group of three martyrs, collectively known as Faith, Hope and Charity (named after the Theological Virtues); also in Roman Catholic doctrine, there are three realms of the afterlife: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory (Limbo is regarded as hypothetical); the three members of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; the Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth left Him three gifts; the Hindu Trimurti and Tridevi; the Three Jewels of Buddhism; the Three Pure Ones of Taoism.

3-Age System:

See: Three-Age System.

3 A.M. Call:

In a don't-push-the-red-button Cold War-esque maneuver, Hillary Clinton released this ad during the 2008 primary season, asking voters who they would want to lead the country during a world crisis. Sleeping children, a ringing telephone, the undertone of grave importance heard in the speaker's voice, it's all there — and frankly, kind of creepy.

In a speech on foreign policy on April 27, Trump hearkened back to Clinton’s famous '3 a.m.' campaign ad in 2008 in which she claimed she was more “tested” and prepared than Barack Obama to handle a late-night call to the White House about a dire emergency.

Visit also: witching hour.

3 Commas Club:

See: three commas club.

3-Minute Rule:

Want to deliver a pitch or presentation that grabs your audience's ever-shrinking attention span? Ditch the colorful slides and catchy language. And follow one simple rule: Convey only what needs to be said, clearly and concisely, in three minutes or less. That's the 3-Minute Rule.

For more, read: The 3-Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation by Brant Pinvidic at Amazon.com.

3 Second Rule:

See: three second rule.

5 Unities:

See: classical unities.

3 Wise Monkeys:

See: three wise monkeys.

4 Social Seasons:

See: four social seasons.

4th Estate:

See: fourth estate.

4th Wall:

See: fourth wall.

4/20 Cannabis Culture):

420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term that refers to the consumption of cannabis, especially smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m./a.m. (or 16:20 in 24-hour notation) and smoking and celebrating cannabis on the date April 20 (which is 4/20 in U.S. form).

5th Element:

See: Fifth Element.

5 Eyes:

See: five eyes.

5 Fingers:

See: The Five Fingers | Les Cinq Doigts.

5 Pillars of Islam:

The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are not mentioned in the Quran. These are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel.

They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self purification and the pilgrimage. They are:
1. belief, 2. worship, 3. charitable giving, 4. fasting during the month of Ramadan and 5. the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.

5-Second Rule:

The Five-Second Rule, sometimes also the three-second rule, is a western cultural food hygiene concept, that states that there is a defined window where it is permissible to pick up food (or sometimes cutlery) after it has been dropped and thus exposed to contamination. Some may believe this assertion, whereas most people employ the rule as an amusing social fiction that allows them to eat a dropped piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers. How many and what type of bacteria would stick to a piece of dropped food depends on many factors, the food or the floor being wet or dry among them. There is also a social dimension as dropped food in a restaurant or when guests are around is simply unacceptable, but in a family or private situation it may be still tolerated.

6 Thinking Hats:

See: six thinking hats.

6th Sense:

A supposed intuitive faculty giving awareness not explicable in terms of normal perception: "some Sixth Sense told him he was not alone"; intuition; extrasensory perception (ESP) involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and clairvoyance, and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition. ESP is also sometimes casually referred to as a Sixth Sense, gut instinct or hunch, which are historical English idioms , other than the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

7 (number):

7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8; 7 oceans; 7 seas; Atomic Number 7: a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues; T. E. Lawrence's 7 pillars of wisdom; William Shakespeare's 7 ages of man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, "sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything";

Classical antiquity: 7 emperors: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Galba, Hadrian, Nerva, Sallust and Vespasian; 7 hills of Rome; 7 liberal arts and 7 wonders of the ancient world.

Mathematics: the fourth prime number; a happy number.

Religion: the Number Seven in the 7 days of Creation is typological and the Number Seven appears commonly elsewhere in the Bible; 7 deadly sins; 7 virtues.

7 Ages of Man:

"All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a play, and catalogues the seven stages of a man's life, sometimes referred to as the Seven Ages of Man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, sans.
The man in the poem goes through these stages:
1. Infancy: In this stage he is a helpless baby and knows little.
2. Childhood: It is that stage of life that he begins to go to school. He is unwilling to leave the protected environment of his home as he is still not confident enough to exercise his own discretion.
3. The lover: In this stage he is always remorseful due to some reason or other, especially the loss of love. He tries to express feelings through song or some other cultural activity.
4. The soldier: It is in this age that he thinks less of himself and begins to think more of others. He is very easily aroused and is hot headed. He is always working towards making a reputation for himself and gaining recognition, however short-lived it may be, even at the cost of his own life.
5. The justice: In this stage he has acquired wisdom through the many experiences he has had in life. He has reached a stage where he has gained prosperity and social status. He becomes very attentive of his looks and begins to enjoy the finer things of life.
6. Old Age: He begins to lose his charm — both physical and mental. He begins to become the butt of others' jokes. He loses his firmness and assertiveness, and shrinks in stature and personality.
7. Second Infancy: He loses his status and he becomes a non-entity. He becomes dependent on others.

7 Arts:

See: seven arts.

7 Veils:

See: dance of the seven veils.

7th Art:

See: seventh art.

7th Heaven:

State of euphoria.

8 (number):

The number Eight is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese and other Asian cultures.

8-Thousander:

The Eight-Thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) high above sea level. They are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia.

List of eight-thousanders: Mount Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, Gasherbrum I (aka Hidden Peak or K5), Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II (aka K4), Shishapangma.

9-Figure Club:

See: nine-figure club.

9 Points of the Law:

See: Possession is Nine Points of the Law.

9th Art:

Comic Books.

9/11:

September 11, 2001, the date on which two hijacked airliners were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked airliner crashed in open land in Pennsylvania.

11th Commandment:

Trust God. But never try to understand God.

11th Hour:

The latest possible time; the latest possible time; last minute; the last possible moment for doing something.

Phrase meaning "late in the day", taken from a passage in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in the King James Bible. According to Matthew 20:1–16 Jesus says that any "laborer" who accepts the invitation to the work in the vineyard (said by Jesus to represent the Kingdom of Heaven), no matter how late in the day, will receive an equal reward with those who have been faithful the longest.

12-Step Program:

See: twelve-step program.

13 (number):

13 (thirteen) is the natural number following 12 and preceding 14. It is the smallest number with eight letters in its name spelled out in English. It is also the first of the teens – the numbers 13 through 19 – the ages of teenagers.

Unlucky 13: the number 13 is considered to be an unlucky number in some countries; Friday the 13th has been considered the unluckiest day of the month; at Jesus Christ's last supper, there were thirteen people around the table, counting Christ and the twelve apostles; on Friday the 13th of October, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar.

13 Rather Than the Standard Dozen:

See: baker's dozen..

15-Minute City:

The 15-Minute City (FMC or 15mC) is an urban planning concept in which most daily necessities and services, such as work, shopping, education, healthcare, and leisure can be easily reached by a 15-minute walk, bike ride, or public transit ride from any point in the city. This approach aims to reduce car dependency, promote healthy and sustainable living, and improve wellbeing and quality of life for city dwellers.

19th Hole:

The Nineteenth Hole is a slang term used in golf, generally referring to a pub, bar, or restaurant on or near the golf course, very often the clubhouse itself. A standard round of golf has only eighteen holes, so golfers will say they are at the 'Nineteenth Hole', meaning they are enjoying a drink after the game. The concept is similar to Après-ski in skiing.

20/20:

Having good vision and able to see without glasses; meeting a standard of normal visual acuity.

Marked by facilely accurate discernment, judgment, or assessment.

21 Grams Theory:

In 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall weighed six patients while they were in the process of dying from tuberculosis in an old age home. He took his results (a varying amount of perceived mass loss in most of the six cases) to support his hypothesis that the soul had mass, and when the soul departed the body, so did this mass. The determination of the soul weighing 21 grams was based on the average loss of mass in the six patients.

MacDougall's results have never been reproduced. Nonetheless, MacDougall's finding that the human soul weighed 21 Grams has become a meme in the public consciousness, mostly due to its claiming the titular thesis in the 2003 film 21 Grams.

24-Hour Clock:

The 24-Hour Clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today, and is the international standard (ISO 8601) notation for time of day.

27 Club:

The 27 Club is a term used to refer to popular musicians who have died at the age of 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. The number of musicians who have died at this age and the circumstances of many of those deaths has given rise to the idea that premature deaths at this age are unusually common.

Brian Jones, Alan Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison died between 1969 and 1971, although a possible connection between their same death-age was not reported in the public press. Although some relations were occasionally noticed, those rather remained a side note. It was not until the death of Kurt Cobain, about two and a half decades after the last occurred, that the first idea of a "27 Club" was spread in the public perception. In 2011, seventeen years after Cobain's death, Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, and there was a large amount of media attention devoted to the club once again. Three years earlier, she had expressed a fear of dying at that age.

28 December:

December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are three days remaining until the end of the year.

Spain's equivalent of April Fools' day is December 28.

30 Pieces of Silver:

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins, and to have returned the money afterwards, filled with remorse.

42:

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, "The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately no one knows what the question is. Thus, to calculate the Ultimate Question, a special computer the size of a small planet was built from organic components and named "Earth". This appeared first in the radio play and later in the novelization of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The fact that Adams named the episodes of the radio play "fits", the same archaic title for a chapter or section used by Lewis Carroll in "The Hunting of the Snark", suggests that Adams was influenced by Carroll's fascination with and frequent use of the number. The fourth book in the series, the novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, contains 42 chapters. According to the novel Mostly Harmless, 42 is the street address of Stavromula Beta. In 1994 Adams created the 42 Puzzle, a game based on the number 42.

The book 42: Douglas Adams' Amazingly Accurate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything examines Adams' choice of the number 42 and also contains a compendium of some instances of the number in science, popular culture, and humour.

57 (number):

Means: "A good mix."

Heinz 57 is a shortened form of a historical advertising slogan "57 Varieties", by the H. J. Heinz Company from Pittsburgh, United States. It has come to mean anything that is comprised or mixed from a lot of parts or origins. It was developed from the marketing campaign that told consumers about the numerous products available from the Heinz company.

Henry J. Heinz introduced the marketing slogan "57 Varieties" in 1896. He later claimed he was inspired by an advertisement he saw while riding an elevated train in New York City (a shoe store boasting "21 styles"). The reason for "57" is unclear. Heinz said he chose "5" because it was his lucky number and the number "7" was his wife's lucky number. However Heinz also said the number "7" was selected specifically because of the "psychological influence of that figure and of its enduring significance to people of all ages". Whatever the reasons, Heinz wanted the company to advertise the greatest number of choices of canned and bottled foods for sale. In fact by 1892, four years before the slogan was created, the Heinz company was already selling more than 60 products.

80/20 Rule:

The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; Pareto developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., "80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients". Mathematically, the 80–20 rule is roughly followed by a power law distribution (also known as a Pareto distribution) for a particular set of parameters, and many natural phenomena have been shown empirically to exhibit such a distribution.

98-Pound Weakling:

The archetype of the 98-Pound Weakling (originally the 97-Pound Weakling) derives from this famous advertisement for Charles Atlas fitness training. The ad appeared regularly in comic books of the 1940s (starring muscle-bound heroes who fit the “Atlas” mold) (“Charles Atlas”).

100 Days:

The 100 Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815 (a period of 111 days). This period saw the War of the Seventh Coalition, and includes the Waterloo Campaign and the Neapolitan War. The phrase les Cent Jours was first used by the prefect of Paris, Gaspard, comte de Chabrol, in his speech welcoming the King.

See also: first hundred days.

100-Year Event:

A 100-Year Event (or 100-year return period event) is an event that occurs (or is exceeded) on average once in every one hundred years (such as a storm, flood or rainfall event). This can also be expressed as 1 in 100 or 1:100.

100-Year Flood:

A 100-Year Flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

101:

101 is a topic for beginners in any area. It has all the basic principles and concepts that are expected in a particular field.

180-Degree Rule:

In film making, the 180-Degree Rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters, and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character is always frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. The camera passing over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-Degree Rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round.

The object that is being filmed must always remain in the center, while the camera must always face towards the object.

400:

The social elite of New York City in the late 19th century; term coined by Ward McAllister, supposedly the number of people Mrs William Backhouse Astor, Jr's ballroom could accommodate.

The Four Hundred (sometimes The Four Hundred Club) a phrase meaning the wealthiest, most famous, or most powerful social group, leading to the generation of such lists as the Forbes 400. To be a member of The Four Hundred, a family must be able to trace its wealth and lineage at least three generations without being tainted by any work.

McAllister coined the phrase "the Four Hundred". According to him, this was the number of people in New York who really mattered; the people who felt at ease in the ballrooms of high society. ("If you go outside that number," he warned, "you strike people who are either not at ease in a ballroom or else make other people not at ease.") The number was popularly supposed to be the capacity of Mrs William Backhouse Astor Jr.'s ballroom.

404 Not Found:

404 Not Found status code definition: the server has not found anything matching the Request-URI. No indication is given of whether the condition is temporary or permanent. The 410 (Gone) status code should be used if the server knows, through some internally configurable mechanism, that an old resource is permanently unavailable and has no forwarding address. This status code is commonly used when the server does not wish to reveal exactly why the request has been refused, or when no other response is applicable.

501(c)(3) Organization:

501(c)(3) exemptions apply to corporations, and any community chest, fund, cooperating association or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, to promote the arts, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

555 (telephone number):

Telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious telephone numbers in North American television shows, films, computer games, and other media.

Not all numbers that begin with 555 are fictional - for example, 555-1212 is one of the standard numbers for directory assistance throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use; the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.

911:

911 (nine hundred [and] eleven) is the integer following 910 and preceding 912. It is a prime number, a Sophie Germain prime and the sum of three consecutive primes (293 + 307 + 311). It is an Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part and real part of the form 3n - 1. Since 913 is a semiprime, 911 is a Chen prime. It is also a centered decagonal number.

9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP).

As "911" or "9/11", typically pronounced "nine-eleven", it is commonly used to refer the calendar dates November 9 or September 11, depending on which date notation is used. The latter usage most commonly refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The Madrid Attack came about 911 days (912) after 9/11.

Year 911 (CMXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Porsche 911, a series of cars of the automobile marque.

996:

996 is a kind of working hours policy in some IT relevant companies. It means working from 9 am to 9 pm every day and 6 days per week. It originally came from Alibaba.

Read also: China's Workers Are Protesting Tech's Deadly '996' Overtime Culture. Alibaba's Jack Ma Says He Requires It - Fortune.

2012 Phenomenon:

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on 21 December 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.

A New Age interpretation of this transition is that the date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 21 December 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the center of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called "Nibiru".

Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture, while astronomers have rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios as pseudoscience, stating that they conflict with simple astronomical observations.

See also: doomsday.

10,000-Hour Rule

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", claiming that the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is, to a large extent, a matter of practising the correct way, for a total of around 10,000 hours.

Read also: The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance & The 10,000 Hour Rule Is Wrong. How to Really Master a Skill.

$64,000 Question:

The $64,000 Question was an American game show broadcast from 1955-1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day.

The phrase the $64,000 Question remains as an idiom. Its definition is loose, but it usually means the crucial or essential question. Something referred to as the $64,000 Question is usually an important issue whose outcome can’t be foreseen and on which much hinges.

A and B Shares:

In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, almost all shares in a public company have equal rights. But in some countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, companies can issue two different kinds of shares, A and B Shares. B Shares are frequently issued to members of a firm's founding family, and each one has the same voting rights as several A Shares. A and B Shares inevitably have a different market value, although it is surprising what a small value investors put on voting rights.

A Capella:

Singing without instrumental accompaniment.

A Giorni:

In a few days.

A Human Waldo:

See: Waldo.

À la:

In the style or manner of.

À la Carte:

À la Carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in reference to a separate price for each item on the menu (in contrast to a table d'hôte, at which a menu with limited or no choice is served at a fixed price); to order an item from the menu on its own, e.g. a steak without the potatoes and vegetables is steak À la Carte.

À la Mode:

In the current fashion or style.

À la Suite:

À la Suite, in the entourage [of]) was a military title, given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake, and entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position.

A-List:

A list or group of the most admired or desirable people, as for a job or social gathering.

The A-List is a term that alludes to major movie stars, and / or the most bankable in the Hollywood movie industry.

The A-List is part of a larger guide called The Hot List that has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood: The Ulmer Scale.

See also: the D-list.

A Prophet Is Not Without Honor Save In His Own Country:

Words spoken (Mark 6:4-6) by Jesus to the people of Nazareth, the town where he grew up. They refused to believe in his teaching because they considered him one of themselves and therefore without authority to preach to them.

The expression is now used of anyone whose talents and accomplishments are highly regarded by everyone except those at home.

À Propos:

At the right time; opportunely.

By the way: used to introduce a remark.

A Roll in the Hay:

Sexual activity which is quick and enjoyable and does not involve serious feelings.

A Shot Across the Bow:

A warning to stop doing something.

In the days before radar, radio and high-powered binoculars, one ship meeting another at a distance might not be able to tell the country from whence she hailed. Therefore, in the 18th century, the captain would order a "Shot Across the Bow ," that is, a harmless cannonball lobbed across the bow of the ship. This was essentially a way to hail the ship and ask her to show her colors. If the colors were of an enemy country, the captain might then order an attack on the ship, but the initial shot had to be made first for it to be a legitimate engagement.

The Shot Across the Bow continued on into modern times, although usually, it is only used after the firing ship has unsuccessfully attempted to communicate via radio. This may happen when a ship strays from international waters or shows aggression. It may more accurately be called a warning shot nowadays, since the location of the shot is not always the same.

Etymology: based on the military practice of aiming A Shot Across the Bow (a small explosion in front of a ship) to force it to stop.

A Walk in the Park:

Means something easy to do.

AA:

Short for: Alcoholics Anonymous. AA is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who share a desire to stop drinking alcohol, and subsequently maintain their sobriety. AA suggests members to completely abstain from alcohol, regularly attend meetings with other members, and follow its program to help each other with their common purpose; to help members "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." AA created the twelve-step program used by similar recovery groups like Al-Anon, an auxiliary group for friends and family members of alcoholics; and Narcotics Anonymous, a group for substance abusers who may or may not also identify as alcoholics. Although AA's attrition rates are high, it can be effective as a treatment for alcoholism.

AAA:

Triple A, the highest classification that an individual, a company or country can receive from a credit-rating agency, e.g. Standard & Poor's.

AABB Rhyme Scheme:

An "AABB" Rhyme Scheme is a poem in which the first two lines and second two lines rhyme creating a pattern.

Ab Initio:

Latin term meaning "from the beginning" and is derived from the Latin ab ("from") + initio, ablative singular of initium ("beginning").

A/B Testing:

A/B Testing (also known as bucket testing or split-run testing) is a user experience research methodology. A/B Tests consist of a randomized experiment with two variants, A and B. It includes application of statistical hypothesis testing or "two-sample hypothesis testing" as used in the field of statistics. A/B Testing is a way to compare two versions of a single variable, typically by testing a subject's response to variant A against variant B, and determining which of the two variants is more effective.

Abattoir:

A slaughterhouse.

Abdicate:

To relinquish formally a high office or responsibility.

Aber Dabei:

German for: there is a small but.

ABH:

Short for: Actual Bodily Harm.

Ability:

The quality of being able to do something, especially the physical, mental, financial, or legal power to accomplish something.

The quality of being suitable for or receptive to a specified treatment; capacity.

About-Face:

About-face, a drill command in which a unit or soldier makes a 180-degree turn.

A complete change of attitude or opinion; the act of turning to face in the opposite direction.

Aboveboard:

Without deceit or trickery; straightforward.

Abracadabra:

A spoken formula, used especially by conjurors.

A magical charm or incantation having the power to ward off disease or disaster.

Foolish or unintelligible talk.

Abraham's Bosom:

(Christianity): the waiting place for the faithful dead between the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ; paradise.

ABS:

Short for: Anti-Lock Braking System. ABS (from the German: Antiblockiersystem) is a safety system which prevents the wheels on a motor vehicle from locking while braking.

Absolution:

The act of absolving or the state of being absolved.

The formal remission of sin imparted by a priest, as in the sacrament of penance.

Abstract:

Considered apart from concrete existence.

Not applied or practical; theoretical.

Difficult to understand; abstruse.

Thought of or stated without reference to a specific instance.

Academe:

(Historical): the name of the garden in Athens where the academics met.

(Poetic): an academy; a place of learning.

(Poetic): the scholarly life, environment, or community.

A senior member of the staff at an institution of higher learning; pedant.

Academia:

Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.

By extension Academia has come to mean the cultural accumulation of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations and its practitioners and transmitters. In the 17th century, British and French scholars used the term to describe types of institutions of higher learning.

Academic:

A member of an institution of higher learning.

Theoretical or speculative without a practical purpose or intention; having no practical purpose or use.

Academic Question:

A query which has an interesting answer but is of no practical use or importance.

Accent:

Distinctive manner of oral expression.

Accessory:

A subordinate or supplementary item; an adjunct.

Something nonessential but desirable that contributes to an effect or result.

Acclamation:

An Acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" or "acclamatio" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts in ancient Rome.

Accolade:

A tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction.

Accommodation:

The act of Accommodating or the state of being accommodated; adjustment.

Something that meets a need; a convenience.

Room and board; lodgings.

Accomodation Address:

See: maildrops and serviced offices.

Accompaniment:

Music: a vocal or instrumental part that supports another, often solo, part.

Something added for embellishment, completeness, or symmetry; complement.

Accomplishment:

Something completed successfully; an achievement.

An acquired skill or expertise.

Accord:

To be in agreement, unity, or harmony.

Accouchement:

Delivery in childbed; parturition.

Account Takeover (ATO):

An Account Takeover occurs when a criminal poses as a genuine customer, gains control of an account and then makes unauthorized transactions. According to Action Fraud, Fraud is committed at the point money is lost. The most common method of Account Takeover is a hacker gaining access to a list of user names and passwords. Other methods include dumpster diving to find personal information in discarded mail, and outright buying lists of 'Fullz,' a slang term for full packages of identifying information sold on the black market.

Accountability:

Responsibility to someone or for some activity.

Accounts:

The financial records of a company's transactions kept according to the principles of double-entry book-keeping. For every debit there is an equal and opposite credit. There are a number of different types of accounts.

Accrued Interest:

Interest that has been earned but not yet paid. If interest on a bank deposit is paid every six months, then five months after the last payment five-sixths of the next interest payment can be said to have accrued. None of it, however, will be paid for another month.

Ace of Spades:

The Ace of Spades (also known as the spadille) is traditionally the highest card in the deck of playing cards, at least in English-speaking countries. The actual value of the card varies from game to game. In legend and folklore, it is also known as the death card.

Achievement:

The act of accomplishing or finishing.

Something accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill, practice, or perseverance.

Achilles' Heel:

A seemingly small but actual mortal weakness.

See history of origin here.

Acid Test:

Acid Test is a chemical or metallurgical test that uses acid, now also a general term for verified, approved, or tested in a large number of fields.

Acknowledgement:

The act of admitting or owning to something.

Recognition of another's existence, validity, authority, or right.

An answer or response in return for something done.

An expression of thanks or a token of appreciation.

A formal declaration made to authoritative witnesses to ensure legal validity.

Acme:

Acme (from ancient Greek: ακμη the peak, zenith, prime) denotes the best of something.

Acolyte:

In many Christian denominations, an Acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used for one who has been inducted into a particular liturgical ministry, even when not performing those duties.

Acoustics:

Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of sound, ultrasound and infrasound (all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids). A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of Acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering. There is often much overlap and interaction between the interests of acousticians and acoustical engineers.

Acquaintance:

Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship.

Knowledge or information about something or someone.

Acquired Taste:

An Acquired Taste is an appreciation for something unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it. In the case of food and drink, this may be due to a strong odor. Acquired Taste may also refer to aesthetic tastes, such as taste in music, other forms of art, or in beauty.

Acquisition:

The purchase by one company of a controlling interest in another; an alternative to organic growth for any company in a hurry to become bigger. Acquisitions can be friendly - when both companies reach agreement about a deal and it is called a merger - or hostile, when some shareholders and/or the management resist the attempt to buy them.

Acromegaly:

Acromegaly (from Ancient Greek akros "extreme" or "extremities" and megalos "large") is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone (GH) after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty. If GH is produced in excess prior to epiphyseal plate closure, the result is gigantism (or giantism). A number of disorders may increase the pituitary's GH output, although most commonly it involves a tumor called pituitary adenoma, derived from a distinct type of cell (somatotrophs).

Acronym:

Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name.

Visit: Acronym Finder - find definitions for more than 5 million Acronyms abbreviations, Acronyms, and initialisms.

Acrophobia:

An abnormal fear of high places.

Across-the-Board:

Including or applying to all categories or members.

Acrostic:

An Acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an Acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval.

Act:

The process of doing or performing something.

A product, such as a statute, decree, or enactment, resulting from a decision by a legislative or judicial body.

One of the major divisions of a play or opera.

To play the part of; assume the dramatic role of.

Act of God:

Act of God is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.

Actant:

In narrative theory, Actant is a term from the actantial model of semiotic analysis of narratives.

Due credit must be paid to Algirdas Julien Greimas (1917-1992), professor of Semiotics who is widely credited with producing in 1966 the "Actantial" model. The Actantial model reveals the structural roles typically performed in story telling; such as "hero, villain (opponent of hero), object (of quest), helper (of hero) and sender (who initiates the quest)." Each of these roles fulfill an integral component of the story (or "narrative" if you prefer). Without the contribution of each Actant, the story may be incomplete. Thus, an "Actant" is not simply a character in a story, but an integral structural element upon which the narrative revolves.

Action:

The state or process of acting or doing.

Something done or accomplished; a deed.

Organized activity to accomplish an objective.

A movement or a series of movements, as of an actor.

Habitual or vigorous activity; energy.

The series of events and episodes that form the plot of a story or play.

Law: a judicial proceeding whose purpose is to obtain relief at the hands of a court.

The most important or exciting work or activity in a specific field or area.

Active:

Being in physical motion.

Functioning or capable of functioning.

Being in a state of action; not quiescent.

Marked by or involving direct participation.

Producing an intended action or effect.

Activist Short Seller:

An Activist Short Seller, an investor that takes aim at companies it suspects of fraud and exposes the wrongdoing. Short sellers then profit from investments when a target company’s share price falls.

Read more here: A Skeptical Stock Analyst Wins Big by Seeking Out Frauds - "The activist short-seller behind Hindenburg Research has become known for research that sends companies’ stock sinking. He says he’s not in it just to move share prices."

Activity:

The state of being active.

A specified pursuit in which a person partakes; an educational process or procedure intended to stimulate learning through actual experience.

Actor's Actor:

An Actor’s Actor is someone who defers to the director for his vision of what he wants to present and then internalizes it, thus projecting it on screen in one’s own mould. The audience is drawn into the character, almost forgetting the actor and living vicariously in the role as projected on screen after careful home work and nuanced juxtaposition of real life character studies in imaginative situations. These are the actors every other aspiring actor wants to act like on screen.

Actuary:

A person who calculates the risk associated with various kinds of long-term insurance policies. In particular, an actuary calculates the probability that someone of a specific age and profile will die within a given period of time. Actuaries are disparagingly said to be people who find accounting too exciting.

Acupuncture:

Stimulation of specific "energy points" on the body by the insertion of small, fine needles. Acupuncture is an alternative treatment commonly used to relieve pain.

ACV:

Short for: Air-Cushion Vehicle. A Hovercraft or Air-Cushion Vehicle (ACV) is a craft designed to travel over any smooth surface supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air, ejected downwards against the surface below, and contained within a "skirt." Hovercraft are used throughout the world as a method of specialized transport wherever there is the need to travel over multiple types of surfaces. Because they are supported by a cushion of air, hovercraft are unique among all forms of ground transportation in their ability to travel equally well over land, ice, and water. Small hovercraft are often used in physical activity, combustion, or passenger service, while giant hovercraft have been built for civilian and military applications to transport cars, tanks, and large equipment into difficult or hostile environments and terrain.

AD:

See: Anno Domini.

Ad Acta:

To archives. Not actual any more.

Ad Exchange:

Ad Exchanges are technology platforms for buying and selling online ad impressions.

Ad Hoc:

For the specific purpose, case, or situation at hand and for no other.

Improvised and often impromptu.

Ad Hominem:

An Ad Hominem (Latin for "to the man" or "to the person"), short for Argumentum Ad Hominem, is an attack on an argument made by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, rather than attacking the argument directly. When used inappropriately, it is a logical fallacy in which a claim or argument is dismissed on the basis of some irrelevant fact or supposition about the author or the person being criticized.

Ad Insult To Injury:

To make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing something else to upset them.

Ad Lib:

To improvise and deliver extemporaneously.

Ad Libitum:

Without advance preparation; often shortened to: ad lib.

Music: at the discretion of the performer. Used chiefly as a direction giving license to alter or omit a part.

Ad Modum:

Latin: consistent with.

Ad Nauseam:

Ad Nauseam is a Latin term for something unpleasurable that has continued "to [the point of] nausea".

Ad Valorem:

Something (such as tax) that is based on the value of goods and not on their quantity. Thus VAT is an ad valorem tax; so too is sales tax in the United States. A fixed-sum tax levied on the owner of a car is not since it bears no relation to the value of the car or the use that it makes of the roads.

Adage:

A saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use.

See also: proverb.

Added Value:

The concept behind value added tax (VAT); the idea that value is added to goods and services at many discrete stages during their production. VAT seeks to tax that value at each of those stages.

Addendum:

Something that is added to a contract as an afterthought.

Something added or to be added, especially a supplement to a book.

Addiction:

Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance.

The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.

Additive:

A substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it.

Marked by, produced by, or involving addition.

Of or being any of certain primary colors of wavelengths that may be mixed with one another to produce other colors.

Adfix:

A type of affix, which is attached to the outside of a stem (an existing word), to form a new word.

ADHD or AD/HD:

Short for: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Usually first diagnosed in childhood (mostly in boys), that is characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and, in some cases, hyperactivity.

Adjournment:

The brief postponement of a meeting in midstream. A board meeting, for example, might be adjourned for lunch. If an adjournement lasts longer than a few hours, the meeting has to be brought to a proper close and reconvened at another time.

Administrative Office:

An Administrative Office is frequently located in a country other than that of the headquarters office, the parent company or a country of operation. The role of such an Administrative Office may be to co-ordinate international or regional activities, to provide particular services (such as management analysis, financial or other related services) or to perform a given function (such as marketing).

A number of otherwise high tax jurisdictions (such as the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Greece) grant special tax treatment in order to attract the Administrative Offices of multinationals. In the case of Monaco which has been particularly successful in this regard, not only may the Administrative Office benefit from favoured tax treatment, but its employees resident in Monaco would not be subject to tax there.

Administrator:

One who administers, especially one who works as a manager in a business, government agency, or school.

Law: someone appointed by a court to run a company that is under administration. Also someone appointed by a court to handle a dead person's affairs when there is no will, or when the executors appointed by the will are unable to carry out their responsibilities.

Adobe:

A sun-dried, unburned brick of clay and straw; the clay or soil from which this brick is made.

Adobe Flash Player:

Adobe Flash Player is software for viewing animations and movies using computer programs such as a web browser; in common usage, Flash lets you put animation and movies on a web site.

Click here to download the latest version free.

Adobe Reader:

Adobe Reader(formerly Acrobat Reader) is available as a no-charge download from Adobe's web site, and allows the viewing and printing of PDF files. Acrobat and Reader are widely used as a way to present information with a fixed layout similar to a paper publication.

Click here to download the latest version free.

ADR:

Short for: American Depositary Receipt, a certificate issued by an American bank to an American investor in lieu of a foreign security. ADRs are traded in the United States as if they were domestic stock. In particular, the issuer (the bank) arranges for the dividends to be paid in dollars.

Adrenaline:

Adrenaline (also referred to as epinephrine) is a hormone and neurotransmitter. When produced in the body it increases heart rate, contracts blood vessels and dilates air passages and participates in the "fight or flight" response of the sympathetic nervous system. It is a catecholamine, a sympathomimetic monoamine produced only by the adrenal glands from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.

The term Adrenaline is derived from the Latin roots ad- and renes, and literally means on the kidney, in reference to the gland's anatomic location. The Greek roots epi- and nephros have similar meanings, and give rise to epinephrine. The term epinephrine is often shortened to epi in medical jargon.

ADSL:

Short for: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

Adsum:

Latin: I am present. Used to indicate one's presence usually in answer to a roll call.

Advantage:

A beneficial factor or combination of factors.

Benefit or profit; gain.

A relatively favorable position; superiority of means.

Sports: the first point scored in tennis after deuce; the resulting score.

Advantage Player:

Advantage gambling, or Advantage Play, refers to a practice of using legal ways to gain a mathematical advantage while gambling. The term usually refers to house-banked games, but can also refer to games played against other players, such as poker. Someone who practices advantage gambling is often referred to as an Advantage Player, or AP.

A skillfull or knowledgeable player can gain an advantage at a number of games. Blackjack can usually be beaten with card-counting and sometimes with shuffle tracking. Some video poker games can be beaten by the use of a strategy card devised by computer analysis of the game. Some progressive slot machines can eventually have such a high jackpot that they offer a positive return when played. Online games can be beaten with bonus hunting.

Adversity Principle (AQ):

An adversity quotient (AQ) is a score that measures the ability of a person to deal with adversities in his or her life. Hence, it is commonly known as the science of resilience.

The AQ is one of the probable indicators of a person's success in life and is also primarily useful to predict attitude, mental stress, perseverance, longevity, learning, and response to changes in environment.

Advertainment:

Advertainment refers to combination forms of advertising and entertainment. The term originated in radio and television as broadcasters sought to prevent their audiences from switching stations during commercial content but has since been popularized across media platforms.

Advertising:

Advertising is a non-personal form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services.

Advertisement:

A notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print, broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage.

Advisory Board of Directors:

An Advisory Board of Directors are individuals appointed to advise the elected board of directors. An advisory board is not bound by the duties imposed upon elected board members, and the corporation is not required to follow the recommendations of the advisory board.

Advocate:

To speak, plead, or argue in favor of.

One that pleads in another's behalf; an intercessor.

A lawyer.

ADX:

Short for: Administrative Maximum Facility. ADX is a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, USA. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or The Alcatraz of the Rockies. It is operated by the federal government and is part of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex (FCC). ADX houses the prisoners who are deemed the most dangerous and in need of the tightest control.

AED:

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electrical therapy which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.

Aegis:

The protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization.

Aegrotat:

(Britain, dated): a certificate indicating that a student is ill, excusing attendance at lectures and examinations and allowing courses to be passed without finishing the work.

Aerobic Exercise:

Aerobic Exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the Aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via Aerobic metabolism. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by Aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time.

Aesthete:

A person who has or who affects a highly developed appreciation of beauty, especially in poetry and the visual arts.

One who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature; one whose pursuit and admiration of beauty is regarded as excessive or affected.

Aestheticism:

Aestheticism (or the Aesthetic Movement) was a 19th century European art movement that emphasized aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design.

Aesthetics:

Philosophy: the branch of philosophy concerned with the study of such concepts as beauty, taste, etc.

Fine Arts & Visual Arts: the study of the rules and principles of art.

Aetat:

Aged; at the age of. Shortened from Latin aetatis, genitive of aetas (“age”).

Affair:

Something done or to be done; business.

An occurrence, event, or matter.

A social function.

A matter causing public scandal and controversy.

A romantic and sexual relationship, sometimes one of brief duration, between two people who are not married to each other.

Affidavit:

A sworn statement made in front of a person authorised by the courts to witness statements made under oath.

Affiliate:

A company that is partly owned by another company. Non-corporate entities that have close links with each other are also sometimes said to be affiliates. Individual trade unions, for instance, are affiliated to their central organisation.

To associate (oneself) as a subordinate, subsidiary, employee, or member; to assign the origin of; to become closely connected or associated.

Affiliate Marketing:

See: affiliate program.

Affiliate Program:

An Affiliate Program is an Internet marketing practice that connects businesses selling products online with websites related to those products. The websites are run by third parties who sell products and services for the Internet company and in return receive a small commission.

Affinity Marketing:

Affinity Marketing (or Partnership Marketing) is a targeted way of marketing products and services. By linking complementary brands, it can develop them into lasting partnerships and strategic alliances.

Affirmative Action:

A policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment.

Affix:

A linguistic element added to a word to produce an inflected or derived form.

Afforestation:

Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover.

Aficionado:

A person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a particular interest or activity; a fan or devotee.

Affluenza:

Affluenza, a portmanteau of affluence and influenza, is a term used by critics of consumerism. The book Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic defines it as "a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more".

AFoL:

Short for 'Adult Fan of Legos'.

African Time:

African Time (or Africa Time) is the perceived cultural tendency, in most parts of Africa, toward a more relaxed attitude to time. This is sometimes used in a pejorative sense, about tardiness in appointments, meetings and events. This also includes the more leisurely, relaxed, and less rigorously-scheduled lifestyle found in African countries, especially as opposed to the more clock-bound pace of daily life in Western countries. As such it is similar to time orientations in some other non-Western culture regions.

After Party:

A party that is held after another event.

Afternoon Tea:

Afternoon Tea is a light meal typically eaten between 3 pm and 5 pm. The custom of drinking tea originated in England when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II in 1661 and brought the practice of drinking tea in the afternoon with her from Portugal. Various places that belonged to the former British Empire also have such a meal. However, changes in social customs and working hours mean that most Britons only take afternoon tea on special or formal occasions.

Traditionally, loose tea is brewed in a teapot and served in teacups with milk and sugar. This is accompanied by various sandwiches (customarily cucumber, egg and cress, fish paste, ham, and smoked salmon), scones (with butter, clotted cream and jam — see cream tea) and usually cakes and pastries (such as Battenberg, fruit cake or Victoria sponge). The food is often served on a tiered stand: there may be no sandwiches but bread or scones with butter or margarine and optional jam or other spread.

See also: high tea.

AG:

Short for: Aktiengesellschaft. German company limited by shares.

Agape:

Agape is one of the Koine Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for humankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one’s fellow man. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including biblical authors and Christian authors. Greek philosophers at the time of Plato and other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to philia (an affection that could denote friendship, brotherhood or generally non-sexual affection) and eros, an affection of a sexual nature.

Age of Discretion:

(Roman Catholicism): synonym of age of reason.

Agency:

An administrative unit of government.

Agenda:

A written list of the items to be discussed at a meeting. An Agenda is prepared before the meeting and is circulated in advance to all those who are attending. The last item is normally "any other business", which provides those attending with an opportunity to raise unanticipated issues.

A temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to.

Agent:

An Agent is anyone who is authorized to act on behalf of another. A corporation can only act through its Agents; therefore, it is important to define what actions an Agent is authorized to perform.

A means by which something is done or caused; instrument.

Agent Provocateur:

A person employed to associate with suspected individuals or groups with the purpose of inciting them to commit acts that will make them liable to punishment.

Agitprop:

Agitprop is political propaganda, especially the communist propaganda used in Soviet Russia, that is spread to the general public through popular media such as literature, plays, pamphlets, films, and other art forms with an explicitly political message. In the Western world, Agitprop often has a negative connotation.

AGL:

Short for: Above Ground Level. In aviation and atmospheric sciences, an altitude is said to be above ground level (AGL) when it is measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to above mean sea level (AMSL), or in broadcast engineering, height above average terrain (HAAT). In other words, these expressions (AGL, AMSL, or HAAT) indicate where the "zero level" or "reference altitude" is located.

Agnosticism:

Agnosticism is the view that the existence or non-existence of any deity is unknown and possibly unknowable. More specifically, Agnosticism is the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, as well as other religious and metaphysical claims—are unknown and (so far as can be judged) unknowable. Agnosticism can be defined in various ways, and is sometimes used to indicate doubt or a skeptical approach to questions. In some senses, Agnosticism is a stance about the difference between belief and knowledge, rather than about any specific claim or belief. In the popular sense, an Agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in the existence of a deity or deities, whereas a theist and an atheist believe and disbelieve, respectively. In the strict sense, however, Agnosticism is the view that humanity does not currently possess the requisite knowledge and/or reason to provide sufficient rational grounds to justify the belief that deities either do or do not exist.

See also: atheism.

Agon:

Agon is an ancient Greek term for a struggle or contest. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece.

Agony Column:

An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist (colloquially known in British English as an agony aunt, or agony uncle if the columnist is a male). The image presented was originally of an older woman dispensing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt". An advice columnist can also be someone who gives advice to people who send in problems to the newspaper.

Amagazine or newspaper feature in which advice is offered to readers who have sent in letters about their personal problems.

A newspaper column containing advertisements chiefly about missing relatives or friends.

Agoraphobia:

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable, often due to the environment's vast openness or crowdedness. These situations include wide-open spaces, as well as uncontrollable social situations such as the possibility of being met in shopping malls, airports and on bridges.

Agreed-Upon Facts:

Coined by Gore Vidal: "When I coined the phrase 'Agreed-Upon Facts,' which so dismays those simple historians, particularly the Lincoln priesthood, who think that absolute truth exists not in Plato's attic but in some dusty yellowing newspaper cutting, to be squirreled from an archive." (Palimpsest: A Memoir).

Agreement:

Harmony of opinion; accord.

A properly executed and legally binding contract.

Ahab:

A guy who prefers screwing fat chicks, simple as that.

Ahab is a reference to the captain of the ship that was chasing the giant white whale in Moby Dick.

A king of Israel and husband of Jezebel, reigned 874?–853? b.c. I Kings 16–22.

Aide-de-Camp:

A military officer acting as secretary and confidential assistant to a superior officer of general or flag rank.

Aide-Mémoire:

In international relations, an Aide-Mémoire is a proposed agreement or negotiating text circulated informally among delegations for discussion without committing the originating delegation's country to the contents. It has no identified source, title, or attribution and no standing in the relationship involved.

The term also has a more general meaning, as an English noun with French influence, meaning "a memory-aid; a reminder or memorandum, especially a book or document serving this purpose."

Aigis:

We borrowed "aegis" from Latin, but the word ultimately derives from the Greek noun Aigis, which means "goatskin." In ancient Greek mythology, an aegis was something that offered physical protection. In some stories, it was the thundercloud where Zeus kept the thunderbolts he used as weapons.

Aiguilette:

An Aiguillette (from French "aiguillette", small needle) is an ornamental braided cord most often worn on uniforms, but may also be observed on other costumes such as academic dress, where it will denote an honour. Originally, the word "aiguillette" referred to the lacing used to fasten plate armor together. As such, a knot or loop arrangement was used which sometimes hung from the shoulder.

Aim:

A purpose or intention toward which one's efforts are directed.

Air Castle:

A fanciful or impractical notion or hope; daydream.

Air Force One:

Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically configured, highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft – tail codes Special Air Mission (SAM) "28000" and SAM "29000" – with Air Force designation "VC-25A". While these aircraft have the call sign "Air Force One" only while the president is on board, the term is colloquially used to describe either of the two aircraft normally used and maintained by the U.S. Air Force solely for the president, as well as any additional Air Force aircraft used by the president, including a C-37A Gulfstream.

See also: Car One and Marine One.

Air Kiss:

A facial expression in which the lips are pursed as if kissing.

Air Marshal:

A security officer who travels undercover on a commercial airliner to prevent hijacking.

Air Mile:

A unit of distance in air travel, equal to one international nautical mile (6,076.115 feet).

Air Quotes:

Air Quotes, also called finger quotes, are virtual quotation marks formed in the air with one's fingers when speaking. This is typically done with hands held shoulder-width apart and at the eye level of the speaker, with the index and middle fingers on each hand flexing at the beginning and end of the phrase being quoted. The Air-Quoted phrase is - in the most common usage - very short, at most a few words. Air Quotes are often used to express satire, sarcasm, irony or euphemism, among others, and are analogous to scare quotes in print.

Air Waybill:

A document that lists goods that are to be transported internationally by a shipper. The Air Waybill constitutes an agreement between the shipper and the owner of the goods that the goods will be delivered to an agreed destination in the same condition in which they were received.

Airbag:

An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly in an automobile collision, to prevent vehicle occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or window.

Airbrush:

An atomizer using compressed air to spray a liquid, such as paint, on a surface.

To improve the image of (a person or thing) by concealing defects beneath a bland exterior.

Airport Novel:

Airport Novel(s) represent a literary genre that is not so much defined by its plot or cast of stock characters, as much as it is by the social function it serves. An Airport Novel is typically a fairly long but fast-paced novel of intrigue or adventure that is stereotypically found in the reading fare offered by airport newsstands for travellers to read in the rounds of sitting and waiting that constitute air travel.

Airtight:

Impermeable by air.

Having no weak points; sound.

AIS:

Short for: Automatic Identification System. AIS is a short range coastal tracking system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. Information such as unique identification, position, course, and speed can be displayed on a screen or an ECDIS. AIS is intended to assist the vessel's watchstanding officers and allow maritime authorities to track and monitor vessel movements, and integrates a standardized VHF transceiver system such as a LORAN-C or Global Positioning System receiver, with other electronic navigation sensors, such as a gyrocompass or rate of turn indicator.

Visit: Live Ship Map.

Àjour:

Of or pertaining to objects which are pierced or decorated with an openwork pattern.

aka (a.k.a.):

Short for: Also Known As.

See also: alias.

Akedah:

(Christianity): the Binding of Isaac.

Akte van Opricht:

Statutes of a Dutch company.

Al Dente:

In cooking, the adjective al dente describes pasta and (less commonly) rice or beans that have been cooked so as to be firm but not hard. "Al dente" also describes vegetables that are cooked to the "tender crisp" phase - still offering resistance to the bite, but cooked through. It is often considered to be the ideal form of cooked pasta. Keeping the pasta firm is especially important in baked or "al forno" pasta dishes. The term comes from Italian and means "to the tooth" or "to the bite", referring to the need to chew the pasta due to its firmness. The term is also very commonly used as a name for Italian restaurants around the world.

Al Fresco:

In the fresh air; outdoors.

Al-Qaeda:

Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled Al-Qaida and sometimes Al-Qa'ida, is an Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989 and early 1990. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless arm and a fundamentalist Sunni movement calling for global jihad.

Aladdin’s Cave:

A place that is full of exciting and unexpected things.

Albatross:

Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific.

Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds". An Albatross is a central emblem in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; a captive Albatross is also a metaphor for the poète maudit in a poem by Charles Baudelaire. The Albatross metaphor is derived from the Coleridge poem; someone bearing a burden or facing an obstacle is said to have "an Albatross around his neck", the punishment given in the poem to the mariner who killed the Albatross. A widespread myth holds that sailors believe shooting or harming an Albatross is disastrous, due in part to the poem.

Albedo:

Albedo (Latin: Albedo, meaning 'whiteness') is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation received by an astronomical body (e.g. a planet like Earth). It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects all incident radiation).

Surface Albedo is defined as the ratio of radiosity to the irradiance (flux per unit area) received by a surface. The proportion reflected is not only determined by properties of the surface itself, but also by the spectral and angular distribution of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface. These factors vary with atmospheric composition, geographic location and time (see position of the Sun). While bi-hemispherical reflectance is calculated for a single angle of incidence (i.e., for a given position of the Sun), Albedo is the directional integration of reflectance over all solar angles in a given period. The temporal resolution may range from seconds (as obtained from flux measurements) to daily, monthly, or annual averages.

Read also: Greenland lost 2 billion tons of ice this week, which is very unusual - CNN World.

Albion:

Archaic name for England or Great Britain; often used poetically.

Album:

A book with blank pages for the insertion and preservation of collections, as of stamps or photographs.

A recording of different musical pieces.

Alchemy:

A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity.

Alderman:

A member of the municipal legislative body in a town or city in many jurisdictions.

Alford Index:

The English sociologist, Robert Alford measured this “class vote” with the help of a simple indicator named after him which was to be used worldwide. He identified two classes: one made up of workers and one made up of nonworkers. He also identified two types of vote: a left-wing vote (Labor) and a right-wing vote (Conservative). The indicator is calculated by subtracting the proportion of workers from non-workers who vote Left. If during a given election all the workers vote to the Left and none of the non-workers do, the indicator takes on the value of 100 (100%-0%) resulting in a perfect class vote. If the proportion of workers and non-workers who vote Left is identical, then the index falls to 0 and there is no class vote. Should the proportion of non-workers voting to the Left be higher than the number of workers voting Left, then there is a negative index or inverse class vote. He compared the results of 53 electoral surveys carried out between 1936 and 1962 in the United States, in Britain, in Canada, and in Australia and found that the British case, where the index went up to + 40 was the purest example of “class voting,” whereas it fell to + 16 in the United States and was non-existent in Canada.

Alford Plea:

An Alford Plea (also called a Kennedy Plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea and the Alford doctrine), in United States law, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence. In entering an Alford Plea, the defendant admits that the evidence presented by the prosecution would be likely to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Alford Plea is not used in Michigan, Indiana and New Jersey.

List of people who entered an Alford Plea.

Algonquin Round Table:

The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929. At these luncheons they engaged in wisecracks, wordplay, and witticisms that, through the newspaper columns of Round Table members, were disseminated across the country.

Algorithm:

In mathematics, computing, and related subjects, an Algorithm is an effective method for solving a problem using a finite sequence of instructions. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and many other fields.

Algorithmic Trading:

In electronic financial markets, Algorithmic Trading or automated trading, also known as algo trading, black-box trading, high-frequency trading or robo trading, is the use of computer programs for entering trading orders with the computer algorithm deciding on aspects of the order such as the timing, price, or quantity of the order, or in many cases initiating the order without human intervention.

Algospeak:

Slang or codewords that arise from the need to hide from content moderation on social media. Sometimes involves using numbers or special characters instead of letters or using different words that sound similar to the intended word.

Forms of words designed to get around algorithms that filter content on web forums.

Read also: From Camping To Cheese Pizza, ‘Algospeak’ Is Taking Over Social Media - "Americans are increasingly using code words known as 'algospeak' to evade detection by content moderation technology, especially when posting about things that are controversial or may break platform rules."

Alias:

An assumed name.

A name that has been assumed temporarily.

In computing, Alias is a command in various command line interpreters (shells) such as Unix shells, 4DOS/4NT and Windows PowerShell.

See also: a.k.a..

Alibi:

A form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed.

The fact of having been elsewhere when a crime in question was committed.

An explanation offered to avoid blame or justify action; an excuse.

Alien:

An unnaturalized foreign resident of a country; a person from another and very different family, people, or place.

A creature from outer space.

Aliyah:

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel.

Alkaline:

Having a pH greater than 7.

All-in-One Printer:

A single print device that serves several functions, including printing, faxing, scanning, and copying. Also called a multifunction printer (MFP). All-in-One is often abbreviated as AiO.

All Inclusive:

Including everything; comprehensive.

An All-Inclusive resort is a holiday resort that includes all meals, soft drinks, and most alcoholic drinks in the price. Many also offer a selection of sports and other activities included in the price as well.

All Risk:

An insurance policy that covers All Risks except for those specifically stated in the policy.

All Roads Lead to Rome:

Means: different paths can take one to the same goal.

All Round:

Many-sided.

All-Time:

Unsurpassed in some respect at a particular time.

Allegory:

The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.

A symbolic representation.

Allegretto:

(Music): a direction in musical notation indicating that the musical piece should be played rather fast and lively.

Allegro:

In a quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegretto but slower than presto.

Allele:

An Allele is an alternative form of a gene (one member of a pair) that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome. These DNA codings determine distinct traits that can be passed on from parents to offspring through sexual reproduction.

Alley Cat:

A sexually promiscuous person, usually a woman.

Alliance:

A close association of nations or other group, formed to advance common interests or causes.

A formal agreement establishing such an association, especially an international treaty of friendship.

A connection based on kinship, marriage, or common interest; a bond or tie.

Allonge:

An Allonge (from French allonger, "to draw out") is a slip of paper affixed to a negotiable instrument, as a bill of exchange, for the purpose of receiving additional endorsements for which there may not be sufficient space on the bill itself. An endorsement written on the Allonge is deemed to be written on the bill itself. An Allonge is more usually met with in those countries where the Code Napoleon is in force, as the code requires every endorsement to express the consideration. Under English law, as the simple signature of the endorser on the bill, without additional words, is sufficient to operate as a negotiation, an Allonge is seldom necessary.

Allotment:

The amount of stock that is allocated to investors who have subscribed for a new issue of shares.

Allowance:

An amount of something, especially money or food, given or allotted usually at regular intervals.

A sum granted as reimbursement for expenses.

Ally:

To place in a friendly association, as by treaty.

One in helpful association with another.

Alma Mater:

The school, college, or university that one has attended.

The anthem of an institution of higher learning.

Almanac:

An Almanac (also archaically spelled Almanack and Almanach) is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc. Astronomical data and various statistics are also found in Almanacs, such as the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide, stated festivals of churches, terms of courts, lists of all types, timelines, and more.

Almanach de Gotha:

The Almanach de Gotha was a respected directory of Europe's highest nobility and royalty. First published in 1763 at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it was regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies, ducal houses, families of former rulers, and royalty. It was published annually until 1944 when the Soviets destroyed the Almanach de Gotha's archives.

Click here to read more.

Almighty Dollar:

Almighty Dollar is an idiom often used to satirize an individual or cultural obsession with material wealth, or with capitalism in general. The phrase implies that money is a kind of deity.

Aloha:

Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion, and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello. "Aloha" is also included in the state nickname of Hawaii, the "Aloha State".

Alpha Male:

A term used to describe a macho male character within a romance.

Alphabetical:

Arranged in the customary order of the letters of a language.

Alphanumeric:

Consisting of both letters and numbers.

Consisting of or using letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and mathematical and other conventional symbols.

ALS:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and motor neurone disease (MND), is a specific disorder that involves the death of neurons that control voluntary muscles. Some also use motor neuron disease for a group of five conditions of which ALS is the most common. ALS is characterized by stiff muscles, muscle twitching, and gradually worsening weakness due to muscles decreasing in size. This results in difficulty in speaking, swallowing, and eventually breathing.

Alt-Right:

The Alt-Right, or alternative right, is a loose group of people with right-wing to far-right ideologies who reject mainstream conservatism, principally in the United States, but also to a lesser degree in Canada and Europe.

Alter Ego:

Another side of oneself; a second self.

A very close and trusted friend who seems almost a part of yourself.

Alternate Director:

A person appointed to represent and vote on behalf of a director of a company when he is absent from a meeting of directors.

Alternative Facts:

Usage: On January 22, 2017 Donald Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway charazterized White House press secretary Sean Spicer's falsehoods about attendance at the inauguration as "Alternative Facts".

Altmodisch:

German: Old-fashioned.

Altruism:

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.

Alumni:

A male graduate or former student of a school, college, or university.

ALV:

Short for: Added Luxury Value.

Alzheimer's Disease:

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disorder characterized by premature senility and dementia.

A.M.:

Short for: Ante Meridiem. Before noon; indicating the time period from midnight to midday.

AMA | Ask Me Anything:

A common post topic in the IAmA subreddit of Reddit. One of the most popular subreddits is IAmA ("I Am A") where a user may post "AMAs" (for "Ask Me Anything"), or similarly "AMAAs" (for "Ask Me Almost/Absolutely Anything") – prompts for others to ask questions about any topic. AMAs are open to all Reddit users, and use the site's comment system for both questions and answers; it is similar to a press conference but online. This subreddit was founded in May 2009. From 2013 to 2015, Victoria Taylor assisted reddit's volunteer community in presenting interviews.

A number of notable individuals have participated in the IAmA subreddit, including United States President Barack Obama (while campaigning for the 2012 election), Dave Grohl, Madonna, Chris Hadfield (who answered questions from the International Space Station), Bill Gates, Ron Paul, Stephen Colbert, Psy, Enya, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Maddow, Renée Fleming, M. Shadows, Louis C.K., Roger Federer, Larry King, Philip Zimbardo, Bill Nye, Stan Lee, John Mather, David Copperfield, Paul Krugman, Danny Boyle, rapper J. Cole, Al Gore, Roger Ebert, Michael Bolton, Gary Johnson, Lawrence Krauss, Jill Stein, Kevin Rudd, Julie Benz, Amanda Palmer, Tim Ferriss, Gordon Ramsay, Peter Dinklage, Chandra Wickramasinghe, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump (during his 2016 Presidential Campaign) had an AMA on /r/The Donald subreddit. As of April 2015, Barack Obama's AMA is the highest rated on the site; the increased traffic brought down many parts of the website when the AMA occurred on August 29, 2012.

Amanuensis:

One who is employed to take dictation or to copy manuscript.

Amateur:

A person who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession.

An athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition.

One lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art.

See also: professional.

Ambassador:

A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time.

An authorized messenger or representative; an unofficial representative.

Ambidekstral:

Using both hands equally well.

Ambient:

Surrounding; encircling; of or relating to the immediate surroundings; creating a relaxing atmosphere.

Ambigram:

An Ambigram is a typographical design or artform that may be read as one or more words not only in its form as presented, but also from another viewpoint, direction, or orientation. The words readable in the other viewpoint, direction or orientation may be the same or different from the original words.

Ambition:

An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.

The object or goal desired.

Ambrosia:

In the ancient Greek myths, Ambrosia is sometimes the food or drink of the Greek gods, often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it.

Ambulance Chaser:

A lawyer who obtains clients by persuading accident victims to sue for damages.

Amduat:

The Amduat (literally "That Which Is In the Afterworld", also translated as "Text of the Hidden Chamber Which is in the Underworld" and "Book of What is in the Underworld") is an important Ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom. Like many funerary texts, it was found written on the inside of the pharaoh's tomb for reference. Unlike other funerary texts, however, it was reserved only for pharaohs (until the 21st Dynasty almost exclusively) or very favored nobility.

Amen:

The word Amen ("So be it; truly") is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

Amende Honorable:

Amende Honorable was originally a mode of punishment in France which required the offender, barefoot and stripped to his shirt, and led into a church or auditory with a torch in his hand and a rope round his neck held by the public executioner, to beg pardon on his knees of his God, his king, and his country; now used to denote a satisfactory apology or reparation. Amende Honorable forbade revenge.

Amendment:

An alteration or an addition to a legal document that is signed by all the parties to the document. The amendment has the same legal status as the rest of the document.

American Dream:

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.

American English:

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States.

English is the most common language in the United States. Though the U.S. federal government has no official language, English is the common language used by the federal government and is considered the de facto language of the United States because of its widespread use. English has been given official status by 28 of the 50 state governments.

The use of English in the United States is a result of English colonization. The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North America during the 17th century, followed by further migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since then, American English has been influenced by the languages of West Africa, the Native American population, Irish, Spanish, and immigration.

AMEX:

Short for: American Stock Exchange. Also an abbreviation for American Express.

Amnesia:

Partial or total loss of memory, usually resulting from shock, psychological disturbance, brain injury, or illness.

Amnesty:

A general pardon, especially for offences against a government.

A period during which a law is suspended to allow offenders to admit their crime without fear of prosecution.

Amor Fati:

Amor Fati (lit. "love of fate") is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary, in that they are among the facts of one's life and existence, so they are always necessarily there whether one likes them or not. Moreover, Amor Fati is characterized by an acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one's life.

Amorphous:

Lacking definite form; shapeless; of no particular type; anomalous; lacking organization; formless.

Amortisation:

The reduction of the value of an asset by prorating its cost over a period of years.

Amour-Propre:

Amour-Propre (French, "self-love") is a concept in the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau that esteem depends upon the opinion of others. Rousseau contrasts it with amour de soi, which also means "self-love", but which does not involve seeing oneself as others see one.

Ampelmännchen:

Ampelmännchen (German: little traffic light man, pl. Ampelmännchen) is the symbol shown on pedestrian signals in the former East Germany, now a part of Germany. Prior to German reunification in 1990, the two German states had different forms for the Ampelmännchen, with a generic human figure in West Germany, and a generally male figure wearing a hat in the east.

The Ampelmännchen is a beloved symbol in Eastern Germany, "enjoy[ing] the privileged status of being one of the few features of communist East Germany to have survived the end of the Iron Curtain with his popularity unscathed." After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ampelmännchen acquired cult status and became a popular souvenir item in the tourism business.

Ampersand:

The Ampersand is the logogram "&", representing the conjunction word "and". It originated as a ligature of the letters et, Latin for "and".

Amphitheater:

Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Architecture: a building, usually circular or oval, in which tiers of seats rise from a central open arena, as in those of ancient Rome.

A place where contests are held; arena.

A lecture room in which seats are tiered away from a central area.

Amphora:

A two-handled jar with a narrow neck used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to carry wine or oil.

Amuse-Bouche:

An Amuse-Bouche or Amuse-Gueule is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-Bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so for free and according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to the art of cuisine.

Amygdala:

An almond-shaped neural structure in the anterior part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum; intimately connected with the hypothalamus and the hippocampus and the cingulate gyrus; as part of the limbic system it plays an important role in motivation and emotional behavior.

An Arm and a Leg:

(Slang): a lot of money.

An Heir and a Spare:

Two children (typically in reference to members of the monarchy or nobility, said to need two children, one to succeed to a title and the other to guarantee the family line should anything happen to the first).

Ana-:

Ancient Greek prefix meaning: back, again, on, up, above, throughout.

Anacreontics:

Anacreontics are verses in a metre used by the Greek poet Anacreon in his poems dealing with love and wine. His later Greek imitators (whose surviving poems are known as the Anacreontea) took up the same themes and used the Anacreontic meter. In modern poetry, Anacreontics are short lyrical pieces that keep the Anacreontic subject matter but not the meter.

Analects:

A collection of excerpts or quotes.

Analog Signal:

A signal in which some feature increases and decreases in the same way as the thing being transmitted.

See also: digital signal.

Analogy:

Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar; a comparison based on such similarity.

Philosophy / Logic: a form of reasoning in which a similarity between two or more things is inferred from a known similarity between them in other respects.

Linguistics: imitation of existing models or regular patterns in the formation of words, inflections, etc.

Analysis:

The separation of an intellectual or material whole into its constituent parts for individual study.

The study of such constituent parts and their interrelationships in making up a whole.

A spoken or written presentation of such study.

Chemistry: the separation of a substance into its constituent elements to determine either their nature.

Analyst:

A person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis.

A psychoanalyst.

Anamorphosis:

Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. The word "Anamorphosis" is derived from the Greek prefix ana-, meaning back or again, and the word morphe, meaning shape or form.

Anarchism:

The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished.

Rejection of all forms of coercive control and authority.

Anarchy:

No rulership or enforced authority.

Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder.

A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder).

Absence or non-recognition of authority and order in any given sphere.

Ancestor:

A person from whom one is descended, especially if more remote than a grandparent; a forebear.

A forerunner or predecessor.

Law: the person from whom an estate has been inherited.

Biology: the actual or hypothetical organism or stock from which later kinds evolved.

Anchor:

A news presenter (also known as newsreader, newscaster, Anchorman or Anchorwoman, and news Anchor) is a person who presents a news show on television, radio or the Internet.

Anchorite:

An Anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress; adj. anchoritic; from Ancient Greek, "one who has retired from the world") is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life.

Anchor Baby:

Anchor Baby is a pejorative term for a child born in the U.S. to a foreign national mother who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. There is a popular misconception that the child's U.S. citizenship status legally helps the child's parents and siblings to quickly reclassify their visa status (or lack thereof) and to place them on a fast pathway to acquire lawful permanent residence and eventually United States citizenship. Current U.S. federal law prevents anyone under the age of 21 from being able to petition for their non-citizen parent to be lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence. At best, the child's family would need to wait for 21 years before being able to use their child's US citizenship to modify their immigration status.

Anchor Text:

The Anchor Text, link label or link title is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. The words contained in the Anchor Text can determine the ranking that the page will receive by search engines.

Anchorite:

A religious recluse.

Androgynous:

Biology: having both female and male characteristics; hermaphroditic.

Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior.

Android (operating system):

Android is a software platform for mobile devices, powered by the Linux kernel, initially developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.

Visit: Android.

Anecdote:

A short account of an interesting or humorous incident.

Anecdotal Evidence:

Anecdotal Evidence is evidence from anecdotes, i.e., evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily or entirely on personal testimony. When compared to other types of evidence, Anecdotal Evidence is generally regarded as limited in value due to a number of potential weaknesses, but may be considered within the scope of scientific method as some Anecdotal Evidence can be both empirical and verifiable, e.g. in the use of case studies in medicine. Other Anecdotal Evidence, however, does not qualify as scientific evidence, because its nature prevents it from being investigated by the scientific method.

Angel:

Spiritual being attendant upon God.

Informal: a financial backer of an enterprise, especially a dramatic production or a political campaign.

Angel Investor:

An Angel Investor or Angel (also known as a Business Angel or Informal Investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital.

Anger Management:

The term Anger Management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state. In some countries, courses in anger management may be mandated by their legal system.

Angina:

A condition, such as severe sore throat, in which spasmodic attacks of suffocating pain occur.

Angle:

Mathematics: The figure formed by two lines diverging from a common point.

An aspect, as of a problem, seen from a specific point of view.

Angst:

A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.

Anime:

Anime are Japanese animated productions usually featuring hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the abbreviated pronunciation of "animation" in Japanese, where this term references all animation, but in other languages, the term is defined as animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastic themes.

Animoji:

Animoji are animated emoji introduced as part of iOS 11 for the iPhone X made by Apple. Using face-capture technology, Animoji mimic the facial expressions of the user and records their audio, which is then filtered through a voice modulator corresponding to which Animoji character is used.

Anno Dazumal:

In those days ...

Anno Domini:

Anno Domini (abbreviated as AD or A.D.) and Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. This calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth, with AD counting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of the epoch. There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525, but was not widely used until after 800.

See also: Before Present.

Annual Physical:

The Annual Physical examination has been replaced by the periodic health examination: a physical examination is an evaluation of the body and its functions using inspection, palpation (feeling with the hands), percussion (tapping with the fingers), and auscultation (listening). A complete health assessment also includes gathering information about a person's medical history and lifestyle, doing laboratory tests, and screening for disease.

Annual Report:

The printed document that contains the annual accounts of a company. The annual report is posted to all shareholders every year. The quality of companies' annual reports varies greatly.

Annuity:

An investment that yields a fixed annual income for the investor until his or her death. The payment of an Annuity used to be annual, but it is now frequently more frequent.

Annus Horribilis:

Annus Horribilis is a Latin phrase, meaning “horrible year”. It is complementary to annus mirabilis, which means “wonderful year”.

Annus Mirabilis:

Annus Mirabilis is a Latin phrase that means wonderful year, "year of wonders" or "year of miracles". This term was originally used to refer to the year 1666, and today is used to refer to several years during which events of major importance are remembered.

Anodyne:

An Anodyne is a drug used to lessen pain through reducing the sensitivity of the brain or nervous system. The term was common in medicine before the 20th century, but such drugs are now more often known as analgesics or painkillers.

Anomie:

Anomie is a "condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals". It is the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community, e.g., under unruly scenarios resulting in fragmentation of social identity and rejection of self-regulatory values.

In literary usage, the word has escaped its strictly medical meaning to convey anything "soothing or relaxing" (since the 18th century) or even anything "non-contentious", "blandly agreeable", or unlikely to cause offence or debate.

Anonymous:

Having no known name or identity or known source.

Anorak:

A heavy jacket with a hood; a parka.

Anorexia Nervosa:

Anorexia Nervosa is a psychiatric illness that describes an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with Anorexia are known to control body weight commonly through the means of voluntary starvation, purging, excessive exercise or other weight control measures such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. While the condition primarily affects adolescent females approximately 10% of people with the diagnosis are male. Anorexia Nervosa, involving neurobiological, psychological, and sociological components is a complex condition that can lead to death in severe cases.

See also: bulimia nervosa and orthorexia nervosa.

Anosmia:

Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.

Chemosensory disturbances, including loss of smell or taste, are the predominant neurological symptom of COVID-19. As many as 80% of COVID-19 patients exhibit some change in chemesthesis, including smell. Loss of smell has also been found to be more predictive of COVID-19 than all other symptoms, including fever, cough or fatigue, based on a survey of 2 million participants in the UK and US. Google searches for "smell", "loss of smell", "Anosmia", and other similar terms increased since the early months of the pandemic, and strongly correlated with increases in daily cases and deaths. Research into the mechanisms underlying these symptoms are currently ongoing. Many countries list Anosmia as an official COVID-19 symptom, and some have developed "smell tests" as potential screening tools.

Anosognosia:

Anosognosia is a deficit of self-awareness, a condition in which a person with a disability is unaware of having it.

Anstalt:

Establishment, a legal entity without shares established in Liechtenstein, with some features of a trust but with corporate personality. Do not have shares.

Answered Prayers:

"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers." - Saint Teresa of Ávila.

Antagonist:

An Antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend.

Antebellum:

Belonging to the period before a war, especially the American Civil War.

Antechamber:

A small room used as an entryway or reception area to a larger room.

Antimetabole:

In rhetoric, Antimetabole is the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order (e.g., "I know what I like, and I like what I know").

Anthem:

A hymn of praise or loyalty.

A choral composition having a sacred or moralizing text in English.

Anthology:

Literary & Literary Critical Terms: a collection of literary passages or works, especially poems, by various authors.

An Anthology of articles on a related subject or an Anthology of the works of a single author.

Anthropocene:

The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.

Anthropocentrism:

Anthropocentrism is the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet (in the sense that they are considered to have a moral status or value higher than that of other animals), or the assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective.

Anthropology:

The scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.

Anthropometric:

The study of human body measurement for use in anthropological classification and comparison.

Anthropomorphism:

Anthropomorphism, or personification, is attribution of human form or other characteristics to anything other than a human being. Examples include depicting deities with human form, creating fictional non-human animal characters with human physical traits, and ascribing human emotions or motives to forces of nature, such as hurricanes or tropical cyclones.

Anti-Trust:

Laws in the United States which make it illegal for firms to fix prices among themselves or to discriminate in the prices that they ask different buyers for the same goods. The same body of legislation makes it illegal for companies to form a monopoly.

Anti-Avoidance Measures:

The object of Anti-Avoidance Measures, insofar as they relate to tax havens, is to prevent the avoidance or reduction of tax through the displacement of one or more connecting factors (i.e. the basis of tax liability) from the taxing jurisdiction concerned to a tax haven jurisdiction.

Anti-Avoidance Measures may be of general application or may refer to specific tax havens. Any measures usually appear in domestic tax systems; they may however be imposed by tax treaties.

Anti-Language:

An Anti-Language or cant is the language of a social group which develops as a means of preventing people from outside the group understanding it. It may use the same vocabulary and grammar, but in an unorthodox fashion.

Antioxidant:

An Antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols or polyphenols.

Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; hence, plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells.

See also: polyphenol antioxidant.

Antipasti:

An appetizer usually consisting of an assortment of foods, such as smoked meats, cheese, fish, and vegetables.

Antiphon:

An Antiphon is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. Antiphons are Psalm-texted.

Antiphonal:

A book of antiphons or anthems sung or chanted at a liturgy; an antiphonary or antiphoner.

Antique:

Belonging to, made in, or typical of an earlier period.

Of or belonging to ancient times, especially of, from, or characteristic of ancient Greece or Rome.

Old-fashioned.

An object having special value because of its age, especially a domestic item or piece of furniture or handicraft esteemed for its artistry, beauty, or period of origin.

Antiquity:

Any period before the Middle Ages (476-1453), but still within the period of human history or prehistory. The term is most often used of Classical Antiquity, the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Antisocial Personality Disorder:

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others and inability or unwillingness to conform to what are considered to be the norms of society.

See also: sociopath.

Antivirus Software:

Antivirus (or anti-virus) Software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses. Such programs may also prevent and remove adware, spyware, and other forms of malware.

A variety of strategies are typically employed. Signature-based detection involves searching for known malicious patterns in executable code. However, it is possible for a user to be infected with new malware in which no signature exists yet. To counter such so called zero-day threats, heuristics can be used. One type of heuristic approach, generic signatures, can identify new viruses or variants of existing viruses for looking for known malicious code (or slight variations of such code) in files. Some Antivirus Software can also predict what a file will do if opened/run by emulating it in a sandbox and analyzing what it does to see if it performs any malicious actions. If it does, this could mean the file is malicious.

However, no matter how useful Antivirus Software is, it can sometimes have drawbacks. Antivirus Software can degrade computer performance if it is not designed efficiently. Inexperienced users may have trouble understanding the prompts and decisions that Antivirus Software presents them with. An incorrect decision may lead to a security breach. If the Antivirus Software employs heuristic detection (of any kind), the success of it is going to depend on whether it achieves the right balance between false positives and false negatives. False positives can be as destructive as false negatives. In one case, a faulty virus signature issued by Symantec mistakenly removed essential operating system files, leaving thousands of PCs unable to boot. Finally, Antivirus Software generally runs at the highly trusted kernel level of the operating system, creating a potential avenue of attack.

Anton Chigurh:

Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist of Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men, and its film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Javier Bardem.

The character received much praise during the film's theatrical run, where Javier Bardem was awarded an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his performance. Chigurh has been included on numerous lists of greatest villains, most notably in Empire Magazine's List of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters Of All Time.

Antonym:

A word having a meaning opposite to that of another word.

AOE:

Short for: Area of Effect.

Apanage:

Any customary and rightful perquisite appropriate to your station in life.

Apartheid:

An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.

A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.

Apartment:

An Apartment (in American English) or flat in British English is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building. Such a building may be called an apartment building, apartment house (in American English), block of flats, tower block, high-rise or, occasionally mansion block (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier by leasehold tenure or rented by tenants (two types of housing tenure).

The term Apartment is favored in North America (although flat is used in the case of a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor), whereas the term flat is commonly, but not exclusively, used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong and most Commonwealth nations.

Apathy:

An absence of emotion or enthusiasm; lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.

APEC:

Short for: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries (styled "Member Economies") that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Apeiron (cosmology):

Apeiron is a Greek word meaning "unlimited," "infinite", or "indefinite", "without", "end, limit", the Ionic Greek form of peras, "end, limit, boundary".

The Apeiron has generally been understood as a sort of primal chaos. It acts as the substratum supporting opposites such as hot and cold, wet and dry, and directed the movement of things, by which there grew up all of the host of shapes and differences which are found in the world. Out of the vague and limitless body there sprang a central mass—this earth of ours—cylindrical in shape. A sphere of fire surrounded the air around the earth and had originally clung to it like the bark round a tree. When it broke, it created the sun, the moon and the stars. The first animals were generated in the water. When they came to earth they were transmuted by the effect of the sun. The human being sprung from some other animal, which originally was similar to a fish. The blazing orbs, which have drawn off from the cold earth and water, are the temporary gods of the world clustering around the earth, which to the ancient thinker is the central figure.

Aperçu:

A clever insight; a summary or outline; words that summarize.

A totality suddenly revealed in a single thing.

Apex:

The highest point; the vertex.

The point of culmination.

The usually pointed end of an object; the tip.

Apgar Score | Test:

The Apgar Score was devised in 1952 by Dr. Virginia Apgar as a simple and repeatable method to quickly and summarily assess the health of newborn children immediately after childbirth. Apgar was an anesthesiologist who developed the score in order to ascertain the effects of obstetric anesthesia on babies.

The Apgar Score is determined by evaluating the newborn baby on five simple criteria on a scale from zero to two, then summing up the five values thus obtained. The resulting Apgar Score ranges from zero to 10. The five criteria (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) are used as a mnemonic learning aid.

Aphasia:

Aphasia is an inability to comprehend and formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. This damage is typically caused by a cerebral vascular accident (stroke), or head trauma, however these are not the only possible causes. To be diagnosed with Aphasia, a person's speech or language must be significantly impaired in one (or several) of the four communication modalities following acquired brain injury or have significant decline over a short time period (progressive Aphasia). The four communication modalities are auditory comprehension, verbal expression, reading and writing, and functional communication.

Aphonia:

Loss of the voice resulting from disease, injury to the vocal cords, or various psychological causes, such as hysteria.

Aphorism:

A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage.

A brief statement of a principle.

See also: epigram.

Aphrodisiac:

Arousing or intensifying sexual desire.

Something, such as a drug or food, having such an effect.

API:

Short for: Application Programming Interface. In computer science an API is an interface that defines the ways by which an application program may request services from libraries and/or operating systems. An API determines the vocabulary and calling conventions the programmer should employ to use the services. It may include specifications for routines, data structures, object classes and protocols used to communicate between the requesting software and the library.

Apocalypse:

Bible: The Book of Revelation.

Great or total devastation; doom.

A prophetic disclosure; a revelation.

Apogee:

The highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination.

The point in the orbit of the moon or a satellite at which it is furthest from the earth.

Apostasy:

Apostasy is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person.

Apostille:

Certificate of Good Standing in connection with corporations according to the Convention of The Hague of October 05, 1961.

Apothegm:

A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim.

Apotheosis:

Christian Religious Writings / Theology: the elevation of a person to the rank of a god; deification.

Elevation to a preeminent or transcendent position; glorification.

An exalted or glorified example; a glorified ideal.

App:

App / Application Software is all the computer software that causes a computer to perform useful tasks beyond the running of the computer itself. A specific instance of such software is called a software application, application program, application or App.

The term is used to contrast such software with system software, which manages and integrates a computer's capabilities but does not directly perform tasks that benefit the user. The system software serves the application, which in turn serves the user.

App Tracking Transparency (ATT):

Apple’s last major software release for iPhone, iOS 14.5, brought with it a cool new feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and a new analysis claims that it’s already proving incredibly popular. ATT, if you haven’t come across it, is a system that has been controversial because it means that apps can’t track you, assuming you don’t want them to. It means that advertisers can’t follow exactly what you’re doing, so, for example, it’s more difficult to personalize ads to individuals. That may be something you’d like, in which case you can allow tracking.

Apparatchik:

A member of a Communist apparat.

An unquestioningly loyal subordinate, especially of a political leader or organization.

Apparatus:

An appliance or device for a particular purpose.

A political organization or an underground political movement.

Apparel:

Clothing, especially outer garments; attire.

Appeal:

The transfer of a case from a lower to a higher court for a new hearing.

A request for relief, aid, etc.

The power to attract, please, stimulate, or interest.

Appellation:

A name, title, or designation.

A protected name under which a wine may be sold, indicating that the grapes used are of a specific kind from a specific district.

Appendage:

Something added or attached to an entity of greater importance or size; an adjunct.

See also: accessory.

Appetizer:

A food or drink served usually before a meal to stimulate the appetite.

Any stimulating foretaste.

See also: hors d'œuvre.

Apple Push Notification Service:

The Apple Push Notification Service is a service created by Apple Inc. that was launched together with iOS 3.0 on June 17, 2009. It uses push technology through a constantly open IP connection to forward notifications from the servers of third party applications to the Apple devices; such notifications may include badges, sounds or custom text alerts.

Apples and Oranges:

A comparison of Apples and Oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be practically compared.

The idiom, comparing Apples and Oranges, refers to the apparent differences between items which are popularly thought to be incomparable or incommensurable, such as Apples and Oranges. The idiom may also be used to indicate that a false analogy has been made between two items, such as where an apple is faulted for not being a good orange.

Appliance:

A device or instrument designed to perform a specific function, especially an electrical device, such as a toaster, for household use.

Application:

Computer Science: a program with a user interface, enabling people to use the computer as a tool to accomplish a specific task.

Application Programming Interface (API):

An Application Programming Interface (API) is an interface or communication protocol between different parts of a computer program intended to simplify the implementation and maintenance of software.

Appointment:

An arrangement to meet a person or be at a place at a certain time.

The act of placing in a job or position.

The act of directing the disposition of property by virtue of a power granted for this purpose.

Appointment Reading:

In e-book literature, Appointment Reading is episodic delivery schedule published in sequential electronic installments as recurring TV shows or serialized podcasts, e.g. published week by week via an app as pioneered with Julian Fellowes's Belgravia.

Appraiser:

One who estimates officially the worth or value or quality of things.

One who determines authenticity (as of works of art) or who guarantees validity.

Apprentice:

One bound by legal agreement to work for another for a specific amount of time in return for instruction in a trade, art, or business.

One who is learning a trade or occupation, especially as a member of a labor union.

A beginner; a learner.

Approval:

The act or an instance of approving.

An official approbation; a sanction.

Favorable regard; commendation.

(Commerce): on Approval (of articles for sale) for examination with an option to buy or return.

Approval Rating:

An official approbation; favorable regard.

APPS:

Short for: APPlicationS. The term has been used as shorthand for "Application" in the IT community for decades but became newly popular for mobile Applications, especially since the advent of Apple's App Store in 2008. To many, it implies an Application that is relatively small in comparison to comprehensive desktop Applications; however, mobile Apps can be quite sophisticated.

APR:

Short for: Annual Percentage Rate. The terms Annual Percentage of Rate (APR), nominal APR, and effective APR (EAR) describe the interest rate for a whole year (annualized), rather than just a monthly fee/rate, as applied on a loan, mortgage, credit card, etc.

Après-Ski:

Social events or activities that take place after skiing.

April Fools' Day:

April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other.

Arab Spring:

The Arab Spring; (also known as the Arabic Rebellions or the Arab Revolutions) is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on 18 December 2010. Revolutions occurred in Tunisia, Egypt; and a civil war in Libya; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests in Israel, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara.

Arabesque:

A ballet position in which the dancer bends forward while standing on one straight leg with the arm extended forward and the other arm and leg extended backward.

A complex, ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures.

Music: an ornate, whimsical composition especially for piano.

Arabish:

Arabish is a combination of an Arabic pronunciation, and Latin written characters.

The Arabic chat alphabet, Arabizi, Arabish or Araby, is an alphabet used to communicate in the Arabic language (and Persian language) over the Internet or for sending messages via cellular phones when the actual Arabic alphabet is unavailable for technical reasons. It is a character encoding of Arabic to the Latin script and the Arabic numerals. Users of this alphabet have developed some special notations to transliterate some of the letters that do not exist in the basic Latin script (ASCII).

Arachnophobia:

Arachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions.

Arbiter:

One chosen or appointed to judge or decide a disputed issue; an Arbitrator.

One who has the power to judge or ordain at will.

Arbitrage:

A form of hedged investment meant to capture slight differences in the prices of two related securties.

Arbitration:

A procedure for solving commercial disputes that avoids going to court. The parties to the dispute turn to an independent third party whose judgment they agree in advance to accept. A number of industries have set up special international bodies for the purpose of Arbitrating in disputes within their industry.

Arbitrator:

A person who acts as an intermediary in a case of Arbitration; an independent third party whose opinion the disputing parties agree to be bound by. In some cases the Arbitrator may consist of a panel of individuals.

Arboretum:

An Arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. More commonly, today, an Arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study.

Arcana Imperii:

(Latin): the secrets of power. Originally used by Tacitus to refer to the state secrets and unaccountable acts of the Roman imperial government.

Arch:

A structure, especially one of masonry, forming the curved, pointed, or flat upper edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway; a structure, such as a freestanding monument, shaped like an inverted U.

Chief; principal.

Archaic:

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a much earlier, often more primitive period, especially one that develops into a classical stage of civilization.

No longer current or applicable; antiquated.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier style or period.

Archetype:

An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype.

An ideal example of a type; quintessence.

Architect:

One who designs and supervises the construction of buildings or other large structures.

One that plans or devises.

Architecture:

The art and science of designing and erecting buildings.

Buildings and other large structures.

A style and method of design and construction.

Computer Science: the overall design or structure of a computer system, including the hardware and the software required to run it, especially the internal structure of the microprocessor.

Archive:

A place or collection containing records, documents, or other materials of historical interest.

Archon:

Archon is a Greek word that means one of the nine chief magistrates of ancient Athens, 1650s, from Greek arkhon "ruler, commander, chief, captain," noun use of present participle of arkhein "be the first," thence "to begin, begin from or with, make preparation for;" also "to rule, lead the way, govern, rule over, be leader of," a word of uncertain origin.

'Are you married or do you live in Kenya':

The aficionadoes of scandalous gossip about British colonial high society still like to recall a classic case of murder in Happy Valley. That was the enclave in the White Highlands of Kenya, where the sexual escapades of British aristocrats in exile inspired the question 'Are you married or do you live in Kenya?'

Area:

A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

A subject of study.

Sphere: a particular environment or walk of life.

A part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function.

Area 51:

Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles (133 km) north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas.

The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.

Visit also: FBI's UFO files.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB):

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; Welsh: Ardal o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol, AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value.

Arena:

An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles.

The Area in the center of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and other spectacles were held.

Argon:

A colorless and odorless inert gas; one of the six inert gases; comprises approximately 1% of the earth's atmosphere.

Argot:

A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group.

Argue:

To put forth reasons for or against; debate.

To give evidence of; indicate.

To persuade or influence (another), as by presenting reasons.

Argument:

In logic, an Argument is a set of one or more meaningful declarative sentences (or "propositions") known as the premises along with another meaningful declarative sentence (or "proposition") known as the conclusion. A deductive Argument asserts that the truth of the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises; an inductive Argument asserts that the truth of the conclusion is supported by the premises. Deductive Arguments are valid or invalid, and sound or not sound. An Argument is valid if and only if the truth of the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises and (consequently) its corresponding conditional is a necessary truth. A sound argument is a valid Argument with true premises.

Each premise and the conclusion are only either true or false, i.e. are truth bearers. The sentences composing an Argument are referred to as being either true or false, not as being valid or invalid; deductive Arguments are referred to as being valid or invalid, not as being true or false. Some authors refer to the premises and conclusion using the terms declarative sentence, statement, proposition, sentence, or even indicative utterance. The reason for the variety is concern about the ontological significance of the terms, proposition in particular. Whichever term is used, each premise and the conclusion must be capable of being true or false and nothing else: they are truthbearers.

Aristocracy:

A hereditary ruling class; nobility.

A group or class considered superior to others.

Ark:

The chest containing the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, carried by the Hebrews during their desert wanderings.

The boat built by Noah for survival during the Flood.

Arm Candy:

(Idiomatic): a attractive, seemingly romantic companion who accompanies a person in public simply so that one or both of the individuals can gain attention, enhance social status, or create an impression of sexual appeal.

Arm's Length Relationship:

An Arm's Length Relationship is a term used to describe a type of business relationship a corporation should have with a close associate to avoid a conflict of interest. For example, when you negotiate with your banker or your supplier, any agreement which results will likely reflect market value and commercially reasonable terms and conditions. When you loan money to your son or daughter, you may be inclined to provide much more favorable terms and conditions. The first example would be considered to be an Arm's Length Relationship, while the second example would not. When your corporation does business with or makes loans to corporate officers and directors, the relationship must be at Arm's Length to avoid conflicts of interest.

Armada:

Military: a large number of ships or aircraft.

A large group of moving things.

Armageddon:

Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.

Arms Race:

Military: the continuing competitive attempt by two or more nations each to have available to it more and more powerful weapons than the other(s).

Aroma:

A quality that can be perceived by the olfactory sense.

A pleasant characteristic odor, as of a plant, spice, or food.

A distinctive, intangible quality; an aura.

Arpeggio:

A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.

An Arpeggio is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played or sung in a rising or descending order. An Arpeggio may also span more than one octave.

ARPU:

Acronym for: Average revenue per user. A measure used primarily by consumer communications, digital media, and networking companies, defined as the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers. This term is used by companies that offer subscription services to clients for example, telephone carriers, Internet service providers, and hosts. It is a measure of the revenue generated by one customer phone, pager, etc., per unit time, typically per year or month. In mobile telephony, ARPU includes not only the revenues billed to the customer each month for usage, but also the revenue generated from incoming calls, payable within the regulatory interconnection regime.

Arrangement:

A provision or plan made in preparation for an undertaking; an agreement or settlement; a disposition.

Music: an adaptation of a composition for other instruments or voices or for another style of performance.

Arrears:

The making of a regular payment (of rent or interest, for example) after the period to which it relates.

Arrest:

The act of detaining in legal custody; the state of being so detained.

The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped.

Arriviste:

A person who has recently attained high position or great power but not general acceptance or respect; an upstart.

A social climber; a bounder.

Arrogant:

Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance.

Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one's superiority toward others.

Arrondissement:

The chief administrative subdivision of a department in France.

A municipal subdivision in some large French cities.

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis:

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek. The Latin quote is often rendered in English as Art is long, life is short.

Art:

Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities; this article focuses primarily on the visual arts, which includes the creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media.

Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.

The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.

A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts.

A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a set of activities.

Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation.

Read also: Involuntary Memory: Proust on Art.

Art Director:

Performing Arts: a person responsible for the sets and costumes in a film.

Art Deco:

A decorative and architectural style of the period 1925-1940, characterized by geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of plastic and glass.

Visit also: Art Deco - Wikipedia.

Arts Appliqués:

Les Arts Appliqués rassemblent sous une même banniére toutes les activités qui apportent un côté esthétique au quotidien. Ces arts sont pratiqués par des designers, qui ont en charge d'embellir ce qui entoure l'individu. Les arts appliqués sont rattachés.

Articles of Association (also Bye-Laws or By-Laws):

The set of rules by which a company is run. They must contain: 1) the company's name; 2) its registered address; 3) its objects and aims; 4) its capitalization; 5) a statement that the company is a limited liability organization.

The articles state, for instance, what percentage of the shareholders are required to vote in favour of major changes before they can be put into effect. Such changes frequently require more than a simple majority. The articles of association are lodged with the relevant authority at the time when a company is first registered. As such, they become a part of the public record.

Articles of Incorporation:

Must contain: 1) the corporation’s name; 2) its registered address; 3) its objects and aims; 4) its capitalisation; 5) a statement that the company is a limited liability organization.

Artifact:

An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

Something viewed as a product of human conception or agency rather than an inherent element.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI):

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the representation of generalized human cognitive abilities in software so that, faced with an unfamiliar task, the AGI system could find a solution. The intention of an AGI system is to perform any task that a human being is capable of.

Definitions of AGI vary because experts from different fields define human intelligence from different perspectives. Computer scientists often define human intelligence in terms of being able to achieve goals. Psychologists, on the other hand, often define general intelligence in terms of adaptability or survival.

AGI is considered to be strong artificial intelligence (AI). Strong AI contrasts with weak or narrow AI, which is the application of artificial intelligence to specific tasks or problems. IBM's Watson supercomputer, expert systems and self-driving cars are examples of narrow AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Major AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents," where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success. John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1956, defines it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines."

Artisan:

A skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft.

Artistic License:

The liberty taken by an artist or a writer in deviating from conventional form or fact to achieve a desired effect.

Arty-Farty:

Informal: artistic in a pretentious way.

Arx (Roman):

Arx is a Latin word meaning "citadel".

As Is:

As Is is a legal term used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. Certain types of implied warranties must be specifically disclaimed, such as the implied warranty of title. "As Is" denotes that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying an item in whatever condition it presently exists, and that the buyer is accepting the item "with all faults", whether or not immediately apparent. This is the classic "buyer beware" situation, where the careful buyer should take the time to examine the item before accepting it, or obtain expert advice.

As You Were:

Informal command to continue what you were doing or to indicate a correction to a previous order or comment.

A command from a superior to resume doing whatever you were doing before the superior interrupted you.

As the Crow Flies:

In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.

ASAP:

Short for: As Soon As Possible.

Ash Wednesday:

The seventh Wednesday before Easter and the first day of Lent, on which many Christians receive a mark of ashes on the forehead as a token of penitence and mortality.

Ashram:

A usually secluded residence of a religious community and its guru.

Ask Me Anything (AMA):

r/IAmA is a subreddit for question-and-answer interactive interviews termed "AMA" (short for "Ask Me Anything"). AMA interviewees have ranged from various celebrities to everyday people in several lines of work. Founded in May 2009, the subreddit has gone on to become one of Reddit's most popular communities.

ASP:

Active Server Pages (ASP), also known as Classic ASP or ASP Classic, was Microsoft's first server-side script engine for dynamically generated web pages.

See also: PHP.

Asperger Syndrome:

Asperger Syndrome or Asperger's Syndrome or Asperger Disorder is an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

Aspirate:

Linguistics: the speech sound represented by English h; the puff of air accompanying the release of a stop consonant.

Aspiration:

A will to succeed.

Assalamu Alaikum:

An Arabic spoken greeting used whenever people meet; the response is: wa alaikum assalam.

Assemblage (art):

Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects. In literature, Assemblage refers to a text "built primarily and explicitly from existing texts in order to solve a writing or communication problem in a new context".

Assembly Line:

Mechanical system in a factory whereby an article is conveyed through sites at which successive operations are performed on it.

A process in which finished products are turned out in a mechanically efficient, though impersonal, manner.

Asset:

Something that a company or individual owns to which can be ascribed a value, from plant to patents, and from property to products.

Asset Management:

The business of managing assets to make them produce maximum revenue over the longer term. The expression is generally used in the context of financial assets.

Asset Protection Trust (APT):

A new type of trust which places the trust’s assets beyond the reach of potential foreign governments, litigious plaintiffs, creditors and contingent fee lawyers.

Asset Stripping:

A process in which a company or an individual buys an asset (frequently a quoted company) and then proceeds to sell it bit by bit. Asset stripping is most common when the stockmarket's valuation of the whole of a business is less than the sum of its parts.

Assign:

To record the transfer of the ownerships of an asset from one person to another. Some contracts impose restrictions on the assignment of their benefits and obligations.

Assignment:

A duty that you are assigned to perform.

Assimilation:

The social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another.

Associate:

A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or colleague.

Company A is an Associated company of company B if more than 20%, but less than 50%, of its equity is owned by company B. Associated companies have to be consolidated into the accounts of the company that owns the equity stake only if that company also controls the composition of the board of the Associated company.

Association:

An organized body of people who have an interest, activity, or purpose in common; a society.

A mental connection or relation between thoughts, feelings, ideas, or sensations.

"Assume the Position":

To tell someone to get down on all fours (hands and knees); doggie style.

Law Enforcement: to turn away, with your hands in a visible and unmovable position so that you can be searched.

Austerity Policy:

In economics, Austerity is a set of policies with the aim of reducing government budget deficits. Austerity policies may include spending cuts, tax increases, or a mixture of both. Austerity may be undertaken to demonstrate the government's fiscal discipline to their creditors and credit rating agencies by bringing revenues closer to expenditures. In most macroeconomic models, austerity policies generally increase unemployment in the short run. This increases safety net spending and reduces tax revenues, partially offsetting the austerity measures. Government spending contributes to gross domestic product (GDP), so reducing spending may result in a higher debt-to-GDP ratio, a key measure of the debt burden carried by a country and its citizens. Higher short-term deficit spending (stimulus) contributes to GDP growth particularly when consumers and businesses are unwilling or unable to spend. This is because crowding out (i.e., rising interest rates as government bids against business for a finite amount of savings, slowing the economy) is less of a factor in a downturn, as there may be a surplus of savings.

Astrology:

The study of the positions and aspects of celestial bodies in the belief that they have an influence on the course of natural earthly occurrences and human affairs.

Astronaut:

A person trained to travel in a spacecraft. The Russians calls their Astronauts cosmonauts. The Chinese: yuhangyan.

Astronomy:

The scientific study of matter in outer space, especially the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial bodies and phenomena.

A system of knowledge or beliefs about celestial phenomena.

Astroturfing:

Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message (e.g. political, advertising, or public relations) to give the appearance of it coming from a disinterested, grassroots participant. Astroturfing is intended to give the statements the credibility of an independent entity by withholding information about the source's financial connection. The term Astroturfing is a derivation of AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.

On the Internet, Astroturfers use software to mask their identity. Sometimes one individual operates over many personas to give the impression of widespread support for their client's agenda. Some studies suggest Astroturfing can alter public viewpoints and create enough doubt to inhibit action.

At Sign:

The typographic character @, called the At Sign or At symbol, is an abbreviation of the word at. Its most common modern use is in e-mail addresses, where it stands for "located at". Increasingly, @ is also used as a prefix to user names (e.g. "@username") on social websites such as Twitter to denote a link, attribution or indirect reference.

Atavism:

The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.

The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

ATH:

Short for: All time high.

Atheism:

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, Atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Most inclusively, Atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.

See also: agnosticism.

Athleisure:

Athleisure is a trend in fashion in which clothing designed for athletic workouts at a gymnasium, sometimes termed activewear, is worn outside of the gym to go to the office or shopping or other social occasions (Wikipedia).

Athleisure is an industry term for athletic wear that can be worn away from the gym.

"Athleisure is bigger than is a trend, as evidenced by the people who wear yoga pants anywhere."

Read also: Kendall Jenner’s £2,000 tracksuit might actually inspire your airport style - The Telegraph.

Atlantis:

A legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar, said by Plato to have sunk beneath the sea during an earthquake.

ATM:

Short for: Automatic Teller Machine. Also: cash machine, cashpoint, cashline or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English.

Used for cash withdrawals with your credit card or debit card at over 2,200,000 ATMs worldwide.

Atmosphere:

The gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, and retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.

A dominant intellectual or emotional environment or attitude.

An aesthetic quality or effect, especially a distinctive and pleasing one, associated with a particular place.

Atoll:

An Atoll, sometimes called a coral Atoll, is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. The coral of the Atoll often sits atop the rim of an extinct seamount or volcano which has eroded or subsided partially beneath the water. The lagoon forms over the volcanic crater or caldera while the higher rim remains above water or at shallow depths that permit the coral to grow and form the reefs. For the Atoll to persist, continued erosion or subsidence must be at a rate slow enough to permit reef growth upwards and outwards to replace the lost height.

Atom:

The name Atom applies to a pair of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub or APP) is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources.

Web feeds allow software programs to check for updates published on a web site. To provide a web feed, a site owner may use specialized software (such as a content management system) that publishes a list (or "feed") of recent articles or content in a standardized, machine-readable format. The feed can then be downloaded by web sites that syndicate content from the feed, or by feed reader programs that allow Internet users to subscribe to feeds and view their content.

The Atom format was developed as an alternative to RSS.

Free RSS Reader displays any RSS and Atom news feed.

Physics: the smallest quantity of an element that can take part in a chemical reaction; this entity as a source of nuclear energy.

Atomic Number:

The number of protons in an atomic nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z.

Atrium (architecture):

In modern architecture, an Atrium (plural: Atria or Atriums) is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors. Atria are a popular design feature because they give their buildings "a feeling of space and light." Fire control is an important aspect of contemporary atrium design due to criticism that poorly designed atria could allow fire to spread to a building's upper stories more quickly.

Attaché Case:

A slim briefcase with flat, rigid sides, hinges, and usually a lock.

See also: briefcase.

Attachment (computing):

A file that arrives with an e-mail.

Attention Economy:

Attention Economics is an approach to the management of information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity, and applies economic theory to solve various information management problems. Put simply by Matthew Crawford, "Attention is a resource - a person has only so much of it."

Attention Deficit Disorder:

See: performance-enhancing drugs.

Attention Span:

The length of time you can concentrate on some idea or activity.

Attention Span is the amount of time a person can concentrate on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus one's attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one's goals.

Attitude:

The way a person views something or tends to behave towards it, often in an evaluative way.

Informal: a hostile manner.

Attorney-Client Privilege:

Attorney-Client Privilege is a legal concept that protects communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential.

The policy underlying this privilege is that of encouraging open and honest communication between clients and attorneys, which is thought to promote obedience to law and reduce the chance of illegal behavior, whether intentional or inadvertent. As such, the attorney-client privilege is considered as one of the strongest privileges available under law.

See also: client confidentiality.

Au Courant:

Informed on current affairs; up-to-date; fully familiar; knowledgeable.

Au Fait:

From French, literally: to the fact, to the point.

Au Naturel:

In the natural state; naked.

Cooked or served simply.

Au Pair:

A young foreigner who does domestic work for a family in exchange for room and board and a chance to learn the family's language.

Auction:

A public sale in which property or items of merchandise are sold to the highest bidder.

Audience:

The spectators or listeners assembled at a performance, for example, or attracted by a radio or television program.

The act of hearing or attending.

Audio:

Of or relating to humanly audible sound.

Of or relating to the broadcasting, reproduction, or reception of sound.

Audit:

The regular and systematic process of checking that a company's accounts are true and fair. The Audit is carried out by an independent accountant from a firm that has an arm's length relationship with the company whose accounts it is auditing. The word comes from the Latin auditus, meaning hearing. In olden times it referred to the hearing that landowners gave to the manager of their land (urban or agricultural), while the manager accounted for his stewardship.

Audition:

A trial performance, as by an actor, dancer, or musician, to demonstrate suitability or skill.

Auditorium:

A large room to accommodate an audience in a building such as a school or theater.

A large building for public meetings or performances.

Auditors:

The last body needed in connection with a corporation: required to inspect the company’s bookkeeping and verify the correctness of annual accounts. Usually not employees or directors of the corporation but an outside firm.

Augmented Reality:

Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

Augsburg Contract:

The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (the predecessor of Ferdinand I) and the Schmalkaldic League, signed on 25 September 1555 at the imperial city of Augsburg. It officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christendom permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official confession of their state. Calvinism was not allowed until the Peace of Westphalia.

AUKUS:

AUKUS is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, announced on 15 September 2021. Under the pact, the US and the UK agree to help Australia to develop and deploy nuclear-powered submarines, adding to the Western military presence in the Pacific region. Although the joint announcement by Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, British prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Joe Biden did not mention any other country by name, anonymous White House sources have alleged it is designed to counter the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. However, Johnson later told parliament that the move was not intended to be adversarial toward China.

Aunt Sally:

Aunt Sally is a traditional English game usually played in pub gardens and fairgrounds that dates back to the 17th Century in which players throw sticks or battens at a model of an old woman's head. Leagues of pub teams, each consisting of eight players, still play the game today, throughout the spring and summer months, mainly in Oxfordshire and some bordering counties.

Aura:

An invisible breath, emanation, or radiation.

A distinctive but intangible quality that seems to surround a person or thing; atmosphere.

Aureole:

A circle of light or radiance surrounding the head or body of a representation of a deity or holy person; a halo.

AUSCANNZUKUS:

AUSCANNZUKUS is a naval Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) interoperability organization involving the Anglosphere nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The acronym is also used as security caveat in the UKUSA Community, where it is also known as "Five Eyes".

Aussensteuergesetz:

Anti-avoidance German law whereby German citizens remain subject to the principal German taxes for a period of ten years if they emigrate to a country designated in the legislation (as from time to time amended) as a low tax country.

Aut Caesar Aut Nihil:

Latin: Either Caesar or nothing.

Autarchism:

Autarchism is a political philosophy that promotes the principles of individualism, the moral ideology of individual liberty and self-reliance. It rejects compulsory government, and supports the elimination of government in favor of ruling oneself with the exclusion of others.

Autarky:

Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states and their economic systems.

Proponents of autarky have argued for national self-sufficiency to reduce foreign economic, political and cultural influences, as well as to promote international peace. Economists are generally supportive of free trade. There is a broad consensus among economists that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth and economic stability.

Auteur:

A filmmaker, usually a director, who exercises creative control over his or her works and has a strong personal style.

Authentic:

Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief.

Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied.

Authentication:

Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity. This might involve confirming the identity of a person or software program, tracing the origins of an artifact, or ensuring that a product is what its packaging and labeling claims to be. Authentication often involves verifying the validity of at least one form of identification.

Authority:

The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.

Power assigned to another; authorization.

An accepted source of expert information or advice.

A conclusive statement or decision that may be taken as a guide or precedent.

Authorized:

The shares that a company is legally permitted to issue under its articles of association. A company may issue fewer shares if it wishes, but it may not issue more without first changing its articles.

Autism:

A pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, by an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and often by the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviors.

Auto-Da-Fé:

A judgment of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal condemning or acquitting persons accused of religious offenses; the burning to death of heretics (as during the Spanish Inquisition).

Autodidact:

A self-taught person.

Auto(matic) Pilot:

A navigation mechanism, as on an aircraft, that automatically maintains a preset course.

A state of mind in which one acts without deliberate effort or self-awareness.

Autocracy:

An Autocracy is a form of government in which one person possesses unlimited power.

Automatic Identification System (AIS):

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transponders on ships and is used by vessel traffic services (VTS). When satellites are used to detect AIS signatures, the term Satellite-AIS (S-AIS) is used. AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the primary method of collision avoidance for water transport.

Automaton:

An Automaton is a self-operating machine, or a machine or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a predetermined sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.

Automotive:

Moving by means of its own power; self-moving.

Of or having to do with automobiles or other motor vehicles.

Autonomous:

Not controlled by others or by outside forces; independent.

Independent in mind or judgment; self-directed.

Independent of the laws of another state or government; self-governing.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response | ASMR:

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a euphoric experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. It has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson.

ASMR signifies the subjective experience of "low-grade euphoria" characterized by "a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin". It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control.

Read also: What Is ASMR and Why Are People Watching These Videos? - "ASMR videos are very popular and may help some people with insomnia.", How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation - "The brain-tingling feeling was a hard-to-describe psychological oddity. Until, suddenly, it was a YouTube phenomenon." & Good vibrations: tapping in to the benefits of ASMR - "ASMR, the euphoric tingling certain sounds provoke, has created online superstars with millions of followers. Is it just a weird fad, or could it help people with anxiety and depression?"

Autopilot:

A navigational device that automatically keeps ships or planes or spacecraft on a steady course.

A cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness.

Autostereoscopic:

Autostereoscopy is a method of displaying three-dimensional images that can be viewed without the use of special headgear or glasses on the part of the user.

Autotroll:

Autotroll is when someone starts arguing about something that everyone else knows was clearly meant as a joke and not serious OR a troll (disguised as serious to incite a reaction), effectively trolling themselves by being stupid and overly literal.

AV:

The term Audio-Visual (AV) may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or the equipment involved in presenting such works. Movies and television shows are examples of audio-visual presentations.

Avantgarde:

A group active in the invention and application of new techniques in a given field, especially in the arts.

Avatar:

The incarnation of a Hindu deity, especially Vishnu, in human or animal form.

An embodiment, as of a quality or concept; an archetype.

A temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity.

For the film, see: Avatar - official movie web site.

Avoirdupois:

The Avoirdupois system is a system of weights (or, properly, mass) based on a pound of 16 ounces.

Award:

Something Awarded or granted, as for merit.

A decision, such as one made by a judge or arbitrator.

Awareness:

Having knowledge or cognizance.

Awareness Ribbon:

Visit: awareness ribbon - (Wikipedia).

AWACS:

Short for: Airborne Warning and Control System.

AWOL:

To take unauthorized time off from work, school, or other duties: “Let's go AWOL and catch a baseball game this afternoon.” AWOL is an acronym for “Absent WithOut Leave.” The term originated with the military during World War I.

Axiom:

A self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim.

An established rule, principle, or law.

A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate.

Axis Mundi:

The Axis Mundi (also cosmic axis, world axis, world pillar, center of the world, world tree), in certain beliefs and philosophies, is the world center, or the connection between Heaven and Earth. As the celestial pole and geographic pole, it expresses a point of connection between sky and earth where the four compass directions meet. At this point travel and correspondence is made between higher and lower realms. Communication from lower realms may ascend to higher ones and blessings from higher realms may descend to lower ones and be disseminated to all. The spot functions as the omphalos (navel), the world's point of beginning.

Ayatollah:

A high-ranking Shiite religious authority regarded as worthy of imitation in matters of religious law and interpretation.

Used as a title for such a leader.

A-Z:

All the facts or information about something; from start to finish; completely; thoroughly and in detail.

Azimuth:

An Azimuth is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. The vector from an observer (origin) to a point of interest is projected perpendicularly onto a reference plane; the angle between the projected vector and a reference vector on the reference plane is called the Azimuth.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- B -

B2B:

Business-to-Business (B2B) refers to a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when:

• A business is sourcing materials for their production process, e.g. a food manufacturer purchasing salt.
• A business needs the services of another for operational reasons, e.g. a food manufacturer employing an accountancy firm to audit their finances.
• A business re-sells goods and services produced by others, e.g. a retailer buying the end product from the food manufacturer.

Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G). B2B branding is a term used in marketing.

The overall volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving sub components or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction.

B Movie:

A B Movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture conceived neither as an arthouse film nor as pornography. In its original usage, during the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature.

Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon:

Frequency Illusion, also known as the Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon or frequency bias, is a cognitive bias referring to the tendency to notice something more often after noticing it for the first time, leading to the belief that it has an increased frequency of occurrence. The illusion is a result of increased awareness of a phrase, idea, or object - for example, hearing a song more often or seeing red cars everywhere.

The name "Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon" was coined in 1994 by Terry Mullen in a letter to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The letter describes how, after mentioning the name of the German terrorist group Baader-Meinhof once, he kept noticing it. This led to other readers sharing their own experiences of the phenomenon, leading it to gain recognition. It was not until 2005, when Stanford linguistics professor Arnold Zwicky wrote about this effect on his blog, that the name "Frequency Illusion" was coined.

Babushka Doll:

A matryoshka doll, also known as a Russian nested doll or a Babushka Doll, is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. The word "matryoshka" is derived from the Russian female first name "Matryona". The word "babushka" is the Russian word for grandmother.

Baby Blues:

The postpartum blues, maternity blues, or Baby Blues is a transient condition that 75-80% of mothers could experience shortly after childbirth with a wide variety of symptoms which generally involve mood lability, tearfulness, and some mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. Baby blues is not postpartum depression, unless it is abnormally severe.

Baby Boomers:

Baby Boomers is the name given to the generation of Americans who were born in a "baby boom" following World War II. The Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.

Baby Step:

A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.

Baby Step:

The Bacchanalia were Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They seem to have been popular, and well-organised, throughout the central and southern Italian peninsula. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome itself around 200 BC but like all mystery religions of the ancient world, very little is known of their rites.

Bachelor:

An unmarried man.

A person who has completed the undergraduate curriculum of a college or university and holds a bachelor's degree.

Bachelor's Degree:

An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete the undergraduate curriculum.

Back End:

Required or incurred after a project has been completed.

Back in the Saddle:

Doing something you stopped doing for a period of time.

When you are back to doing what you do best. Or, when you are back home from a long trip.

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculation:

A Back-of-the-Envelope Calculation is a rough calculation, typically jotted down on any available scrap of paper such as the actual back of an envelope. It is more than a guess but less than an accurate calculation or mathematical proof. The defining characteristic of Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations is the use of simplified assumptions. A similar phrase is "back of a napkin", which is also used in the business world to describe sketching out a quick, rough idea of a business or product.

Back Office:

A business's behind-the-scenes operations. In financial institutions it is the people who sort out the paperwork; in manufacturing operations it is the people who make the paperwork.

Back Pay:

A salary of wage that is unpaid from a previous period. For weekly paid workers it is pay due from the week before last; for monthly paid workers it is pay due for work done in the month before last.

Back-to-Back:

An importer that wishes to establish its creditworthiness with an exporter from another country can set up a bank account in the exporter's country and place funds in that account. Such funds act as collateral for goods that the importer subsequently buys from the exporter. They are referred to as a back-to-back facility.

Back-to-Back Loan:

Back-to-Back Loans are matching deposit arrangements. They may be used in order to solve a financing or exchange control problem. However, in the case of certain tax havens, the function of back-to-back loans is to reduce the taxable base subject to withholding taxes on interest payments, by interposing an intermediary subsidiary company between the source of the income and the recipient. For example, an intermediary company located in the Netherlands or the Netherlands Antilles may be interposed so as to take advantage of a favourable tax treaty. In such cases the authorities usually require a certain spread or "turn" on the rates so as to create a small profit which is subject to tax locally.

Back to the Drawing Board:

Back to the Drawing Board return to an earlier stage in an enterprise because a planned undertaking has failed.

Back Yard:

A yard at the rear of a house.

(In one's own back yard): close at hand; involving or implicating one.

Backbencher:

Chiefly British: the rear benches in the House of Commons where junior members of Parliament sit behind government officeholders and their counterparts in the opposition party.

New members of Congress considered as a group.

Backburn:

Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Forestry: to clear (an area of scrub, bush, etc.) by creating a new fire that burns in the opposite direction to the line of advancing fire.

Backcountry Skiing:

See: off-piste.

Backdoor:

Secret or surreptitious; clandestine.

Backer:

A person who gives financial or other support.

Backfire:

An explosion of prematurely ignited fuel or of unburned exhaust gases in an internal-combustion engine.

To produce an unexpected, undesired result.

Backloading:

(Transport): the transportation of cargo or shipment on a return trip, using the space already paid for and used for the outward leg.

Backlog:

A reserve supply or source.

An accumulation, especially of unfinished work or unfilled orders.

Backpacking:

Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used interchangeably with Backpacking. The factors that traditionally differentiate Backpacking from other forms of tourism include but are not limited to the following: use of public transport as a means of travel, preference of youth hostels to traditional hotels, length of the trip vs. conventional vacations, use of a backpack, an interest in meeting the locals as well as seeing the sights.

The definition of a Backpacker has evolved as travelers from different cultures and regions participate and will continue to do so, preventing an air-tight definition. Recent research has found that, "...Backpackers constituted a heterogeneous group with respect to the diversity of rationales and meanings attached to their travel experiences. ...They also displayed a common commitment to a non-institutionalised form of travel, which was central to their self-identification as Backpackers." Backpacking as a lifestyle and as a business has grown considerably in the 2000s as the commonplace of low-cost airlines, hostels or budget accommodation in many parts of the world, and digital communication and resources make planning, executing, and continuing a long-term Backpacking trip easier than ever before.

Backronym:

A Backronym or bacronym is a specially constructed phrase that is supposed to be the source of a word that is, or is claimed to be, an acronym. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology.

The word is a combination of backward and acronym, and has been defined as a "reverse acronym". Its earliest known citation in print is as "Bacronym" in the November 1983 edition of the Washington Post monthly neologism contest. The newspaper quoted winning reader Meredith G. Williams of Potomac defining it as the "same as an acronym, except that the words were chosen to fit the letters".

Backstage:

In or toward the area behind the performing space in a theater, especially the area comprising the dressing rooms.

In secret; privately; out of view of the public; behind the scenes.

Backup:

A reserve or substitute.

Computer Science: A copy of a program or file that is stored separately from the original.

Support or backing.

Backup Singer:

Backup Singer or sometimes background singer) is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. In some cases, a backing singer may sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry.

Bad Apple:

(Idiomatic): a person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.

Bad Boy:

A man who does not conform to approved standards of behaviour, especially in a particular sphere of activity.

The Bad Boy is a cultural archetype that is variously defined, and is often used synonymously with the historic terms rake or cad: a male who behaves badly, especially within societal norms.

Bad Debt:

A bill of loan that is not paid within a reasonable period of time after its due-by date. Such late payments are described as doubtful debts for a while, but eventually they become bad debts. When that happens they have to be written off in the business' accounts.

Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi):

In the philosophy of existentialism, Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi) is the psychological phenomenon whereby individuals act inauthentically, by yielding to the external pressures of society to adopt false values and disown their innate freedom as sentient human beings. Bad Faith also derives from the related concepts of self-deception and ressentiment.

Bad Standing:

You screwed up bigtime so you are a goof in the eyes of the other members (in a motorcycle club).

See also: good standing.

Badge:

A device or emblem worn as an insignia of rank, office, or membership in an organization.

An emblem given as an award or honor.

Bag-in-Box:

In packaging, a Bag-in-Box or BiB is a type of container for the storage and transportation of liquids.

Bailiwick:

A Bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of authority, experience, activity, study, or interest.

Baisemain:

Historical: in feudalism, homage which the vassal used to give to the fief seigneur, by kissing him his hand.

Polite manner to greet or leave a lady, by kissing her her hand, hand-kissing.

See also: la bise.

Baize:

Baize is a coarse woollen (or in cheaper variants cotton) cloth, sometimes called "felt" in American English based on a similarity in appearance.

Baize is most often used on snooker and billiards tables to cover the slate and cushions.

Bake-Off:

A cooking contest, especially one where competition is head-to-head, not limited to preparing food involving baking.

A service mark used for a contest in which cooks prepare their own recipes, usually of baked goods, and prizes are awarded for originality and taste. This service mark sometimes occurs in lowercase with the meaning "any contest among cooks."

Informal: a contest between companies to win a contract.

Baker's Dozen:

A Baker's Dozen, devil's dozen, long dozen, or long measure is 13, one more than a standard dozen. The practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was insurance against the items being lower than the statutory weight, or of lower than usual quality, which could cause the baker to be fined.

In the late 16th century a Baker's Dozen referred to a batch made in which the customer was given a dozen and the last one constituted the baker's profit.

According to the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, by Captain Grose, "a Baker's Dozen is Thirteen; that number of rolls being allowed to the purchaser of a dozen".

The broadest use of Bakers Dozen today is simply a group of thirteen objects (often baked goods). A recent custom has emerged in which a Baker's Dozen refers to a dozen plus one (either for the baker to taste/enjoy or a bonus/spare).

Bakshish:

A relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter).

A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.

Bal Musette:

Bal Musette is a style of French music and dance that first became popular in Paris in the 1880s.

Balabusta:

Balabusta is a Yiddish expression describing a good homemaker among Ashkenazi Jews.

Balaclava:

A close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck except for parts of the face, typically made of wool.

Balance:

The difference between the credit and debit items in an account. If the credit items exceed the debit ones, the account is said to have a credit balance. If they do not, the account is said to be overdrawn.

Balance of Payments:

The record of a country's transactions with the rest of the world. The current account of the balance of payments consists of visible trade in goods; invisible trade in services; private transfer payments, such as money sent home by nationals working abroad; and official transfers, such as payments to international organisations. The capital account consists of long-term and short-term transactions relation to a country's assets and liabilities (for example, loans and borrowings). Adding the current to the capital account gives the overall balance, which should be matched by net monetary movements and changes in reserves. In practice, the data recorded never add up as they should in theory, and the gap is filled by an item called "errors and omissions".

Balance of Power (international relations):

The Balance of Power theory in international relations suggests that national security is enhanced when military capability is distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others. If one state becomes much stronger than others, the theory predicts that it will take advantage of its strength and attack weaker neighbors, thereby providing an incentive for those threatened to unite in a defensive coalition. Some realists maintain that this would be more stable as aggression would appear unattractive and would be averted if there was equilibrium of power between the rival coalitions.

When confronted by a significant external threat, states that look to form alliances may "balance" or "bandwagon". Balancing is defined as allying with others against the prevailing threat, while states that have bandwagoned have aligned with the threat. States may also employ other alliance tactics, such as buck-passing and chain-ganging. There is a longstanding debate among realists with regard to how the polarity of a system impacts on which tactic states use, however, it is generally agreed that balancing is more efficient in bipolar systems as each great power has no choice but to directly confront the other. Along with debates between realists about the prevalence of balancing in alliance patterns, other schools of international relations, such as constructivists, are also critical of the balance of power theory, disputing core realist assumptions regarding the international system and the behavior of states.

Balance of Trade:

A statement of a country's trading account with the rest of the world. This covers the import and export of goods and services.

Balance Sheet:

The part of a company's accounts which lists its assets and liabilities. Fundamental to all such accounts is the idea that assets and liabilities are in balance, that is, they are equal. The Balance Sheet is, of course, a snapshot of a company's position. A short time after it is compiled that position can, and sometimes does, change significantly.

Balconing:

Jumping from a balcony to a pool below. Or missing...

Balkanization:

Balkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or uncooperative with one another.

Ball (dance):

A Ball is a formal dance. Attendees wear evening attire, which is specified on the invitation as black tie or white tie. Social dance forms a large part of the evening; actual ballroom dancing may or may not occur.

Ballad:

A narrative song with a recurrent refrain; a narrative poem of popular origin.

Ballistic Standards:

Visit: International small arms ballistic standards.

Ballistic Vest:

A Ballistic Vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of protective clothing that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso. Soft vests are made from many layers of woven or laminated fibers and can be capable of protecting the wearer from small caliber handgun and shotgun projectiles, and small fragments from explosives such as hand grenades.

Metal or ceramic plates can be used with a soft vest, providing additional protection from rifle rounds, and metallic components or tightly-woven fiber layers can give soft armor resistance to stab and slash attacks from a knife. Soft vests are commonly worn by police forces, private citizens and private security guards or bodyguards, whereas hard-plate reinforced vests are mainly worn by combat soldiers, police tactical units and hostage rescue teams.

Modern body armor may combine a Ballistic Vest with other items of protective clothing, such as a helmet. Vests intended for police and military use may also include ballistic shoulder and side protection armor components, and bomb disposal officers wear heavy armor and helmets with face visors and spine protection.

Balloon Payment:

The final payment on a loan that is being repaid in instalments. A Balloon Payment exceeds by some considerable amount the preceding payments. The repayments balloon as the maturity of the loan draws nigh.

Ballot:

The act, process, or method of voting, especially in secret.

A list of candidates running for office; a ticket.

Ballpark:

A park or stadium in which ball games are played.

Slang: the approximately proper range, as of possibilities or alternatives.

Ballroom Dance:

Ballroom Dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, Ballroom Dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television.

Ballyhoo:

Sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity.

Noisy shouting or uproar.

Balthazar:

A 12-litre champagne or wine bottle.

Balustrade:

A railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling.

Bamboccione:

(Informal): a bachelor who lives with his parents.

Bamboo Curtain:

The Bamboo Curtain was a euphemism for a political and ideological barrier between the West and the Communist states of East Asia after the Chinese revolution of 1949.

See also: iron curtain

BAME:

Short for: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic: a term used to refer to people who are not white.

Ban:

A prohibition imposed by law or official decree.

Banana Republic:

A small country (especially in Central America) that is politically unstable and whose economy is dominated by foreign companies and depends on a single export commodity (such as bananas), and is typically governed by a dictator or the armed forces.

Banburismus:

Banburismus was a cryptanalytic process developed by Alan Turing at Bletchley Park in England during the Second World War. It was used by Bletchley Park's Hut 8 to help break German Kriegsmarine (naval) messages enciphered on Enigma machines. The process used sequential conditional probability to infer information about the likely settings of the Enigma machine. It gave rise to Turing's invention of the ban as a measure of the weight of evidence in favour of a hypothesis. This concept was later applied in Turingery and all the other methods used for breaking the Lorenz cipher.

Band (music):

A group of musicians playing together, especially on brass or percussion instruments.

Bandana:

A large handkerchief usually figured and brightly colored, often used as a neckerchief.

Banderole:

A narrow forked flag or streamer attached to a staff or lance or flown from a ship's masthead.

A representation of a ribbon or scroll bearing an inscription.

Bandwagon:

Informal: a cause or party that attracts increasing numbers of adherents.

Informal: a current trend.

Bandwidth:

Measure (in kilobytes of data transferred) of the traffic on a website.

Bang for the Buck:

Bang for the Buck is an idiom meaning the worth of one's money or exertion. The phrase originated from the slang usage of the words "bang" which means "excitement" and "buck" which means "money". Variations of the term include "Bang for your Buck," "Bang for one's Buck," "more Bang for the Buck," "bigger Bang for the Buck," and mixings of these. "More Bang for the Buck" was preceded by "more bounce to the ounce", an advertising slogan used in 1950 to market the carbonated soft drink Pepsi.

Bang Up:

Excellent; very good.

Bank:

A financial institution that carries out three basic functions:

Collects deposits from savers.

Makes loans to borrowers.

Enables money to be transmitted from one bank account to another by means of cheques, standing orders, direct debits, and so on.

There are a number of specialised banks that carry out particular functions. For example, a central bank acts as banker of last resort to the banking system; and investment bank acts as banker of last resort to the banking system; an investment bank is concerned with advising companies on how to raise money in the capital market; and a clearing bank is the core of a country's money transmission system.

Bank Charges:

The fees charged by banks for their services, such as money transmission (claring cheques and so on), currency conversion and arranging loans.

Bank Draft:

An order from a seller (or exporter) requesting the bank of the buyer (or importer) to pay to the seller a specified amount. A sight draft is payable on presentation; a time draft is payable at a named future date. A bank draft is also known as a bill of exchange.

Bank Secrecy:

In most countries one of the terms of the relationship between banker and customer is that the banker will keep the customer’s affairs secret. Staff members are normally required to sign a declaration of secrecy as regards the business of the banks.

Where numbered accounts are used their purpose is to limit the number of persons who know the identity of the client. In certain countries (e.g. Switzerland and the Cayman Islands) specific legislation makes breaches of Bank Secrecy subject to criminal law sanctions. However, in all legal systems (including Switzerland) there are specific cases where the duty of secrecy of a banker is discharged, e.g. where fraud, money laundering and narcotics are involved.

The exchange of information clause contained in most tax treaties may enable the tax administration of one treaty country to obtain information concerning bank accounts which its residents have in the other country.

Bankable:

A Bankable star is an actor famous or charismatic enough to be "capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie".

In that "stars" are celebrities, Bankable stars are people that are thought dependable entertainment investments. Stars become less Bankable by being controversial, doing illegal activities, becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol, or simply growing older.

Banking:

A considerable volume of international Banking takes place offshore and many of the world’s major banks have Banking and trust company operations in one or more tax havens.

Most tax haven jurisdictions have enacted legislative provisions and set up administrative authorities whose function it is to control Banking and trust company activities.

Banking Passport:

A Banking Passport is simply that you create a "new person" with another nationality and a full set of ID, a separate "legal entity" through a second passport (or third) in a name of your choice.

Bankroll:

Informal: one's ready cash.

Bankruptcy:

Being formally declared by a court unable to repay debts. A person who has been declared Bankrupt is deprived of certain powers; for example, he or she cannot be a director of a company for a number of years. A Bankrupt's assets are taken over by a trustee who distributes them among the unpaid creditors.

Bankster:

A portmanteau or blend word derived from combining "banker" and "gangster." Usually referred to in the plural form "Banksters" to refer to a predatory element within the financial services industry, such as those offering "too good to be true" adjustable mortgage rates for home buyers.

Judge Ferdinand Pecora has been credited with coining the term Bankster. In June 1933, his image appeared on the cover of Time magazine, seated at a US Senate table, a cigar in his mouth. Pecora’s hearings were said to have coined a new phrase, “Banksters” for the finance “gangsters.” However, the word, with the same meaning, had appeared in the U.S. press at least a year and a half previous to that.

Banner:

A piece of cloth attached to a staff and used as a standard by a monarch, military commander, or knight.

The flag of a nation, state, or army.

A piece of cloth bearing a motto or legend, as of a club.

A headline spanning the width of a newspaper page.

Banner Ad:

A Banner Advertising a product.

An advert along the top of a page of a website.

Banquet:

An elaborate, sumptuous repast.

A ceremonial dinner honoring a particular guest or occasion.

Banshee:

A Banshee Modern Irish bean sí, baintsí, from Old Irish: ben síde, baintsíde, "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish mythology who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as síde (singular síd) in Old Irish.

Banzai:

A Japanese battle cry or patriotic cheer of enthusiasm or triumph, or salutation.

Japanese: (may you live) ten thousand years : ban, ten thousand (from Middle Chinese muanh, uan) + zai, year (from Middle Chinese swiajh, suaj).

Baofahu:

A Chinese colloquial term literally translated as 'explosive wealth'. Upstarts, people who have got rich quick.

See also: nouveaux riches.

Baptism by Fire:

A phrase originating from Europe that describes an employee that is learning something the hard way, like being immersed in their field of employment. Baptism by Fire has its roots in battle terminology, describing a soldier's first time in battle.

Baptism by Fire is used when the best way for someone to be trained is for that person to experience the actual situations rather than to just study those situations. Jobs that require Baptism by Fire may include: police officers, firemen, military personnel, etc.

In the King James version of the Holy Bible, in Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist states, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire".

Bar:

A retail establishment that serves alcoholic beverages.

The counter from which drinks are dispensed.

An ingot or gold bar.

Chocolate bar or candy bar.

Bar examination (law).

A unit of pressure equal to one million dynes per square centimeter.

Bar Chart:

A diagram consisting of a number of vertical bars placed next to each other. For example, a chart showing the number of cars sold by a dealer each month might have the number of cars plotted along the vertical axis and the months of the year along the horizontal axis.

Bar Code:

A rectangle of vertical black lines of varying thickness displayed on the side of consumer goods. The lines are read by a laser beam which records electronically the product's details, such as its price, size, model number and so on.

Bar Mitzvah:

Judaism: Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are Jewish coming of age rituals. According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach 13 years of age, they become responsible for their actions.

Baraka:

In Islam, Barakah or Baraka is a kind of continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God.

Barathea:

Barathea, sometimes spelled barrathea, is a soft fabric, with a hopsack twill weave giving a surface that is lightly pebbled or ribbed. The yarns use cover various combinations of wool, silk and cotton. Worsted Barathea (made with a smooth wool yarn) is often used for evening coats, such as dress coats, dinner jackets, and military uniforms, in black and midnight blue. Silk Barathea, either all silk, or using cotton weft and silken warp, is widely used in the necktie industry.

Barbarian:

A member of a people considered by those of another nation or group to have a primitive civilization.

A fierce, brutal, or cruel person; an insensitive, uncultured person; a boor.

Barbie:

(Trademark): a brand of doll representing a slim, shapely young woman, especially one with blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.

(Noun): also called Barbie doll. A person, especially a young woman, perceived as blandly attractive and vacuous.

(Slang): barbecue.

Barbiecore:

Barbiecore is a girly aesthetic inspired by Mattel fashion doll Barbie. Barbiecore is the more kid-friendly version of its more adult, jaded sister Bubblegum Bitch.

The aesthetic also includes more "girly" 2000s television series like Lizzie McGuire and Hannah Montana, which focused on middle class American families. These shows encouraged confidence, female friendships, and girl power. Other products produced for tweens and teens in the early 2000s, like LipSmacker, are also part of the aesthetic.

Imagery from a more upper-class lifestyle created by the Barbie toy line and movies, which includes multiple cars, a private jet, huge house, multiple pets including horses, and a yacht, is also found in this aesthetic, especially when the items are pink.

Read also: What Is Barbiecore? Everything to Know About the Viral Fashion Trend Inspired by Barbie - "From when the trend took off to what exactly the wardrobe entails, here's everything to know about the Barbiecore craze."

Bard:

One of an ancient Celtic order of minstrel poets who composed and recited verses celebrating the legendary exploits of chieftains and heroes.

A poet, especially a lyric poet.

Bargain:

A Bargain is a deal done at a price below the acknowledged market price.

Used as a verb: it refers to the process whereby a buyer and a seller reach agreement on a price.

Barista:

In English, Barista is a name applied to a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. The word is borrowed from Italian, where it has a wider meaning of "bartender". The term persists in American coffeehouse jargon, with many employers such as Starbucks officially utilizing the title for such employees. Often, among coffee enthusiasts, the term is reserved for one who has acquired some level of expertise or particular skill in the preparation of such drinks. Within certain circles, its meaning is expanding to include what might be called a "coffee sommelier" - a professional who is highly skilled in coffee preparation with a comprehensive understanding of coffee, coffee blends, espresso, quality, coffee varieties, roast degree, espresso equipment and maintenance, latte art, etc.

Baron:

Baron is a title of honour, often hereditary. The female equivalent is baroness.

An important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area.

A cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.

Baroque:

A style of architecture and decorative art that flourished throughout Europe from the late 16th to the early 18th century, characterized by extensive ornamentation.

Barracks:

A building or group of buildings used to house military personnel; a large, unadorned building used for temporary occupancy. Often used in the plural.

Barracuda:

Any of a genus (Sphyraena of the family Sphyraenidae) of elongate predaceous often large bony fishes of warm seas that includes food and sport fishes as well as some forms frequently causing ciguatera poisoning.

One that uses aggressive, selfish, and sometimes unethical methods to obtain a goal especially in business.

Barrel:

Oil production is often given in numbers of barrels per day. One barrel = 159 litres, 0.159 cubic metres. In English the abbreviations bll (barrel) or stb (stock tank barrel) are often used. Barrels of oil equivalents Unit of volume for petroleum products. Used when oil, gas and NGL are to be summarised. Abbreviated BOE in English. Also see oil equivalents.

Barrel Roll:

Engineering / Aeronautics: a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft rolls about its longitudinal axis while following a spiral course in line with the direction of flight.

Barrier to Entry:

The obstacles that a company entering a market for the first time has to surmount to thrive in that market. These include things like a shortage of suitable sites (for retailing), the absence of economies of scale (for mass market goods), and government regulations that protect domestic producers (for imports).

Barrier to Exit:

The obstacles that prevent a company leaving a market when it no longer sees a prospect of making money in that market. These include things like the cost of laying off staff and of severing long-term supply contracts.

Barrio:

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning neighborhood.

Barrister:

A lawyer admitted to plead at the bar in the superior courts.

Barter:

Paying for goods and services with other goods and services: that is, transactions that do not involve and exchange of money. Barter can occur at a basic level (my eggs for your honey) and at a highly sophisticated level (Russian oil for American planes). The more sophisticated version is often referred to as countertrade.

Bartleby, the Scrivener:

"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856. A Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copy and any other task required of him, with the words "I would prefer not to".

Numerous essays have been published on what, according to scholar Robert Milder, "is unquestionably the masterpiece of the short fiction" in the Melville canon.

Base:

A basic or underlying element; infrastructure.

The fundamental principle or underlying concept of a system or theory; a basis.

A facial cosmetic used to even out the complexion or provide a surface for other makeup; a foundation.

Base Camp:

A place used as a temporary store for supplies and from which an activity, especially a mountaineering expedition, starts.

Base Period:

A time in the past used as a yardstick against which to compare future performance of, for example, a business or an economy. It is easy to see how an economy has grown, for example, if its GDP is related to a base period in which it was assumed to be 100 units.

Base Rate:

A declared rate of interest that is used in the UK as a reference point for other rates. Thus a bank might say that its lending rate to a customer is base rate plus three (percentage points).

Basejumping:

B.A.S.E. Jumping, also sometimes written as BASE Jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects. "B.A.S.E." is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridge), and Earth (cliff).

Bashert:

(In Jewish use): a person's soulmate, especially when considered as an ideal or predestined marriage partner.

Bashing (pejorative):

Bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, prejudicial attack on a person, group, or subject. Literally, Bashing is a term meaning to hit or assault, but when it is used as a suffix, or in conjunction with a noun indicating the subject being attacked, it is normally used to imply that the act is motivated by bigotry. The term is also used metaphorically, to describe verbal or critical assaults. Topics which attract bashing tend to be highly partisan and personally sensitive topics for the bashers, the victims, or both. Common areas include religion, nationality, sexuality, and politics.

Basilica:

A public building of ancient Rome having a central nave with an apse at one or both ends and two side aisles formed by rows of columns, which was used as a courtroom or assembly hall.

A Christian church building of a similar design, having a nave with a semicircular apse, two or four side aisles, a narthex, and a clerestory.

Basic:

An essential, fundamental element or entity.

Basic Tastes:

Bitterness; saltiness; sourness; sweetness and umami.

For a long period, it was commonly accepted that there is a finite and small number of "Basic Tastes" of which all seemingly complex tastes are ultimately composed. Just as with primary colors, the "basic" quality of those sensations derives chiefly from the nature of human perception, in this case the different sorts of tastes the human tongue can identify. Until the 2000s, the number of "basic" tastes was considered to be four (bitterness, saltiness, sourness, and sweetness). More recently, a fifth taste, "savory" or "umami", has been proposed by a large number of authorities associated with this field. In Asian countries within the sphere of mainly Chinese, Indian and Japanese cultural influence, Piquance has traditionally been considered a sixth Basic Taste.

Basis:

The fundamental principle; a foundation upon which something rests; the chief constituent; the fundamental ingredient.

Basis, a tax and accounting term, is the measuring rod against which gain or loss is measured. With stock, basis is what you pay for stock or the fair market value of property you contribute in exchange for the stock.

Basis Point:

The smallest unit in a measure of interest rates. Thus one basis point in 9.7% is 0.1; one basis point in 9.76% is 0.01.

Basket Case:

Slang: one that is in a completely hopeless or useless condition.

Bastard:

A child born out of wedlock.

Something that is of irregular, inferior, or dubious origin.

Slang: a person, especially one who is held to be mean or disagreeable.

Bathtub Memory:

The ability to acquire a vast amount of knowledge about a specific subject and then after its use to delete it from one's memory; e.g., especially useful for trial lawyers.

Batik:

Batik is cloth which traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Due to modern advances in the textile industry, the term has been extended to include fabrics which incorporate traditional batik patterns even if they are not produced using the wax-resist dyeing techniques. Silk batik is especially popular.

Baton:

Music: a slender wooden stick or rod used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or band.

Batman Effect:

The Batman Effect refers to the finding that children perform better on a challenging task if they pretend to be someone else, such as Batman, who would be good at the task.

Battle of Thermopylae:

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae ("The Hot Gates").

Bauhaus:

The architectural school of Walter Gropius, founded in Germany, 1919: it promoted a synthesis of painting, sculpture, and architecture, the adaptation of science and technology to architecture, and an emphasis on functionalism.

Bauta:

The Bauta is a mask, in the 18th century, together with a black cape called a "tabarro", the bauta had become a standardized society mask and disguise regulated by the Venetian government. It was obligatory to wear it at certain political decision-making events when all citizens were required to act anonymously as peers.

Bayou:

In usage in the United States, a Bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can be either an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or a marshy lake or wetland. The term Bayou can also refer to a creek whose current reverses daily due to tides and which contains brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are sometimes paved to help prevent flooding. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, notably the Mississippi River Delta, with the states of Louisiana and Texas being famous for them. A Bayou is frequently an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is moving much more slowly than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many Bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, American alligators, American crocodiles, herons, turtles, spoonbills, snakes, leeches, and many other species.

Bazaar:

A Bazaar is a permanently enclosed marketplace, or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold. Souq is another word used in the Middle East for an open-air marketplace or commercial quarter. The term Bazaar is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers, and craftsmen" who work in that area. Although the current meaning of the word is believed to have originated in native Zoroastrian Persia, its use has spread and now has been accepted into the vernacular in countries around the world. The rise of large Bazaars and stock trading centers in the Muslim World allowed the creation of new capitals and eventually new empires. New and wealthy cities such as Isfahan, Golconda, Samarkand, Cairo, Baghdad, and Timbuktu were founded along trade routes and Bazaars. Street markets is the European and North American equivalents.

B & B:

See: bed and breakfast.

BBB:

Short for: Bottle Blond Bimbo. The Bottle Blond Bimbo is a typical young female usually around 17 to 20+ years of age typically from the United States of America. The Bottle Blond Bimbo also known as Triple B or simply BBB for short, is a ditsy, lascivious, empty headed and all around cum dumpster that often casts normal women in a negative light.

BBL:

Short for: Brazilian Butt Lift.

Bcc:

Short for: Blind Carbon Copy. The field in an e-mail header that names additional recipients for the message. It is similar to carbon copy (cc), but the names do not appear in the recipient's message. Not all e-mail systems support the bcc feature.

BCI:

Short for: Brain-Computer Interface. A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain–machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a brain and an external device. BCIs were aimed at assisting, augmenting or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions.

Research on BCIs began in the 1970s at the University of California Los Angeles under a grant from the National Science Foundation followed by a contract from DARPA. These papers also mark the first appearance of the expression brain–computer interface in the scientific literature.

The field has since blossomed spectacularly, mostly toward neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, sight and movement. Thanks to the remarkable cortical plasticity of the brain, signals from implanted prostheses can, after adaptation, be handled by the brain like natural sensor or effector channels. Following years of animal experimentation, the first neuroprosthetic devices implanted in humans appeared in the mid-nineties.

BDSM:

BDSM is a compound acronym derived from the terms Bondage and Discipline (B&D, B/D, or BD), Dominance and Submission (D&s, D/s, or Ds), Sadism and Masochism (S&M, S/M, or SM).

BDSM includes a wide spectrum of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures. While not always overtly sexual in nature, the activities and relationships within a BDSM context are almost always eroticized by the participants in some fashion. Many of these practices fall outside of conventional sexual activities and human relationships.

Be Careful What You Wish For:

Used to tell people to think before they say that they want something and to suggest that they may not actually want it.

Be Like Bambi Caught in the Headlights:

To be so frightened or surprised that you cannot move or think.

Beacon:

A Beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location.

Beacons can also be combined with semaphoric or other indicators to provide important information, such as the status of an airport, by the colour and rotational pattern of its airport beacon, or of pending weather as indicated on a weather beacon mounted at the top of a tall building or similar site. When used in such fashion, beacons can be considered a form of optical telegraphy.

A source of guidance or inspiration.

The simplest way to think about Beacons is as a kind of indoor GPS. With the right app installed on your smartphone, Beacons can exchange data with the app on your phone, allowing the app to pinpoint your precise location, down to a few feet. While this in itself is innovative, Beacons have an additional function which is garnering a lot of attention. For the technology to work, you would need to install the relevant app on your smartphone. Then, as you walk past a corresponding Beacon, relevant content can be pushed to your smartphone and data can be shared from the phone via the app. This opens up considerable new opportunities in a range of settings.

"Beam me up, Scotty!":

"Beam me up, Scotty!" is a catch phrase that made its way into pop culture from the science fiction television series Star Trek. It comes from the command Captain Kirk gives his transporter chief, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, when he needs to transport back to the ship.

Bean Counter:

An unflattering name for an accountant. It implies that accountants spend their time sitting around counting beans - beans once having been used as a primitive form of money to store and exchange value.

A person, such as an accountant or financial officer, who is concerned with quantification, especially to the exclusion of other matters.

Someone who maintains and audits business accounts; an official of a bureaucracy.

Beanie:

A small brimless cap; a round close-fitting hat resembling a skullcap.

Beantown:

Colloquialism for the City of Boston, MA, U.S.A.: back in colonial days, a favorite Boston food was beans baked in molasses for several hours. Today, Boston baked beans are something of a rarity - there are no companies in the city making it and only a few restaurants serve it. If you want to try it yourself, here's a Boston baked beans recipe.

Bear:

An investor who thinks that the price of a security is going to fall. A Bear sells securities in the expectation of being able to buy them back in future at a lower price. Contrast with bull.

Bear Hug:

A rough, tight hug.

A wrestling hold in which the arms are locked tightly round an opponent's chest and arms.

An approach to the board of one company by another to indicate that an offer is to be made for their shares.

Beard (companion):

Beard is a slang term describing a person who is used, knowingly or unknowingly, as a date, romantic partner (boyfriend or girlfriend), or spouse either to conceal infidelity or to conceal one's sexual orientation. The American slang term originally referred to anyone who acted on behalf of another, in any transaction, to conceal a person's true identity.

Bearer Bond:

A Bond issued in Bearer form rather than being registered in a specific owner’s name. Ownership is d determined by possession.

Bearer Security:

A bond of share that gives the rights of ownership (such as voting rights or the right to receive dividends) to whoever holds (or bears) them. This is in contrast to registered securities, which belong to the person or organization in whose name they are registered.

Bearer Shares:

Shares in the capital of a company which are transferable by delivery of the certificate. They do not display a shareholder's name but instead grant ownership rigths to any individual who is in actual physical possession of the certificate(s) Unlike registered shares, which are transferred by an instrument of transfer and display the shareholder's name on the actual share certificate, the name of the holder is not registered in the books of the company.

Beat (music):

In music and music theory, the Beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse of the mensural level (or Beat level). In popular use, the Beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove. In modern pop music, the term "Beats" has been used to describe whole pieces of composed music. This is a distinct and separate use of the term from the way "Beat" is used traditionally as related only to the rhythmic element of music.

Beati:

Those who have undergone the process of beatification.

Beati Possidentes:

Latin: blessed [are] those who possess - meaning that possession is nine tenths of the law. The law favors the possessor, whereas anyone else must prove his claim.

Beatification:

Beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek makarios and Latin facere, make) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints). Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process. A person who is beatified is given the title "Blessed".

Beau:

A man who is the lover of a girl or young woman.

Beau Geste:

A gracious (but usually meaningless) gesture.

Beau Monde:

French: literally 'fine world'; fashionable society; the world of fashion and society.

Beauty:

The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality.

One that is beautiful, especially a beautiful woman.

A quality or feature that is most effective, gratifying, or telling.

Beautiful People:

Wealthy or famous people, often members of the "Jet Set", who mingle in glamorous social circles and who, because of their celebrity, often establish trends or fashions.

Becky Sharp (character):

Becky Sharp is the anti-heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's satirical novel Vanity Fair (1847–48). A cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men, Sharp is contrasted with the clinging, dependent heroine Amelia Sedley. She befriends Amelia at an expensive girls school where she is given a place because her father teaches there, and uses her as a stepping stone to gain social position. Sharp functions as a picara — a picaresque heroine — or by being a social outsider who is able to expose the manners of the upper gentry to ridicule. Her name ("sharp" having connotations of a "sharper" or con-man) and function suggest that Thackeray intended her to be unsympathetic, and yet she became one of his most popular creations.

Bed and Breakfast:

A Bed and Breakfast (or B & B) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Typically, Bed and Breakfasts are private homes with fewer than 10 bedrooms available for commercial use.

Bed Farce:

A Bedroom Farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, centered on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors. The bedroom farce is perhaps the most common form of farce.

The most famous Bedroom Farceur is probably Georges Feydeau, whose collections of coincidences, slamming doors, and ridiculous dialogue delighted Paris in the 1890s and are now considered forerunners to the Theatre of the Absurd.

Bedder:

The term "Bedder" is short for "bedmaker" and is a housekeeper in a college of the University of Cambridge and the University of Durham. The equivalent at the University of Oxford is known as a "scout". There is no equivalent at the majority of other universities.

Bedouin:

A member of a nomadic tribe of Arabs.

Bedsit:

A furnished sitting room containing sleeping accommodation and sometimes cooking and washing facilities.

Beef Wellington:

Beef Wellington is a preparation of fillet steak coated with pâté (often pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked.

Beefcake:

Slang: a photograph of a muscular man in minimal attire.

Been There, Done That (BTDT):

(Idiomatic, humorous): expresses the speaker's complete familiarity with a situation, with overtones of cynicism or exhaustion.

Beer Garden:

An outdoor tavern or an outdoor area adjoining a tavern where alcohol is served.

Before Present:

Before Present (BP) years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon dating became practicable in the 1950s.

See also: Anno Domini.

Beginner's Mind:

Shoshin is a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning "Beginner's Mind". It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.

The phrase is also used in the title of the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, who says the following about the correct approach to Zen practice: "In the Beginner's Mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."

Saadat A. Khan suggests that "Beginner's Mind embodies the highest emotional qualities such as enthusiasm, creativity, zeal, and optimism. If the reader reflects briefly on the opposites of these qualities, it is clear to see that quality of life requires living with Beginner's Mind. With Beginner's Mind, there is boundlessness, limitlessness, an infinite wealth."

American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor, who was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, was a passionate advocate of what Buddhists call “the Beginner’s Mind” — an outlook free of the learned constraints that lead to preconceived solutions to problems. He preached and practiced the need for radical simplicity and rigorous focus, both of which are core Buddhist values. And he was a deep believer in the validity of Japanese traditional aesthetics, whose precepts are deeply intertwined with the ideas and practice of Zen.

Behavior:

The manner in which one behaves.

The actions or reactions of a person or animal in response to external or internal stimuli.

Behavioral Retargeting:

Behavioral Retargeting (also known as behavioral remarketing, or simply, retargeting) is a form of online targeted advertising by which online advertising is targeted to consumers based on their previous Internet actions. Retargeting tags online users by including a pixel within the target webpage or email, which sets a cookie in the user's browser. Once the cookie is set, the advertiser is able to show display ads to that user elsewhere on the internet via an ad exchange.

Being Meghan Markled:

‘Being Meghan Markled’ is the brutal new relationship trend where people are ruthlessly dumped when they are no longer needed.

Bel Canto:

A style of operatic singing characterized by full, even tones and a brilliant display of vocal technique.

Bel Esprit:

Borrowing from French bel esprit. A very witty or clever person; wit, genius.

Bel Étage:

The piano nobile (Italian, "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, Bel Étage) is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of Classical Renaissance architecture. This floor contains the principal reception and bedrooms of the house.

Belial:

Belial (also Belhor, Baalial, Beliar, Beliall, Beliel, Beliya'al) is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible which later became personified as the devil in Jewish and Christian texts.

Belieber:

A Belieber is a fanatical devotee of the Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber. Use of this term predates 2010, and the existence of the community dates back to Bieber's early YouTube videos. The vast majority of Beliebers are pre-teen and teenage girls who have a sense of community, but the fandom also includes "Boy Beliebers", who are generally loved by their female counterparts due to their rarity.

Bell Rocket Belt:

The Bell Rocket Belt is a low-power rocket propulsion device that allows an individual to safely travel or leap over small distances.

Visit also: The Martin Jetpack.

Bella Figura:

Italian: a good impression; fine appearance.

It is no secret that Italians like the idea of “la Bella Figura” which literally translates to “the beautiful figure.” It specifically means to dress well to make a good impression. Wanting to look appealing is a common desire for Italians, an integral part of the culture we are immersed in as children. In general, we like to look chic whether we are attending a formal event or an informal gathering with friends. In Italy, it is not unusual to spot an Italian woman wearing trendy shoes while grocery shopping or a man dressed in a suit riding a bicycle on the hottest day of the year. La Bella Figura, though, is much more than appearance. It is also about dignity, hospitality and politeness.

Belle:

A popular, attractive girl or woman, especially the most attractive one of a group.

Belle Époque:

The Belle Époque (French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" for the upper classes, as peace prevailed among the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives that were unclouded by income tax, and the commercial arts adopted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms. In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the "Gilded Age".

Belle of the Ball:

The most attractive woman at a social gathering.

Bellwether:

One that serves as a leader or as a leading indicator of future trends.

Below the Line:

Items in a profit and loss account that appear below the net profit figure; that is, items that are taken into account after the figure for net profit has been calculated. Contrast with above the line.

Belt-and-Braces:

Providing double security, in case one security measure should fail.

Belt and Road:

What do the terms "Belt" and "Road" mean? The "Belt" refers to economic and overland transport links across China to Central Asia and Europe while the "Road" is a network of maritime routes connecting regions through Chinese sea ports.

Belt and Road Initiative:

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations. It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status. As of March 2022, 146 countries were listed as having signed up to the BRI.

Xi originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. "Belt" is short for the "Silk Road Economic Belt," referring to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; whereas "road" is short for the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", referring to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Examples of Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure investments include ports, skyscrapers, railroads, roads, bridges, airports, dams, coal-fired power stations, and railroad tunnels.

Belvedere (structure):

A Belvedere (from Italian for "fair view") is an architectural structure sited to take advantage of a fine or scenic view. While a belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building the actual structure can be of any form, whether a turret, a cupola, or an open gallery. Or it may be a separate pavilion in a garden, or the term may be used for a paved terrace with a good viewpoint, but no actual building.

Beltway:

The Beltway surrounding Washington, D.C.

A high-speed highway that encircles or skirts an urban area.

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy): the people and institutions located in the area bounded by the Washington Beltway, taken to be politically and socially out of touch with the rest of America and much given to political intrigue.

Ben Franklin Effect:

The Ben Franklin Effect is a proposed psychological phenomenon: A person who has performed a favor for someone is more likely to do another favor for that person than they would be if they had received a favor from that person. An explanation for this would be that we internalize the reason that we helped them was because we liked them. The opposite case is also believed to be true, namely that we come to hate a person whom we did wrong to. We de-humanize them to justify the bad things we did to them.

Bench:

Law: the office or position of a judge.

Sports: the place where the players on a team sit when not participating in a game.

Benching:

Benching is just the modern incarnation of what we used to call leading someone on.

Benching is very different to ghosting – when the person you’re dating (or worse – in a full-blown relationship with) disappears from your life so gradually that you don’t realise you’re single until someone spots them with a new partner.

With Benching, you don’t even get to a stage where you’re regularly dating. Instead the bencher strings along the benchee with well-timed WhatsApps and witty texts, or small promises that never materialise into big gestures.

For the benchee, this is naturally horrific. Take it from someone who knows. When you’re a benchee, you never know if the other person does actually like you – why else would they text you great things all the time?! – or if they’re just not that into you – how else can you explain the long silences and lack of regular dates?

Benchmark:

The measure of a business function or process that is considered to be best practice for a particular industry. The number of cars produced per month by the most efficient up-to-date car factory will be a Benchmark for all car manufacturers. So will the lowest percentage of quality defects that any factory achieves.

Benchmark (Computing):

In computing, a Benchmark is the act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object, normally by running a number of standard tests and trials against it.

Bender:

A binge drinking spree.

Bene Qui Latuit, Bene Vixit:

Bene Qui Latuit, Bene Vixit, Latin for "One who lives well, lives unnoticed." Ovid's (43 BC–17 AD) Tristitia.

Benedict Arnold:

Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was an American military officer who served as a general during the American Revolutionary War, fighting for the American Continental Army before defecting to the British in 1780. George Washington had given him his fullest trust and placed him in command of the fortifications at West Point, New York. Arnold planned to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780 and he fled to the British. His name quickly became a byword in the United States for treason and betrayal because he led the British army in battle against the very men whom he had once commanded.

Fictional invocations of Benedict Arnold's name carry strongly negative overtones.

Benefactor:

One that gives aid, especially financial aid.

Beneficiary:

A person to whom a trust’s proceeds are distributed.

Benefit:

An advantage gained by the addition of something extra. For example, customers gain a Benefit when companies add extra staff to handle their enquiries; products Benefit from the addition of new machinery that improves their quality. The addition of these extras bears a cost, however, and needs to be subjected to a cost benefit analysis.

BENELUX:

The countries of BElgium, the NEtherlands, and LUXembourg, and the economic union between them. This exists within the rules and structure of the European Union, all three countries being EU members.

Benjamin:

A $100 bill.

Bentley Boys:

The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive.

Bermuda Triangle:

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared and cannot be explained as human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed some of these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings.

Berne Convention:

An international agreement on the protection of copyright. Signatory countries agree to treat artistic works from all member countries equally.

Berne Union:

An association of national export-credit agencies based in Berne, Switzerland. The agencies meet at the Berne Union to discuss issues of common concern.

Bertillon System:

The specific anthropological technique practiced by Bertillon is often called the Bertillon System. This system consisted of five initial measurements - head length, head breadth, length of middle finger, length of the left foot, and length of the cubit. Along with these measurements, Bertillon used photography, now known as a mugshot, to complete this system of record. These methods of identification were combined into a system for law enforcement officials to access information and images quickly.

Bertillonage:

Originally, a system for the identification of criminals making use of anthropometric measurements — including head size, arm span, scars, distinguishing features and the like. The usage has been extended to encompass a means of identification of racing greyhounds.

Berufsverbot:

Berufsverbot is an order of "professional disqualification" under German law. Berufsverbot may be translated to English as 'professional ban'.

A Berufsverbot disqualifies the recipient from engaging in certain professions or activities on the grounds of his or her criminal record, political convictions or membership in a particular group.

Bespectacled:

To metaphorically observe something.

Bespoke:

British for: made to individual order; custom made. Bespoke is employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification. While applied to many items now, from computer software to luxury car appointments, the term historically was only applied to tailored clothing, shirts and other parts of men's apparel involving measurement and fitting.

The distinguishing points of bespoke tailoring are the buyer's total control over the fabric used, the features and fit, and the way the garment should be made. More generally, bespoke describes a high degree of customisation, and involvement of the end-user, in the production of the good.

See also: Savile Row.

Bespoke Couturier:

Bespoke Couturier is a term coined by tailor and designer Ozwald Boateng.

Besserwisser:

One who claims to know everything and rejects advice or information from others: Know-It-All.

Bestseller:

Bestseller: a book that has had a large and rapid sale.

Bet the Farm:

(Idiomatic): to be absolutely certain, to have no doubts.

Beta Test:

In software development, a Beta Test is the second phase of software testing in which a sampling of the intended audience tries the product out. Beta testing can be considered "pre-release testing." Beta test versions of software are now distributed to a wide audience on the Web partly to give the program a "real-world" test and partly to provide a preview of the next release.

Bête Noire:

A person or thing that one particularly dislikes or that is to be avoided.

Better Safe than Sorry:

It is preferable to be cautious in one's choices and actions than to suffer afterwards.

Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts:

Meaning: don't trust your enemies.

Origin: an allusion to the story of the wooden horse of Troy, used by the Greeks to trick their way into the city. It is recorded in Virgil's Aeneid Book 2.

Bezel (jewellery):

The Bezel of a ring is a wider and usually thicker section of the hoop, which may contain a flat surface, usually with an engraved design, as in a signet ring, or a gem. The ring is normally worn to display the bezel on the upper or outer side of the finger. The word may also refer to a Bezel setting for a stone, which is a general term for a setting holding the stone in place using a raised surrounding for the stone with a lip encircling and overlapping the edges of the stone, thus holding it in place.Modern Bezel settings typically use a band of metal containing a groove and a flange (i.e. projecting lip) to hold a watch crystal or gemstone in its setting. This was the earliest method of setting gemstones into jewelry, in historic examples often made by leaving a hole or slot in the ring with a thin lip which was bent over once the stone was inserted, holding it in place. An extension of the word used in this sense can refer to a rotatable rim on a clock or watch used to indicate certain data such as elapsed time.

Bezel (smartphone):

The Bezel is the width of the area around the screen. This is normally measured in terms of screen-to-body ratio, which is the amount of space the screen occupies in comparison to the rest of a device. The higher the ratio, the smaller the Bezels.

BF/GF:

(Internet/Chat/Dating) Short for: Boyfriend/Girlfriend.

BFF:

(Chat) Short for: Best Friends Forever.

Bias:

A partiality that prevents objectivel consideration of an issue or situation.

Bible:

The Bible is a canonical collection of texts considered sacred in Judaism as well as in Christianity. The term Bible is shared between the two religions, although the contents of each of their collections of canonical texts is not the same. Different religious groups include different books within their canons, in different orders, and sometimes divide or combine books, or incorporate additional material into canonical books.

A book considered authoritative in its field.

Bible Belt:

Bible Belt is an informal term for an area of the United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a dominant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is extremely high.

Bibliophilia:

Bibliophilia or Bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a Bibliophile is an individual who loves books. More commonly referred to as a bookworm, the individual loves books for their content, or otherwise loves reading.

BIC:

Short for: Bank Identifier Code. Related: IBAN and S.W.I.F.T.

Bid:

The price offered for a security, a company or a painting. At the moment that it is offered, a Bid is the highest price that any potential buyer is prepared to pay for what is on offer.

Bidet:

A Bidet is a low-mounted plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing the genitalia, inner buttocks, and anus.

Biennale:

A Biennial show; especially, an art show held every two years.

Bienséance:

Good breeding; decorum.

Bier:

A Bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.

Big Band:

A large dance or jazz band usually featuring improvised solos by lead players.

Big Bang:

The Big Bang is the cosmological model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the Universe that is supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific evidence and observation. As used by cosmologists, the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the Universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past (currently estimated to have been approximately 13.7 billion years ago), and continues to expand to this day.

Big Brother:

Your (un)friendly local government watching over your shoulder. Famous quote: "Big Brother is watching you!" - by author George Orwell in his book Nineteen Eighty-Four . Also, visit Echelon.

Big Data:

Big Data is the term for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications. The challenges include capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis, and visualization. The trend to larger data sets is due to the additional information derivable from analysis of a single large set of related data, as compared to separate smaller sets with the same total amount of data, allowing correlations to be found to "spot business trends, determine quality of research, prevent diseases, link legal citations, combat crime, and determine real-time roadway traffic conditions."

Big Dick Energy (BDE):

Subtle, sexy confidence; confidence without cockiness. Someone with Big Dick Energy is someone with a relaxed confidence in themselves. They’re not shy or quiet, but they’re not arrogant either. And they’re certainly not overcompensating for anything.

Read more here: What is 'Big Dick Energy' and how do you know if you have it ... - The Independent.

Big Five Game:

In Africa, the Big Five Game animals are the African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and rhinoceros. The term "big five game" (usually capitalized or quoted as "Big Five") was coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Subsequently the term was adopted by safari tour operators for marketing purposes. The term is used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris. The members of the Big Five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and the degree of danger involved, rather than their size.

Big Five Personality Traits:

Cross-cultural psychology as a discipline examines the way that human behavior is different and/or similar across different cultures. One important and widely studied area in this subfield of psychology is personality, particularly the study of Big Five. The Big Five Personality Traits are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The Big Five model of personality (also known as the Five Factor Model) has become the most extensively studied model of personality and has broad support, starting in the United States and later in many different cultures. However, there is also some evidence which suggests that the Big Five traits may not be sufficient to completely explain personality in other cultures.

Big Lie:

The Big Lie (German: Große Lüge) is a propaganda technique. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." Hitler asserted the technique was used by Jews to unfairly blame Germany's loss in World War I on German Army general Erich Ludendorff.

Big Picture:

The overall perspective or objective, not the fine detail.

Big Spender:

One who spends lavishly and ostentatiously on entertainment.

Big-Ticket Item:

Consumer goods that are of such a high price, such as cars or cookers, that customers often buy them on credit.

Big Time:

The most prestigious level of attainment in a competitive field.

Big-Wig:

Slang: a very important person.

Bigot:

A prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own.

Bikini:

The Bikini or two piece is a women's swimsuit with two parts, one covering the breasts, the other the groin (and optionally the buttocks), leaving an uncovered area between the two.

The modern Bikini was invented by French engineer Louis Réard in 1946. He named it after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, the site of the Operation Crossroads nuclear weapon tests in July that year.

Bikini Bridge:

The Bikini Bridge is when a woman is so skinny her hip bones lift the front of her bikini up when she lies down; when a girl in a bikini lies down and her hip bones protrude well past their flat stomach causing their bikini bottom to stretch across and gap is formed for a beautiful view of their vaginal front also referred to as hood.

Bilateral:

Having or formed of two sides; two-sided; affecting or undertaken by two sides equally; binding on both parties; relating to the right and left sides of the body or of a body structure; having or marked by bilateral symmetry.

Bill:

A written claim in respect of a debt.

An advertisement of goods or services for sale, as in Bill of Fare, or Billboard.

Bill Clinton's Hair:

Bill Clinton's Hair is a metaphor for arrogance referring to the story was that planes were kept circling as President Bill Clinton had his hair clipped on Air Force One at Los Angeles airport in May 1993.

Bill of Attainder:

A Bill of Attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attainder resulting from the normal judicial process, the effect of such a bill is to nullify the targeted person's civil rights, most notably the right to own property (and thus pass it on to heirs), the right to a title of nobility, and, in at least the original usage, the right to life itself. Bills of Attainder were passed in England between about 1300 and 1800 and resulted in the executions of a number of notable historical figures.

Billboard:

Boards to which are attached bills; that is, advertisements. Billboards (also known as hoardings) are usually found close to major transport arteries. In some countries they are strictly controlled by law; in others less so.

Bill of Lading:

The documents giving title to goods in transit. They describe the goods, their condition and their destination. They are particularly important as backing for a letter of credit. A clean bill is a bill of lading that is attached by a shipping company to goods that are delivered in perfect condition. Hence the expression "a clean bill of health". If the goods are not as they should be, then the bill contains a clause to that effect, and it is said to be a dirty bill.

Billet-Doux:

A love letter; a personal letter to a loved one expressing affection.

Billionaire Chic:

Billionaire Chic: Free from garish logos and colours, they are a careful display of stealth wealth and soft power. Loro Piana has become somewhat of a market leader for this quiet luxury aesthetic. It’s worn by real life billionaires (Rishi Sunak, a near billionaire, is said to be a fan) and scions of on-screen billionaires. In this week’s opening episode of season four of the HBO drama Succession, Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) wore a custom-made suede jacket from the Italian heritage brand. Kendall’s ascetic boardroom style is the antithesis of his social-climbing brother-in-law Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), known for his chinos and puffy Moncler vest. Michelle Matland, the show’s costume designer, previously described Tom’s style as “being like a peacock. He goes to the obvious stores and his motto is: ‘If it’s expensive, it’s good’,” says Matland. “And if you can see that price tag, even better ... Kendall was bred to know the difference and Tom is just walking into it.”

Read more here: Billionaire chic: the meaning of Gwyneth Paltrow’s court wardrobe - The Guardian & Why the ‘ludicrously capacious’ bag on Succession was such a faux pas for the very wealthiest - "In this week’s newsletter: Poor Bridget’s nouveau riche tastes are everything old money families like the Roys hate: loud, practical and the sign of a class interloper."

Bimbo:

A woman regarded as vacuous or as having an exaggerated interest in her sexual appeal.

See also: himbo.

Bindi (decoration):

A Bindi is a forehead decoration worn in South Asia (particularly India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Mauritius) and Southeast Asia. Traditionally it is a bright dot of red color applied in the center of the forehead close to the eyebrows, but it can also consist of a sign or piece of jewelry worn at this location.

Binge Viewing:

A period of excessive indulgence spent watching previously broadcast episodes of a TV show.

Binge watching, also called Binge Viewing, is the practice of watching television for longer time spans than usual, usually of a single television show. Binge watching as an observed cultural phenomenon has become popular with the rise of online media services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime with which the viewer can watch television shows and movies on-demand.

The television show Breaking Bad is often cited as an object of Binge Viewing.

Bingo:

A game of chance in which each player has one or more cards printed with differently numbered squares on which to place markers when the respective numbers are drawn and announced by a caller. The first player to mark a complete row of numbers is the winner.

Used to express the sudden completion of an event, occurrence of an idea, or confirmation of a guess.

Biography:

An account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another.

Biohacking:

Biohacking is a buzzword that unites the hi-tech, wellness, anti-ageing and science communities; at its most basic, it means doing things to your body or mind to make them function better. This could be as simple as eating more oily fish. But purist Biohackers set themselves apart from the average person intent on self-improvement. Theirs is a hyper-technical approach that seeks to understand and “fix” the body with all manner of technologies: if we can hack the world’s most sophisticated computer systems, the thinking goes, why not ourselves?

Read more here: Extreme Biohacking: the tech guru who spent $250,000 trying to live for ever.

Biology:

The science of life and of living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution. It includes botany and zoology and all their subdivisions.

The life processes or characteristic phenomena of a group or category of living organisms.

The plant and animal life of a specific area or region.

Biomarker:

A Biomarker, or biological marker, generally refers to a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition.

Biometric Passport:

A Biometric Passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the identity of travelers. The passport's critical information is stored on a tiny RFID computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards. Like some smartcards, the passport book design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to hold digital signature data to ensure the integrity of the passport and the biometric data.

The currently standardized biometrics used for this type of identification system are facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and iris recognition. These were adopted after assessment of several different kinds of biometrics including retinal scan.

See also: multimodal biometrics.

Biometrics:

Biometrics refers to methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In information technology, in particular, Biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.

Biomorphism:

Biomorphism models artistic design elements on naturally occurring patterns or shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms. Taken to its extreme it attempts to force naturally occurring shapes onto functional devices.

Bionic:

Having anatomical structures or physiological processes that are replaced or enhanced by electronic or mechanical components.

Having extraordinary strength, powers, or capabilities; superhuman.

Biopic:

A biographical film, or Biopic (abbreviation for biographical motion picture), is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films "based on a true story" or "historical films" in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their lives.

Biopsy:

The removal and examination of a sample of tissue from a living body for diagnostic purposes.

BIOS:

Short for: Basic Input / Output System.

In IBM PC Compatible computers, the Basic Input / Output System (BIOS), also known as the System BIOS, is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface.

The BIOS is boot firmware, designed to be the first code run by a PC when powered on. The initial function of the BIOS is to identify, test, and initialize system devices such as the video display card, hard disk, and floppy disk and other hardware. This is to prepare the machine into a known state, so that software stored on compatible media can be loaded, executed, and given control of the PC. This process is known as booting, or booting up, which is short for bootstrapping.

Biotope:

A Biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals.

BIPOC:

The acronym BIPOC, referring to "black, Indigenous, (and) People Of Color", first appeared around 2013. By June 2020, it had become more prevalent on the internet, as racial justice awareness grew in the U.S. in the wake of the death of George Floyd. The term aims to emphasize the historic oppression of black and indigenous people, which is argued to be superlative and distinctive in U.S. history at the collective level. The BIPOC Project promotes the term in order "to highlight the unique relationship to whiteness that Indigenous and Black (African Americans) people have, which shapes the experiences of and relationship to white supremacy for all people of color within a U.S. context."

Bird's Eye View:

A situation or topic as if viewed from an altitude or distance.

Birdie:

Golf: a score of one stroke under par for a hole.

Birds of a Feather:

If you describe two people as Birds of a Feather, you mean that they have very similar characteristics, interests, or beliefs.

Biretta:

The Biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked Biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked Biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a pontifical faculty or pontifical university. Occasionally the Biretta is worn by advocates in law courts, for instance the advocates in the Channel Islands.

Birkin Bag:

Aka "the Holy Grail of purses". Read more here.

See also: the Kelly bag.

Birther:

One who gives birth.

A natural-born citizen who, by coincidence, happens to be a natural-born racist, natural-born moron, and a natural-born asshole.

Slang, pejorative, US politics: a believer in one or more conspiracy theories, holding that President Barack Obama is not a "natural born" citizen of the United States, and therefore ineligible for the presidency.

Birtherism:

(Slang, often derogatory, US politics): a movement in the United States of America that doubts or denies that the 44th President, Barack Obama, is a natural-born U.S. citizen, thus implying that he is ineligible to be President.

BIS:

Short for: the Bank for International Settlements, a Basle-based financial institution that acts as a central bank for central banks. Through it they can clear funds among themselves. The BIS also acts as a talking-shop for bank regulators from around the world.

Bistro:

A small, informal restaurant serving wine.

Bit:

In computing and telecommunications a Bit is a basic unit of information storage and communication (a contraction of "binary digit"). It is the maximum amount of information that can be stored by a device or other physical system that can normally exist in only two distinct states. These states are often interpreted (especially in the storage of numerical data) as the binary digits 0 and 1. They may be interpreted also as logical values, either "true" or "false"; or two settings of a flag or switch, either "on" or "off".

bit.ly:

"Shorten, share and track your links." A simple URL shortener. Offers URL redirection service with real-time link tracking. bit.ly allows users to shorten, share, and track links (URLs). Reducing the URL length makes sharing easier.

Visit: bit.ly for more.

Bitcoin:

Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009.

Bitcoin enables rapid payments (and micropayments) at very low cost, and avoids the need for central authorities and issuers. Digitally signed transactions, with one node signing over some amount of the currency to another node, are broadcast to all nodes in a peer-to-peer network.

BitTorrent (protocol):

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data. BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files, and it has been estimated that it accounts for approximately 27-55% of all Internet traffic (depending on geographical location) as of February 2009.

Click here to download BitTorrent.

Bivouac:

From French: To set up camp.

Black Bag Operation:

Black Bag Operations (or black bag jobs) are covert or clandestine entries into structures to obtain information for human intelligence operations. This usually entails breaking and entering into denied areas. Some of the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with Black Bag Operations are: lock picking, safe cracking, key impressions, fingerprinting, photography, electronic surveillance (including audio and video surveillance), mail manipulation (flaps and seals), forgery, and a host of other related skills. The term "black bag" refers to the small bag in which burglars carry their tools.

Black Book:

A book containing names of people or organizations to blacklist.

A list of persons or things out of favor, as in Tom's in my Black Book these days. This usage dates from the 14th century and in time became more ominous. In 1536 the agents of King Henry VIII wrote in a Black Book the names of those to be censured or punished, specifically "sinful" English monasteries (whose lands Henry wanted to acquire). Today being in someone's Black Book still signifies being in trouble, at least with that person.

A list of measures or facts involved in the unfriendly takeover of one company by another. This usage is employed mainly in business and commerce.

Black Box:

Equipment that records information about the performance of an aircraft during flight.

Something that is mysterious, especially as to function; a device or theoretical construct with known or specified performance characteristics but unknown or unspecified constituents and means of operation.

Black Death:

A widespread epidemic of bubonic plague that occurred in several outbreaks between 1347 and 1400. It originated in Asia and then swept through Europe, where it killed over 50 million people.

Black Economy:

The value of all the black market transactions that take place in an economy. By definition these are immeasurable, but many estimates are made nevertheless. In the United States, the Black Economy is reckoned to be worth less than 5% of GDP. In Italy some estimates put it as high as 25%; and in many low-income developing countries it is undoubtledly much higher.

Black Eye:

A cup of American coffee with two shots of espresso added.

Also known as a Sling Blade, Depth Charge, Shot in the Dark, Cafe Tobio, Autobahn, or Hammerhead.

Black Friday:

Any Friday on which a public disaster has occurred.

See also: List of Black Fridays.

Black Friday (shopping):

Black Friday is the name given to the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early and offer promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many Commonwealth Nations. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many non-retail employers also observe this day as a holiday along with Thanksgiving, giving their employees the day off, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers.

See also: Black Friday for other uses.

Black Hat:

A "Black Hat" hacker is a hacker who "violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain" (Moore, 2005). Black Hat hackers form the stereotypical, illegal hacking groups often portrayed in popular culture, and are "the epitome of all that the public fears in a computer criminal". Black Hat hackers break into secure networks to destroy, modify, or steal data; or to make the network unusable for those who are authorized to use the network. Black Hat hackers are also referred to as the "crackers" within the security industry and by modern programmers. Crackers keep the awareness of the vulnerabilities to themselves and do not notify the general public or the manufacturer for patches to be applied. Individual freedom and accessibility is promoted over privacy and security. Once they have gained control over a system, they may apply patches or fixes to the system only to keep their reigning control. Richard Stallman invented the definition to express the maliciousness of a criminal hacker versus a white hat hacker who performs hacking duties to identify places to repair.

Black Hole:

An area of space-time with a gravitational field so intense that its escape velocity is equal to or exceeds the speed of light.

A great void; an abyss.

Black Hole Site:

A Black Hole Site is created when an tier 1 authority site ceases to link out to other sites. If a reference is needed, the information is rewritten and a reference page is created within the black hole. All (or virtually all) external links on the site are made nofollow.

Black Market:

A Black Market or underground economy is the market in which goods or services are traded illegally. The key distinction of a Black Market trade is that the transaction itself is illegal. The goods or services may or may not themselves be illegal to own, or to trade through other, legal channels. Because the transactions are illegal, the market itself is forced to operate outside the formal economy, supported by the established state power. Two common motives for operating in Black Markets are to trade contraband, or to avoid taxes or price controls. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and services, e.g. "the Black Market in bush meat".

Black Mass:

A travesty of the Roman Catholic Mass, ascribed to worshipers of Satanism.

Black Monday:

October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost almost 22% in a single day. That event marked the beginning of a global stock market decline, making Black Monday one of the most notorious days in recent financial history. By the end of the month, most of the major exchanges had dropped more than 20%.

Black–Scholes Model:

The Black–Scholes Model or Black–Scholes–Merton is a mathematical model of a financial market containing certain derivative investment instruments. From the model, one can deduce the Black–Scholes formula, which gives the price of European-style options. The formula led to a boom in options trading and legitimised scientifically the activities of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other options markets around the world. lt is widely used by options market participants. Many empirical tests have shown the Black–Scholes price is "fairly close" to the observed prices, although there are well-known discrepancies such as the "option smile".

Black Sheep:

A member of a family or other group who is considered undesirable or disreputable.

A reckless and unprincipled reprobate.

Black Swan Theory:

The Black Swan Theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The term is based on an ancient saying which presumed black swans did not exist, but the saying was rewritten after black swans were discovered in the wild.

Black Tie:

Black Tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions derived from Anglo-American costume conventions of the Nineteenth century. Worn only for events after six p.m., Black Tie is less formal than white tie but more formal than informal or business dress.

For males, the elements of Black Tie are a suit, usually of black wool, in which the jacket lapels and trouser braid are of silk or other contrasting material, a white dress shirt, a black bow-tie, a waistcoat or cummerbund, and black dress shoes. Women's dress for Black Tie occasions has varied greatly through the years; traditionally it was dinner (ankle) or tea (below mid-calf) length sleeveless dress, often accompanied by a wrap or stole, gloves, and evening shoes. Today, cocktail (knee) length dresses are considered equally appropriate in most places.

Black Tuesday:

A widely used reference to October 29, 1929, the date of the greatest frenzy on the New York Stock Exchange during the Great Crash.

Black Swan Theory:

The Black Swan Theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The term is based on a Latin expression which presumed that black swans did not exist. The expression was used until around 1697 when Dutch mariners saw them in Australia. After this, the term was reinterpreted to mean an unforeseen and consequential event.

Black Widow:

In the conflict between Russia and Chechnya, a Chechen widow whose husband died at the hands of the Russians and who consequently becomes a terrorist, usually a suicide bomber, herself.

Blackball:

A negative vote, especially one that blocks the admission of an applicant to an organization.

Blackface:

Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used by performers to represent a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation" or the "dandified coon". In 1848, Blackface minstrel shows were an American national art of the time, translating formal art such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. Early in the 20th century, Blackface branched off from the minstrel show and became a form in its own right, until it ended in the United States with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Blackjack:

A leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon.

Games: a card game in which the object is to accumulate cards with a higher count than that of the dealer but not exceeding 21. Also called twenty-one, vingt-et-un.

Blacklist:

A list of individuals, companies or countries from which certain privileges are withheld. For example, companies that disobey a government-imposed boycott may find themselves Blacklisted and unable to bid for future government contracts.

Blackmail:

Extortion of money or something else of value from a person by the threat of exposing a criminal act or discreditable information.

Blackout:

A cutoff of electrical power, especially as a result of a shortage, a mechanical failure, or overuse by consumers.

A temporary loss of memory or consciousness.

Blank Cheque:

A cheque that is signed by the payer but is left blank as to the payee and/or the amount of money to be paid.

Blank Verse:

Unrhymed verse having a regular meter, usually of iambic pentameter.

Blanket License:

A license that gives the licensee the right to perform all of the works in the repertory for a single stated fee that does not vary depending on how much music from the repertory the licensee actually uses.

Blasé:

Indifferent to something because of familiarity or surfeit; lacking enthusiasm; bored; unconcerned; nonchalant; very sophisticated.

Blasphemy:

A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity.

The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.

An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.

Blaxplaining:

The art and practice of rejecting and replacing historical fact with race based alternative history and alternative facts.

The act of a black person explaining away negative facts or statistics about black people (e.g. crime rates, test scores, illegitimacy rates, net worth), or negative acts of black people, as primarily the fault of white people, racist power structures, slavery, and colonialism.

Read also: We Blaxplain Blaxplaining - The New York Times.

Blazer:

A Blazer is a type of single breasted coat, closely related to a suit jacket. Generally, it differs from a suit jacket in that the buttons are usually metallic, and the outer material generally more durable. They occur most often in blue colors, but Blazers of other colors are not unheard of. They are included often in uniforms of civilian bodies, such as airlines, boys schools, yacht clubs, and private security organizations.

Blind Date:

A social engagement between two persons who have not previously met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance.

Either of the persons participating in such a social engagement.

Blind Spot:

A part of an area that cannot be directly observed under existing circumstances; an area where radio reception is weak or nonexistent.

A subject about which one is markedly ignorant or prejudiced.

Blind Taste Test:

In marketing, a Blind Taste Test is often used as a tool for companies to compare their brand to another brand.

To ensure impartial judgment of a wine, it should be served blind — that is, without the taster(s) having seen the label or bottle shape. Blind Tasting may also involve serving the wine from a black wine glass to mask the color of the wine. A taster's judgment can be prejudiced by knowing details of a wine, such as geographic origin, price, reputation, color, or other considerations.

Blind Trust:

A Trust in which the executors have full discretion over the assets, and the Trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the Trust.

Blind Trusts are generally used when a trustor wishes to keep the beneficiary unaware of the specific assets in the trust, such as to avoid conflict of interest between the beneficiary and the investments.

Bling:

Flashy jewellery worn especially as an indication of wealth. Broadly: expensive and ostentatious possessions.

Bling Bling:

Something that shows wealth, usually large items of jewellery (rings, necklaces). Also refers to gold jewellery in particular e.g. neckchains, rings.

Jamaican slang that has been adopted by some American rappers and inserted into popular culture. The term "Bling Bling" refers to the imaginary "sound" that is produced from light reflected by a diamond.

Any of a variety of stylish or expensive accessories such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc.

A celebration of success through ostentatious spending habits.

Bling Ring:

The Bling Ring, sometimes called the "Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch", "The Burglar Bunch", or the "Hollywood Hills Burglars", were a group, mostly of teenagers based in and around Calabasas, California, who burgled the homes of several celebrities over a period believed to have been from around October 2008 through August 2009. In total, their activities resulted in the theft of about $3 million in cash and belongings, most of it from Paris Hilton, whose house was burglarized several times. However, over 50 homes were reportedly targeted for potential burglary.

Blini:

A small light pancake served with melted butter, sour cream, and other garnishes such as caviar.

Blip:

A spot of light on a radar or sonar screen indicating the position of a detected object, such as an aircraft or a submarine.

A high-pitched electronic sound; a bleep.

A temporary or insignificant phenomenon, especially a brief departure from the normal.

Blister Packaging:

A form of packaging that allows a potential purchaser to see a wrapped-up product before purchasing it.

Blitz:

An intense campaign.

Blitzkrieg:

German for: lightning war. German tank general Heinz Guderian is generally accepted to have outlined the principles.

A swift, sudden military offensive, usually by combined air and mobile land forces.

BLM:

Acronym for: Black Lives Matter - a political and social movement originating among African Americans, emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for black people and campaigning against various forms of racism.

Block Chain:

A Block Chain or blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of data records that are hardened against tampering and revision, even by operators of the data store's nodes. The most widely known application of a block chain is the public ledger of transactions for cryptocurrencies used in bitcoin. This record is enforced cryptographically and hosted on machines running the software.

The technology forms the basis of some cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin.

Block Trading:

Trading in big blocks of shares, an activity carried out more often by financial institutions than by individuals. It is the wholesale end of the equity market.

Blockbuster:

Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales.

Blocked Account:

A bank account which a court or a government has blocked, thus preventing funds from being withdrawn from it.

Blog:

A Blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a Blog.

Many Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical Blog combines text, images, and links to other Blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many Blogs. Most Blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 Blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of Blogs with very short posts.

Create your free Blog here and start sharing your thoughts, photos, and more with your friends and the world.

See also: micro-blogging and soapbox.

Blood Diamond:

In relation to diamond trading, Blood Diamond (also called a converted diamond, Conflict Diamond, hot diamond or a war diamond) refers to a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity, usually in Africa.

Blood Money:

Money paid by a killer as compensation to the next of kin of a murder victim.

Blood Sport:

Blood Sport or Bloodsport is a category of sports or entertainment that causes bloodshed. It is defined by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary as "a sport or contest (as hunting or cockfighting) involving bloodshed". Alternatively, the Cambridge Online Dictionary defines Blood Sport as "any sport that involves animals being killed or hurt to make the people watching or taking part feel excitement".

Bloodsport includes coursing, combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, or other activities of human-animal blood sport. These usually involve blood being drawn, and often result in the death of one or more animals.

Bloodline:

Direct line of descent; pedigree.

Blowback:

The effect caused by recirculation into the source country of disinformation previously planted abroad by that country's intelligence service in an effort to mislead the government of another country.

BLT Sandwich:

The BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, & Tomato) is a type of bacon sandwich. The BLT traditionally has several strips of well-cooked or even crispy bacon, leaves of lettuce (traditionally iceberg or romaine), and slices of tomato, between slices of bread (commonly toasted). Mayonnaise is the traditional condiment for the BLT. The BLT is recorded as being the second most popular sandwich in the United States, after the ham sandwich.

Blu-ray Disc:

Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage medium. Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. The disc has the same physical dimensions as standard DVDs and CDs.

The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue laser (violet-colored) used to read and write to this type of disc. Because of the wavelength (405 nanometres), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format, which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A dual-layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 gigabytes, almost six times the capacity of a dual-layer DVD, or ten and a half times that of a single-layer DVD.

Blue Balls:

Blue Balls is the excrutiating pain a man receives when his balls swell to the size of coconuts because of lack of sex, unfinished bjs, and just not cummin when he knows he should.

Blue Blood:

A member of the aristocracy.

Blue Book:

Blue Book or Bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Blue Carbon:

Blue Carbon refers to organic carbon that is captured and stored by the world's oceanic and coastal ecosystems, mostly by algae, seagrasses, macroalgae, mangroves, salt marshes and other plants in coastal wetlands. The term Blue Carbon was coined in 2009 to highlight the contribution of coastal vegetated ecosystems to climate change mitigation. Because oceans cover 70% of the planet, there is increasing industry interest in developing Blue Carbon potential. Research is ongoing, and while in some cases it has been found that these types of ecosystems remove far more carbon per area than terrestrial forests, the effectiveness of Blue Carbon as a carbon dioxide removal solution remains highly contested.

Blue Chip:

A common stock of a nationally known quoted company that has a long record of steadily rising profits and uninterrupted dividend payments; typically have high price and low yield; "blue chips are usually safe investments".

Blue Collar:

Employees who work in a factory are sometimes referred to as Blue Collar workers to distinguish them from their managers (who work in offices and are known as white-collar workers). It was once customary for factory workers to wear blue overalls.

Blue Diplomacy

The Blue Diplomacy is the new version of the green diplomacy, developed on waters; the Blue Ocean Diplomacy is referred to the trade actions across the world, the commerce which is made with the help of naval fleets, transporting goods and performing services for a large number of seeders.

Blue Hole:

Blue Holes are roughly circular, steep-walled depressions, and so named for the dramatic contrast between the dark blue, deep waters of their depths and the lighter blue of the shallows around them.

Blue Hour:

The Blue Hour (from the French expression l'heure bleue is the period of twilight each morning and evening where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. The time is considered special because of the quality of the light.

Blue Monday:

A Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent).

A Monday considered as depressing because it is a workday in contrast to the relaxation of the weekend.

Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year, calculated by Dr. Cliff Arnall, a researcher at the University of Cardiff's Center for Lifelong Learning. Factors used to calculate the date included weather conditions, debt level, time since Christmas, time since failing our New Year's resolutions, low motivation and feeling the need to take action.

Blue Moon:

A Blue Moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

Informal: a relatively long period of time.

Blue Ocean Strategy:

Blue Ocean Strategy generally refers to the creation by a company of a new, uncontested market space that makes competitors irrelevant and that creates new consumer value often while decreasing costs. It was introduced by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their best-selling book of the same name.

For in-depth information, read the book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, or visit Wikipedia.

Blue Pencil (editing):

A Blue Pencil is a pencil traditionally used by an editor or sub-editor to show corrections to a written copy.

With the introduction of electronic editing using word processors or desktop publishing, literal blue pencils are seen more rarely, but still exist in metaphor.//ir-na.amazon

Blue pencil is also used pejoratively to mean censorship.

Blue Ribbon:

In symbolism, Blue Ribbon is a term used to describe something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners.

Blue Sky Law:

A Blue Sky Law is a state law in the United States that regulates the offering and sale of securities to protect the public from fraud. Though the specific provisions of these laws vary among states, they all require the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of stockbrokers and brokerage firms. Each state's Blue Sky Law is administered by its appropriate regulatory agency, and most also provide private causes of action for private investors who have been injured by securities fraud.

'The name that is given to the law indicates the evil at which it is aimed, that is, to use the language of a cited case, "speculative schemes which have no more basis than so many feet of 'blue sky'"; or, as stated by counsel in another case, "to stop the sale of stock in fly-by-night concerns, visionary oil wells, distant gold mines and other like fraudulent exploitations." Even if the descriptions be regarded as rhetorical, the existence of evil is indicated, and a belief of its detriment; and we shall not pause to do more than state that the prevention of deception is within the competency of government and that the appreciation of the consequences of it is not open for our review.'

Blue Wall (politics):

"Blue Wall" is a term which is used by political pundits in order to refer to 18 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that the Democratic Party consistently won in presidential elections between 1992 and 2012. George W. Bush, the only Republican president elected during this time, was able to narrowly win the electoral college in 2000 and 2004 only by winning states outside of the Blue Wall.

During the 2016 presidential election, many political pundits speculated that the Blue Wall made Hillary Clinton a heavy favorite to win the electoral college. However, Republican nominee Donald Trump was able to narrowly achieve victories in the three Blue Wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as an electoral vote from Maine, a fourth Blue Wall state. He was consequently elected president with 306 electoral votes (excluding two faithless electors).

Blue Zone:

Blue Zones are regions of the world where people live much longer than average. The term first appeared in the November 2005 National Geographic magazine cover story "The Secrets of a Long Life" by Dan Buettner. Buettner identified five geographic areas where people live statistically longest: Okinawa (Japan); Sardinia (Italy); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece) and among the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. He offers an explanation, based on empirical data and first hand observations, as to why these populations live healthier and longer lives.

The concept grew out of demographic work done by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain outlined in the Journal of Experimental Gerontology, who identified Sardinia's Nuoro province as the region with the highest concentration of male centenarians. As the two men zeroed in on the cluster of villages with the highest longevity, they drew concentric blue circles on the map and began referring to the area inside the circle as the Blue Zone. Together with demographers Pes and Poulain, Buettner broadened the term, applying it to validated longevity areas of Okinawa, Japan and among the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. Buettner and Poulain, under the aegis of National Geographic, then identified and validated longevity hotspots in Nicoya, Costa Rica and Icaria, Greece.

Read more here: Are carbs good for you? The new rules of bread, pasta & rice - "A low-carbohydrates diet may not be the answer to a long and healthy life after all. Italy - the country that eats the most pasta per person - also has the lowest obesity rate in Europe. Both the Mediterranean diet and the diet of the Blue Zones - the world’s longevity hotspots, which are in Japan, Costa Rica, Sardinia, Greece and California - are high in carbs, not low. So are carbs really the enemy?" & Blue Zones - "Live Better, Longer." Explorations and Research. For over 20 years, our work has been rooted in the research and identification of the world's longest-lived and happiest populations.

Bluebeard:

A man who first marries and then murders one wife after another.

Bluebeard (French: La Barbe bleue) is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the attempts of one wife to avoid the fate of her predecessors.

Blueprint:

Originally the rough outline of a drawing executed on blue paper and used by printers for guidance. More generally, it is a model of a business plan or process.

Bluetooth:

Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs). It was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

Visit the official Bluetooth technology info site.

Bluff:

To mislead or deceive.

To impress, deter, or intimidate by a false display of confidence.

To try to mislead (opponents) in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.

Bluing (steel):

Bluing is most commonly used by gun manufacturers, gunsmiths and gun owners to improve the cosmetic appearance of, and provide a measure of corrosion resistance to, their firearms. Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish.

Blurb:

A Blurb is a short summary or promotional piece accompanying a creative work. The word was coined in 1907 by American humorist Gelett Burgess (1866-1951). It may refer to the text on the back of a book but can also be seen on DVD and video cases, web portals and news websites. A Blurb may introduce a newspaper or magazine feature story.

BMI:

Short for: Body Mass Index. A measure of someone's weight in relation to height; to calculate one's BMI, multiply one's weight in pounds and divide that by the square of one's height in inches; overweight is a BMI greater than 25; obese is a BMI greater than 30.

The Body Mass Index, or Quetelet index, is a statistical measurement which compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problem within a population including: underweight, overweight and obesity. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing "social physics". Body mass index is defined as the individual's body weight divided by the square of his height. The formulas universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. BMI can also be determined using a BMI chart, which displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colours for different BMI categories.

See also: Body Volume Index.

BMOC:

Short for: Big Man On Campus.

Board:

A group of people (called directors) who are appointed by the shareholders of a company to look after their interests. A board will usually have a number of executive directors, who are also fulltime managers of the business; a number of non-executive directors, who may represent particular groups of shareholders; and a secretary, who keeps the minutes.

Board Game:

A Board Game is a game in which counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game). Like other forms of entertainment, board games can represent nearly any subject.

Visit: list of board games.

Board Meeting:

A meeting of the board. Board meetings usually occur once a month and they follow a prescribed agenda and formal rules (which are often laid down by law).

Board of Directors:

The company’s "cabinet" - as specified in the Articles of Association - is supposed to make decisions on the issues that are too specific for the general meeting to discuss but which are beyond the day-to-day responsibility of the company management.

Boarding School:

A private school where students are lodged and fed as well as taught.

Boarding School Syndrome:

Boarding School Syndrome was coined by the psychotherapist Joy Schaverien Phd in an article published in the British Journal of Psychotherapy in May 2011.The term is used to identify a set of lasting psychological problems that are observable in adults who, as children, were sent away from their home at an early age to boarding schools.

"Children sent away to school at an early age suffer the sudden and often irrevocable loss of their primary attachments; for many this constitutes a significant trauma. Bullying and sexual abuse, by staff or other children, may follow and so new attachment figures may become unsafe. In order to adapt to the system, a defensive and protective encapsulation of the self may be acquired; the true identity of the person then remains hidden.This pattern distorts intimate relationships and may continue into adult life. The significance of this may go unnoticed in psychotherapy. It is proposed that one reason for this may be that the transference and, especially the breaks in psychotherapy, replay, for the patient, the childhood experience between school and home. Observations from clinical practice are substantiated by published testimonies, including those from established psychoanalysts who were themselves early boarders." (In the British Journal of Psychotherapy Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 138 – 155, May 2011).

Boat Neck:

A Boat Neck, also called a bateau neck or Sabrina neckline, is a wide neckline that runs horizontally, front and back, almost to the shoulder points, across the collarbone.

Bobby Soxer:

Bobby Soxer is a 1940s sociological coinage describing the often very zealous fans of Swing music, in particular its creators like singer Frank Sinatra, the first singing teen idol. Bobby Soxers were usually teenage girls and young adult women from about 12 to 25. Fashionable adolescent girls wore poodle skirts and rolled down their socks to the ankle.

Bobo:

From the French term "BOurgeois BOhémien". A Bobo is a member of a social class of well-to-do professionals who espouse bohemian values and lead bourgeois lives.

Bocardo:

A form of syllogism of which the first and third propositions are particular negatives, and the middle term a universal affirmative.

In logic, the mnemonic name of that mood of the third figure of syllogism in which the major premise is a particular negative, the minor a universal affirmative, and the conclusion a particular negative proposition: as, Some patriarchs (Enoch, Elijah) are not mortal; but all patriarchs are men; hence, some men are not mortal.

Bodega:

A small grocery store, sometimes combined with a wineshop, in certain Hispanic communities.

Body:

The entire material or physical structure of an organism, especially of a human or animal; a human; a person.

A group of individuals regarded as an entity; a corporation.

A number of persons, concepts, or things regarded as a group; a mass of matter that is distinct from other masses.

Printing: the part of a block of type underlying the impression surface.

Body Armor:

Protective clothing that can shield the wearer from weapons and projectiles.

See also: ballistic vest and visit: Second Chance Armor.

Body Double:

Performing Arts / Films: a movie actor who substitutes for a leading performer, especially in distance shots or scenes not involving the face, such as close-ups of a portion of the body.

See also: stand-in.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder | BDD:

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it.

Body Hacking:

See: body modification.

Body Language:

Body Language is a form of non-verbal communication, consisting of body pose, gestures, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals unconsciously. It is often said that human communication consists of 93% body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves.

Body Modification:

Body Modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human body for any non-medical reason, such as aesthetics, sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, religious reasons, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, shock value, or self expression.

Bodyguard:

A person or group of persons, usually armed, responsible for the safety of one or more other persons.

Boffo:

Short for: Box OFFice. Boffo can mean a hit show, as in "Boffo box office". This use of the term is believed to have originated with the Hollywood trade magazine Variety.

Slang: very good; highly successful.

A person who has extensive skill or knowledge in a particular field .

Bogart:

(Slang verb): to keep something all for oneself, thus depriving anyone else of having any. A slang term derived from the last name of famous actor Humphrey Bogart because he often kept a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, seemingly never actually drawing on it or smoking it. Often used with weed or joints but can be applied to anything.

Bogus:

Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.

Bohème:

The literal definition and original meaning of the term "Bohemian", is a native or inhabitant of the region and former province of western Czechoslovakia.

The term Bohemian, of French origin, was first used in the English language in the nineteenth century to describe the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities.

Boiling Frog:

The Boiling Frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly.

Boiserie:

Boiserie is the French term used to define ornate and intricately carved wood panelling.

Boîte:

French colloquialism for nightclub.

Bokeh:

In photography, Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image. Bokeh has also been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light". Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause very different Bokeh effects. Some lens designs blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce distracting or unpleasant blurring ("good" and "bad" Bokeh, respectively). Photographers may deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions, accentuating their lens's Bokeh.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas. However, Bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all regions of an image which are outside the depth of field.

Bolito:

Bolito is a fictional, battery-powered decapitation device that appears in the 2013 Ridley Scott film "The Counselor". Also mentioned in the 2009 film "Law Abiding Citizen".

Bollard:

A Bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it meant a post used on a ship or a quay, principally for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles.

Bomb Cyclone:

From bomb + cyclone, referring to the extreme rapidity of the storm's development.

(Meteorology): A type of extratropical cyclone characterized by high winds, a high level of precipitation, and rapid development.

Read more here: What Is a ‘Bomb Cyclone’? - "These storms aren’t tremendously rare, but this particular one is much more powerful than most."

Bon Chic, Bon Genre | BCBG:

Bon Chic, Bon Genre (English: Good style, good attitude) is an expression used in France to refer to a subculture of stylish members of the Paris upper class. They are typically well-educated, well-connected, and descended from "old money" families, preferably with some aristocratic ancestry. The style combines certain fashionable tastes with the appearance of social respectability. The expression is sometimes shortened to "BCBG".

Bon Mot:

A clever and fitting remark; a witticism.

Bon Ton:

A sophisticated manner or style.

The proper thing to do.

High society. The fashionable elite.

Bon Vivant:

A person who enjoys the good things in life, especially good food and drink.

Bon Viveur:

A person who enjoys the good things in life, especially good food and drink.

Bona Fide:

Undertaken in good faith; authentic; genuine.

Bonanza:

A rich mine, vein, or pocket of ore.

A source of great wealth or prosperity.

Bond:

An IOU issued by a company or a government in return for an interest-bearing long-term loan. These IOUs can be ought and sold by investors in a secondary market.

Bond Street:

Bond Street is a major shopping street in London which runs through Mayfair from Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. It is one of the principal streets in the West End shopping district and is more upmarket than nearby Regent Street and Oxford Street. It is in the Mayfair district of London, and has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century. Technically "Bond Street" does not exist: The southern section is known as Old Bond Street, and the northern section, which is rather more than half the total length, is known as New Bond Street. This distinction, however, is not generally made in everyday usage.

Bonded:

When imported goods are held (duty-free) in a secure depot, called a bonded warehouse, in their country of destination. The goods are removed from the warehouse as and when they are needed, and only then does any duty on them become due.

Bonding:

The formation of a close human relationship, as between friends.

Bonds:

A Bond certificate is simply an IOU. It certifies that you have loaned money to a government or corporation and describes the terms of the loan. Only corporations can issue stocks, but bonds can be issued by corporations or governments.

Boney:

English nickname for Bonaparte.

Bonhomie:

A pleasant and affable disposition; a good-natured manner; geniality.

Bonne Bouche:

A tasty titbit or morsel (literally: good mouth(ful).

Bonsai:

Bonsai (lit. tree-in-a-tray) is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees, or of developing woody or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in containers. Cultivation includes techniques for shaping, watering, and repotting in various styles of containers.

Bonus:

Something given or paid in addition to what is usual or expected.

A payment to shareholders or employees that is over and above what they can contractually expect. In some companies, employees receive an annual Bonus that is dependent on the company's performance.

Boogaloo:

Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s.

Book of Condolence:

A book, containing blank leaves, in which people may sign their name and write a short message as a symbol of sympathy; often in response to a high profile death or series of deaths.

Book-Keeping:

The business of maintaining a financial record of a company's day-to-day transactions. This record forms the basis of the company's annual accounts.

Book Value:

The value of an asset as it is recorded in a company's books. This value may be different from the asset's market value because, for example, accounting convention may dictate that the asset be valued in the books at its purchase price. The purchase price may be well above or well below the asset's current market value.

Booker:

Someone who engages a person or company for performances.

Bookmark:

Also called Bookmarker. A strip or band of some material, such as leather or ribbon, put between the pages of a book to mark a place.

Computing: an address for a website stored on a computer so that the user can easily return to the site; an identifier placed in a document so that part of the document can be accessed easily.

Books:

A company's basic accounting records in which are recorded the financial details of all transactions undertaken by the company.

Boom:

A deep resonant sound, as of an explosion.

A time of economic prosperity.

A sudden increase, as in popularity.

Boomer:

Informal: a member of the baby boom generation in the 1950s.

A nuclear submarine armed with ballistic missiles.

Boomerang:

A flat, curved, usually wooden missile configured so that when hurled it returns to the thrower.

A statement or course of action that backfires.

Boomerang Generation:

Boomerang Generation is a term applied to the current generation of young adults in Western culture. They are so named for the frequency with which they choose to share a home with their parents after previously living on their own – thus boomeranging back to their place of origin. This arrangement can take many forms, ranging from situations that mirror the high dependency of pre-adulthood to highly independent, separate-household arrangements.

Boomerang Kid:

A Boomerang Kid is a young adult, especially a college graduate, who has returned to the parental home, especially from college due to unemployment.

Boot:

The process of starting up a computer, running the small programs that enable the computer to run larger ones.

Boot Camp:

A training camp for military recruits.

A correctional facility that uses the training techniques applied to military recruits to teach usually youthful offenders socially acceptable patterns of behavior.

Bootleg:

To make, sell, or transport (alcoholic liquor) for sale illegally.

To produce, distribute, or sell without permission or illegally.

Borderline:

A line that establishes or marks a border.

An indefinite area intermediate between two qualities or conditions.

BORG:

BORG is an acronym for “Black Out Rage Gallon.”

Borgata:

Outskirt, suburb, small village.

(US): an organized branch of the mafia.

Born-Again:

Having discovered or renewed a commitment to Jesus as one's personal savior.

Characterized by renewal, resurgence, or return.

Born With a Silver Spoon In One's Mouth:

(Idiomatic): born rich or in a wealthy family.

Borough:

A Borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term Borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely.

Borromean Rings:

In mathematics, the Borromean Rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link (i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings). In other words, no two of the three rings are linked with each other as a Hopf link, but nonetheless all three are linked.

Boss:

An employer or a supervisor.

One who makes decisions or exercises authority.

Boss-Eyed:

Cross-eyed; squinting.

Bossy:

Given to ordering others around; domineering.

To give orders to, especially in an arrogant or domineering manner.

Boston Brahmins:

The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional old upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University, Anglicanism, aristocratic clubs such as the Somerset in Boston, the Knickerbocker in New York, the Metropolitan in Washington D.C., and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonists are typically considered to be the most representative of the Boston Brahmins.

Boston Marriage:

"Boston Marriage" as a term is said to have been in use in New England in the decades spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe two women living together, independent of financial support from a man.

Boston Tea Party:

The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and reference is often made to it in other political protests.

Botox:

Botox is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used to improve the look of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in adults younger than 65 years of age for a short period of time.

Botox is a trade name for BOtulinum TOXin A. In this way, Botox is related to botulism. Botulism is a form of food poisoning that occurs when someone eats something containing a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.

Botox (BOtulinum TOXin type A) is successfully used to treat blepharospasm, strabismus, and cervical dystonia -- these are all conditions that in some way involve spasms, involuntary muscle contractions.

Within a few hours to a couple of days after the botulinum toxin is injected into the affected muscle(s), the spasms or contractions are reduced or eliminated altogether. The effects of the treatment are not permanent, reportedly lasting anywhere from three to eight months. By injecting the toxin directly into a certain muscle or muscle group, the risk of it spreading to other areas of the body is greatly diminished.

Bottle Blond:

A person whose hair has been bleached blond.

See also: BBB.

Bottle Message:

A message in a bottle is a form of communication whereby a message is sealed in a container (archetypically a glass bottle, but could be any medium) and released into the sea or ocean. Such messages are not intended for a specific person, but to end up wherever the currents carry them.

Bottom Line:

The net profit or loss figure in a company's accounts. More generally, it is the final result of a series of actions or statements. "The Bottom Line is that the company is bankrupt."

Bouche Béante:

French: gaping mouth.

Boudoir:

A woman's private sitting room, dressing room, or bedroom.

Boulevard:

A wide usually tree-lined road in a city, often used as a promenade.

Boulevardier:

A man who frequents the boulevards; thus, a man about town or bon vivant.

Boulle:

Elaborate inlaid work of woods, metals, tortoiseshell, ivory, etc.

Bounce:

If a cheque is returned to the payee by the payer's bank because of a lack of funds it is said to bounce. The payee is asked to represent the cheque in the hope that funds have appeared in the meantime and it can be cleared. If not, it might be returned to the payee yet again, like a rubber ball.

Bounce Rate:

Bounce Rate (sometimes confused with exit rate) is an Internet marketing term used in web traffic analysis. It represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and "bounce" (leave the site) rather than continue viewing other pages within the same site.

A bounce occurs when a web site visitor only views a single page on a website, that is, the visitor leaves a site without visiting any other pages before a specified session-timeout occurs. There is no industry standard minimum or maximum time by which a visitor must leave in order for a bounce to occur. Rather, this is determined by the session timeout of the analytics tracking software.

Bouncer:

Slang: a person employed to expel disorderly persons from a public place, especially a bar.

Baseball: a ground ball hit in such a way that it bounces.

Bourbon Street (New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.):

Bourbon Street (French: Rue Bourbon) is a famous and historic street that runs the length of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. When founded in 1718, the city was originally centered around the French Quarter. New Orleans has since expanded, but "The Quarter" remains the cultural hub, and Bourbon Street is the street best known by visitors.

Bourgeoisie:

Middle class: the social class between the lower and upper classes. Historically, the Bourgeoisie were a social class of people, characterized by their ownership of capital and the related culture.

Bourse:

French for stock exchange, widely used in the non-English-speaking world.

Boutique:

A small retail shop that specializes in gifts, fashionable clothes, accessories, or food, for example; a small shop located within a large department store or supermarket.

A small business offering specialized products and services.

Boutique Hotel:

Boutique Hotel is a term popularised in North America and the United Kingdom to describe intimate, usually luxurious or quirky hotel environments. Boutique Hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain / branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services / facilities. Sometimes known as "design hotels" or "lifestyle hotels".

Boutique Hotels began appearing in the 1980s in major cities like London, New York, and San Francisco. Typically Boutique Hotels are furnished in a themed, stylish and / or aspirational manner. They usually are considerably smaller than mainstream hotels, often ranging from 3 to 50 guest rooms. Boutique Hotels are always individual and are therefore extremely unlikely to be found amongst the homogeneity of large chain hotel groups. Guest rooms and suites may be fitted with telephony and Wi-Fi Internet, air-conditioning, honesty bars and often cable/pay TV, but equally may have none of these, focusing on quiet and comfort rather than gadgetry. Guest services are often attended to by 24-hour hotel staff. Many Boutique Hotels have on-site dining facilities, and the majority offer bars and lounges which may also be open to the general public.

See also: design hotel.

Boutonnière:

A flower or small bunch of flowers worn in a buttonhole.

Bouts-Rimés:

Bouts-Rimés, literally (from the French) "rhymed-ends", is the name given to a kind of poetic game defined by Addison, in the Spectator, as lists of words that rhyme to one another, drawn up by another hand, and given to a poet, who was to make a poem to the rhymes in the same order that they were placed upon the list.

Bowtie:

A man's tie that ties in a bow.

Box Office:

Total admission receipts for an entertainment.

Boxing Day:

Boxing Day is a bank and public holiday commonly occurring on the 26th of December. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Switzerland, Germany, Greenland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population. In South Africa this public holiday is now known as the Day of Goodwill.

Boycott:

A deliberate decision not to do business with somebody.

Boyfriend Jeans:

Boyfriend Jeans are girls Jeans that are ripped and tattered. most of the time, they will be rolled up at the ends and still fit around the ankles perfectly.

Bozo:

A foolish or incompetent person.

BPR:

Short for: Business Process Re-Engineering, what happens when business processes are radically re-designed to achieve a dramatic improvement in a company's performance.

Brachycephaly:

Brachycephaly is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, such as pugs, and can be normal or abnormal in other animal species.

Braggadocio:

A braggart, empty or pretentious bragging.

A swaggering, cocky manner.

Brahmin:

Brahman, Brahmin, and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self. Brahmin (or Brahmana) refers to an individual, while the word Brahma refers to the creative aspect of the universal consciousness.

A member of the highest of the four major castes of traditional Indian society, responsible for officiating at religious rites and studying and teaching the Vedas.

A socially or culturally superior person, especially a member of the upper classes from New England.

Braille:

Braille is a tactile writing system used by the blind and the visually impaired. It is traditionally written with embossed paper. Braille-users can read computer screens and other electronic supports thanks to refreshable Braille displays. They can write Braille with the original slate and stylus or type it on a Braille writer, such as a portable Braille note-taker, or on a computer that prints with a Braille embosser.

Brain Drain:

The loss of skilled intellectual and technical labor through the movement of such labor to more favorable geographic, economic, or professional environments.

Brain-Teaser:

Informal: a difficult problem.

Brainchild:

An original idea or plan attributed to a person or group.

Brainrot:

“Brainrot” is a slang term used on TikTok to describe silly opinions, thoughts, and language that people can develop when they spend too much time online or in niche internet communities. "Brainrot" usually refers to videos or tweets that feel totally out of touch with reality.

Read also: If You Know What ‘Brainrot’ Means, You Might Already Have It - "A popular term captures the condition of being terminally online, with humor and pathos. The term refers primarily to low-value internet content and the effects caused by spending too much time consuming it. Example: 'I've been watching so many TikToks, I have brainrot.'"

Brainstorming:

An unstructured meeting in which the participants attempt to come up with original solutions to corporate problems. The first step is usually an attempt to gather as many ideas as possible. Only later are the ideas evaluated.

Brainwashing:

Intensive, forcible indoctrination, usually political or religious, aimed at destroying a person's basic convictions and attitudes and replacing them with an alternative set of fixed beliefs.

The application of a concentrated means of persuasion, such as an advertising campaign or repeated suggestion, in order to develop a specific belief or motivation.

Branch:

The retail outlet of a financial institution. In many countries bank Branches occupy the most prestigious (and expensive) sites on the high streets of towns and cities.

A limited part of a larger or more complex unit or system, especially: an area of specialized skill or knowledge, especially academic or vocational, that is related to but separate from other areas; a subdivision of a family of languages, such as the Germanic branch of Indo-European.

A division of a family, categorized by descent from a particular ancestor.

Branch Water:

Water from a stream (a term primarily used in the southern United States); addition of plain water rather than soda water to a mixed drink (for example, "Bourbon and branch" refers to Bourbon whiskey with plain water); water that is steeped with a fresh young branch of a Douglas Fir tree, imparting upon it a distinct resinous flavor. Anecdotal evidence points to claims that water prepared in this way is cleansed of some impurities and odors and is also oxygenated. Natural stream water is, of course, steeped in a profusion of fallen brush and stream side plant material. Douglas Fir ranges in the Pacific NW and the Rockies.

Brand:

The set of values that are signified by a company's name or symbol and that differentiate it from its competitors. The marketing potential of Brands has received much attention in recent years as companies such as Nike, Virgin and Levi have gained great benefit from developing their Brands so that they represent more a lifestyle than a product.

Brand Extension:

Extending a brand's name to new products or services. For example, the Swatch car extends the use of the Swatch watch brand to a Mercedes car.

Brandicide:

The killing of a brand by over-extension. When many different products carry one brand name there is a danger that the failure of one of the products will reflect badly on all of them. One rotten apple in the barrel can cause the lot to rot.

Brand Management:

The process of nurturing and marketing brands so that their value to the business increases.

Branded Content:

Advertainment is a relatively new form of advertising medium that blurs conventional distinctions between what constitutes advertising and what constitutes entertainment.

Bras d'Honneur:

A Bras d'Honneur (French: "arm of honor") is an obscene gesture. To form the gesture, an arm is bent to make an L-shape, while the other hand then grips the biceps of the bent arm, and the bent forearm is then raised vertically emphatically. It has the same meaning as giving the finger (known as le doigt d'honneur), though this particular usage is often connotated as relating to the phrase "Up Yours". Occasionally, the middle finger of the bent arm is also raised to add emphasis.

See also: the finger.

Brass:

A yellowish alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes including small amounts of other metals, but usually 67 percent copper and 33 percent zinc.

Music: the section of a band or an orchestra composed of Brass instruments; Brass instruments or their players considered as a group.

A memorial plaque or tablet made of Brass, especially one on which an effigy is incised.

Slang: high-ranking military officers or other high officials.

Chiefly British: money.

Brasserie:

A restaurant with a relaxed, upscale setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. A Brasserie can be expected to have professional service, printed menus, and, traditionally, white linen (unlike a bistro which may have none of these). Typically, a Brasserie is open every day of the week and serves the same menu all day.

Brat:

Brat is the name of Charli XCX's sixth studio album and her tweet about Vice-President Harris received almost nine million views in just four hours.

The album's artwork is a lime green square with the word brat written in the middle in a low resolution Arial font.

Charli told the BBC's Sidetracked podcast that brat is a concept that represents a person who might have "a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra".

It has been deemed by some pop critics as a rejection of the "clean girl" aesthetic popularised on TikTok, which spurned a groomed ideal of femininity, and instead embraces more hedonistic and rebellious attitudes.

“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times,” Charli explained on social media.

“Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

Brat crowned Collins Dictionary 2024 word of the year.

Bravado:

Defiant or swaggering behavior.

A pretense of courage; a false show of bravery.

A disposition toward showy defiance or false expressions of courage.

Bravo:

Used to express approval, especially of a performance.

Bravura:

In classical music, a Bravura is a style of both music and its performance intended to show off the skill of a performer. Commonly it is a virtuosic passage performed as a solo, and often in a cadenza.

Breach:

The non-performance of something that has been agreed between the parties to a contract. A Breach of contract by one party entitles the other to certain remedies prescribed in law.

Bread and Butter:

Means of support; livelihood; the essential sustaining element or elements; the mainstay.

Bread-and-Butter Letter:

A short, hand-written communication to thank someone who has recently provided the writer with hospitality, usually dinner or an overnight visit.

Bread and Circuses:

"Bread and Circuses" (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion; distraction; or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace, as an offered "palliative." Juvenal decried it as a simplistic motivation of common people. The phrase also implies the erosion or ignorance of civic duty amongst the concerns of the common man.

In modern usage, the phrase is taken to describe a populace that no longer values civic virtues and the public life. To many across the political spectrum, left and right, it connotes a supposed triviality and frivolity that characterized the Roman Republic prior to its decline into the autocratic monarchy characteristic of the later Roman Empire's transformation about 44 B.C.

Breadcrumb Trail:

When referring to the Internet and/or web pages, a Breadcrumb Trail is a listing of pages often located at the top of the page that helps a user see where they currently are located and how to get back. E.g.: Answers.com > Wiki Answers > Categories > Technology > Computers > Internet > What is the meaning of 'Breadcrumbs' when referring to the Internet?

Break:

To make known, as news.

To surpass or outdo.

To overcome or put an end to, especially by force or strong opposition.

To fail to fulfill; cancel.

"Break a Leg":

"Break a Leg" is a well-known saying in theatre which means "good luck". It is typically said to actors before they go out onto stage to perform.

The expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use.

Break Bread:

Metaphorically, having a meal together, or starting a meal.

Break-Even Point:

The point in the life of a business where its revenue exceeds its costs. Any new venture's business plan should contain a clear analysis of when its break-even point will be achieved, and how much it will cost to get there.

Break-Up Value:

The value of a company when broken up into individual businesses or business units. This may be more or less than the value of the company as a whole. If the value is more and it is a quoted company, it is highly vulnerable to asset stripping.

Breaking News:

News that is happening and being reported or revealed at this moment.

See also: rolling news.

Breeding:

One's line of descent; ancestry.

Elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression.

Brent Crude Oil:

A reference oil for the various types of oil in the North Sea, used as a basis for pricing. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Dubai are other reference oils.

Bretton Woods System:

A landmark system for monetary and exchange rate management established in 1944. The Bretton Woods Agreement was developed at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, from July 1 to July 22, 1944. Even as World War II raged on, 730 delegates from the 44 Allied nations attended the conference. John Maynard Keynes was one of the architects.

Major outcomes of the Bretton Woods conference included the formation of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, most importantly, the proposed introduction of an adjustable pegged foreign exchange rate system. Currencies were pegged to gold and the IMF was given the authority to intervene when an imbalance of payments arose.

The Bretton Woods System ended on August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon ended trading of gold at the fixed price of US$35/ounce, referred to as the Nixon shock. At that point for the first time in history, formal links between the major world currencies and real commodities were severed.

Bric-à-Brac:

Small, usually ornamental objects valued for their antiquity, rarity, originality, or sentimental associations.

BRIC Countries:

In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development.

Brick and Mortar:

Brick and Mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) in its simplest usage describes the physical presence of a building(s) or other structure. The term Brick-and-Mortar business is often used to refer to a company that possesses buildings, production facilities, or store for operations. The name is a metonym derived from the traditional building materials associated with physical buildings: Bricks and Mortar. The term was originally used by Charles Dickens in the book Little Dorrit.

More specifically, in the jargon of e-commerce businesses, brick-and-mortar businesses are companies that have a physical presence and offer face-to-face customer experiences. This term is usually used to contrast with a transitory business or an internet-only presence, such as an online shop, which have no physical presence for shoppers to visit and buy from directly, though such online businesses normally have non-public physical facilities from which they either run business operations, and/or warehousing for mass physical product storage and distribution. Concerns such as foot traffic, storefront visibility, and appealing interior design apply mainly to Brick-and-Mortar businesses rather than online ones.

Bricking (electronics):

The word "Brick", when used in reference to consumer electronics, describes an electronic device such as a smartphone, game console, router, or tablet computer that, due to a serious misconfiguration, corrupted firmware, or a hardware problem, can no longer function, hence, is as technologically useful as a brick.

Bricks and Clicks:

Bricks and Clicks (aka clicks and bricks, click and mortar, bricks, clicks and flips, Womble Store Method (WSM) or WAMBAM) is a jargon term for a business model by which a company integrates both offline (bricks) and online (clicks) presences, sometimes with the third extra flips (physical catalogs). Additionally, many will also offer telephone ordering and mobile phone apps, or at least provide telephone sales support. The advent of mobile web has made businesses operating Bricks and Clicks businesses especially popular, because it means customers can do tasks like shopping when they have spare time and do not have to be at a computer. Many of these users prefer to use mobile shopping sites.

BRICS Countries:

BRICS, originally "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010, is the title of an association of emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. With the possible exception of Russia, the BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs. As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal GDP of US$14.9 trillion, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.

Bridezilla:

A woman who, in the course of planning her wedding, exercises or attempts to exercise an high degree of control over all or many minor details of the ceremony and reception.

Bridging Loan:

A short-term loan designed to act as a bridge between an item of expenditure and the revenue to meet that expenditure. Frequently used in housing finance to fund the purchase of a new home until the borrowers are able to sell their old one.

Briefcase:

A portable, often flat case with a handle, used for carrying papers or books.

See also: attaché case.

Briefing:

The act or an instance of giving instructions or preparatory information to someone.

Bright Young Things:

The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw elaborate fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, drank heavily and used drugs.

Brightest Knife in the Drawer:

See: sharpest knife in the drawer.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD):

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) (also referred to as Bring your own technology (BYOT), Bring your own phone (BYOP), and Bring your own PC (BYOPC)) is a term that is frequently used to describe the policy of permitting employees to bring personally owned mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their place of work and use those devices to access privileged company information and applications. The term is also used to describe the same practice applied to students using personally owned devices in education settings.

BYOD is making significant inroads in the business world, with about 90% of employees already using their own technology (in at least a limited capacity) at work. In most cases, businesses simply can't block the trend. Some believe that BYOD may help employees be more productive. Others say it increases employee morale and convenience by using their own devices and makes the company look like a flexible and attractive employer.

Brinkmanship:

Brinkmanship (also brinksmanship) is the practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome. It occurs in international politics, foreign policy, labour relations, and (in contemporary settings) military strategy involving the threatened use of nuclear weapons.

This maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the opponent to back down and make concessions. This might be achieved through diplomatic maneuvers by creating the impression that one is willing to use extreme methods rather than concede. During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear force was often used as such an escalating measure.

Brio:

Quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous.

Bris:

Bris is Yiddish for Brit milah, meaning "covenant of circumcision".

British Commonwealth of Nations:

The 54 member states, with year of admission:

Antigua and Barbuda (1981), Australia (1931) (1), Bahamas (1973), Bangladesh (1972), Barbados (1966), Belize (1981), Botswana (1966), Brunei (1984) (2), Britain (1931), Cameroon (1995), Canada (1931) (1), Cyprus (1961), Dominica (1978), Fiji Islands (1997) (3), Gambia (1965), Ghana (1957), Grenada (1974), Guyana (1966), India (1947), Jamaica (1962), Kenya (1963), Kiribati (1979), Lesotho (1966, Malawi (1964), Malaysia (1957), Maldives (1982), Malta (1964), Mauritius (1968), Mozambique (1995), Namibia (1990), Nauru (1968) (4), New Zealand (1931) (1), Nigeria (1960) (5), Pakistan (1989) (6), Papua New Guinea (1975), St Kitts and Nevis (1983), St Lucia (1979), St Vincent and Grenadines (1979), Samoa (1970), Seychelles (1976), Sierra Leone (1961), Singapore (1965), Solomon Islands (1978), South Africa (1994) (7), Sri Lanka (1948), Swaziland (1968), Tanzania (1961), Tonga (1970) (2), Trinidad and Tobago (1962), Tuvalu (1978), Uganda (1982), Vanuatu (1980), Zambia (1964) and Zimbabwe (1980).

(1): Independence given legal effect by the Statute of Westminster 1931. (2): Brunei and Tonga had been sovereign states in treaty relationship with Britain. (3): Fiji left 1987; but rejoined in 1997. It changed its name to 'Fiji Islands' in 1998. (4): Nauru was first a Mandate, then a Trust territory. (5): Membership suspended 1995. (6): Left 1992, rejoined 1989. (7): Left 1961, rejoined 1994.

Bro Fist:

Bro Fist is an Internet slang term referring to the “fist bump” greeting gesture which is performed by two participants who touch closed fists together. On imageboards and discussion forums, the gesture is often iterated as an ASCII-based copypasta resembling a clenched fist.

Broadband:

Broadband in telecommunications refers to a signaling method that includes or handles a relatively wide range (or band) of frequencies, which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. Broadband is always a relative term, understood according to its context. The wider the bandwidth, the greater the information-carrying capacity. In radio, for example, a very narrow-band signal will carry Morse code; a broader band will carry speech; a still broader band is required to carry music without losing the high audio frequencies required for realistic sound reproduction.

Broadband in data can refer to broadband networks or broadband Internet and may have the same meaning as above, so that data transmission over a fiber optic cable would be referred to as broadband as compared to a telephone modem operating at 56,000 bits per second. However, a world-wide standard for what level of bandwidth and network speeds actually constitute Broadband has not been determined.

Broadsheet Newspaper:

Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches / 559 millimetres or more).

In some countries, especially Australia, Canada, UK, and USA, Broadsheet newspapers are commonly perceived to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts, using their greater size to examine stories in more depth, while carrying less sensationalist and celebrity material. This distinction is most obvious on the front page: whereas tabloids tend to have a single story dominated by a headline, Broadsheets allow two or more stories to be displayed, the most important at the top of the page.

Brocard (law):

A Brocard is a legal maxim in Latin that is, in a strict sense, derived from traditional legal authorities, even from ancient Rome.

Broetry:

Bro-like poetry, often about lax, cod, nati lite, dome or a combination.

Broken Heart Syndrome:

In many legends and fictional tales, characters die after suffering a devastating loss. But even in reality people die from what appears to be a broken heart. Broken Heart Syndrome is commonly described as a physical pain in the heart or chest area, which is due to the emotional stress caused by a traumatic breakup or the death of a loved one.

Broken Heart Syndrome mimics symptoms of a heart attack, but it is clinically different from a heart attack because the patients have few risk factors for heart disease and were previously healthy prior to the heart muscles weakening. Some echocardiograms expressed how the left ventricle, of people with the broken heart syndrome, was contracting normally but the middle and upper sides of the heart muscle had weaker contractions due to inverted T waves and longer Q-T intervals that are associated with stress. Investigators recorded heart abnormalities and failures with no revealed clogged arteries, unlike real heart attacks. Some neurological processes are suggested to cause the feeling a “the heart breaking”, but these studies are based one small samples. Some of the processes include increased catecholamine’s that because spasms in the coronary arteries and can cause loss of blood flow to leads to a transient stunning of the heart. There can also be a failure to provide enough oxygen to the heart by the arteries. Magnetic resonance images suggested that the recovery rates for those suffering from "Broken Heart Syndrome" are faster than those who had heart attacks and complete recovery to the heart is achieved within two months.

Read also: 'Broken heart syndrome' has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, small study suggests - "A study published Thursday found a significant increase in 'broken heart syndrome' at two Ohio hospitals among some patients who don't have coronavirus, suggesting that the physical, social and economic stressors from the pandemic are taking a physical toll."

Broken Windows Theory:

The Broken Windows Theory is a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior. The theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments to prevent small crimes such as vandalism, public drinking and toll-jumping helps to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more serious crimes from happening.

Broker:

An agent who buys and sells assets (usually financial assets) on behalf of others, and who is rewarded by a commission related to the value of the transactions undertaken. A broker can be an individual or a firm.

Bromance:

A Bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished by a particularly high level of emotional intimacy. The emergence of the concept since the beginning of the 21st century has been seen as reflecting a change in societal perception and interest in the theme, with an increasing openness of western society in the twenty-first century to reconsider gender, sexuality, and exclusivity constraints.

Bromosexual:

A unique and powerfull relationship amongst bros that words cannot define.

A guy who is Bromosexual is totally straight. In fact he will punch you in the face if you say that he's gay. He's so totally straight that he has sex with tons of chicks... sure his bro might be in the room with him, maybe videotaping it (with lots of close-ups of the penis)... or doing the same girl at the same time... with their penises touching...

He is totally 100% not gay!

Bronde:

Brunette whose personality, behavior or intelligence come across as blonde-like.

Brotherhood:

The state or relationship of being brothers; fellowship.

An association of men, such as a fraternity or union, united for common purposes.

Brouhaha:

A Brouhaha, from French brouhaha, is a state of social agitation when a minor incident gets out of control, sometimes referred to as an uproar or hubbub.

Brown Goods:

Electrical consumer goods that used to be encased in brown veneer, such as radios and televisions.

Brownie Points:

Brownie Points in modern usage are a hypothetical social currency, which can be acquired by doing good deeds or earning favor in the eyes of another, often one's superior.

Brownstone:

A nineteenth-century-style house, usually having 4 or 5 stories with a stoop leading up to the first floor. There are common side walls with a house on either side.

Browser:

A program used to locate and view HTML documents (Microsoft Explorer 8, FireFox, Opera, Safari 4, Chrome, Linux, for example).

Brunch:

A meal typically eaten late in the morning as a combination of a late breakfast and an early lunch.

Brushing Scam:

Brushing is a deceitful technique sometimes used in e-commerce to boost a seller's ratings by creating fake orders.

BS:

Short for: bullshit.

Bubba:

Chiefly Southern U.S.: brother.

A white working-class man of the southern United States, stereotypically regarded as uneducated and gregarious with his peers.

Bubble:

An artificially inflated financial market. The most famous Bubble in history was the South Sea Bubble of 1720 in which the shares of the UK's South Sea Company increased tenfold before collapsing to next to nothing.

Something insubstantial, groundless, or ephemeral.

A thin, usually spherical or hemispherical film of liquid filled with air or gas.

A usually transparent glass or plastic dome.

Bucket List:

A list of activities and achievements that a person hopes to accomplish in his or her lifetime; a list of things to accomplish before one's death.

Bucket Shop:

A firm of brokers that deals in securities (or airline tickets) of dubious provenance.

Buddy List:

See: contact list.

Budget:

An estimate of future revenue and costs over a specific period. Budgets are usually prepared on an annual or a monthly basis. They are drawn up for the finances of large countries and of tiny business units alike.

Buff:

One who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject.

Buffer:

Something that lessens or absorbs the shock of an impact.

Something that separates potentially antagonistic entities, as an area between two rival powers that serves to lessen the danger of conflict.

Computer Science: a device or area used to store data temporarily.

To act as a Buffer for or between.

Buffer Stock:

A stock of materials held in reserve. Large commodity markets retain Buffer Stocks to smooth out the flow of supply and demand. Businesses aim to keep their Buffer Stocks as low as possible so that they minimise the cost of retaining materials unnecessarily.

Buffet:

A large sideboard with drawers and cupboards.

A counter or table from which meals or refreshments are served.

A meal at which guests serve themselves from various dishes displayed on a table or sideboard.

Buffett Rule:

The Buffett Rule is part of a tax plan proposed by President Barack Obama in 2011. The tax plan would apply a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on individuals making more than a million dollars a year. According to a White House official, the new tax rate would directly affect 0.3 percent of taxpayers.

Buffin:

A coarse cloth in use for the gowns of the middle classes in the time of Elizabeth.

Bug-Out Bag:

A Bug-Out Bag or BOB is a portable kit that normally contains the items one would require to survive for seventy-two hours when evacuating from a disaster, however some kits are designed to last longer periods. The focus is on evacuation, rather than long-term survival, distinguishing the bug-out bag from a survival kit, a boating or aviation emergency kit, or a fixed-site disaster supplies kit.

Bulimia Nervosa:

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors. The most common form—practiced by more than 75% of people with bulimia nervosa is self-induced vomiting, sometimes called purging; fasting, the use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, and over exercising are also common.

See also: anorexia nervosa and orthorexia nervosa.

Bulk:

Size, mass, or volume, especially when very large.

The major portion or greater part.

Bull:

An investor who expects the price of a security (or of a securities market) to rise. Bulls buy securities now in the expectation of being able to sell them in the future for profit. Bulls who are changing their minds are known as stale Bulls. Contrast with bear.

An official document issued by the pope and sealed with a Bulla.

Bull's Eye:

The small central circle on a target; a shot that hits this circle; a direct hit.

The precise accomplishment of a goal or purpose.

Bulldog Drummond:

Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile (1888–1937), and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.

Bullet Chess:

Bullet Chess is a form of chess in which each move must be completed within a very short time, usually ten seconds.

Bullet Loan:

A loan on which the borrower pays only interest during the life of the loan. The capital is repaid all at once (in a single Bullet) at the end of the term of the loan.

Bullet Train:

A high-speed passenger train.

Visit also: Japan Railways Group.

Bulletin:

A brief report, especially an official statement on a matter of public interest issued for immediate publication or broadcast.

A brief update or summary of current news, as on television or radio or in a newspaper.

Bulletin Board:

A board on which notices are posted.

A system that enables users to send or read electronic messages, files, and other data that are of general interest and addressed to no particular person.

Bullhorn:

A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, Bullhorn, blowhorn or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, funnel cone-shaped device whose application is to amplify a person’s voice towards a targeted direction.

Bullion:

Silver or gold that has not been turned into coins. Gold Bullion is usually kept in the form of ingots of a standard shape and weight.

Bullion Coin:

A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce.

Bullshit:

Vulgar Slang: foolish, deceitful, or boastful language; something worthless, deceptive, or insincere; insolent talk or behavior.

Bully:

A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people.

A hired ruffian; a thug.

Bunching:

The practice of accelerating payments (and bringing them closer together) to take advantage of tax rules.

Bunad:

Bunad is a Norwegian umbrella term encompassing, in its broadest sense, a range of both traditional rural clothes (mostly dating to the 19th and 18th centuries) as well as modern 20th-century folk costumes. In its narrow sense the word Bunad refers only to clothes designed in the early 20th century that are loosely based on traditional costumes. The word Bunad in itself is a 20th-century invention.

Bundling:

The practice of offering other products or services that are related to the product that is being sold at a special price. Software packages, for example, are often bundled with the purchase of hardware.

Bunga Bunga:

The Daily Beast reported Bunga Bunga as being "an erotic ritual ... which is said to be a sort of underwater orgy where nude young women allegedly encircled the nude prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and/or his friends in his swimming pool. Bunga Bunga has become a popular catchphrase in Italy, even inspiring a song to the tune of Shakira's Waka Waka world cup tribute song".

Read also The Sydney Morning Herald's in-depth article.

Bungalow:

A small house or cottage usually having a single story and sometimes an additional attic story.

A thatched or tiled one-story house in India surrounded by a wide verandah.

Bungee Jumping:

Individual Sports & Recreations / Extreme Sports: the sport of jumping usually head-first from a great height while attached to a secured rubber cord (bungee cord) attached to the ankles.

Bunker:

An underground fortification, often with a concrete projection above ground level for observation or gun emplacements.

Sports: a sand trap serving as an obstacle on a golf course.

Bunny:

A young waitress in a nightclub whose costume includes the tail and ears of a rabbit.

Slang: a devotee of a specified pastime or activity.

Bunny Dip:

This is required a Bunny with Hugh Hefner's Playboy Clubs to lean gracefully backwards while bending at the knees, with the left knee lifted and tucked behind the right leg.

Burden of Proof:

(Legal): the Burden of Proof (Latin: onus probandi) in the United States is the imperative on a party in a trial to produce the evidence that will shift the conclusion away from the default position to one's own position.

(Philosophic): in epistemology, the Burden of Proof or onus probandi is the obligation on a party in a dispute to provide sufficient warrant for their position.

Bureaucracy:

Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures.

Burgee:

A Burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. In most cases, they have the shape of a pennant.

Burgess (title):

Burgess is a word in English that originally meant a freeman of a borough (England) or burgh (Scotland). It later came to mean an elected or unelected official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons.

It was derived in Middle English and Middle Scots from the Old Frenchword burgeis, simply meaning "an inhabitant of a town" (cf. burgeis or burges respectively). The Old French word burgeis is derived from bourg, meaning a market town or medieval village, itself derived from Late Latin burgus, meaning "fortress" or "wall". In effect, the reference was to the north-west European medieval and renaissance merchant class which tended to set up their storefronts along the outside of the city wall, where traffic through the gates was an advantage and safety in event of an attack was easily accessible. The right to seek shelter within a burg was known as the right of burgess.

The term was close in meaning to the Germanic term burgher, a formally defined class in medieval German cities, (Middle Dutch burgher, Dutch burger and German Bürger). It is also linguistically close to the French term Bourgeois, which evolved from burgeis. An analogous term in Arabic and Urdu is 'burj', which in itself variously means a high wall, a building or in some cases a tower.

Burka:

A loose, usually black or light blue robe that is worn by Muslim women, especially in Afghanistan, and that covers the body from head to toe.

Burkini:

A Burkini (or Burqini) - origin: Burka + Bikini - swimsuit is a type of swimsuit for women designed by Lebanese Australian Aheda Zanetti under the company name Ahiida.

The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet (enough to preserve Muslim modesty), whilst being light enough to enable swimming. It was described as the perfect solution for Muslim women who want to swim but are uncomfortable about "revealing" bathing suits.

Burlesque:

A variety show characterized by broad ribald comedy, dancing, and striptease.

A literary or dramatic work that ridicules a subject either by presenting a solemn subject in an undignified style or an inconsequential subject in a dignified style.

Burn Bag:

A Burn Bag is a security bag that holds sensitive or classified documents which are to be destroyed by fire or pulping after a certain period of time. The most common usage of Burn Bags is by government institutions, in the destruction of classified materials. Destruction via Burn Bags is considered superior to shredding, because shredded documents may be reconstructed.

Burn Card:

In card games, a Burn Card is a playing card dealt from the top of a deck, and discarded ("burned"), unused by the players. Burn Cards are almost always placed face down next to the discard pile without being revealed to the players.

In Texas hold 'em, a card is burned before the flop, before the turn, and before the river.

The Burn Card's main reason for existence is to foil cheaters. Some cheaters will mark the backs of cards, so discarding the top card prior to dealing will reduce the advantage someone would get from knowing what that card is from its markings. Other cheaters will do what is called "second dealing," which is dealing the second card in the deck, rather than the first, in order to save the first card (which is known to the dealer) to be dealt to a specific player. By burning the first card, that known card is eliminated from play.

Burner:

A throwaway prepaid cellphone, typically used by dealers. Used until the minutes are up, then thrown away so they cannot be tapped.

Burner Email:

Disposable email addressing, also known as DEA or dark mail, refers to an approach which involves a unique email address being used for every contact, entity, or for a limited number of times or uses. The benefit is that if anyone compromises the address or utilizes it in connection with email abuse, the address owner can easily cancel (or "dispose" of) it without affecting any of their other contacts.

Burpee (exercise):

The Burpee is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise. The basic movement is performed in four steps and known as a "four-count Burpee":
1. Begin in a standing position.
2. Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground. (count 1)
3. Kick your feet back, while keeping your arms extended. (count 2)
4. Immediately return your feet to the squat position. (count 3)
5. Jump up from the squat position (count 4).

Bus (computing):

In computer architecture, a Bus is a subsystem that transfers data between computer components inside a computer or between computers.

Bus Boy:

A restaurant attendant who sets tables and assists waiters and clears away dirty dishes.

Bus Factor:

The Bus Factor is a measurement of the risk resulting from information and capabilities not being shared among team members, derived from the phrase "in case they get hit by a bus". It is also known as the bread truck scenario, bus problem, beer truck scenario, lottery factor, truck factor, bus/truck number, or lorry factor.

The concept is similar to the much older idea of key person risk, but considers the consequences of losing key technical experts, versus financial or managerial executives (who are theoretically replaceable at an insurable cost). Personnel must be both key and irreplaceable to contribute to the bus factor; losing a replaceable or non-key person would not result in a Bus-Factor effect.

The term was first applied to software development, where a team member might create critical components by crafting code that performs well, but which also is unavailable to other team members, such as work that was undocumented, never shared, encrypted, obfuscated or not published. Thus a key component would be effectively lost as a direct consequence of the absence of that team member, making the member key. If this component was key to the project's advancement, the project would stall.

Busey:

The lesser, crappier, or worse version of two similar people / ideas / objects. Originating from the idea that actor Gary Busey is a poor man's Nick Nolte; Dolph Lundgren is the "Busey" of Arnold Schwartzenegger, etc.

Busey-ism:

A "Busey-ism" is like an acronym in reverse - you take the letters that spell out a word and break them down into new words that create a definition for it. Examples: FUN: Finally Understanding Nothing; ANGER: Another Negative Grievance Explaining Rage.

Bush Telegraph:

Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology: a means of communication between primitive peoples over large areas, as by drum beats.

A means of spreading rumor, gossip, etc.

Bushido:

Bushido is the traditional code of the Japanese samurai, stressing honor, self-discipline, bravery, courage, loyalty, and simple living.

Bushisms:

"Bushisms" are unconventional statements, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistic errors in the public speaking of the 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush. The term has become part of popular folklore and is the basis of a number of websites and published books. It is often used to caricature the former president. Common characteristics include malapropisms, the creation of neologisms, spoonerisms, stunt words and grammatically incorrect subject–verb agreement.

Business:

An organization run for profit, be it a company, partnership or sole trader.

The collection of all such organizations.

The main activity of all of the above.

Business Agent:

An agent who handles business affairs for another; especially one who deals with employers.

Business Angel:

A private individual who invests smaller sums, usually in small or start up businesses and who may be able and willing to provide hands on experience and involvement.

Business Card:

A small card printed or engraved with a person's name and business affiliation, including such information as title, address, and telephone number.

Visit: business card - Wikipedia.

Business Class:

A class of service on airlines (also known as executive class or upper class) that is usually situated between first class and coach and offers amenities as larger seats, free cocktails, and early check-in.

Business Cycle:

The economies of most countries move in a cycle of recession followed by recovery, followed by another recession. This cycle is known as the business cycle, and it can vary greatly in duration.

Business Ecosystem:

An economic community supported by a foundation of interacting organizations and individuals - the organisms of the business world. The economic community produces goods and services of value to customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem. The member organisms also include suppliers, lead producers, competitors, and other stakeholders. Over time, they coevolve their capabilities and roles, and tend to align themselves with the directions set by one or more central companies. Those companies holding leadership roles may change over time, but the function of ecosystem leader is valued by the community because it enables members to move toward shared visions to align their investments, and to find mutually supportive roles.

Business Email Compromise:

Business Email Compromise attacks are a form of cyber crime which use email fraud to attack commercial, government and non-profit organizations to achieve a specific outcome which negatively impacts the target organization. Examples include invoice scams and spear phishing spoof attacks which are designed to gather data for other criminal activities. Consumer privacy breaches often occur as a result of business email compromise attack.

Typically an attack targets specific employee roles within an organization by sending a spoof email (or series of spoof emails) which fraudulently represent a senior colleague (CEO or similar) or a trusted customer. The email will issue instructions, such as approving payments or releasing client data. The emails often use social engineering to trick the victim into making money transfers to the bank account of the fraudster.

Read also: BEC or Business Email Compromise hacking - "One of the most common types of cyber-attack, which the FBI says costs more than £6 billion a year - and experts say Nigeria is its epicentre."

Business Ethics:

The moral code by which businessmen and women conduct their professional relationships with shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, and so on. Typical issues in business ethics today are:

Is it acceptable to pay bribes in countries where this is standard practice?

To what extent should businesses be held responsible for clearing up industrial sites that they abandon?

Business Jet:

Business Jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of business people. Business Jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and a few may be used by public bodies, governments or the armed forces. The more formal terms of corporate jet, executive jet, VIP transport or business jet tend to be used by the firms that build, sell, buy and charter these aircraft.

Visit: Business Jets.

Business Model:

A Business Model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value - economic, social, or other forms of value. The process of Business Model design is part of business strategy.

Business Plan:

A Business Plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

Business Reply Card:

A prepaid postcard designed to elicit a response from a consumer. Consumers are often asked to reply to questions on the card relating to a product that they have just purchased.

Business School:

An educational institution that teaches courses on business and often provides customised management development programmes for companies. Most business education used to be done at postgraduate level or on the job. But a growing number of universities now offer undergraduate business courses.

Business-to-Business Advertising:

Advertising which a business aims at other businesses. A supplier of metal hardness testers, for example, does not want to advertise directly to all consumers but only to companies that need to test metal, such as aircraft manufacturers. Business-to-Business Advertising generally uses written copy (which can sometimes be highly technical) rather than eye-catching images.

Bustier:

A formfitting sleeveless and usually strapless woman's top, worn as lingerie and often as evening attire.

Butler:

A Butler is a servant in a large household. In the great houses of the past, the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance. Housekeepers are occasionally portrayed in literature as being the most senior staff member and as even making recommendations for the hiring of the Butler.

See also: gentleman & majordomo.

Butterfly Effect:

The Butterfly Effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory.

Buy-Back:

A clause in a purchasing contract whereby a vendor agrees to buy back goods in certain circumstances. For example, a builder might agree to buy back a property at a prearranged price should the purchaser be relocated by his employer within a prescribed period of time.

Buy-In:

Stock: amass so as to keep for future use or sale or for a particular occasion or use; when an investor is forced to repurchase shares because the seller did not deliver the securities in a timely fashion, or did not deliver them at all.

The amount of chips you bring to table when you take a seat. Each table has a minimum buy-in and a maximum buy-in.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL):

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a type of short-term financing that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them at a future date, often interest-free. Also referred to as "point of sale installment loans," BNPL arrangements are becoming an increasingly popular payment option, especially when shopping online.

Buyer:

A person or organization that has decided to make a purchase.

Buyer's Market:

A market in which the buyer has the upper hand, where there is more supply than demand. In such a market competition should bring prices down. This in turn should eliminate some suppliers (who are no longer able to make a profit) thus restoring the balance between buyers and sellers.

Buzz:

To whisper; to communicate, as tales, in an under tone; to spread, as report, by whispers, or secretly.

Buzzword:

A Buzzword is a word or phrase that becomes very popular for a period of time. It may be a technical term and may have little meaning, being simply used to impress others.

A Buzzword (also fashion word and vogue word) is a term of art or technical jargon that has begun to see use in the wider society outside of its originally narrow technical context by nonspecialists who use the term vaguely or imprecisely.

Buzzword Warrior:

An individual, typically on an online forum, who uses buzzwords to try to make an argument instead of providing proper evidence and research that backups or strengthens their points.

Typically used as a means to lash out at people they disagree with, and see as a threat trying to ruin their sense of enjoyment.

BV:

Short for: Besloten Vennootschap met Beperkte Aansprakelijkheid. A BV is a Dutch limited company for small commercial enterprise, not required to publish accounts; used as a Substantial Holding Company.

BVI:

Short for: Body Volume Index. BVI is a proposed new and improved international anthropometric benchmark for healthcare and obesity measurement.

Visit also: Official BVI Launch and Body Mass Index.

BWAG:

Short for: Banker's Wife And Girlfriend.

By Appointment Only:

See also: appointment.

By Jove:

(Dated, chiefly British): minced oath for by God, Jove referring to Jupiter.

By-Product:

Something sellable that is produced as an accidental side-effect of manufacturing something else. Sawdust, for example, is a by-product of carpentry, and gas is often a by-product of the oil industry.

Bye-Laws or By-Laws:

Articles of Association of a company (in certain jurisdictions).

Byline:

The Byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, the date, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably Reader's Digest) place Bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical elements around the headline.

BYOB:

Initialism meant to stand for "Bring Your Own Booze", "Bring Your Own Bottle", "Bring Your Own Beer" or "Bring Your Own Beverage".

BYOB is often placed on an invitation to indicate that the host will not be providing alcohol and that guests are welcome to bring their own. It is also frequently used by regular bars, restaurants, or strip clubs which do not have licenses to serve liquor or alcoholic beverages in general. This practice is congruent with corkage, the practice of restaurants where guests are allowed to bring their own bottles by paying a fee to the restaurant.

Read also: Email shows Boris Johnson aide invited No 10 staff to lockdown ‘BYOB’ party - "Police investigating reports that Martin Reynolds invited 100 employees and PM attended at time when social mixing was banned."

BYOD:

Short for: Bring Your Own Device.

Bystander Effect:

The Bystander Effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological claim that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that one of them will help.

Several factors contribute to the Bystander Effect, including ambiguity, group cohesiveness, and diffusion of responsibility that reinforces mutual denial of a situation's severity.

Byte:

A unit for measuring the capacity of a computer. A Byte is equal to eight bits (BI...nary digi...TS.

Byzantine:

Of or relating to the ancient city of Byzantium; of or relating to the Byzantine Empire.

Of or belonging to the style of architecture developed from the fifth century ad in the Byzantine Empire, characterized especially by a central dome resting on a cube formed by four round arches and their pendentives and by the extensive use of surface decoration, especially veined marble panels, low relief carving, and colored glass mosaics.

Of the painting and decorative style developed in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by formality of design, frontal stylized presentation of figures, rich use of color, especially gold, and generally religious subject matter.

Of, relating to, or characterized by intrigue; scheming or devious; ighly complicated; intricate and involved.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- C -

Cabal:

A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers.

A secret scheme or plot.

Cabaret:

A restaurant or nightclub providing short programs of live entertainment.

The floor show presented by such a restaurant or nightclub.

Cabin Fever:

Cabin Fever refers to the distressing claustrophobic irritability or restlessness experienced when a person, or group, is stuck at an isolated location or in confined quarters for an extended period of time. A person may be referred to as stir-crazy, derived from the use of stir to mean 'prison'.

A person may experience Cabin Fever in a situation such as being isolated within a vacation cottage out in the country, spending long periods underwater in a submarine, or being otherwise isolated from civilization. During Cabin Fever, a person may experience sleepiness or sleeplessness, have a distrust of anyone they are with, or have an urge to go outside even in adverse conditions such as poor weather or limited visibility. The concept is also invoked humorously to indicate simple boredom from being home alone for an extended period of time.

Cabin Fever is not itself a disease and there is no prognosis. However, related symptoms can lead the sufferer to make irrational decisions that could potentially threaten their life or the life of the group with whom they are confined. Some examples would be suicide or paranoia, or leaving the safety of a cabin during a terrible snow storm that one may be stuck in.

Read also: When Did You Know You Had Cabin Fever? - "Now that folks are sheltering in place, they're spending a lot more time online - talking about being sheltered in place." & 14 Apps & Tools to Stave Off Cabin Fever - "Millions of people are staying inside for the indefinite future. Here are a few apps to help you socialize, exercise, and meditate from your own home."

Cable Television:

A television distribution system in which station signals, picked up by elevated antennas, are delivered by Cable to the receivers of subscribers.

Cabochon:

A Cabochon is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse.

Cabotage:

Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country. Originally starting with shipping, Cabotage now also covers aviation, railways and road transport. Cabotage is "trade or navigation in coastal waters, or, the exclusive right of a country to operate the air traffic within its territory."

Rights given by law which allow national shippers to carry all cargo (and passengers) transported within the country's territory (by land and sea).

Cabriolet:

An automobile with a folding top; a convertible coupe.

Cache:

In computer science, a Cache is a collection of data duplicating original values stored elsewhere or computed earlier, where the original data is expensive to fetch (owing to longer access time) or to compute, compared to the cost of reading the Cache. In other words, a Cache is a temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access. Once the data is stored in the Cache, it can be used in the future by accessing the cached copy rather than re-fetching or recomputing the original data.

A Cache has proven to be extremely effective in many areas of computing because access patterns in typical computer applications have locality of reference. There are several kinds of locality, but this article primarily deals with data that are accessed close together in time (temporal locality). The data might or might not be located physically close to each other (spatial locality).

A hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons).

Cachet:

An indication of approved or superior status.

Cacophony:

A discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.

CAD / CAM:

Short for: Computer-Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing. These are software programs that assist in design and manufacturing, two business processes that have been dramatically changed by the introduction of computers.

Cadet:

A student at a military school who is training to be an officer.

A younger son or brother; a youngest son.

Caddie:

One hired to serve as an attendant to a golfer, especially by carrying the golf clubs.

Cadre:

A nucleus of trained personnel around which a larger organization can be built and trained.

A framework; key group.

Caesar (title):

Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to an imperial title can be loosely dated to AD 68 / 69, the so-called "Year of the Four Emperors".

Caesar Salad:

A Caesar Salad has romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. It may be prepared tableside.

Visit: The History of Caesar Salad.

Caesar's Wife Must Be Above Suspicion:

(Proverb): the associates of public figures must not even be suspected of wrongdoing. (The ancient Roman Julius Caesar is supposed to have said this when asked why he divorced his wife, Pompeia. Because she was suspected of some wrongdoing, he could not associate with her anymore.).

Caesura:

A Caesura (pl. caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a complete pause in a verse or musical composition.

Café:

A coffeehouse, restaurant, or bar.

Café Society:

Café Society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "bright young things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in Paris, London, Rome or New York, beginning in the late 1800s. Lucius Beebe, noted American author, journalist, gourmand, and railroad enthusiast is generally credited with creating the term "Café Society," which he chronicled in his weekly column, This New York, for the New York Herald Tribune during the 1920s and 1930s.

Although members of Café Society were not necessarily members of The Establishment or other ruling class groups, they were people who attended each other's private dinners and balls, took holidays in exotic locations or at elegant resorts, and whose children tended to marry the children of other café society members.

In the United States, Café Society came to the fore with the end of Prohition on December 05, 1933 and the rise of photo journalism, to describe the set of people who tended to do their entertaining semi-publicly, in restaurants and night clubs and who would include among them movie stars and sports celebrities. Some of the American night clubs and restaurants frequented by the denizens of Café Society included El Morocco, the Stork Club, 21 Club, and the Pump Room.

In the late 1950s the term Jet Set began to take the place of "Café Society", but "Café Society" may still be used informally in some countries to describe people who habitually visit coffeehouses and give their parties in restaurants rather than at home.

Caffè Americano:

Caffè Americano, or Americano (English: American coffee) is a style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso, giving it a similar strength to, but different flavor from, regular drip coffee. The strength of an Americano varies with the number of shots of espresso and the amount of water added.

Caffè Mocha:

A Caffè Mocha or Café Mocha is a variant of a caffè latte, inspired by the Turin Coffee beverage Bicerin. Like a caffè latte, it is based on espresso and hot milk, but with added chocolate, typically in the form of sweet cocoa powder, although many varieties use chocolate syrup. Mochas can contain dark or milk chocolate.

Caftan:

A full-length garment with elbow-length or long sleeves, worn chiefly in eastern Mediterranean countries.

A westernized version of this garment consisting of a loose, usually brightly colored waist-length or ankle-length tunic.

Cajun:

Cajuns (French: les Cadiens or les Acadiens,) are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now the Maritimes). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.

Caldera:

A Caldera is a large cauldron-like depression that forms following the evacuation of a magma chamber/reservoir. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time period, structural support for the crust above the magma chamber is lost. The ground surface then collapses downward into the partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a massive depression at the surface (from one to dozens of kilometers in diameter). Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact.

Caliban:

Caliban is one of the primary antagonists in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Calibrate:

To check, adjust, or determine by comparison with a standard (the graduations of a quantitative measuring instrument).

Caliph:

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate.

Islam: the title of the successors of Mohammed as rulers of the Islamic world, later assumed by the Sultans of Turkey.

Caliphate:

The office or jurisdiction of a caliph.

Calisthenics:

Calisthenics are a form of aerobic exercise consisting of a variety of simple, often rhythmical, movements, generally using multiple equipment or apparatus. They are intended to increase body strength and flexibility with movements such as bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or kicking, using only one's body weight for resistance. They are usually conducted in concert with stretches.

Call:

A request made to company's investors for payment of what they still owe on shares that the company originally issued as partly paid.

Call Centre:

A place where a number of telephone operators are gathered together to take orders on behalf of a company or to answer customers' queries. Most call centres are part of a large corporation and are used exclusively by its customers and staff. But some work as independent organizations and have a number of different clients.

Call Option:

A contractual right to buy an asset (often shares) at a stated price (the strike price) within a specified period of time. If not exercised, a call option expires at the end of the period.

Calligraphy:

The art of fine handwriting.

Calling:

A strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence.

The vocation or profession in which one customarily engages.

Calorie:

The Calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. The unit was first defined by Professor Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat. This definition entered French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule. However, in many countries it remains in common use as a unit of food energy. In the context of nutrition, and especially food labelling, the terms Calorie and kilocalorie are interchangeable. In either case the unit is approximately equal to 4.2 kJ.

Calvary:

Calvary, also Golgotha, was, according to the Gospels, a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was crucified.

Camaraderie:

Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship.

Camarilla:

A Camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at court but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word, Camarilla, meaning "little chamber" or private cabinet of the king.

Camel Toe:

Camel Toe is a slang term that refers to the outline of a human female's labia majora, as seen through tightly fitting clothes. Due to a combination of anatomical factors and the snugness of the fabric covering it, the crotch and pudendal cleft may take on a resemblance to the forefoot of a camel.

Camel's Nose:

The Camel's Nose is a metaphor for a situation where the permitting of a small, seemingly innocuous act will open the door for larger, clearly undesirable actions.

According to Geoffrey Nunberg, the image entered the English language in the middle of the 19th century. An early example is a fable printed in 1858 in which an Arab miller allows a camel to stick its nose into his bedroom, then other parts of its body, until the camel is entirely inside and refuses to leave.

Camelot:

Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur.

A place or time of idealized beauty, peacefulness, and enlightenment; the supposedly golden age of the presidency of John F. Kennedy, 1961-63.

Camera Obscura:

A darkened chamber in which the real image of an object is received through a small opening or lens and focused in natural color onto a facing surface rather than recorded on a film or plate.

Cameral:

Of or relating to a legislative or judicial chamber.

Cameo (carving):

Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It nearly always features a raised (positive) relief image; contrast with intaglio, which has a negative image. Originally, and still in discussing historical work, Cameo only referred to works where the relief image was of a contrasting colour to the background; this was achieved by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colours met, removing all the first colour except for the image to leave a contrasting background.

Cameo Role / Appearance:

A Cameo Role or Cameo Appearance (often shortened to just Cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and most of them non-speaking. As an example, director Alfred Hitchcock enjoyed inserting himself, often as a passive by-stander, in scenes of his films.

Camming:

Slang for webcamming. Providence: chatrooms and chat apps such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger. Often implies cybersex.

Camorra:

A Neapolitan secret society organized about 1820, notorious for practicing violence and blackmail.

Camouflage:

Concealment by disguise or protective coloring.

Camouflage Passport:

A Camouflage Passport is a passport issued in the name of a non-existent country that is intended to look like a real country’s passport.

Camp (style):

Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing or humorous because of its ridiculousness to the viewer. The concept is related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy". When the usage appeared, in 1909, it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical, and effeminate behaviour, and, by the middle of the 1970s, the definition comprised: banality, artifice, mediocrity, and ostentation so extreme as to have perversely sophisticated appeal.

Camp David:

Naval Support Facility Thurmont, popularly known as Camp David, is a mountain based military camp in Frederick County, Maryland used as a country retreat and for high alert base of the President of the United States and his guests.

Campaign:

Usually used with reference to advertising. An advertising Campaign is a concerted plan to use a number of media over given period of time to get a message - such as "this product or company is outstanding" or "don't drink and drive" - from the advertiser across to the general public. A public relations Campaign is a planned effort to improve the image of something (a company, a product or a politician) in the public's eye.

A series of military operations undertaken to achieve a large-scale objective during a war.

An operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose.

Campanile:

A Campanile is a bell tower.

Campus:

The grounds of a school, college, university, or hospital.

Canapé:

A sofa or divan.

Cookery: an appetizer consisting of a thin slice or piece of bread toasted or fried in butter or oil, on which anchovies, mushrooms, caviar, cheese, or other savory foods, are served.

Canary in the Coal Mine:

An allusion to caged canaries (birds) that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.

(Idiomatic): something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.

Cancel Culture:

The act of canceling, also referred to as Cancel Culture (a variant on the term "callout culture") describes a form of boycott in which an individual (usually a celebrity) who has shared a questionable or controversial opinion, or has had behavior in their past that is perceived to be offensive recorded on social media, is "canceled"; they are ostracized and shunned by former friends, followers and supporters alike, leading to declines in any careers and fanbase the individual may have at any given time.

Candid Camera:

A small, easily operated camera with a fast lens for taking unposed or informal photographs.

The practice of secretly filming subjects who are likely to do something amusing in situations that are often stage-managed for the sake of viewers’ entertainment.

Candidate:

A person who seeks or is nominated for an office, prize, or honor.

A student who has nearly completed the requirements for a degree.

A politician who is running for public office.

Canned Laughter:

A laugh track (a.k.a. laughter soundtrack, laughter track, LFN [laughter from nowhere], laugh in a can, laughing audience, fake laughter) is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into TV comedy shows and sitcoms. The first American television show to incorporate a laugh track was the American sitcom The Hank McCune Show in 1950.

Cannibalize:

To remove serviceable parts from (damaged airplanes, for example) for use in the repair of other equipment of the same kind.

To deprive of vital elements or resources, such as personnel, equipment, or funding, for use elsewhere.

To draw on as a major source.

To practice cannibalism on.

Cannon Fodder:

Cannon Fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) in an effort to achieve a strategic goal; an example is the trench warfare of World War I. The term may also be used (somewhat pejoratively) to differentiate infantry from other forces (such as artillery, air force or the navy), or to distinguish expendable low-grade or inexperienced combatants from supposedly more-valuable veterans.

Canon:

The books, music, and art that have been the most influential in shaping Western culture.

Cante Jondo:

Cante Jondo is a vocal style in flamenco, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music. The name means "deep song" in Spanish.

Canvassing:

Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaigns. A campaign team (and during elections a candidate) will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters. Canvassing may also be performed by telephone, where it is referred to as telephone canvassing. The main purpose of canvassing is to perform voter identification – to poll how individuals are planning to vote – rather than to argue with or persuade voters. This preparation is an integral part of a 'get out the vote' operation, in which known supporters are contacted on polling day and reminded to cast their ballot.

CAP:

Short for: Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union's scheme for protecting the incomes of farmers within EU.

Cap:

An upper limit placed on the interest or capital repayments on a loan. Capping can only apply to interest payments whose rates are adjusted according to market conditions. Fixed interest payments are automatically Capped.

Capacitive:

A Capacitive touchscreen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the screen's electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance.

Capacity:

The maximum that can be produced by a given unit of labor or capital in a given period of time.

Cape Town Treaty:

The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, or Cape Town Treaty is an international treaty intended to standardize transactions involving movable property. The treaty creates international standards for registration of ownership (including dedicated registration agencies), security interests (liens), leases and conditional sales contracts, and various legal remedies for default in financing agreements, including repossession and the effect of particular states' bankruptcy laws.

Three protocols to the convention are specific to three types of movable equipment: Aircraft Equipment (aircraft and aircraft engines; signed in 2001), railway equipment (signed in 2007) and space assets (signed in 2012).

Caper:

Slang: an illegal plot or enterprise, especially one involving theft.

CAPEX:

Short for: Capital Expenditures. CAPEX or Capex are expenditures creating future benefits. A Capital Expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset with a useful life that extends beyond the taxable year. Capex are used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as equipment, property, or industrial buildings. In accounting, a Capital Expenditure is added to an asset account ("capitalized"), thus increasing the asset's basis (the cost or value of an asset as adjusted for tax purposes). Capex is commonly found on the Cash Flow Statement as "Investment in Plant Property and Equipment" or something similar in the Investing subsection.

For tax purposes, Capital Expenditures are costs that cannot be deducted in the year in which they are paid or incurred, and must be capitalized. The general rule is that if the property acquired has a useful life longer than the taxable year, the cost must be capitalized. The Capital Expenditure costs are then amortized or depreciated over the life of the asset in question. As stated above, Capital Expenditures create or add basis to the asset or property, which once adjusted, will determine tax liability in the event of sale or transfer. In the US, Internal Revenue Code §§263 and 263A deal extensively with capitalization requirements and exceptions.

Capital:

Wealth in the form of money or property, used or accumulated in a business by a person, partnership, or corporation.

The money that is invested in a business and that is raised by issuing shares or long-term bonds. People who invest money in businesses are known as capitalists, and an economic system that allows them to do this is called capitalism.

A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation.

Architecture: in several traditions of architecture including Classical architecture, the capital (from the Latin caput, 'head') forms the crowning member of a column or a pilaster.

Capital Allowance:

A part (usually a percentage) of the cost of capital equipment that a company is allowed to set against its annual income for the purposes of calculating its tax bill. The rules on capital allowances are to be found in a country's tax legislation.

Capital Flows:

The movement of capital between countries. Inflows come in, outflows go out.

Capital Gain:

The profit from the sale of a capital asset (property, art, securities, and so on). In many countries capital gains are subject to special tax rules.

Capital Goods:

Goods that are used in the production of other goods: all industrial machinery and office buildings, as well as road diggers and computers.

Capital Intensive:

A business, or business process, that needs a large of capital to operate. Capital-Intensive businesses include those like steelmaking and vehicle manufacturing which need expensive chunks of plant and equipment in order to function.

Capital Market:

A market in which are traded the financial instruments (such as shares and bonds) which represent the capital of companies.

Capitalisation:

The attribution of a capital value to a stream of income; the amount of money that someone is prepared to pay now in order to receive a stream due in the future.

A company' market Capitalisation is the value that is put on it by a stockmarket, that is the market's value of one share multiplied by the number of shares that have been issued.

Capitalise:

To turn into capital. Companies sometimes Capitalise expenditure and treat it as a balance sheet asset to be depreciated over a number of years rather than charge it all aginst the current year's income statement. For example, many companies capitalise expenditure on R & D.

Capitalism:

Capitalism is an economic system in which capital assets are privately owned and items are brought to market for profit. In a capitalist economy, the parties to a transaction determine the prices at which assets, goods, and services are exchanged. Central elements of Capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets and wage labor.

Capitulate:

To surrender under specified conditions; come to terms.

To give up all resistance; acquiesce.

Capo dei Tutti Capi:

Il Capo dei Tutti Capi or capo dei capi, often referred to as the Godfather in English, is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization.

Capon:

A Capon is a rooster or cockerel that has been castrated to improve the quality of its flesh for food.

Cappuccino:

A Cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink which is traditionally prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.

A Cappuccino is a coffee drink topped with foamed milk. It is made in a steam-producing espresso machine. The espresso is poured into the bottom third of the cup, followed by a similar amount of hot milk. The top third of the drink consists of milk foam; this foam can be decorated with artistic drawings made with the same milk, called latte art. In a traditional Cappuccino, as served in Europe and artisan coffee houses in the United States, the total of espresso and milk/foam make up between approximately 150–180 mL (5–6 imp fl oz; 5–6 US fl oz). Commercial coffee chains in the US more often serve the Cappuccino as a 360 mL (13 imp fl oz; 12 US fl oz) drink or larger.

Capsule Wardrobe:

A Capsule Wardrobe is a collection of clothing that is composed of interchangeable items only, to maximise the number of outfits that can be created. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. This is usually achieved by buying what are considered to be "key" or "staple" items in coordinating colours. It has been the subject of several popular television series and appears widely in British and American fashion media.

Read more here: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE: HOW TO BUILD A CAPSULE WARDROBE - "Want a minimalist Capsule Wardrobe? This guide is perfect for beginners and will teach you how to build a Capsule Wardrobe in three easy steps - complete with a free printable Capsule Wardrobe checklist, tips, and examples. Start today, and you can have a simplified wardrobe in just a few hours!"

Captain America:

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. For nearly all of the character's publication history Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon.

Captain of Industry:

A phrase that is sometimes used to describe business people who are especially successful and powerful.

Captain of Industry:

In the late 19th century a Captain of Industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more jobs, or acts of philanthropy. This characterisation contrasts with that of the robber baron, a business leader using political means to achieve personal ends.

Captain's Table:

The Captain's Table is an institution in a cruise ship. The captain dines there, but the fuss is about who he is dining with. Being invited to the Captain's Table is regarded upon as an honor. The criteria for obtaining a seat around the Captain's dining Table may vary from ship to ship, and are in general not made public.

One of the most honored traditions in the cruise line is to have dinner with the captain of the ship. The reason why cruisers are drawn to the Captain's Table is since he usually has many fascinating stories up his sleeve.

Each cruise ship main dining room has a Captain's Table, usually in the center of the room. It will typically seat 10 to 12 people. Usually on the formal night the captain will be present for dinner after the reception. Other nights the Captain's Table is vacant. The cruise line will select 8 to 10 people from among the passengers, usually members of the frequent cruiser club, to sit and eat with the captain.

CAPTCHA:

A CAPTCHA or Captcha (acronym for: Completely Automatic Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process usually involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade. Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human.

Caption:

A title, short explanation, or description accompanying an illustration or a photograph; a title or heading, as of a document or article.

A series of words superimposed on the bottom of television or motion picture frames that communicate dialogue to the hearing-impaired or translate foreign dialogue.

Captive:

A service organisation (usually an insurance business) which is owned by a conglomerate and meets all the conglomerate's needs in its own specialist area. Some Captive insurance companies also provide services for customers outside their own conglomerate.

Captive Bank:

Bank intended to provide services to the promoter and associates of the promoter, usually an international group of companies.

Captive Insurance Company:

Insurance company established by a company or international group to provide insurance (or reinsurance) for the promoter and associates of the promoter.

Captive Market:

A market over which a supplier has special control. For instance, the only newspaper shop in a community of elderly retired people could be said to have a captive market.

Car One:

The Presidential State Car is the official state car used by the President of the United States. Throughout history, a variety of vehicles have both officially and unofficially been acknowledged as the presidential vehicle. Since the late 1930s, the U.S. government has specially commissioned vehicles for presidential use, often specifying advanced communications equipment, special convenience features, armor plating, and defense countermeasures. American cars are traditionally chosen for the role. The most recent vehicle to be used as the presidential car is a GMC Topkick-based, Cadillac-badged DTS limousine often referred to as "Cadillac One" (a reference to the U.S. presidential aircraft, Air Force One) or as "The Beast" or "Car One".

See also: Air Force One and Marine One.

Car Pool:

An arrangement whereby several participants or their children travel together in one vehicle, the participants sharing the costs and often taking turns as the driver.

A group, as of commuters or parents, participating in a Carpool.

Carat:

The Carat is a unit of mass used for measuring gems and pearls. Currently a Carat is defined as exactly 200 mg (0.007055 oz, 3.086 grains).

Caravanserai:

A Caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, especially along the Silk Road.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS):

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually the CO₂ is captured from large point sources, such as a chemical plant or biomass power plant, and then stored in an underground geological formation. The aim is to prevent the release of CO₂ from heavy industry with the intent of mitigating the effects of climate change. CO₂ has been injected into geological formations for several decades for enhanced oil recovery and after separation from natural gas, but this has been criticised for producing more emissions when the gas or oil is burned.

Carbon Dating:

RadioCarbon Dating, or Carbon Dating, is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 (14C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" (BP), "Present" being defined as AD 1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give calendar dates.

One of the most frequent uses of RadioCarbon Dating is to estimate the age of organic remains from archaeological sites. When plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic material during photosynthesis they incorporate a quantity of 14C that approximately matches the level of this isotope in the atmosphere (a small difference occurs because of isotope fractionation, but this is corrected after laboratory analysis). After plants die or they are consumed by other organisms (for example, by humans or other animals) the 14C fraction of this organic material declines at a fixed exponential rate due to the radioactive decay of 14C. Comparing the remaining 14C fraction of a sample to that expected from atmospheric 14C allows the age of the sample to be estimated.

The technique of RadioCarbon Dating was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949. Libby estimated that the steady state radioactivity concentration of exchangeable carbon-14 would be about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram. In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. He first demonstrated the accuracy of RadioCarbon Dating by accurately measuring the age of wood from an ancient Egyptian royal barge whose age was known from historical documents.

Carbon Dioxide:

Carbon Dioxide (chemical formula: CO2) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state.

Carbon Dioxide is used by plants during photosynthesis to make sugars, which may either be consumed in respiration or used as the raw material to produce other organic compounds needed for plant growth and development. It is produced during respiration by plants, and by all animals, fungi and microorganisms that depend either directly or indirectly on plants for food. It is thus a major component of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is generated as a by-product of the combustion of fossil fuels or the burning of vegetable matter, among other chemical processes. Large amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted from volcanoes and other geothermal processes such as hot springs and geysers and by the dissolution of carbonates in crustal rocks.

Visit: carbon footprint.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer:

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer or carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP or CRP), is a very strong, light, and expensive composite material or fiber reinforced polymer. Similar to fiberglass (glass reinforced polymer), the composite material is commonly referred to by the name of its reinforcing fibers (carbon fiber). The polymer is most often epoxy, but other polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester or nylon, are also sometimes used. Some composites contain both carbon fiber and other fibers such as kevlar, aluminium and fiberglass reinforcement. The terms graphite-reinforced polymer or graphite fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) are also used but less commonly, since glass-(fiber)-reinforced polymer can also be called GFRP. In product advertisements, it is sometimes referred to simply as graphite fiber (or graphite fibre), for short.

It has many applications in aerospace and automotive fields, as well as in sailboats, and notably in modern bicycles and motorcycles, where its high strength to weight ratio is of importance. Improved manufacturing techniques are reducing the costs and time to manufacture making it increasingly common in small consumer goods as well, such as laptops, tripods, fishing rods, paintball equipment, archery equipment, racquet frames, stringed instrument bodies, classical guitar strings, drum shells, golf clubs, and pool/billiards/snooker cues.

Carbon Footprint:

A Carbon Footprint is "the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event or product". For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted.

Carbs:

Carbohydrates, the class of foods including sugars and starches.

Card Security Code (CSC):

CSV, CVC, CVV, CVV2, CVVC, CVC, V-Code amp; V Code - is a security feature for credit card or debit card transactions, giving increased protection against credit card fraud. This code is often asked for by merchants for them to secure "card not present" transactions occurring over the Internet, by mail, fax or over the phone.

Visit: Card Security Code<.

Card Sharp:

A Card Sharp (also spelled cardsharp, card shark or cardshark) is a person who uses skill and deception to win at poker or other card games. Sharp and shark spellings have varied over time and by region.

Card Sharps who cheat or perform tricks use methods to keep control of the order of the cards or sometimes to control one specific card. Many of these methods employ sleight of hand. Essential skills are false shuffles and false cuts that appear to mix the deck but actually leave the cards in the same order. More advanced techniques include culling (manipulating desired cards to the top or bottom of the deck), and stacking (putting desired cards in position to be dealt).

Card Verification Value (CVV):

See: card security code.

Cardigan:

A knitted garment, such as a sweater or jacket, that opens down the full length of the front. (Named after the Seventh Earl of Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell (1797-1868), British army officer.)

Cardinal (Catholicism):

A Cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the Cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the pope if he requests their counsel. Most Cardinals have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or running a department of the Roman Curia.

Cardinal Number:

In mathematics, Cardinal Numbers, or cardinals for short, are a generalization of the natural numbers used to measure the cardinality (size) of sets.

Cardinal Rule:

A fundamental rule, upon which other matters hinge.

Cardinal Sin:

See: seven deadly sins.

Cardinal Virtues:

Philosophy: the most important moral qualities, traditionally justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.

Care Label:

A laundry symbol, also called a care symbol, is a pictogram which represents a method of washing, for example drying, dry-cleaning and ironing clothing. Such symbols are written on labels, known as Care Labels, attached to clothing to indicate how a particular item should best be cleaned. There are different standards for Care Labels for the different countries/regions of the world. In some standards, pictograms coexist with or are complemented by written instructions.

Career:

A way of making a living, used by some to refer only to certain ways of doing so; for example, lawyers have Careers; electricians have jobs.

Career Path:

The planned direction of a person's career. Choosing a Career Path determines what training and future jobs a person should undertake to maintain that direction.

Caremongering:

The term - coined by Canadians on social media, but not a concept exclusive to Canada - describes the practice of offering help or care to those that need it most. And it isn’t just limited to delivering supplies or food; Caremongering can mean running errands, or setting up online exercise classes, or cooking and doing chores for others.

Cargo:

The freight carried by a ship, an aircraft, or another vehicle.

Caricature:

A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect.

To represent or imitate in an exaggerated, distorted manner.

Carnet:

A document authorizing its holder to bring samples through customs and excise without incurring any duty (within prescribed limits).

Carnivore:

A Carnivore, meaning "meat eater" (Latin, caro, genitive carnis, meaning "meat" or "flesh" and vorare meaning "to devour"), is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging. Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are called obligate Carnivores while those that also consume non-animal food are called facultative Carnivores. Omnivores also consume both animal and non-animal food, and, apart from the more general definition, there is no clearly defined ratio of plant to animal material that would distinguish a facultative Carnivore from an omnivore. A Carnivore that sits at the top of the food chain is termed an apex predator.

Carol:

A song of praise or joy, especially for Christmas.

Carpe Diem:

Carpe Diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace. It is popularly translated as "seize the day". The general definition of carpe is "pick, pluck, pluck off, gather" as in plucking, although Horace uses the word in the sense of "enjoy, make use of."

Carpet Bombing:

Carpet Bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many unguided bombs. In contrast to precision bombing, it is not aimed at a small target, such as a bunker, an airfield, or a military unit. One of its uses is the aerial bombing of cities.

Carpetbagger:

A Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War for political or financial advantage.

An outsider, especially a politician, who presumptuously seeks a position or success in a new locality.

Carried Interest:

Carried Interest or carry, in finance, specifically in alternative investments (i.e., private equity and hedge funds), is a share of the profits of an investment or investment fund that is paid to the investment manager in excess of the amount that the manager contributes to the partnership. As a practical matter, it is a form of performance fee that rewards the manager for enhancing performance.

Carrot and Stick:

The phrase "Carrot and Stick" is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. It is based on the idea that a cart driver might activate a reluctant mule by dangling a carrot in front it and smacking it on the rear with a stick. The idea sometimes appears as a metaphor for the realist concept of 'hard power'. The carrot might be a promise of economic aid from one nation to another, the stick might be a threat of military action.

Carry Forward / Carry Back:

The shifting of payments from one accounting period to another, usually to gain a financial advantage. Carrying a payment forward takes it into a future period; carrying it back takes it into a previous period.

Carry-On Baggage:

Hand luggage or cabin baggage (also commonly referred to as Carry-On Luggage in North America) is the type of luggage that passengers are allowed to carry along in the passenger compartment of a vehicle instead of moving to the cargo compartment. Passengers are allowed to carry a limited number of smaller bags with them in the vehicle and contain valuables and items needed during the journey. There is normally storage space provided for hand luggage, either under seating, or in overhead lockers. Trains usually have luggage racks above the seats and may also, especially in the case of trains travelling longer distances, also have luggage space between the backs of seats facing opposite directions or in extra luggage racks for example at the ends of the carriage near the doors.

Each piece of hand baggage may not be larger than 55 × 40 × 20 cm and may not weigh more than 8 kg. An exception are foldable garment bags. They count as hand baggage up to a size of 57 × 54 × 15 cm. (Lufthansa).

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sets guidelines for cabin baggage/hand luggage/carry-on luggage. Size measurements & weight of the individual airlines.

Airlines could soon shrink the size of luggage you’re allowed to carry on. Working with airlines and aircraft manufacturers including Boeing and Airbus, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association, unveiled a new best-size guideline for carry-on bags at 21.5 inches tall by 13.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches deep (55 × 35 × 20 cm).

Carte Blanche:

Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority.

Cartel:

A combination of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods by the members.

An official agreement between governments at war, especially one concerning the exchange of prisoners.

A group of parties, factions, or nations united in a common cause; a bloc.

Carthaginian Peace:

A Carthaginian Peace is the imposition of a very brutal "peace" intended to permanently cripple the losing side. The term derives from the peace terms imposed on the Carthaginian Empire by the Roman Republic following the Punic Wars. After the Second Punic War, Carthage lost all its colonies, was forced to demilitarize, paid a constant tribute to Rome and was barred from waging war without Rome's permission. At the end of the Third Punic War, the Romans systematically burned Carthage to the ground and enslaved its population.

Cartoon:

A drawing depicting a humorous situation, often accompanied by a caption; a drawing representing current public figures or issues symbolically and often satirically.

A preliminary sketch similar in size to the work, such as a fresco, that is to be copied from it.

An animated Cartoon; a comic strip.

Cartouche:

A structure or figure, often in the shape of an oval shield or oblong scroll, used as an architectural or graphic ornament or to bear a design or inscription.

An oval or oblong figure in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that encloses characters expressing the names or epithets of royal or divine personages.

Carved in Stone:

If a suggestion, plan, rule, etc. is Carved in Stone, it cannot be changed; no longer changeable.

Casablanca Lilies:

As per the general symbolism of flowers, the meaning of Casablanca Lilies is celebration. There is no wonder that pure white Casablanca Lilies are used in nearly all special occasions.

Casbah:

An older or native quarter of many cities in northern Africa; the quarter in which the citadel is located.

Case Sensitive:

Text sometimes exhibits case sensitivity; that is, words can differ in meaning based on differing use of uppercase and lowercase letters.

Case Study:

A formal written description of a business problem. Case Studies are much used by business schools as a method of teaching management. Most Case Studies are of real issues that have been faced by real companies; a few are fiction.

Cash:

Notes, coins are other assets that can be turned rapidly into notes and coins; for example, shortterm bank balances or highly liquid securities.

Cash and Carry:

A half-way house between wholesaling and retailing. An outlet that sells products to the general public at low prices but with a minimum of service. Cash-and-Carry outlets frequently demand that customers buy in bulk.

Also nickname for the marriage (1942-1945) between Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton and actor Cary Grant. The couple were derisively nicknamed "Cash and Cary", although in an extensive prenuptial agreement Grant refused any financial settlement in the event of a divorce.

Cash Book:

A company's record of its cash transactions, both receipts and payments.

Cash Burn Rate:

The speed at which a company spends the money that is available to it, when it is not making more money than it spends.

Cash Cow:

A business within a group of businesses that generates a lot of cash which can be used (like the milk of a cow) to nourish other businesses.

Cash Discount:

A discount in the price of a product granted by a vendor in return for payment in cash. Credit card companies often stipulate that outlets which accept their cards may not offer cash discounts to customers.

Cash Flow:

The amount of Cash Flowing through an organization in a given period. A company's Cash Flow is equal to its trading profit plus any depreciation, plus any new money raised through a share issue or a loan during the period.

Cash Flow Assets:

Cash Flow Assets describe any type of asset that generates regular income. These increase cash inflows through consistent, often monthly, returns. There are two categories of assets that generate cash flow, including:

1. Aggressive investments are higher risk but generate higher returns.

2. Conservative investments are lower risk but generate lower returns.

Generally, a mix of both types of investment helps balance your cash flow strategy. Yet making any investment involves some degree of research and vetting. You want to maximise your cash flow through regular returns on investment.

Cash flow investing options include dividend investing, stocks and bonds, high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, private credit investments, short-term notes, and real estate investing.

Cash is King:

"Cash is King" is an expression sometimes used in analyzing businesses or investment portfolios. It may refer to the importance of cash flow in the overall fiscal health of a business. For investors it may also describe times when it is advantageous to have a large percentage of cash or short-term debt instruments available either due to falling financial markets or due to the availability of investment opportunities.

Cash Mob:

Group of consumers that supports a local retailer by showing up to shop at the store on a designated day.

Cash Register:

A machine which registers the cash received by vendors from their sales. Often known as the till.

Casino:

A public room or building for gambling and other entertainment.

Cassandra:

Greek Mythology: a daughter of Priam, the king of Troy, endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated by Apollo never to be believed.

One that utters unheeded prophecies.

Cassock:

The Cassock, or soutane, is an item of Christian clerical clothing used by the clergy of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Reformed churches, among others. "Ankle-length garment" is the literal meaning of the corresponding Latin term, vestis talaris. It is related to habit traditionally worn by nuns, monks, and friars.

Caste:

A social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, or wealth.

Castellan:

A Castellan was the governor or captain of a castellany and its castle.

Casting:

The selection of actors or performers for the parts of a presentation.

Casting Couch:

The granting of usually sexual favors in return for work in a film, television, or other production.

Casting Vote:

When there is an equal number of votes in favor of and against a proposal, the voting procedures may lay down that somebody has a casting vote to end the deadlock. The chairman of a company's board of directors, for example, frequently has a casting vote. In effect a person with a casting vote votes twice on issues where the votes are equally divided.

Castle:

A large and stately mansion; a large fortified building or group of buildings with thick walls, usually dominating the surrounding country; a fortified stronghold converted to residential use.

Castle Doctrine:

A Castle Doctrine (also known as a castle law or a defense of habitation law) is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place – e.g., a vehicle or workplace, as a place in which that person has protections and immunities permitting him or her, in certain circumstances, to use force (up to and including deadly force) to defend himself or herself against an intruder, free from legal prosecution for the consequences of the force used. The term is most commonly used in the United States, though many other countries invoke comparable principles in their laws.

A person may have a duty to retreat to avoid violence if one can reasonably do so. Castle Doctrines negate the duty to retreat when an individual is assaulted in a place where that individual has a right to be, such as within one's own home. Deadly force may be justified and a defense of justifiable homicide applicable, in cases "when the actor reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm to him or herself or another". The Castle Doctrine is not a defined law that can be invoked, but a set of principles which may be incorporated in some form in the law of many jurisdictions.

Castle in the Air:

A hope or desire unlikely to be realized; daydream.

Castrum Doloris:

Castrum Doloris (Latin for Castle of Grief) is a name for the structure and decorations sheltering or accompanying the catafalque or bier that signify the prestige or high estate of the deceased. A Castrum Doloris might feature an elaborate baldachin and would include candles, possibly flowers, and in most cases coats of arms, epitaphs and possibly allegorical statues. Many extensive Castra Doloris can be traced to the customs of 17th century and 18th century or even earlier, since Pope Sixtus V's funeral arrangements included a Castrum Doloris in the mid 14th Century.

Casual:

In the European tradition, Casual is the dress code that emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity.

Casual Friday:

Friday designated as a day on which employees are allowed to dress less formally than on other workdays.

Casual Friday along with dressing casually during the week became very prevalent during the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s rooted in a relaxed California-based business culture.

Casual Game:

A Casual Game is a video game or online game targeted at or used by a mass audience of Casual Gamers. Casual Games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre.

Casual Games are typically played on a personal computer online in web browsers, although they now are starting to become popular on game consoles and mobile phones, too. Casual Gamers are typically older than traditional computer gamers, and more oftentimes female, with over 74% of Casual Gamers female.

Casual Labour:

Workers who do not have full-time employment and who move from one job to another. In many cases Casual Labour also moves from one place to another to find paid work. It is often used in agriculture.

Casus Belli:

Casus Belli is a Latin expression meaning "an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war" (literally, "a case for war"). A Casus Belli involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a casus foederis involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bound by a mutual defense pact. Either may be considered an act of war.

Cat and Mouse:

Cat and Mouse, often expressed as Cat-and-Mouse game, is an English-language idiom dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who despite not being able to defeat the cat, is able to avoid capture. In extreme cases, the idiom may imply that the contest is never-ending. The term is derived from the hunting behavior of domestic cats, which often appear to "play" with prey by releasing it after capture. This behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.

In colloquial usage it has often been generalized (or corrupted) to mean simply that the advantage constantly shifts between the contestants, leading to an impasse or de facto stalemate.

Cataclysm:

A Flood Myth or deluge myth is a narrative in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeval waters found in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, in preparation for rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life".

Catafalque:

A Catafalque is a raised bier, soapbox, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of the deceased during a funeral or memorial service.

Catalepsy:

Catalepsy is a nervous condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain.

Catalogue:

A list or itemized display, as of titles, course offerings, or articles for exhibition or sale, usually including descriptive information or illustrations; A publication, such as a book or pamphlet, containing such a list or display.

A list or enumeration.

Catalogue Raisonné:

A Catalogue Raisonné is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified by third parties.

Catalyst:

Something which, when added to something else, creates a reaction which neither of the two things could have created on their own. In business, management consultants are often said to be Catalysts, enabling firms by their mere presence to take action that they would not otherwise have done.

Catamaran:

A boat with two parallel hulls or floats, especially a light sailboat with a mast mounted on a transverse frame joining the hulls.

Catapult:

A military machine for hurling missiles, such as large stones or spears, used in ancient and medieval times.

A mechanism for launching aircraft at a speed sufficient for flight, as from the deck of a carrier.

Catbird Seat:

"The Catbird Seat" is a American English idiomatic phrase used to describe an enviable position, often in terms of having the upper hand or greater advantage in all types of dealings among parties.

Catcall:

A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.

To make such an exclamation.

Catch-22:

Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller.

A situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or conditions.

Catch and Kill:

Catch and Kill is a covert technique - usually employed by tabloid newspapers - to prevent an individual from publicly revealing information damaging to a third party. Using a legally enforceable non-disclosure agreement, the tabloid purports to buy exclusive rights to "catch" the damaging story from the individual, but then "kills" the story for the benefit of the third party by preventing it from ever being published. The individual with the information frequently does not realize that the tabloid intends to suppress the individual's story instead of publishing it. The practice is distinct from using hush money, in which the individual is bribed by the third party to intentionally conceal the damaging information. The National Enquirer and its parent company American Media Inc. (AMI) have attracted attention for using the practice.

Catch Phrase:

A phrase in wide or popular use, especially one serving as a slogan for a group or movement.

Categorical Imperative:

The Categorical Imperative is the central philosophical concept in the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, as well as modern deontological ethics. Introduced in Kant's ("Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals"), it may be defined as the standard of rationality from which all moral requirements derive.

Catechism:

A Catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine and served as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts.

Category:

A specifically defined division in a system of classification; a class.

A general class of ideas, terms, or things that mark divisions or coordinations within a conceptual scheme.

Linguistics: a classificatory structural unit or property of a language, such as a part of speech, verb phrase, or object.

Catering:

To provide food service.

To attend to the wants or needs of.

Catfight:

Informal: a fight between two women.

Catfishing:

Catfishing is a type of deceptive activity where a person creates a sock puppet social networking presence, or fake identity on a social network account, usually targeting a specific victim for deception.

Catfishing is often employed for romance scams on dating websites. Catfishing may be used for financial gain, to compromise a victim in some way, or simply as a form of trolling or wish fulfillment.

Catgut:

A cord of great toughness made from the intestines of animals, especially of sheep, used for strings of musical instruments, etc.

Catharsis:

Catharsis (from Greek katharsis meaning "purification" or "cleansing") is the purification and purgation of emotions - especially pity and fear - through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration.

Cathay:

Cathay is the Anglicized rendering of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English.

Cathedral of Commerce:

Nickname for the Woolworth Building. Opened in 1913 and the tallest skyscraper in the world until 1930, it was dubbed the “Cathedral of Commerce” by a clergyman so taken with its church-like arched entryways and vaulted, mosaic ceilings.

Cathedral of Consumption:

The last half of the twentieth century was characterized by the rise of "Cathedrals of Consumption" such as shopping malls, mega-malls, big-box stores, and the like.

Cathexis:

In psychoanalysis, Cathexis is defined as the process of investment of mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea.

Catholic:

In non-ecclesiastical use, it derives its English meaning directly from its root, and is currently used to mean the following: 1) including a wide variety of things; all-embracing: 2) universal or of general interest; 3) liberal, having broad interests, or wide sympathies; 4) inclusive, inviting and containing strong evangelism.

Catnap:

A very short light nap.

Catwalk:

Narrow platform where models display clothes in a fashion show.

Caucasian:

Anthropology: of or being a human racial classification distinguished especially by very light to brown skin pigmentation and straight to wavy or curly hair, and including peoples indigenous to Europe, northern Africa, western Asia, and India.

Of or relating to a racial group having white skin, especially one of European origin; white.

Caucus:

A Caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.

A meeting of the local members of a political party especially to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office; a closed meeting of party members within a legislative body to decide on questions of policy or leadership; a group within a legislative or decision-making body seeking to represent a specific interest or influence a particular area of policy.

Caudillo:

A Caudillo, American Spanish: Old Spanish: cabdillo, from Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput "head") was a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of Caudillo, which is often used interchangeably with "dictator" and "strongman". The term is historically associated with Spain, and with Spanish America after virtually all of that region won independence in the early nineteenth century. The term is often used pejoratively by critics of a regime. However, Spain's General Francisco Franco (1936–1975) proudly took the title as his own during and after his military overthrow of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), in parallel to the German and Italian equivalents of the same period: Führer and Duce.

Cauldron:

A Cauldron (or caldron) is a large metal pot (kettle) for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.

Cause:

A person, thing, event, state, or action that produces an effect.

The ideals, etc., of a group or movement.

A matter of widespread concern or importance.

The welfare or interests of a person or group in a dispute.

Cause Célèbre:

An incident that attracts great public attention.

Cavalier:

A gallant or chivalrous man, especially one serving as escort to a woman of high social position; a gentleman.

Showing arrogant or offhand disregard; dismissive; carefree and nonchalant; jaunty.

Cave Dweller:

A "Cave Dweller", a term, indigenous to Washington, that defines a member of those families who have resided here for generations and whose bloodlines are woven into the warp and woof of the nation's capital.

Caveat:

A warning or caution; a qualification or explanation.

Law: formal notice filed by an interested party with a court or officer, requesting the postponement of a proceeding until the filer is heard.

Caveat Emptor:

A Latin expression meaning Buyer Beware. The best legal advice for consumers in the days before legislation provided them with protection against the sale of shoddy or defective merchandise.

Caving:

Caving — also traditionally known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland — is the recreational pastime of exploring wild (generally non-commercial) cave systems. In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.

CB Slang:

CB Slang is the distinctive anti-language, argot or cant which developed among users of Citizens Band radio (CB), especially truck drivers in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s.

CBRN:

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear defense (often abbreviated to CBRN defense or CBRND) is protective measures taken in situations in which any of these four hazards are present. CBRN defense consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance, and CBRN mitigation.

CBRN weapons/agents are often referred to as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). However, this is not entirely correct. Although CBRNe agents often cause mass destruction, this is not necessarily the case. Terrorist use of CBRNe agents may cause a limited number of casualties, but a large terrorizing and disruption of society. Terrorist use of CBRNe agents, intended to cause terror instead of mass casualties, is therefore often referred to as weapons of mass disruption.

CC:

Short for: Carbon Copy. The field in an e-mail header that names additional recipients for the message.

See also: bcc & fcc.

CCD:

Short for: Charge-Coupled Device. CCD is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time.

CCTV:

Short for: Closed-Circuit Television. A system of remote monitoring using cameras.

CCW:

Short for: CounterClockWise.

CD:

Short for: Compact Disc. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was developed to store music at the start, but later it also allowed the storing of other kinds of data. CD have been available since October 1982. In 2009, they are still the standard physical medium for commercial audio recordings.

Standard CDs have a diameter of 120 mm and can hold up to 80 minutes of audio (700 MB of data). The Mini CD has various diameters ranging from 60 to 80 mm; they are sometimes used for CD singles or device drivers, storing up to 24 minutes of audio.

The technology was later adapted and expanded to include data storage CD-ROM, write-once audio and data storage CD-R, rewritable media CD-RW, Video Compact Discs (VCD), Super Video Compact Discs (SVCD), PhotoCD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced CD.

CD-ROMs and CD-Rs remain widely used technologies in the computer industry. The CD and its extensions are successful: in 2004, worldwide sales of CD audio, CD-ROM, and CD-R reached about 30 billion discs. By 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.

CDO:

Short for: Collateralized Debt Obligation. An asset-backed security backed by the receivables on loans, bonds, or other debt. Banks package and sell their receivables on debt to investors in order to reduce the risk of loss due to default.

CDS:

Short for: Credit Default Swap. A Credit Default Swap is an agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of loan default. In the event of default the buyer of the CDS receives compensation (usually the face value of the loan), and the seller of the CDS takes possession of the defaulted loan.

CED:

Short for: Conductive Energy Device. Also known as Stun Gun. An electroshock weapon is an incapacitant weapon used for subduing a person by administering electric shock aimed at disrupting superficial muscle functions. One type is a Conductive Energy Device, an electroshock gun popularly known by the brand name "Taser", which fires projectiles that administer the shock through a thin, flexible wire. Other electroshock weapons such as stun guns, stun batons, and electroshock belts administer an electric shock by direct contact.

Cedula:

National ID in Spanish speaking countries.

Celibacy:

Abstinence from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows.

The condition of being unmarried.

Celebration:

A joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event.

Celebritocracy:

The gossip columnists taking the place of the Social Register to learn about the player and the places.

Celebrity:

A Celebrity is a widely-recognized or notable person who commands a high degree of public and media attention.

The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrare" but one may not become a Celebrity unless public and mass media interest is piqued.

See also: superstar and diva.

Celebutante:

Celebutante and Celebutant are portmanteau of the words celebrity and débutante.

Celebutard:

A celebrity viewed as unintelligent; especially a celebrity who behaves badly in public.

Celetoid:

A person who is famous for a brief time; a short-lived celebrity.

Cell:

A narrow confining room, as in a prison or convent.

Biology: the smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable of independent functioning, consisting of one or more nuclei, cytoplasm, and various organelles, all surrounded by a semipermeable Cell membrane.

The smallest organizational unit of a centralized group or movement, especially of a political party of Leninist structure.

Computer Science: a basic unit of storage in a computer memory that can hold one unit of information, such as a character or word.

Cell Phone:

See: mobile phone.

Cellulitis:

A spreading inflammation of subcutaneous or connective tissue.

Celsius:

Celsius (also known as Centigrade) is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death. The degree Celsius (°C) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale as well as serve as a unit increment to indicate a temperature interval (a difference between two temperatures or an uncertainty).

From 1744 until 1954, 0°C was defined as the freezing point of water and 100 °C was defined as the boiling point of water, both at a pressure of one standard atmosphere. Although these defining correlations are commonly taught in schools today, by international agreement the unit "degree Celsius" and the Celsius scale are currently defined by two different points: absolute zero, and the triple point of VSMOW (specially prepared water). This definition also precisely relates the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, which is the SI base unit of temperature (symbol: K). Absolute zero, the hypothetical but unattainable temperature at which matter exhibits zero entropy, is defined as being precisely 0 K and -273.15 °C. The temperature value of the triple point of water is defined as being precisely 273.16 K and 0.01 °C.

See also: fahrenheit.

Cement Shoes:

Cement Shoes is a slang term adopted by the American Mafia crime world for a method of execution that involves weighting down a victim and throwing him or her into the water to drown. It has become adopted in the US as a humorous term representing any exotic threat from criminals.

Cenotaph:

A Cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of Cenotaphs honour individuals, many noted Cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the lost soldiers of a country or of an empire.

Censor:

A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.

One of two officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behavior and morals.

To examine and expurgate.

Census:

An official, usually periodic enumeration of a population, often including the collection of related demographic information.

In ancient Rome, a count of the citizens and an evaluation of their property for taxation purposes.

Centaur:

A Centaur or hippocentaur is a mythological creature with the head, arms, and torso of a human and the body and legs of a horse.

Center:

An area that is approximately central within some larger region.

A building dedicated to a particular activity.

A point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure.

Center Stage:

The center of a theater stage.

A position of great prominence or importance.

Central Bank:

An institution that acts as banker to a country's banking system and to its government. Central banks are also in charge of issuing notes and coins, and they act as a lender of last resort should there be a crisis within the financial system.

Centralization:

The process of concentrating control of a business's operations at its centre, usually its headquarters.

CEO:

Short for: Chief Executive Officer, the person in charge of the day-to-day running of an organisation. He (or, more rarely, she) is answerable to the board of directors for the organisation's day-to-day performance.

CEO Fraud:

CEO Fraud is the latest in a new generation of cyber-attacks involving impersonation of senior company officials, using social engineering to coerce employees to transfer company money under the auspice of a legitimate business purpose.

The attacks rely on one of two techniques to initiate this fraud: (1) Compromising a senior employee’s email account; (2) Registering a domain very similar to the corporate domain (typosquatting) and impersonating a senior employee.

Although the latter may not sound as effective, it is working, after all, it’s easy to misread Sotfcat for Softcat and this is what perpetrators count on. The attackers are also tapping into social networks to tailor the emails with increasing sophistication. This level of precision is a far cry from the advanced fee fraud scams, involving foreign dignitaries and lottery winners that became so commonplace a few years ago and are perhaps the origins of this type of attack.

With this in mind, it’s prudent that organisations consider their own stance in tackling this challenge. Unlike some cyber threats where protection can be achieved almost exclusively through technological measures, being better prepared to counter CEO Fraud is much more about human intervention.

Cerberus:

In Greek mythology, Cerberus, often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Cerberus was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and is usually described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from multiple parts of his body. Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, one of Heracles' twelve labours.

Ceremony:

A formal act or set of acts performed as prescribed by ritual or custom.

A conventional social gesture or act of courtesy.

Strict observance of formalities or etiquette.

Certificate:

A document testifying to the truth of something.

A document issued to a person completing a course of study not leading to a diploma.

A document certifying that a person may officially practice in certain professions.

A document certifying ownership.

Certificate of Authority (U.S.):

The Certificate of Authority is a document issued by the secretary of state to a foreign corporation after approving its completed application to do business in the state.

Certificate of Deposit:

A document issued by a financial institution as proof of the ownership of a large deposit of money held with that institution. Certificates of deposit (know as CDs) are negotiable instruments and can be bought and sold in a secondary market.

Certificate of Incorporation:

Certificate issued to companies who have complied with all the statutory requirements for registration.

Certificate of Inspection:

A document certifying that transported goods were in good condition when they began their journey.

Certificate of Origin:

A document signed by an exporter or by an official body (such as a Chamber of Commerce) establishing in which country the goods to which the document is attached originated.

Certified check:

A check which the bank guarantees to be good, and against which a stop payment is ineffective.

Certiorari:

Certiorari, often abbreviated as cert. in the United States, is a writ seeking judicial review. It is issued by a superior court, directing an inferior court, tribunal, or other public authority to send the record of a proceeding for review.

Ceteris Paribus:

Ceteris Paribus or caeteris paribus is a Latin phrase meaning "with other things the same" or "other things being equal or held constant". A prediction or a statement about a causal, empirical, or logical relation between two states of affairs is Ceteris Paribus if it is acknowledged that the prediction, although usually accurate in expected conditions, can fail or the relation can be abolished by intervening factors.

Cf.:

Latin: C(onfe)r - compare (used in texts to point the reader to another location in the text).

CFO:

Short for: Chief Financial Officer, the person in charge of a company's accounts and of its finances (raising loans or issuing new securities). The CFO is normally a director of the company and has a seat on the board.

CGI:

Short for: Computer-Generated Imagery. CGI is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. Video games usually use real-time computer graphics (rarely referred to as CGI), but may also include pre-rendered "cut scenes" and intro movies that would be typical CGI applications. These are sometimes referred to as FMV (Full motion video).

CGI is used for visual effects because computer generated effects are more controllable than other more physically based processes, such as constructing miniatures for effects shots or hiring extras for crowd scenes, and because it allows the creation of images that would not be feasible using any other technology. It can also allow a single artist to produce content without the use of actors, expensive set pieces, or props.

Computer software such as 3ds Max, Blender, LightWave 3D, Maya and Autodesk Softimage is used to make computer-generated imagery for movies, etc. Recent availability of CGI software and increased computer speeds have allowed individual artists and small companies to produce professional grade films, games, and fine art from their home computers. This has brought about an Internet subculture with its own set of global celebrities, clichés, and technical vocabulary.

Chacun à Son Goût:

Misunderstanding of the French, à chacun son goût: “to each his own taste”.

Used to acknowledge that different people have different tastes or preferences.

Chaebol:

A type of conglomerate peculiar to South Korea. A Chaebol is similar to a Japanese keiretsu, but it is usually family-owned and has less close ties to its suppliers and distributors.

Chagrin d'Amour:

French for lover's grief.

Chain:

A number of establishments, such as stores, theaters, or hotels, under common ownership or management.

Chain Migration:

Chain Migration is a term used by scholars to refer to the social process by which migrants from a particular town follow others from that town to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country. Chain Migration can be defined as a "movement in which prospective migrants learn of opportunities, are provided with transportation, and have initial accommodation and employment arranged by means of primary social relationships with previous migrants."

Chain of Command:

A system whereby authority passes down from the top through a series of executive positions or military ranks in which each is accountable to the one directly superior.

Chain Reaction:

A series of events in which each induces or influences the next.

Chair:

The function of leading a meeting, and also the office of the person who carries out that function. For example: "Today Mr. Jones will take the chair."

Chairman:

The person who takes the chair at a meeting. A company's chairman is the person who takes the chair at the company's board meetings.

Chalet:

A wooden dwelling with a sloping roof and widely overhanging eaves, common in Switzerland and other Alpine regions.

A cottage or lodge built in this style.

The hut of a herder in the Swiss Alps.

Chalk & Cheese:

To be very different from one another.

Challah:

Challah is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually-acceptable Challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering.

Challenge–Response Authentication:

In computer security, Challenge–Response Authentication is an authentication process that verifies an identity by requiring correct authentication information to be provided in response to a challenge. The authentication information is usually a value that is computed in response to an unpredictable challenge value, though some authors include systems based a simple password response.

Chamber of Commerce:

A local grouping of businessmen who set out to promote trade in their area by acting as a contact point and by providing information.

Chambré:

Of wine: brought to room temperature for the room in which it is to be served.

Chameleon:

Any of various tropical Old World lizards of the family Chamaeleonidae, characterized by their ability to change color.

A changeable or inconstant person.

Champion:

One that wins first place or first prize in a competition.

One that is clearly superior or has the attributes of a winner.

An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person.

One who fights; a warrior.

Chance:

The unknown and unpredictable element in happenings that seems to have no assignable cause.

The likelihood of something happening; possibility or probability.

An accidental or unpredictable event.

A favorable set of circumstances; an opportunity.

A risk or hazard; a gamble.

Chandelier Bidding:

A practice, especially by high-end art auctioneers, of raising false bids at crucial times in the bidding process in order to create the appearance of greater demand or to extend bidding momentum for a work on offer. To call out these nonexistent bids, auctioneers might fix their gaze at a point in the auction room that is difficult for the audience to pin down.

Chanelism:

A hallmark of the fashion designer Coco Chanel: Besides the basic black dress, Chanelisms include pearls, sling-back pumps in beige and white, gold chains, and flame red and navy suit braiding.

Change Management:

The business of Managing Changes that are out of the ordinary - a takeover or the re-engineering of a company, for example.

Chanukah:

Variant of Hanukkah.

Chaology:

Alternative term for chaos theory.

Chaos Theory:

The Chaos Theory pioneered by French mathematician Jules Henri Poincaré and later by American mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz is a branch of mathematics which studies the behavior of certain dynamical systems that may be highly sensitive to initial conditions. This sensitivity is popularly referred to as the butterfly effect. As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of error, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. That is, tiny differences in the starting state of the system can lead to enormous differences in the final state of the system even over fairly small timescales. This gives the impression that the system is behaving randomly. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully determined by their initial conditions with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.

Chaotic behavior is also observed in natural systems, such as weather. This may be explained by analysis of a chaotic mathematical model which represents such a system. Quantum chaos investigates the relationship between chaos and quantum mechanics.

Chaparone:

A person, especially an older or married woman, who accompanies a young unmarried woman in public.

A guide or companion whose purpose is to ensure propriety or restrict activity.

Chapelle Ardente:

A Chapelle Ardente (Fr. "burning chapel") is a chapel or room in which the corpse of a sovereign or other exalted personage lies in state pending the funeral service. The name is in allusion to the many candles which are lighted round the catafalque.

Chapter 11:

Chapter 11 is a legal status for corporations in the United States that are half-way to bankruptcy. Companies can seek legal protection from their creditors under Chapter 11 of the 1978 Bankruptcy Act. This gives them some time to work out an acceptable solution to their financial difficulties.

Chapter and Verse:

The exact reference or source of information or justification for an assertion.

Full precise information or detail.

Charabanc:

A Charabanc or "char à bancs" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year. The name derives from the French char à bancs ("carriage with wooden benches"), the vehicle having originated in France in the early 19th century.

Character:

The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another; moral or ethical strength.

A notable or well-known person; a personage; a person, especially one who is peculiar or eccentric; a person portrayed in an artistic piece, such as a drama or novel.

A mark or symbol used in a writing system.

Character Witness:

A witness who testifies under oath as to the good reputation of another person in the community where that person lives.

Charade:

A composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way.

A readily perceived pretense; a travesty.

Charades or Charade is a word guessing game. In the form most played today, it is an acting game in which one player acts out a word or phrase, often by pantomiming similar-sounding words, and the other players guess the word or phrase. The idea is to use physical rather than verbal language to convey the meaning to another party.

Charge:

The cost of certain goods and services. Bank Charges, for example, are the price paid for receiving banking services.

A legal document giving rights to property if certain prescribed conditions are met. Banks often take Charges on a business's assets when they lend it money. The loan is then secured and the bank gets its money back - from the sale of the assets - in the event of the business failing.

Charge (heraldry): in heraldry, a Charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon (shield). This may be a geometric design (sometimes called an ordinary) or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces while other Charges are called meubles (i.e. "mobile"; this is a homonym of "furniture" in Modern French). The division of Charges into "ordinaries", "sub-ordinaries" and other categories is a relatively modern practice that has been deprecated, and these terms much pejorated, in the writings of Fox-Davies and other heraldry authors. The particular significance or meaning of a Charge may be indicated in the blazon, but this practice is also deprecated.

Charge Card:

A plastic card issued to consumers which enables them to make cashless purchases at outlets which accept the card. Some charge cards have a credit facilitiy attached which enables cardholders to pay for their purchases over an extended period of time. Charge cards without a credit facility demand that payment be made in full at the end of the month in which the purchases were made.

Chargé d'Affaires:

A diplomatic representative, or minister of an inferior grade, accredited by the government of one state to the minister of foreign affairs of another; also, a substitute, ad interim, for an ambassador or minister plenipotentiary.

Charible Organization:

A Charitable Organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). The term is relatively general and can technically refer to a public charity (also called "charitable foundation," "public foundation" or simply "foundation") or a private foundation. It differs from other types of NPOs in that its focus is centered around goals of a general philanthropic nature (e.g. charitable, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public interest or common good).

Charisma:

A rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm.

Personal magnetism or charm.

Charity:

Something given to help the needy; alms.

An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy.

Charivari:

Charivari (or shivaree or chivaree) or skimmington (or skimmington ride in England; German: Katzenmusik; Dutch: Ketelmuziek) was a folk custom in which a mock parade was staged through a community accompanied by a discordant mock serenade.

Charlatan:

A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.

Charleston:

A fast ballroom dance in 4/4 time, popular during the 1920s.

Charlie Sheen Effect:

On November 17, 2015, Charlie Sheen publicly revealed that he is HIV positive, having been diagnosed about four years earlier. The public disclosure resulted in 1.25 million people googling HIV that increased awareness and some testing which was called the Charlie Sheen Effect.

Charm:

The power or quality of pleasing or delighting; attractiveness.

A particular quality that attracts; a delightful characteristic.

A small ornament, such as one worn on a bracelet.

Charm School:

See: finishing school.

Charmed Life:

A life that seems to have been protected by a charm or spell.

Chartalism:

In macroeconomics, Chartalism is a theory of money which argues that money originated with states' attempts to direct economic activity rather than as a spontaneous solution to the problems with barter or as a means with which to tokenize debt, and that fiat currency has value in exchange because of sovereign power to levy taxes on economic activity payable in the currency they issue.

Charter:

To hire (a bus or airplane, for example) for the exclusive, temporary use of a group of travelers.

A document issued by a sovereign, legislature, or other authority, creating a public or private corporation, such as a city, college, or bank, and defining its privileges and purposes.

A written grant from the sovereign power of a country conferring certain rights and privileges on a person, a corporation, or the people.

A document outlining the principles, functions, and organization of a corporate body; a constitution.

See also: Memorandum of Association.

Charter Member:

An original member or a founder of an organization.

Charvet Method:

This derives from the practice of the great Parisian haberdashery of sending merchandise to its customers on approval. Charvet will send over, say, a dozen neckties. You may choose one or two or none and return the rest.

Chaser:

Something you drink right after taking a shot or swig of hard alcohol. Usually juice, pop, or beer.

Chassé:

A movement in dancing, as across or to the right or left.

Chat (computing):

A means of communicating with people more or less instantaneously by typing messages which then appear on your computer screen, and are transmitted over the internet to be read by everyone.

See also: instant messaging (IM).

Chat Room:

A site on the Internet where a number of users can communicate in real time (typically one dedicated to a particular topic).

Chatbot (computing):

A computer program in the form of a virtual e-mail correspondent that can reply to messages from computer users.

Châteauesque:

Châteauesque is revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country houses (châteaux) built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century. The style was popularized in the United States by Richard Morris Hunt. Hunt, the first American architect to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, designed residences, including those for the Vanderbilt family, during the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s.

Châtelaine:

The mistress of a château or large country house.

Chatham House Rule:

Under the Chatham House Rule, anyone who comes to a meeting is free to use information from the discussion, but is not allowed to reveal who made any particular comment. It is designed to increase openness of discussion. The rule is a system for holding debates and discussion panels on controversial topics, named after the headquarters of the UK Royal Institute of International Affairs, based in Chatham House, London, where the rule originated in June 1927.

Read more here: Chatham House Rules Apply - What Does This Mean? - "Chatham House Rules Apply - What Does This MeanThere Is Only One Chatham House Rule. Find Out What It Is and How It Works. Find Out What the Chatham House Rule Is & How It Promotes the Sharing of Information."

Chauvinism:

Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism.

Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind.

Cheat Sheet:

A document, especially a sheet of paper, containing information, such as test answers, used for cheating.

A document containing summarized information used for quick reference.

Check:

A Cheque or Check (American English) is a written order directing a bank to pay money.

The four main items on a Check are: Drawer, the person or entity who makes the Check; Payee, the recipient of the money; Drawee, the bank or other financial institution where the Check can be presented for payment; Amount, the currency amount.

Check Kiting:

Check Kiting is a form of check fraud, involving taking advantage of the float to make use of non-existent funds in a checking or other bank account. In this way, instead of being used as a negotiable instrument, checks are misused as a form of unauthorized credit.

Checklist:

A list of items to be noted, checked, or remembered.

See also: to-do list.

Checks and Balances:

Checks and Balances is the principle that each of the Branches has the power to limit or check the other two and this creates a balance between the three separate powers of the state, this principle induces that the ambitions of one branch prevent that one of the other branches become supreme, and thus be eternally confronting each other and in that process leaving the people free from government abuses. Checks and Balances are designed to maintain the system of separation of powers keeping each branch in its place. This is based on the idea that it is not enough to separate the powers and guarantee their independence but to give the various branches the constitutional means to defend their own legitimate powers from the encroachments of the other branches.

Cheerleader:

One who leads the cheering of spectators, as at a sports contest.

One who expresses or promotes thoughtless praise; an adulator.

Chef:

A Chef is a cook, especially the chief cook of a large kitchen staff.

Chemistry:

The composition, structure, properties, and reactions of a substance.

Mutual attraction or sympathy; rapport.

Cheque:

See: check.

Cherchez la Femme:

Cherchez la Femme, is a French phrase which literally means "look for the woman."

In the sense that, a man behaves out of character or in an otherwise inexplicable manner because he is trying to cover up an affair with a woman. Or that same man is trying to impress or gain favor with that woman.

The expression comes from the 1854 novel The Mohicans of Paris by Alexandre Dumas (père).

Cherry Picking (fallacy):

Cherry Picking, suppressing evidence, or the fallacy of incomplete evidence is the act of pointing to individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position. It is a kind of fallacy of selective attention.

Cherub:

A winged celestial being.

Christianity: the second of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

Chétif:

Sickly, weak; meagre, paltry.

Chevalier Servant:

Devoted admirer.

Chevron (insignia):

A Chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is an inverted V-shaped pattern. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags. The symbol is also used on highway signs to guide drivers around curves.

Chi:

See: qi.

Chiaroscuro:

Fine Arts: the technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.

Chiasmus:

In rhetoric, Chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point.

Chiasmus derives its effectiveness from its symmetrical structure. The structural symmetry of the Chiasmus imposes the impression upon the reader or listener that the entire argument has been accounted for. In other words, Chiasmus creates only two sides of an argument or idea for the listener to consider, and then leads the listener to favor one side of the argument. In former President John F. Kennedy's famous quote, "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country", the only two questions that the Chiastic statement allows for are whether the listener should ask what the country can do for him or her, or ask what he or she can do for the country. The statement also proposes that the latter statement is more favorable. Thus, Chiasmus gains its rhetorical efficacy through symmetrical structure causing the belief that all tenets of an argument have been evaluated.

Chic:

The quality or state of being stylish; fashionableness. Sophistication in dress and manner; elegance.

Chicane:

To resort to tricks or subterfuges.

Motor Racing: a short section of sharp narrow bends formed by barriers placed on a motor-racing circuit to provide an additional test of driving skill.

Chichi:

Ostentatiously stylish; attempting stylish elegance but achieving only an over-elaborate pretentiousness; pretentious and over-elaborate refinement; deliberately chic.

Chick Lit:

Novels written for, about, or by young educated women.

Chicken or the Egg:

The Chicken or the Egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as "which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?" To ancient philosophers, the question about the first Chicken or Egg also evoked the questions of how life and the universe in general began.

Chicotte:

A long knotted whip with a wooden handle, formerly used as a punishment in the Congo and Portuguese Africa.

Chief Executive Officer:

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO, American English), managing director (MD, British English), executive director (ED, American English) for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization. An individual appointed as a CEO of a corporation, company, organization, or agency typically reports to the board of directors.

The responsibilities of an organization's CEO (US) or MD (UK) are set by the organization's board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority.

Typically, the CEO/MD has responsibilities as a communicator, decision maker, leader, and manager. The communicator role can involve the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as the organization's management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. As a leader, the CEO/MD advises the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO/MD presides over the organization's day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to-year operations.

Child Prodigy:

A Child Prodigy is someone who, at an early age, develops one or more skills at a level far beyond the norm for their age. A prodigy has to be a child, or at least younger than 18 years, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavour.

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM):

Child pornography (also called Child Sexual Abuse Material or child porn) is pornography that exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a child (also known as child sexual abuse images) or it may be simulated child pornography. Abuse of the child occurs during the sexual acts or lascivious exhibitions of genitals or pubic areas which are recorded in the production of child pornography. Child pornography may use a variety of mediums, including writings, magazines, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video, and video games. Child pornography may be created for profit or other reasons.

Child's Play:

Something very easy to do; a trivial matter.

Chill Factor:

The temperature a person feels because of the wind.

Chimera (mythology):

The Chimera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of three animals – a lion, a snake and a goat. Usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that ended in a snake's head, the Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

The term Chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals, or to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling.

China:

High-quality porcelain or ceramic ware, originally made in China.

Porcelain or earthenware used for the table.

China Syndrome:

Catastrophic nuclear accident: a hypothetical accident in which the core of a nuclear reactor melts, allowing the radioactive fuel to burn through the floor of its container and straight down into the ground.

Chinaman's Chance:

Chinaman's Chance means little or no chance at all, freighted with a particularly anti-Asian racism. It is an American idiomatic expression first attested in 1903.

Chinese Wall:

In business, a Chinese Wall or firewall is an information barrier implemented within a firm to separate and isolate persons who make investment decisions from persons who are privy to undisclosed material information which may influence those decisions. This is a way of avoiding conflict of interest problems.

Chinese Whispers:

Chinese Whispers (Commonwealth English) or telephone (American English) is an internationally popular children's game in which players form a line, and the first player comes up with a message and whispers it to the ear of the second person in the line. The second player repeats the message to the third player, and so on. When the last player is reached, they announce the message they heard to the entire group.

Chinoiserie:

Chinoiserie is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music.

Chi-Rho:

The Greek letters "Chi" and "Rho" (XP). The first two Greek letters in the name Christ, used as a monogram (Christogram). The symbol was created by Emperor Constantine I.

Chip Off the Old Block:

This idiomatic: someone who takes after their parent.

See also: like father, like son.

Chirography:

Chirography is the study of penmanship and handwriting in all of its aspects.

Chitchat:

Casual conversation; small talk; gossip.

Choke Point:

A narrow passage, such as a strait, through which shipping must pass.

A point of congestion or obstruction.

Choleric:

A person who is Choleric is a doer. They have a lot of ambition, energy, and passion, and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were Cholerics.

See also: melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine.

Cholesterol:

Cholesterol is a lipidic, waxy alcohol found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by animals, but small quantities are synthesized in other eukaryotes, such as plants and fungi. It is almost completely absent among prokaryotes, which include bacteria. Cholesterol is classified as a sterol (a contraction of steroid and alcohol).

Although Cholesterol is essential for life, high levels in circulation are associated with atherosclerosis. Cholesterol can be ingested in the diet, recycled within the body through reabsorption of bile in the digestive tract, and produced de novo. For a person of about 150 pounds (68 kg), typical total body cholesterol content is about 35 g, typical daily dietary intake is 200–300 mg in the United States and societies with similar dietary patterns and 1 g per day is synthesized de novo.

The name Cholesterol originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -o/ for an alcohol, as François Poulletier de la Salle first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones, in 1769. However, it was only in 1815 that chemist Eugène Chevreul named the compound "Cholesterine".

Chopper (motorcycle):

A Chopper is a type of motorcycle that was either modified from an original motorcycle design ("chopped") or built from scratch to have a hand-crafted appearance. The main features of a chopper that make it stand out are its longer frame design accompanied by a stretch front end, or increased rake angle. To achieve a longer front end, while the frame is being designed, the fabricator will tilt the neck of the frame at less of an incline and install a longer fork. Another unique aspect of a chopper design is that there is usually no rear suspension meaning the frame of the motorcycle will extend from the neck (or front of the frame) all the way to the rear wheel. This can make handling the motorcycle more challenging and the ride a bit more "bumpy". These attributes may seem radical to some but are necessary for the look that is desired. One look that is becoming more popular with chopper designs is a low frame to ground clearance or a low-rider look.

Chopsticks:

Chopsticks (singular: Chopstick) are short, frequently tapered sticks used in pairs of equal length, which are used as the traditional eating utensils of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Chopsticks are most commonly made of wood, bamboo or plastic, but are also made of metal, bone and ivory. Chopsticks are held in the dominant hand, between the thumb and fingers, and used to pick up pieces of food.

"Chopsticks" (music) (original name "The Celebrated Chop Waltz") is a simple, extremely well known waltz for the piano. It was written in 1877 by the British composer Euphemia Allen under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli. Allen, who was the sister of a music publisher, was supposedly only sixteen when she composed the piece, with arrangements for solo and duet. The title Chop Waltz comes from Allen's specification that the melody be played in two-part harmony with both hands held sideways, little fingers down, striking the keys with a chopping motion. This name suggests the piece should be played in 3/4 (waltz) meter, although it is also commonly heard with the stresses as in 6/8 time.

Chord:

A Chord in music is any harmonic set of two or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.

Choreography:

The art of creating and arranging dances or ballets.

Christmas:

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday generally observed on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

Christogram:

See: Chi-Rho.

Chroma Key:

Chroma Key is a technique for mixing two images or frames together in which a color (or a small color range) from one image is removed (or made transparent), revealing another image behind it. This technique is also referred to as color keying, colour-separation overlay, greenscreen, and bluescreen. It is commonly used for weather forecast broadcasts, wherein the presenter appears to be standing in front of a large map, but in the studio it is actually a large blue or green background.

Chronograph:

A Chronograph is a timepiece or watch with both timekeeping and stopwatch functions. Pocket watch chronographs were produced as early as the 18th century but did not become popular until the 1820s.

Chronology:

The science that deals with the determination of dates and the sequence of events.

The arrangement of events in time.

Chrysalis:

(Zoology): a pupa, especially of a butterfly.

A protected stage of development; anything in the process of developing.

Chuppah:

A Chuppah (Hebrew: chuppot, literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A Chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together. While a Jewish marriage is still considered valid in the absence of a Chuppah, a Chuppah is still considered a basic requirement for a Jewish wedding.

Churn:

To buy and sell (a client's securities) frequently, especially in order to generate commissions.

Churnalism:

Churnalism is a form of journalism in which press releases, wire stories and other forms of pre-packaged material are used to create articles in newspapers and other news media in order to meet increasing pressures of time and cost without undertaking further research or checking.

Chutzpah:

Utter nerve; effrontery.

Ci-Devant:

In post-Revolutionary France, Ci-Devant nobility were those nobles who refused to be reconstituted into the new social order or to accept any of the political, cultural, and social changes brought about in France by the French Revolution. They were often distinguished by their manners as much as by their political views, both of which remained loyal to the attitudes and values of pre-Revolutionary France.

The term Ci-Devant, itself often derogatory, comes from the French, meaning "from before" and technically applied to members of the French nobility of the ancien régime (pre-Revolutionary French society) after they had lost their titles and privileges during the French Revolution. Despite the formal abolition of the titles of nobility by the First Republic, most aristocrats did not accept the legality of this move and there are still numerous families in France with aristocratic titles today. "Ci-Devant" may be compared to the English language term late (as in deceased), as it expresses the (figurative) death of the nobility during the legislative agenda of the Revolution. Prior to the Revolution, the term Ci-Devant was a common expression, although then it was used to aristocrats who had fallen into financial or social ruin - namely "people or things dispossessed of their estate or quality."

Cicero (typography):

A Cicero is a unit of measure used in typography in Italy, France and other continental European countries, first used by Pannartz and Sweynheim in 1468 for the edition of Cicero's Epistles, Ad Familiares. The font size thus acquired the name Cicero.

It is 1/6 of the historical French inch, and is divided into 12 points, known in English as French points or Didot points. The unit of the Cicero is similar to an English pica, although the French inch was slightly larger than the English inch. There are about 1.063 picas to a Cicero; a pica is 4.23333333 mm and a Cicero is 4.5 mm.

Cicero (and the points derived from Cicero) was used in the early days of typography in continental Europe. In modern times, all computers use pica (and the points derived from pica) as font size measurement – alongside millimeters in countries using the metric system – for line length and paper size measurement.

Cicerone:

Cicerone is an old term for a guide, one who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. The word is presumably taken from Marcus Tullius Cicero, as a type of learning and eloquence.

Ciceronian:

Of, or relating to Marcus Tullius Cicero, or the ideas in his philosophical treatises.

(Rhetoric): eloquent, resembling Cicero’s style; with effusive use of antithesis and long sentences.

CID:

Short for: Custom ID card.

Cilice:

A Cilice was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) used in some religious traditions to induce some degree of discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement.

A leather strap studded with metallic barbs that cut into flesh as a constant reminder of Christ's suffering.

Cincinnatus:

Lucius Quinctius or Quintius Cincinnatus (c. 519–430 BC) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtues - particularly Roman manliness and civic virtue—by the time of the Empire.

Cindarella Complex:

The Cindarella Complex was first described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence, as an unconscious desire to be taken care of by others. The complex is said to become more apparent as a person grows older.

Dowling attempts to define women as being motivated by an unconscious desire to be taken care of as a fear of independence termed "Cinderella Complex". An important aspect of the work can be defined as identifying an aspect of a larger phenomenon as to why women choose to stay in dysfunctional relationships.

This phenomenon can be defined as a syndrome characterized by a series of specific motivations or causes. Dowling identifies only one motivation, while the syndrome is in fact a combination of many motivations, which are in themselves characteristics that make up a complex.

Cinéma Vérité:

Cinéma Vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects.

Cinemagraphs:

Cinemagraphs are still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement occurs. Cinemagraphs, which are usually published in an animated GIF format, can give the illusion that the viewer is watching a video.

They are commonly produced by taking a series of photographs or a video recording, and, using image editing software, compositing the photographs or the video frames into a seamless loop of sequential frames, often using the animated GIF file format in such a manner that motion in part of the subject between exposures (for example, a person's dangling leg) is perceived as a repeating or continued motion, in contrast with the stillness of the rest of the image.

Cinematography:

The art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film.

Cinq à Sept:

(France, colloquial, idiomatic): quick afternoon tryst.

Cinq à Sept (literally, "five to seven") (pronounced "sank-ah-set") is a Quebec French term for a social gathering that takes place after work and prior to the dinner hours (roughly between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.). It may bring together friends or colleagues or may be organized around a specific event, such as a book launch or vernissage. Wine, beer, and cocktails are served along with finger foods and other hors d'oeuvres.

A Cinq à Sept can be a formal gathering held in a wide range of public and private spaces, such as art galleries, University campuses, and places of work, but it is also commonly used more informally as a promotion in bars to attract patrons. The English equivalent might be a "wine and cheese" gathering in the more formal usage or happy hour in the informal usage.

It may also be written as 5 à 7. In France, Cinq à Sept was originally used as a synecdoche for a visit to one's mistress, derived from the time of day Frenchmen would make such a visit.

Cinquecento:

The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1500 to 1599 are collectively referred to as the Cinquecento from the Italian for the number 500, in turn from Millecinquecento, which is Italian for the year 1500. Cinquecento encompasses the styles and events of the Italian Renaissance.

CIO:

Chief Information Officer (CIO), or information technology (IT) director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals.

Cipher:

A message written in a secret code.

Circa:

Latin: about; around; abbreviations: c., ca.

Circadian Clock:

The Circadian Clock, or circadian oscillator, in most living things makes it possible for organisms to coordinate their biology and behavior with daily environmental changes in the day-night cycle.

Circadian Rhythm:

A Circadian Rhythm is any biological process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours. These 24-hour rhythms are driven by a circadian clock, and they have been widely observed in plants, animals, fungi, and cyanobacteria.

Circle:

A plane curve everywhere equidistant from a given fixed point, the center.

A group of people sharing an interest, activity, or achievement.

Circle of Competence:

A Circle of Competence is the subject area which matches a person's skills or expertise. The mental model was developed by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to describe limiting one's financial investments in areas where an individual may have limited understanding or experience, concentrating in areas when one has the greatest familiarity, and to emphasize the importance of aligning a subjective assessment of one own's competence with actual competence. Buffett summarized the concept in the motto, "Know your Circle of Competence, and stick within it. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital."

Circle the Wagons:

From the practice of drawing the wagons of a wagon-train into a circle to protect against attack, and also to keep cattle and other livestock within.

To draw a wagon train into a circle to allow the wagons to provide cover when under attack.

(Idiomatic): to prepare to defend against an attack or criticism.

Circular Economy:

A Circular Economy is a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops. This can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. This is in contrast to a linear economy which is a 'take, make, dispose' model of production.

A major argument in favour of the Circular Economy approach is that achieving a sustainable world does not require changes in the quality of life of consumers, nor does it require loss of revenues or extra costs for manufacturers and other economic agents. The argument is that circular business models can be as profitable as linear models and allow consumers to keep enjoying similar products and services.

To achieve models that are economically and environmentally sustainable, the Circular Economy focuses on areas such as design thinking, systems thinking, product life extension, and recycling.

Circular Fashion:

‘Circular fashion’ can be defined as clothes, shoes or accessories that are designed, sourced, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulate responsibly and effectively in society for as long as possible in their most valuable form, and hereafter return safely to the biosphere when no longer of human use.

Circulation:

Movement in a circle or circuit.

The passing of something, such as money or news, from place to place or person to person.

Circus:

A travelling company of entertainers such as acrobats, clowns, trapeze artistes, and trained animals.

Historical Terms (in ancient Rome): an open-air stadium, usually oval or oblong, for chariot races or public games.

Informal: something suggestive of a Circus, as in frenetic activity or noisy disorder.

Citadel:

A fortress in a commanding position in or near a city.

A stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle.

Citizen:

A person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the protection of a state or nation.

A resident of a city or town, especially one entitled to vote and enjoy other privileges there.

A native, inhabitant, or denizen of a particular place; a civilian.

Citizen Journalism:

The concept of Citizen Journalism (also known as "public", "participatory", "democratic", "guerrilla" or "street" journalism) is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information." Similarly, Courtney C. Radsch defines Citizen Journalism "as an alternative and activist form of newsgathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a repose to shortcoming in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism." Jay Rosen proposes a simpler definition: "When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another."

Citizen Journalism should not be confused with community journalism or civic journalism, both of which are practiced by professional journalists. Collaborative journalism is also a separate concept and is the practice of professional and non-professional journalists working together. Citizen Journalism is a specific form of both citizen media and user generated content. By juxtaposing the term “citizen,” with its attendant qualities of civic mindedness and social responsibility, with that of “journalism,” which refers to a particular profession, Courtney C. Radsch argues that this term best describes this particular form of online and digital journalism conducted by amateurs, because it underscores the link between the practice of journalism and its relation to the political and public sphere.

Citizen Science:

Citizen Science (CS) (also known as crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, volunteer monitoring or networked science) is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists.

Also defined as: The general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources. Participants provide experimental data and facilities for researchers, raise new questions and co-create a new scientific culture. While adding value, volunteers acquire new learning and skills, and deeper understanding of the scientific work in an appealing way. As a result of this open, networked and trans-disciplinary scenario, science-society-policy interactions are improved leading to a more democratic research, based on evidence-informed decision making as is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or non professional scientists.

Citizen Science may be performed by individuals, teams, or networks of volunteers. Citizen scientists often partner with professional scientists to achieve common goals. Large volunteer networks often allow scientists to accomplish tasks that would be too expensive or time consuming to accomplish through other means.

Citizen's Arrest:

A Citizen's Arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.

Despite the practice's name, the arresting person is usually designated as any person with arrest powers, who need not be a citizen of the jurisdiction in which he is acting.

Citizenship:

The status of a citizen with its attendant duties, rights, and privileges.

City:

A center of population, commerce, and culture; a town of significant size and importance.

The financial and commercial center of London. Used with the.

City Boy:

A city dweller with sophisticated manners and clothing.

Visit also: Cityboy, Geraint Anderson.

Civil:

Applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military; of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals.

Of or in accordance with organized society; civilized.

Sufficiently observing or befitting accepted social usages; not rude.

Law: relating to the rights of private individuals and legal proceedings concerning these rights as distinguished from criminal, military, or international regulations or proceedings.

Civil Disobedience:

Civil Disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain laws, demands and commands of a government, or of an occupying power, without resorting to physical violence. It is one of the primary tactics of nonviolent resistance.

Also visit Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Civil Religion:

A set of religious beliefs shared by most citizens about "the sacred nature, the sacred ideals, the sacred character, and sacred meanings of their country – its blessedness by God, and its special place and role in the world and in human history." The term was created by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his writing "On the Social Contract" 1762.

Civil Service:

Those branches of public service that are not legislative, judicial, or military and in which employment is usually based on competitive examination.

The entire body of persons employed by the civil branches of a government.

Civilization:

A Civilization (or Civilisation) is a complex society or culture group characterized by dependence upon agriculture, long-distance trade, state form of government, occupational specialization, urbanism, and class stratification. Aside from these core elements, Civilization is often marked by any combination of a number of secondary elements, including a developed transportation system, writing, standards of measurement (currency, etc.), formal legal system, great art style, monumental architecture, mathematics, sophisticated metallurgy, and astronomy.

For an in-depth insight, read the book: Civilisation A Personal View by Kenneth Clark.

Clade:

A Clade is a group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants, and represents a single "branch" on the "tree of life".

Claim:

A right or title to something.

A demand for something rightfully or allegedly due.

A statement, as a fact, of something that may be called into question; assertion.

Clairvoyance:

The term Clairvoyance (from 17th century French with clair meaning "clear" and voyance meaning "vision") is used to refer to the alleged ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception. A person said to have the ability of Clairvoyance is referred to as a clairvoyant ("one who sees clearly").

Clan:

A traditional social unit in the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor and following the same hereditary chieftain.

A division of a tribe tracing descent from a common ancestor; a large group of relatives, friends, or associates.

Clandestine:

Kept or done in secret, often in order to conceal an illicit or improper purpose.

Claret:

Any of the wines of Bordeaux. The British affinity for these wines may be traced to the Middle Ages, when the area containing the region was held by the Norman crown. After King John granted the region tax exemptions in hopes of shoring up shaky loyalties, Bordeaux became a main source of wines (including its typical Clairet for England.

Clarkson Parking:

Doing a Clarkson: New trend for posh car drivers to DELIBERATELY park across two bays to protect their beloved vehicles from 'clowns who can't park or drive'.

The controversial parking technique, known as Clarkson Parking after the former Top Gear presenter due to his vocal championing of all things motoring, aims to protect the owner's car at all costs and is common among car enthusiasts.

Class:

A set, collection, group, or configuration containing members regarded as having certain attributes or traits in common; a kind or category.

A division based on quality, rank, or grade.

A social stratum whose members share certain economic, social, or cultural characteristics.

Elegance of style, taste, and manner.

Class Action:

In law, a Class Action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit brought by one or more plaintiffs on behalf of a large group of others who have a common legal claim.

Classic:

Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.

An artist, author, or work generally considered to be of the highest rank or excellence, especially one of enduring significance.

A work recognized as definitive in its field.

A literary work of ancient Greece or Rome.

A typical or traditional example.

A traditional event, especially a major sporting event that is held annually.

Classical Unities:

The Classical Unities, Aristotelian unities, or three unities represent a prescriptive theory of dramatic tragedy that was introduced in Italy in the 16th Century and was influential for three centuries. The three unities are:
1. unity of action: a tragedy should have one principal action.
2. unity of time: the action in a tragedy should occur over a period of no more than 24 hours.
3. unity of place: a tragedy should exist in a single physical location.

Classification:

Systematic placement in categories.

A category or class.

Classified Ad:

A short Ad in a newspaper or magazine (usually in small print) and appearing along with other ads of the same type.

Classified Information:

Classification levels. Although the classification systems vary from country to country, most have levels corresponding to the following British definitions (from the highest level to lowest):

Top Secret (TS): the highest level of classification of material on a national level. Such material would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if publicly available.

Secret: such material would cause "grave damage" to national security if publicly available.

Confidential: such material would cause "damage" or be "prejudicial" to national security if publicly available.

Restricted: such material would cause "undesirable effects" if publicly available. Some countries do not have such a classification.

Unclassified: technically not a classification level, but is used for government documentsthat do not have a classification listed above. Such documents can sometimes be viewed by those without security clearance.

Clause:

Grammar: a group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence.

A distinct article, stipulation, or provision in a document.

Claustrophobia:

An abnormal fear of being in narrow or enclosed spaces.

Clave:

Music: a cylindrical hardwood stick used in a pair as a percussion instrument; a syncopated two-bar musical pattern. The Clave rhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo, salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms.

Clawback:

Previously given monies or benefits that are taken back due to specially arising circumstances.

Clean Eating:

Clean Eating is a fad diet based on the belief that eating whole foods in their most natural state and avoiding processed foods such as refined sugar offers certain health benefits. Variations on the Clean Eating diet may also exclude gluten, grains, and dairy products and advocate the consumption of raw food.

The idea of "Clean Aating" has been criticized as lacking in scientific evidence and potentially posing health risks.

Read also: A Guide To A Clean Eating Diet Over The Holidays - And Why A Year-Round Regimen Makes A Difference - "Clean eating is more than a movement. It’s a holistic approach to food that can lead to a tougher immune system, increased energy levels, a stronger heart, improved brain health and more. So what does eating clean for beginners look like in practice - and what does it take to reap the benefits?"

Cleaning the Augean Stables:

A job so dirty and so huge that no-one can hope to succeed at it.

Cleantech:

Clean Technology includes recycling, renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental footprint and minimise pollution. To make green buildings, transport and infrastructure both more energy efficient and environmentally benign. Environmental finance is a method by which new Clean Technology projects that has proven that they are "additional" or "beyond business as usual" can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits.

Clemency:

Disposition to be merciful and especially to moderate the severity of punishment due; an act or instance of leniency.

Clérambault's Syndrome:

See: erotomania.

Clerihew:

A Clerihew is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem's subject, usually a famous person put in an absurd light. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and meter are irregular. Bentley invented the Clerihew in school and then popularized it in books. One of his best known is this (1905):
Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's."

Cliché:

A Cliché or Cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, or effect, and even, to the point of being trite or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial.

Click:

Pressing down once and releasing a mouse button.

Click Farm:

A Click Farm is a form of click fraud, where a large group of low-paid workers are hired to click on paid advertising links for the click fraudster (Click Farm master or click farmer). The workers click the links, surf the target website for a period of time, and possibly sign up for newsletters prior to clicking another link. For many of these workers, clicking on enough ads per day may increase their revenue substantially and may also be an alternative to other types of work. It is extremely difficult for an automated filter to detect this simulated traffic as fake because the visitor behavior appears exactly the same as that of an actual legitimate visitor.

Clickbait:

Clickbait is a pejorative term for web content whose main goal is to get users to click on a link to go to a certain webpage. Clickbait headlines typically aim to exploit the "curiosity gap", providing just enough information to make readers curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content.

From a historical perspective, the techniques employed by Clickbait authors can be considered derivative of yellow journalism, which presented little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead used eye-catching headlines that included exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.

Client:

The party for which professional service are rendered, as by an attorney.

A customer or patron.

Computer Science: a computer or program that can download files for manipulation, run applications, or request application-based services from a file server.

Client Confidentiality:

Client Confidentiality is the principle that an institution or individual should not reveal information about their clients to a third party without the consent of the client or a clear legal reason. This concept is commonly provided for in law in most countries.

See also: attorney-client privilege.

Client State:

A country that is dependent on the economic or military support of a larger, more powerful country.

Clienteling:

Clienteling is a technique used by retail sales associates to establish long-term relationships with key customers based on data about their preferences, behaviors and purchases. Clienteling is intended to guide associates to provide more personal and informed customer service that may influence customer behavior related to shopping frequency, lift in average transaction value, and other retail key performance indicators. From the customer's perspective, Clienteling "could add a layer of personal touch" to the shopping experience.

Read more here: The meaning of Clienteling and why it's important in 2023 - "Clienteling is about more than fancy technology, customer service tips, or well-trained salespeople. And while it's always been an important part of any good retail strategy, it has taken on new meaning in today's omnichannel world."

Cliffhanger:

Performing Arts: a situation of imminent disaster usually occurring at the end of each episode of a serialized film; a suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode.

A contest so closely matched that the outcome is uncertain until the end.

Climate:

The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region.

A prevailing condition or set of attitudes in human affairs.

Climate Change:

Climate Change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate Change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather around longer-term average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate Change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent Climate Change, often referred to as global warming.

Climategate:

The Climatic Research Unit email controversy (also known as "Climategate") began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) by an external attacker, copying thousands of emails and computer files, Climatic Research Unit documents to various internet locations several weeks before the Copenhagen Summit on climate change.

The story was first broken by climate change denialists, with columnist James Delingpole popularising the term "Climategate" to describe the controversy. They argued that the emails showed that global warming was a scientific conspiracy and that scientists manipulated climate data and attempted to suppress critics. The CRU rejected this, saying that the emails had been taken out of context and merely reflected an honest exchange of ideas.

Climbing the Lavender Ladder:

Nichname for casting couch.

Clinch:

To fix or secure (a nail or bolt, for example) by bending down or flattening the pointed end that protrudes.

To settle definitely and conclusively; make final.

Sports: to hold a boxing opponent's body with one or both arms to prevent or hinder punches.

Slang: to embrace amorously.

Clipart:

A library of drawings or photographs that you can use in documents.

Cloak-and-Dagger:

Marked by melodramatic intrigue and often by espionage.

Cloaking:

Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the User-Agent HTTP header of the user requesting the page. When a user is identified as a search engine spider, a server-side script delivers a different version of the web page, one that contains content not present on the visible page, or that is present but not searchable. The purpose of cloaking is sometimes to deceive search engines so they display the page when it would not otherwise be displayed (black hat SEO). However, it can also be a functional (though antiquated) technique for informing search engines of content they would not otherwise be able to locate because it is embedded in non-textual containers such as video or certain Adobe Flash components.

Clone:

A cell, group of cells, or organism that is descended from and genetically identical to a single common ancestor, such as a bacterial colony whose members arose from a single original cell.

A DNA sequence, such as a gene, that is transferred from one organism to another and replicated by genetic engineering techniques.

One that copies or closely resembles another, as in appearance or function.

Close the Loop:

"Closed Loop" recycling is basically a production process in which post-consumer waste is collected, recycled and used to make new products. This process can be as simple as using recycled aluminum to make new cans, or as complicated as weaving reclaimed plastic bottles into polyester for clothing and other products.

For the Closed Loop system to function properly, consumers, recyclers and manufacturers must work together to reclaim valuable materials from our waste stream and use them to make new products.

Close Your Eyes and Think of England:

A reference to unwanted sexual intercourse - specifically advice to an unwilling wife when sexually approached by her husband.

(Origin): recorded in the 1912 journal of Lady Hillingdon - "When I hear his steps outside my door I lie down on my bed, open my legs and think of England."

Closeted:

Closeted and in the closet are adjectives for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.

Clotheshorse:

A frame on which clothes are hung to dry or air.

A person excessively concerned with dress.

Cloud Clubbing:

Cloud Clubbing is where people can watch live DJ sets and send in messages to give them the feeling that they're in a club. The Cloud Clubbing events usually take place on apps such as Douyin, China's TikTok.

Cloud Computing:

Cloud Computing, also known as 'on-demand computing', is a kind of Internet-based computing, where shared resources, data and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand. It is a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. Cloud Computing and storage solutions provide users and enterprises with various capabilities to store and process their data in third-party data centers. It relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar to a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network. At the foundation of Cloud Computing is the broader concept of converged infrastructure and shared services.

Cloud Computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort.

Proponents claim that Cloud Computing allows companies to avoid upfront infrastructure costs, and focus on projects that differentiate their businesses instead of on infrastructure. Proponents also claim that Cloud Computing allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand. Cloud providers typically use a "pay as you go" model. This can lead to unexpectedly high charges if administrators do not adapt to the cloud pricing model.

The concept incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Often-quoted examples are Salesforce.com and Google Apps which provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

The Cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.

See also Creative Commons' open cloud manifesto.

Clout:

See: Power (social and political).

Club:

A Club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service Club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are Clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities Clubs, political and religious Clubs, and so forth.

Historically, Clubs occurred in all ancient states of which we have detailed knowledge. Once people started living together in larger groups, there was need for people with a common interest to be able to associate despite having no ties of kinship.

Sports: an implement used in some games to drive a ball, especially a stick with a protruding head used in golf; an athletic team or organization.

A nightclub.

Club Sandwich:

A Club Sandwich, also called a Clubhouse Sandwich or Double-Decker, is a sandwich with two layers of fillings between 3 slices of bread. It is often cut into quarters and held together by cocktail sticks.

The traditional club ingredients are turkey on the bottom layer, and bacon, lettuce, and tomato on the top (it is sometimes called the "turkey club"). Other Club Sandwich variations generally vary the bottom layer, for example a "chicken club" or a "roast beef club." As with a BLT sandwich, the Club Sandwich is usually served on toasted bread, but untoasted bread can be used. Mayonnaise is a common condiment, but honey mustard is sometimes used. Some versions also contain ham. Cheese is often added to the sandwich as well, usually Swiss, American, or Cheddar.

It is thought that the Club Sandwich was invented in an exclusive Saratoga Springs, New York, gambling club in the late 19th century by a maverick line cook named Danny Mears.

The sandwich has appeared on US restaurant menus since 1899, if not earlier.

Cluster:

A group of the same or similar elements gathered or occurring closely together; a bunch.

CMS:

Short for: Content Management System. CMS is a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based.

List of content management systems.

Co-Operative:

A type of business organisation that is owned collectively by its members. Members run the business for their own mutual benefit rather than for profit. Co-operatives have been particularly popular in the agricultural industry and among savings banks.

Coach:

A person who gives instruction.

An economical class of passenger accommodations on a commercial airplane or a train.

Coaching:

Coaching, when referring to getting coached by a professional coach, is a teaching or training process in which an individual gets support while learning to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal. The individual getting coached may be referred to as the client, the mentee or coachee, or they may be in an intern or apprenticeship relationship with the person coaching them. Coaching may also happen in an informal relationship between one individual who has greater experience and expertise than another and offers advice and guidance, as the other goes through a learning process.

Coachman:

A Coachman is a man whose business it is to drive a coach, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements. He has also been called a coachee, coachy or whip.

The term "Coachman" is correctly applied to the driver of any type of coach, but it had a specialized meaning before the advent of motor vehicles, as the servant who preceded the chauffeur in domestic service. In a great house, this would have been a specialty, but in more modest households, the Coachman would have doubled as the stablehand or groom.

Coalition:

An alliance, especially a temporary one, of people, factions, parties, or nations.

Coat of Arms:

The heraldic bearings of a person, family, or corporation.

Cobot:

A Cobot, or collaborative robot, is a robot intended for direct human robot interaction within a shared space, or where humans and robots are in close proximity. Cobot applications contrast with traditional industrial robot applications in which robots are isolated from human contact. Cobot safety may rely on lightweight construction materials, rounded edges, and inherent limitation of speed and force, or on sensors and software that ensures safe behavior.

Cocktail:

A Cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains three or more ingredients - at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit, one sweet/sugary and one sour/bitter.

Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. It is now often used for almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol, including mixers, mixed shots, etc. A Cocktail today usually contains one or more kinds of spirit and one or more mixers, such as soda or fruit juice. Additional ingredients may be sugar, honey, milk, cream, and various herbs.

Cocktail Dress:

A short knee length dress shape of the 1920s, lightweight wool, satin, silk and velvet fabrics are usual and often cut to reveal the shoulders and arms.

A Cocktail Dress or cocktail gown is a woman's dress worn at cocktail parties, and (semi-)formal occasions.

Cocktail Hour:

The interval before the evening meal during which cocktails and other alcoholic beverages are often served.

Cocktail Party:

A Cocktail Party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception.

Cocobolo:

Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of the tree Dalbergia retusa from Central America. Only the heartwood is used: this is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood.

Cocoon:

Silky envelope spun by the larvae of many insects to protect pupas and by spiders to protect eggs.

Something suggestive of a Cocoon in appearance or purpose.

Cocotte:

Promiscuous woman, prostitute.

C.O.D.:

Short for: Cash On Delivery. Commonly known by the initials C.O.D. Goods that are shipped on C.O.D. terms to a customer must be paid for at the time they are delivered. In the United States the term used is collect on delivery.

Coda:

Music: the concluding passage of a movement or composition.

A conclusion or closing part of a statement.

Code:

A system of signals used to represent letters or numbers in transmitting messages.

To convert (a message, for example) into Code.

A system of symbol, letters, or words given certain arbitrary meanings, used for transmitting messages requiring secrecy or brevity.

A system of symbols and rules used to represent instructions to a computer; a computer program.

A systematic collection of regulations and rules of procedure or conduct.

Code Duello:

A Code Duello is a set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel.

Codes Duello regulate dueling and thus help prevent vendettas between families and other social factions. They ensure that non-violent means of reaching agreement be exhausted and that harm be reduced, both by limiting the terms of engagement and by providing medical care. Finally, they ensure that the proceedings have a number of witnesses. The witnesses could assure grieving members of factions of the fairness of the duel, and could help provide testimony if legal authorities become involved.

Code of Hammurabi:

The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia, dated back to about 1754 BC (Middle Chronology). It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a 2.25 metre (7.5 ft) stone stele and consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis) as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man or woman.

Codex:

A manuscript volume, especially of a classic work or of the Scriptures.

Codicil:

A supplement or appendix to a will.

Coed:

A woman who attends a coeducational college or university.

In American colloquial language, "Coed" or "Co-ed" is used to refer to a mixed school. This usage is somewhat old-fashioned since coeducational colleges have become the norm.

Coffee Table Book:

A Coffee Table Book is normally hardbound, relatively large in size and contains a lot of illustrations/photographs. It is rather expensive and is designed to be pleasing on the eye; it usually does not contain too much text. These books mostly deal with the arts, and are generally found lying on coffee tables where the visitor to a house can see and admire them.

It is because of the lack of textual content that the term is sometimes used pejoratively to refer to books which deal with subjects in a superficial manner; books that give importance to style rather than substance.

Cogito, Ergo Sum:

Cogito, Ergo Sum is a Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am".

Cognate:

In linguistics, Cognates are words that have a common etymological origin.

Cognition:

The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning.

Cognitive Interview:

The Cognitive Interview (CI) is a method of interviewing in which eyewitnesses and victims report what they remember from a crime scene. Using four retrievals, the primary focus of the Cognitive Interview is to make witnesses and victims of a situation aware of all the events that transpired. The CI aids in minimizing misinterpretation together with uncertainty that is otherwise seen in the questioning process of a standard police interview. Cognitive Interview reliably enhances the process of memory retrieval and has been found to elicit memories without generating inaccurate accounts of information or confabulations.

Cognitive Mapping:

A process composed of a series of psychological transformations by which an individual acquires, codes, stores, recalls, and decodes information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday spatial environment.

Cohiba Cigars:

Cohiba is a brand for two kinds of premium cigar, one produced in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic for General Cigar. The name Cohíba derives from the Taíno word for "tobacco." The Cuban brand is filled with tobacco which, unique to Cohiba, has undergone an extra fermentation process; as such, it is a type as well as a brand.

Cohíba was originally a private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and high-level officials in the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban government. Often given as diplomatic gifts, the Cohíba brand gradually developed a "cult" status. It was released commercially for sale to the public in 1982.

COLA:

Acronym for COuples Living Apart.

Cold Call:

A telephone call or visit made to someone who is not known or not expecting contact, often in order to sell something.

Cold Case:

A criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains "on the books"; may be reopened when new evidence appears.

Cold Feet:

Informal: loss or lack of courage or confidence; fearfulness or timidity preventing the completion of a course of action.

Cold Turkey:

Complete and abrupt withdrawal of all addictive drugs or anything else on which you have become dependent.

Cold War:

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political tension and military rivalry between nations that stops short of full-scale war, especially that which existed between the United States and Soviet Union following World War II.

A state of rivalry and tension between two factions, groups, or individuals that stops short of open, violent confrontation.

Collaborative Consumption:

The term Collaborative Consumption is used to describe an economic model based on sharing, swapping, bartering, trading or renting access to products as opposed to ownership.

Collage:

Collage is a technique of an art production, primarily used in the visual arts, where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A Collage may sometimes include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of Collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

Collapse:

To break down suddenly in strength or health and thereby cease to function.

Collateral:

Property acceptable as security for a loan or other obligation.

Collateral Damage:

Unintended Damage, injuries, or deaths caused by an action, especially unintended civilian casualties caused by a military operation.

Collectible:

One of a group or Class of objects, such as period glass or historical memorabilia, sought by collectors.

Worthy of being collected.

Collection:

The act or process of collecting.

A group of objects or works to be seen, studied, or kept together.

An accumulation; a deposit.

A collecting of money, as in church; the sum so collected.

A sum of money collected or solicited, as in church.

Collector:

A person whose work is collecting taxes, overdue bills, etc.

A person who collects stamps, books, etc. as a hobby.

Collector's Item:

The outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection.

College:

An institution of higher learning that grants the bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science or both.

An undergraduate division or school of a university offering courses and granting degrees in a particular field.

Chiefly British: a self-governing society of scholars for study or instruction, incorporated within a university.

Colloquialism:

A word or phrase appropriate to conversation and other informal situations.

Collyer's Syndrome:

Also know as Collyer Brothers Syndrome or Collier Brothers Syndrome is compulsive / obsessive hoarding, named after two American brothers Homer Lusk Collyer and Langley Collyer who became famous because of their snobbish nature, filth in their home, and compulsive hoarding. For decades, neighborhood rumors swirled around the rarely seen, unemployed men and their home at 2078 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of 128th Street), in Manhattan, where they obsessively collected newspapers, books, furniture, musical instruments, and many other items, with booby traps set up in corridors and doorways to protect against intruders. Both were eventually found dead in the Harlem brownstone where they had lived as hermits, surrounded by over 130 tons of waste that they had amassed over several decades.

Visit also: Disposophobia.

Cologne:

Cologne or Eau de Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume in a style that originated from Cologne, Germany. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oils. Colognes may be used by men or women.

Colombian Necktie:

A Colombian Necktie is a method of execution wherein the victim's throat is slashed horizontally, with a knife or other sharp object, and his or her tongue is pulled out through the open wound.

Colophon:

An inscription placed usually at the end of a book, giving facts about its publication.

A publisher's emblem or trademark placed usually on the title page of a book.

Color-Blocking:

Color-Blocking is thought of as the exploration of taking colors that are opposites on the color wheel and pairing them together to make interesting and complementary color combinations. It is commonly associated in fashion as a trend that originated from the artwork of Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian. However, other experts argue whether his artwork is the true origin of Color-Blocking.

Color of Law:

In United States law, the term Color of Law denotes the "mere semblance of legal right", the "pretense or appearance of" right; hence, an action done under Color of Law adjusts (colors) the law to the circumstance, yet said apparently legal action contravenes the law. Under color of authority is a legal phrase used in the US indicating that a person is claiming or implying the acts he or she is committing are related to and legitimized by his or her role as an agent of governmental power, especially if the acts are unlawful.

Color Revolution:

Colour Revolution (sometimes called the coloured revolution) or Color Revolution is a term that was widely used by worldwide media to describe various related movements that developed in several societies in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans during the early 2000s. The term has also been applied to a number of revolutions elsewhere, including in the Middle East.

Colors:

A flag or banner of a country, regiment, etc.

Colors (neckties):

Read about the psycology with the choice of Colors in connection with neckties here.

Colostomy Bag:

A bag worn over the stoma to receive fecal discharge after colostomy.

Columbus's Egg:

An egg of Columbus or Columbus's Egg refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to the apocryphal story of how Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was no great accomplishment, challenged his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. After his challengers gave up, Columbus did it himself by tapping the egg on the table so as to flatten its tip.

Column:

Architecture: a supporting pillar consisting of a base, a cylindrical shaft, and a capital.

Printing: one of two or more vertical sections of typed lines lying side by side on a page and separated by a rule or a blank space.

A feature article that appears regularly in a publication, such as a newspaper.

A formation, as of troops or vehicles, in which all elements follow one behind the other.

Coma:

A state of deep, often prolonged unconsciousness, usually the result of injury, disease, or poison, in which an individual is incapable of sensing or responding to external stimuli and internal needs.

Combatant:

A person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute.

Combine:

To bring into a state of unity; merge; to join (two or more substances) to make a single substance, such as a chemical compound; mix.

Comeback:

A return to formerly enjoyed status or prosperity; A return to popularity.

A reply, especially a quick witty one; a retort.

Comedian:

A professional entertainer who tells jokes or performs various other comic acts.

A person who amuses or tries to be amusing; a clown.

Comedy:

A dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution of the thematic conflict.

Popular entertainment composed of jokes, satire, or humorous performance.

See also: tragedy.

Comfort:

A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.

Comfort Blanket:

A comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for small children. Among toddlers, comfort objects may take the form of a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a favorite toy.

Informal: something that dispels anxiety.

Comfort Food:

Food that is simply prepared and gives a sense of wellbeing; typically food with a high sugar or carbohydrate content that is associated with childhood or with home cooking.

Comfort Letter:

A Comfort Letter is a document prepared by an accounting firm assuring the financial soundness or backing of a company.

Comfort Women:

Comfort Women were women and girls forced into a prostitution corps created by the Empire of Japan during World War II.

Comfort Zone:

Psychology: a situation or position in which a person feels secure, comfortable, or in control.

The temperature range (between 28 and 30 degrees Centigrade) at which the naked human body is able to maintain a heat balance without shivering or sweating.

Coming Out:

Coming Out of the closet, or simply coming out, is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The term coming out can also be used in various non-LGBT applications (e.g. atheists).

A debut into society, especially a formal debut by a debutante.

Comitas:

Latin for: politeness; courtesy; kindness; generosity; friendliness; good taste; elegance.

Command:

To direct with authority; give orders to; An order given with authority.

Computer Science: a signal that initiates an operation defined by an instruction.

Command Economy:

A Command Economy, or a planned economy, is where the big decisions are made at the centre by the government.

Command Performance:

(Archaic): a dramatic, musical, or similar entertainment performed before a monarch or other head of state, especially in a circumstance where that ruler has requested or ordered the performance.

(Idiomatic, by extension): a task, activity, or other assignment which one undertakes in order to satisfy someone in authority, such as an employer.

Comme Il Faut:

Being in accord with conventions or accepted standards; proper.

Commentary:

A series of explanations or interpretations.

An expository treatise or series of annotations; an exegesis.

A personal narrative; a memoir.

Commerce:

The buying and selling of goods, especially on a large scale, as between cities or nations.

Commercial:

Of or relating to commerce.

Involved in work that is intended for the mass market.

Having profit as a chief aim.

Sponsored by an advertiser or supported by advertising.

Commission:

The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a particular task or duty.

A fee or percentage allowed to a sales representative or an agent for services rendered.

An official document issued by a government, conferring on the recipient the rank of a Commissioned officer in the armed forces.

Committee:

A group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering, reporting, or acting on a matter.

Commodity:

A Commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk. In other words, copper is copper. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply and demand.

One of the characteristics of a Commodity good is that its price is determined as a function of its market as a whole. Well-established physical Commodities have actively traded spot and derivative markets. Generally, these are basic resources and agricultural products such as iron ore, crude oil, coal, ethanol, salt, sugar, coffee beans, soybeans, aluminum, copper, rice, wheat, gold, silver and platinum.

Commoditization occurs as a goods or services market loses differentiation across its supply base, often by the diffusion of the intellectual capital necessary to acquire or produce it efficiently. As such, goods that formerly carried premium margins for market participants have become Commodities, such as generic pharmaceuticals and silicon chips.

Common Era:

Common Era or Current Era, abbreviated CE, is a calendar era that is often used as an alternative naming of the Anno Domini system ("in the year of the Lord"), abbreviated AD. The system uses BCE as an abbreviation for "before the Common (or Current) Era" and CE as an abbreviation for "Common Era". The CE/BCE designation uses the same numeric values as the traditional Anno Domini year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus to be the reference date.

Common Law:

Common Law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals (also called case law), rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action. A "Common Law system" is a legal system that gives great precedential weight to Common Law, on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions. The body of precedent is called "Common Law" and it binds future decisions. In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, an idealized Common Law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision (this principle is known as stare decisis). If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases (called a "matter of first impression"), judges have the authority and duty to make law by creating precedent Thereafter, the new decision becomes precedent, and will bind future courts.

Common Trust Fund:

A trust that operates by the process of pooling funds from a number of participants in the trust, who as beneficiaries under the trust, share in the income or other gains derived from the acquisition, holding, management or disposal of assets acquired for the trust.

Common Books:

Commonplace Books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such books are essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces are used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts. Each one is unique to its creator's particular interests but they almost always include passages found in other texts, sometimes accompanied by the compiler's responses. They became significant in Early Modern Europe.

Commonwealth of Nations:

The Commonwealth of Nations normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states, all but two of which were formerly part of the British Empire.

Commune:

A relatively small, often rural community whose members share common interests, work, and income and often own property collectively.

The smallest local political division of various European countries, governed by a mayor and municipal council.

Communication:

The activity of Communicating; the activity of conveying information.

Something that is Communicated by or to or between people or groups.

Communiqué:

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: an official communication or announcement, especially to the press or public; an official announcement.

Community:

A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government.

A group of people having common interests.

Society as a whole; the public.

Ecology: a group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions; the region occupied by a group of interacting organisms.

Commuter:

One that travels regularly from one place to another, as from suburb to city and back.

An airplane or airline that carries passengers relatively short distances and often serves remote communities and small airports.

Commuter Town:

See: dormitory town.

Compact:

Closely and firmly united or packed together; dense.

Brief and to the point; concise.

A small case containing a mirror, pressed powder, and a powder puff.

An automobile that is bigger in size than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.

Compact Camera:

A point-and-shoot camera, also called a Compact Camera, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation.

Companello:

A doorbell is a bell on the outside of a house which you can ring so that the people inside know that you want to see them.

Companion:

A person who is an associate of another or others; comrade.

An employee, usually a woman, who provides company for an employer, esp an elderly woman.

Company:

A legal entity formed by a group of individuals for the purpose of doing business. A Company has a legal existence that is separate from the individuals who found it.

Company Secretary:

Called the Corporate Secretary in the United States, this is the person charged with seeing that a company fulfils its legal obligations: that it registers in the proper way; holds formal board meetings as and when it should; and keeps its shareholders properly informed.

Comparative Advantage:

An economic theory first put forward by David Ricardo in the early 19th century. The theory says that all countries will be better off if each of them concentrates on doing the things it does best, even if what it does second best is better than what another country does best.

Compass:

A Compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions (or points) – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined. Usually, a diagram called a Compass rose, which shows the directions (with their names usually abbreviated to initials), is marked on the Compass. When the Compass is in use, the rose is aligned with the real directions in the frame of reference, so, for example, the "N" mark on the rose really points to the north. Frequently, in addition to the rose or sometimes instead of it, angle markings in degrees are shown on the Compass. North corresponds to zero degrees, and the angles increase clockwise, so east is 90 degrees, south is 180, and west is 270. These numbers allow the Compass to show azimuths or bearings, which are commonly stated in this notation.

Compassionate Leave:

(Military) leave granted in an emergency such as family sickness or death.

Compatibility:

A device, such as a computer or computer software, that can be integrated into or used with another device or system of its type.

A feeling of sympathetic understanding.

Compendium:

A concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work.

A list or collection of various items.

Compensation:

The total package of rewards received by an employee, including salary, pension and non-monetary perks such as holiday entitlement.

The award by a court or tribunal for damages caused to plaintiff.

Competency:

The collection of skills, knowledge and personal qualities required to carry out a job. For example, call centre operators need to have adequate computer skills and be good with people.

Competent Man:

In literature, the Competent Man is a stock character who exhibits a very wide range of abilities and knowledge, making him a form of polymath. While not the first to use such a character type, the heroes and heroines of Robert A. Heinlein's fiction (with Jubal Harshaw being a prime example) generally have a wide range of abilities, and one of Heinlein's characters, Lazarus Long, gives a wide summary of requirements:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love.

The Competent Man, more often than not, is written without explaining how he achieved his wide range of skills and abilities. When such characters are young, there is often not much explanation as to how they acquired so many skills at an early age.

Competition:

A test of skill or ability; a contest.

The battle between individual firms to provide the best value for money to their customers. Competition encourages the most efficient firms to flourish. To maximise economic efficiency, national regulators attempt to create conditions in which Competition is as fair as possible. Hence the anti-trust type of laws that exist in many countries across the world.

Competitive Advantage:

Something which gives one firm an edge in competing with others. Such an advantage could be the quality of its intellectual property or its ability to source high-quality, low-price raw materials or labor.

Competitor:

Any business that is chasing the same customers in the same market as you.

One that competes with another, as in sports or business; a rival.

Complementary:

Costing nothing.

Complementary Colors:

Complementary Colors are pairs of colors that are of "opposite" hue in some color model.

In color theory, two colors are called complementary if, when mixed in the proper proportion, they produce a neutral color (grey, white, or black).

See also: primary colors and secondary colors.

Complex (psychology):

A Complex is a core pattern of emotions, memories, perceptions, and wishes in the personal unconscious organized around a common theme, such as power or status.

Complication (horology):

In horology, the term Complication refers to any feature beyond the simple display of hours, minutes, and seconds in a timepiece.

Component:

An integral part of another product that is required for its manufacture, such as a microchip in a computer or a headlamp in an automobile.

Compos Mentis:

(Law): of sound mind, sane; thus criminally responsible for one's eventual wrongdoing.

Composition:

The spatial property resulting from the arrangement of parts in relation to each other and to the whole.

A musical work that has been created.

Compound:

A whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts.

An enclosure of residences and other building.

Compound Interest:

The interest that is earned during a period when calculated as a percentage of the capital sum plus any interest that has been earned in previous periods. Compound interest assumes that previous interest payments are added to the capital sum and thus increase it.

Compromise:

A trade-off of points of equal value in an attempt to reach agreement with another party. The essence of any process of negotiation is a willingness to Compromise.

Compulsory Retirement:

The enforced retirement of an employee because of company rules or national legislation; for example, that directors or judges retire at 70.

Computer:

A Computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.

"Anything you can think of with a chip in it counts s a computer." - The Verge.

Although mechanical examples of Computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic Computers were developed in the mid-20th century (1940–1945). These were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PC.s). Modern Computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space. Simple Computers are small enough to fit into a wristwatch, and can be powered by a watch battery. Personal Computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "Computers". The embedded Computers found in many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are however the most numerous.

The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes Computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any Computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other Computer can perform. Therefore Computers ranging from a mobile phone to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.

See also: laptop, netbook, notebook, PC and tablet PC.

Computer Game:

A personal Computer Game (also known as a Computer Game or PC game) is a game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine.

Computer Glitch:

An electronics glitch is an electrical pulse of short duration that is usually the result of a fault or design error, particularly in a digital circuit.

Computer Literacy:

Computer Literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs and other applications that are associated with computers. Another valuable component of computer literacy is knowing how computers work and operate. Having basic computer skills is a significant asset in the developed countries.

Computer Virus:

See: virus.

Computer Vision:

Computer Vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can be made to gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to automate tasks that the human visual system can do.

In a computing context, ‘vision’ involves systems that can identify items, places, objects, or even humans from visuals mediums – images caught by a camera or sensor. Computer vision technology allows your smartphone camera, for instance, to decipher which element of the image it is capturing is a face, propelling technology such as Google Image Search to make decisions and deliver accurate results. No matter if you need to conduct quick online data analysis or gather enormous volumes of data, this technology will make a significant impact in the future.

Computer Vision tasks include methods for acquiring, processing, analyzing and understanding digital images, and extraction of high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g. in the forms of decisions. Understanding in this context means the transformation of visual images (the input of the retina) into descriptions of the world that can interface with other thought processes and elicit appropriate action. This image understanding can be seen as the disentangling of symbolic information from image data using models constructed with the aid of geometry, physics, statistics, and learning theory.

Computer Vision Syndrome | CVS:

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a condition, often temporary, resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer or other display device for protracted, uninterrupted periods of time. Some symptoms of CVS include headaches, blurred vision, neck pain, redness in the eyes, fatigue, eye strain, dry eyes, irritated eyes, double vision, vertigo/dizziness, polyopia, and difficulty refocusing the eyes. These symptoms can be further aggravated by improper lighting conditions (i.e. glare or bright overhead lighting) or air moving past the eyes (e.g. overhead vents, direct air from a fan).

Computus:

Computus (Latin for "computation") is the calculation used to determine the calendar date of Easter. Because the date is based on a calendar-dependent equinox rather than the astronomical one, there are differences between calculations done according to the Julian calendar and the modern Gregorian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was considered the most important computation of the age.

Comrade:

A person who shares one's interests or activities; a friend or companion.

A fellow member of a group, especially a fellow member of the Communist Party.

Con:

In opposition or disagreement; against: debated the issue pro and con.

One who holds an opposing opinion or view.

A swindle.

Slang: a convict.

Con Amore:

With devotion or zeal.

Con Artist:

A swindler who exploits the confidence of his victim.

Con Brio:

Music: (to be performed) with liveliness or spirit, as in the phrase.

Con Man:

A person who swindles another by means of a confidence trick.

Concentration:

The extent to which a market is supplied by a small number of organisations. For example, the market for jet aircraft is highly concentrated while the market for chocolate bars is not.

Intense mental application; complete attention.

Concept:

A general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences.

Something formed in the mind; a thought or notion.

A scheme; a plan.

Concert of Europe:

The Concert of Europe represented the European balance of power from 1815 to 1848 and from 1871 to 1914.

Concert Party:

A small number of investors who act together in an attempt to control a company in which they hold shares. This is usually achieved by the investors between them obtaining over 50% of the voting rights in the company.

Concert Residency:

A Concert Residency (also known as musical residency or simply residency) is a series of concerts (typically of live music), similar to a concert tour, but only performed at one location. The Concert Residencies have been a staple of Las Vegas Strip for decades, pioneered by singer-pianist Liberace in the 1940s and Frank Sinatra with the Rat Pack in the 1950s.

Concession:

A special right given to someone in return (usually) for a monetary consideration. For example, the right to mine a certain piece of land or to sell goods on a particular area of floorspace within a department store.

Concierge Service:

Today there are numerous independently owned and operated concierge companies. Many of these companies provide errand services, as well as informational services for their members. Services include informational requests, setting dinner reservations, theatre and events reservations, making telephone calls, researching travel arrangements and more. Typically, concierge companies will bill on an hourly rate, and depending upon the type of task at hand fees can fluctuate drastically. Other companies bill a flat monthly fee based upon the number of requests a member is allowed to place each month. This service offering is also know as lifestyle management. The number of independently owned concierge companies has skyrocketed as the start up costs and barriers of entry are quite feasible for many entrepreneurs.

Conciliation:

The process of attempting to bring together negotiation parties who have ceased to talk to each other, such as management and a trade union.

Conclave:

From Latin: room that can be locked up, from com: with + clavis: key.

A secret or confidential meeting.

An assembly or gathering, especially one that has special authority, power, or influence.

A meeting of family members or associates.

Roman Catholic Church: the private rooms in which the cardinals meet to elect a new Pope.

A papal Conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Bishop of Rome, also known as the Pope. The pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Conclave has been the procedure for choosing the pope for more than half of the time the church has been in existence, and is the oldest ongoing method for choosing the leader of an institution.

Conclusion:

A position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration.

Concordance:

Agreement; concord.

An alphabetical index of all the words in a text or corpus of texts, showing every contextual occurrence of a word.

Concordat:

A Concordat is an agreement or treaty between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state that deals with the recognition and privileges of the Catholic Church in a particular country and with secular matters that impact on church interests, such as taxation as well as the right of a state to influence the selection of bishops within its territory.

Concubinage:

Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status.

Concubine:

Law: a woman who cohabits with a man without being legally married to him.

A woman slave in a harem.

Condition:

A mode or state of being.

Social position; rank.

Law: a declaration or provision in a will, contract, etc., that makes some right or liability contingent upon the happening of some event.

Condo:

A Condominium.

Condolence:

Sympathy with a person who has experienced pain, grief, or misfortune.

An expression or declaration of such sympathy.

Condominium:

A building or complex in which units of property, such as apartments, are owned by individuals and common parts of the property, such as the grounds and building structure, are owned jointly by the unit owners.

Joint sovereignty, especially joint rule of territory by two or more nations.

A politically dependent territory.

Confab:

To speak casually with; to chat.

Conference:

A formal gathering of people for the purpose of discussing a particular business issue.

An agreement between a group of international shippers about the routes that they will sail and the rates that they will charge; an oligopoly.

Conference Call:

A telephone call involving more than two people in more than two places. Conference Calls enable managers in different offices of the same corporations to have extended discussions without having to travel long distances. Conference Calls need to be carefully scheduled in much the same way as face-to-face meetings.

Confetti:

Small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are scattered around during the course of festive occasions.

Confidante:

A woman to whom secrets or private matters are disclosed.

A woman character in a drama or fiction, such as a trusted friend or servant, who serves as a device for revealing the inner thoughts or intentions of a main character.

Confidence Trick:

A swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property.

Confidential:

Done or communicated in confidence; secret.

Entrusted with the confidence of another.

Containing information, the unauthorized disclosure of which poses a threat to national security.

Confidentiality Clause:

See: non-disclosure agreement.

Configure (computing):

To tweak the functions of software or hardware to particular settings you require.

Confirmation:

Confirmation is a rite of initiation in several Christian denominations, normally carried out through anointing, the laying on of hands, and prayer, for the purpose of bestowing the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation Bias:

Confirmation Bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. It is a type of cognitive bias and a systematic error of inductive reasoning. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. Confirmation Bias is a variation of the more general tendency of apophenia.

Conflict:

A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.

A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash.

Conflict Diamonds:

Conflict Diamonds are diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council of United Nations.

See also: blood diamond.

Conflict of Interest:

A clash between the best interests of a person or firm in one guise and their best interests in another; for example, as suppliers of services to two different clients who are competitors.

Conformist:

A person who uncritically or habitually Conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group.

Confrère:

A fellow member of a fraternity or profession; colleague, coworker.

Conga Line:

The Conga Line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat. The Conga, a term mistakenly believed to be derived from the African region of Congo, is both a lyrical and danceable genre, rooted in the music of carnival troupes or comparsas.

Conglomerate:

A large group of businesses that are held together in a single corporate structure by cross-share-holdings. The businesses within a conglomerate cover a wide range of unrelated industries.

Connecting the Dots:

To understand the relationship between different ideas or experiences.

Connection:

An association or relationship.

The process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination.

The cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered.

The connection of isolated facts by a general hypothesis.

Connector:

A person who stands at the intersection of many social networks.

Connoisseur:

A Connoisseur (French connaisseur, from Middle-French connoistre, then connaître meaning "to be acquainted with" or "to know somebody / something.") is a person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the fine arts.

A person of informed and discriminating taste.

Connoisseurship:

Love of or taste for fine objects of art.

Conquistador:

A conqueror, especially one of the 16th-century Spanish soldiers who defeated the Indian civilizations of Mexico, Central America, or Peru.

Conscious Spending:

Conscious Spending is the approach of knowing or deciding exactly what you are going to spend your money on. To take it further, it's about laying out a plan of how you're going to allocate your spending, whether you want to buy new clothes, enjoy a nice dinner or put your money toward rent or savings.

Read more here: Conscious Spending: The finance approach that's both smart & fun - "When you think of money, do you feel like living in the moment and being responsible are mutually exclusive? Does guilt eat at you when you go out for lunch or a $7 oat milk latte? You don't have to think or feel this way, thanks to a flexible personal finance approach called Conscious Spending."

Consent Resolution:

A Consent Resolution is any resolution signed by all of the directors or shareholders, which authorizes a particular action. This act eliminates the need for face-to-face meetings of directors and shareholders.

Consensus:

In general, any agreement. More specifically, the agreement among the member countries of the OPEC about how far they will subsidise the interest rates on loans to buyers of their countries' exports.

Consequence:

Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition.

The relation of a result to its cause.

A logical conclusion or inference.

Significance; importance.

Conservative:

a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas.

Traditional or restrained in style; moderate; cautious.

Consignment:

The supply of goods to a vendor on the understanding that the vendor will pay for whatever goods he or she is able to sell, and will return the rest to the supplier.

Consignor:

The individual or company named in shipping documents as being the original shipper of the goods.

Consilium:

Latin, meaning: advice, suggestion, wisdom, plan, purpose, judgment, deliberation, consultation, assembly, council.

Council of the European Union, Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia & Sacrosanctum Concilium.

Consolidate:

To bring together into a single set of accounts the separate sets of all the companies within a single group. In effect, this nets out from the accounts those transactions that have been made between companies within the group.

Also, a number of shipments of freight can be consolidated into one in order to save costs - the larger the shipment, the lower (in theory) is the cost of freight. Moreover, small shipments are often subject to minimum charges.

Consortium:

A group of companies that come together in some shape for a specific purpose. Most commonly, the members of a Consortium take shares in a new entity that is formed expressly for the purpose.

Conspicuous Consumption:

Conspicuous Consumption is a term used to describe the lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status.

See also: Veblen good.

Conspiracy:

Law: an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action.

Conspiracy Theory:

A Conspiracy Theory is a fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by exceptionally powerful and cunning conspirators to achieve a malevolent end.

Conspirator:

One that engages in a conspiracy.

Constituency:

The body of voters who elect a representative for their area.

Constitution:

The system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functionsfunctions, and limits of a government or another institution.

The physical makeup of a person.

Constitutional Monarchy:

A Constitutional Monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution.

Most constitutional monarchies employ a parliamentary system in which the monarch is the ceremonial head of state and a directly or indirectly elected prime minister is the head of government and exercises effective political power. In the past, constitutional monarchs have co-existed with fascist and quasi-fascist constitutions (Fascist Italy, Francoist Spain) and with military dictatorships.

Contemporary constitutional monarchies include Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

See also: monarchy.

Constrained Writing:

Constrained Writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form.

Constructive Dismissal:

When there are sufficient ground for an employee to leave his or her employment, even though he or she has not actually been formally dismissed from that employment. Someone who has been constructively dismissed may be entitled to compensation for unfair dismissal.

Consultant:

An individual (or a firm) that provides professional advice to an organization for a fee.

Consumer:

Any individual that manufacturers target as a market for their output.

The Consumer's choice is between: need to have or nice to have - or both...

Consumer Credit:

Loans given to consumers to enable them to buy the output of producers.

Consumer Durable:

A large product sold to the general public and designed to last for a length of time, such as a washing machine.

Consumer Goods:

Products which consumers buy regularly to satisfy basic household demands. Contrast with luxury goods.

Consumer Price Index:

An index that measures increases in the prices of goods and services that are sold to the general public.

Contact List:

A Contact List is a collection of screen names in an instant messaging or e-mail program or online game or mobile phone. It has various trademarked and proprietary names in different contexts.

Container:

A standardised unit in which goods are transported by road, rail or sea.

Contender:

A Contender is a stock character found in stories and films depicting the development and triumph of an individual through athletic achievement.

Content:

Something contained, as in a receptacle. Often used in the plural.

What a communication that is about something is about.

Content Marketing:

Content Marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc.

Contextual Advertising:

Contextual Advertising is a form of targeted advertising for advertisements appearing on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers. The advertisements themselves are selected and served by automated systems based on the content displayed to the user.

Contingency:

A financial or commercial possibility. Thus Contingency planning is the forming of a plan to seize a commercial opportunity or deal with setbacks in the future.

Contingency Fee.

A Contingency Fee is a fee that is paid to a lawyer only if the outcome of the case is favourable; it is usually a percentage of the damages or compensation awarded in the case.

Contingent Liability:

Something that might become a liability if something else happens. If a company is involved in a lawsuit for damages, for instance, there is a liability contingent on the company losing the case.

Continuous Improvement:

A translation of the Japanese word kaizen, the management idea that by making small improvements to all processes all the time, a company can quite quickly make a dramatic change in its competitiveness.

Contraband:

The word Contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French Contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold.

Goods prohibited by law or treaty from being imported or exported.

Goods that may be seized and confiscated by a belligerent if shipped to another belligerent by a neutral.

Contract:

A legally binding agreement between two or more people in which each promises to do (or not to do) something. Nobody can be bound by a Contract to do something which is itself illegal. Contracts in business are usually made in writing, although verbal Contract can be just as binding. The terms of a Contract can be express or implied. Express terms have been explicitly stated. Implied terms are those that it is reasonable to imply that the parties agreed to even though they did not "express" them.

Contract Killing:

Contract Killing is a form of murder in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two or more parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be a person, group, or an organization.

Contractor:

Law: a person who is a party to a contract.

Contrapposto:

Contrapposto is an Italian term that means counterpoise. It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs.

Contretemps:

An unforeseen, inopportune, or embarrassing event; a hitch.

Contribution:

The amount by which a business's revenue exceeds its variable costs. This amount is a contribution to the business's fixed costs. Only if the contribution exceeds the fixed costs will the business make a profit. The contribution after variable costs is sometimes referred to as the gross contribution, with the term net contribution being used to refer to the contribution after both variable and fixed costs; that is, the profit.

Control:

Authority or ability to manage or direct.

An investor is said to Control a company when the investor owns 51% or more of the company's share capital.

In marketing, a Control is a standard response to a marketing effort against which other efforts can be measured.

Control System:

A method of ensuring that production or management processes are carried out correctly. Control systems may be embedded into computer programs, or they may be mechanical systems that are built into production lines to ensure that the right parts arrive at the right time.

Controlled Environment:

To adjust to a requirement in a closed area; to exercise authoritative or dominating influence over; direct; authority or ability to manage or direct; the environment in which parameters, such as light, temperature, relative humidity and sometimes the partial gas pressure, are fully controlled.

Controlled Foreign Corporation:

A company incorporated outside the United States but under control of a United States resident and subject to the anti-tax haven measures contained in Subpart F.

Controversy:

A contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement.

Conundrum:

A riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun.

Convalescence:

The period needed for returning to health after illness.

Convenience Store:

A retail outlet whose unique appeal is its convenience for customers. To be successful it needs to:

Be open for long hours.

Be located near to its regular customers, and

Sell products that those customers particularly need.

Convention:

A formal meeting of members, representatives, or delegates, as of a political party, fraternal society, profession, or industry; the body of persons attending such an assembly.

An agreement between states, sides, or military forces, especially an international agreement dealing with a specific subject, such as the treatment of prisoners of war.

General agreement on or acceptance of certain practices or attitudes.

Conversation:

The spoken exchange of thoughts, opinions, and feelings; talk.

An informal discussion of a matter by representatives of governments, institutions, or organizations.

Conversation Opener:

A Conversation Opener is an introduction used to begin a conversation. They are frequently the subject of guides and seminars on how to make friends and/or meet people. Different situations may call for different openers (e.g. approaching a stranger on the street versus meeting them at a more structured gathering of people with like interests).

An opener often takes the form of an open-ended question, which can lead to further comments or conversation as well as creating topics for future conversations (e.g. "How's your mandrill doing?").

A closed-ended question (e.g. "Nice weather today, isn't it?") is regarded as potentially less effective because it can be answered with a simple "Mm-hmm," which is essentially a conversational dead end, requiring the initiater of the conversation to start from scratch.

Conversation Piece:

Conversation Piece is a term for an informal group portrait, especially those painted in Britain in the 18th century, beginning in the 1720s. They are distinguished by their portrayal of the group apparently engaged in genteel conversation or some activity, very often outdoors. Typically the group will be members of a family, but friends may be included, and some groups are of friends, members of a society or hunt, or some other grouping. Often the paintings are relatively small, about the same size as a half-length portrait but in horizontal or "landscape" format; others are much larger.

The phrase "Conversation Piece" later acquired a different meaning. It came to refer to objects that were perceived to be interesting enough to spark conversation about them. They provide a stimulus for prop-based conversation openers. The original conversation pieces sometimes depicted a group united in conversation about an object, which would typically be an item linked to science or scholarship.

Convertible:

Finance: a security that can be changed from one form to another when certain circumstances occur. For instance, a bond that can be converted into equity after a certain date, or an ordinary share that can be converted into a preference share.

A convertible automobile: having a top that can be folded back or removed.

Convex:

Convex, meaning "curving out" or "extending outward".

Conveyance:

A transfer of the title to property from one person to another.

Conveyor Belt Sushi:

Conveyor Belt Sushi (also called sushi-go-round, kuru kuru sushi), mainly by foreigners living in Japan or "yasu-zushi"), is the popular English translation for Japanese fast-food sushi. In Australia, it is also known as sushi train (as the sushi goes around a track on a train, rather than a conveyor belt).

Conviction:

An unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence.

Conway's Law:

Conway's Law is an adage named after computer programmer Melvin Conway, who introduced the idea in 1967. It states that:

"organizations which design systems ... are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations."

The law is based on the reasoning that in order for a software module to function, multiple authors must communicate frequently with each other. Therefore, the software interface structure of a system will reflect the social boundaries of the organization(s) that produced it, across which communication is more difficult. Conway's Law was intended as a valid sociological observation, although sometimes it's used in a humorous context.

CO2:

See: carbon dioxide.

COO:

Short for: Chief Operating Officer, the person who has hands-on responsibility for the day-to-day operation of a business.

Cookbook:

A book containing recipes and other information about the preparation of food.

A manual that describes how to assemble and deploy a biological or chemical weapon.

Cookie (computing):

Persistent client-state HTTP Cookies are files containing information about visitors to a web site (e.g., user name and preferences). This information is provided by the user during the first visit to a web server. The server records this information in a text file and stores this file on the visitor's hard drive. When the visitor accesses the same web site again, the server looks for the Cookie and configures itself based on the information provided.

Cooking the Books:

To distort a firm's financial statements. For example, a manager may intentionally overstate sales or understate expenses in order to create high net income.

Cool:

Marked by calm self-control. Marked by indifference, disdain, or dislike; unfriendly or unresponsive.

Be yourself and don't conform to anyone else. Follow your own dreams, form your own opinions and treat others with respect. Otherwise you are just another photocopy of todays society.

Coolie:

An unskilled Asian laborer; an offensive name for an unskilled Asian laborer; a communication that belittles somebody or something.

Cooling-Off Period:

A period of time that is required to pass between the signing and the full coming into force of a contract. In particular, it applies to the time between the filing of a prospectus for a new issue of securities in the United States and the offering of those securities to the public. Cooling-Off Periods are designed to protect consumers from over-zealous sales techniques.

Cooperate:

To work or act together toward a common end or purpose.

To form an association for common, usually economic, benefit.

Coordinate:

One that is equal in importance, rank, or degree.

Mathematics: any of a set of two or more numbers used to determine the position of a point, line, curve, or plane in a space of a given dimension with respect to a system of lines or other fixed references.

To harmonize in a common action or effort.

A set of articles, as of clothing or luggage, designed to match or complement one other, as in style or color.

COP:

Short for: COnference of Parties. Last held in Copenhagen on December 7-18, 2009: COP15 | UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE.

Cope:

To contend or strive, especially on even terms or with success.

To contend with difficulties and act to overcome them.

Copperplate Script:

Copperplate is a style of calligraphic writing most commonly associated with English Roundhand. Although often used as an umbrella term for various forms of pointed pen calligraphy, Copperplate most accurately refers to script styles represented in copybooks created using the Intaglio printmaking method.

Copy:

An imitation or reproduction of an original; a duplicate.

Material, such as a manuscript, that is to be set in type.

Suitable source material for journalism.

Copy and Paste:

To copy files and folders from one location to another or to copy text and images from one document to another.

The term "Copy-and-Paste" refers to the popular, simple method of reproducing text or other data from a source to a destination.

See also: cut and paste

Copycat:

One that closely imitates or mimics another.

Copyleft:

Copyleft (a play on the word copyright) is the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work. In other words, Copyleft is a general method for marking a creative work as freely available to be modified, and requiring all modified and extended versions of the program to be free as well.

Copyleft is a form of licensing and can be used to maintain copyright conditions for works such as computer software, documents, and art. In general, copyright law is used by an author to prohibit recipients from reproducing, adapting, or distributing copies of the work. In contrast, under Copyleft, an author may give every person who receives a copy of a work permission to reproduce, adapt or distribute it and require that any resulting copies or adaptations are also bound by the same licensing agreement.

Copyleft licenses (for software) require that information necessary for reproducing and modifying the work must be made available to recipients of the executable. The source code files will usually contain a copy of the license terms and acknowledge the author(s).

Copyleft type licenses are a novel use of existing copyright law to ensure a work remains freely available.

Copyright:

An intellectual property right, Copyright is the ownership of words or other things that can be written down or portrayed graphically.

Cord:

In sewing, Cord is a trimming made by twisting or plying two or more strands of yarn together.

Cordon Sanitaire:

Cordon Sanitaire is a French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". It originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of infectious diseases. It may be used interchangeably with the term "quarantine", and although the terms are related, Cordon Sanitaire refers to the restriction of movement of people within a defined geographic area, such as a community.

Core Competence:

The set of skills and knowledge that sit at the heart of an organization.

Corinthian Order:

The Corinthian Order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order

Corkage Fee:

A fee charged in restaurants for opening a bottle of wine brought in by a patron.

See also: BYOB.

Corkscrew Thinking:

During the second world war Winston Churchill declared a need for Corkscrew Thinkers - people with the ability to break away from the traditional linear way of thinking. When Churchill talked about Corkscrew Thinkers, he was referring to individuals who possess creative problem-solving, initiative, leadership and emotional intelligence skills. Individuals who are able to look at problems in the world and see game-changing, innovative solutions.

Corner the Market:

To control so much of the market for a product that you control the price. For example: "Together, the two companies were able to Corner the silver Market."

Corny:

Trite, dated, melodramatic, or mawkishly sentimental.

Corollary:

A practical consequence that follows naturally; an obvious deduction.

Philosophy / Logic: a proposition that follows directly from the proof of another proposition.

Corona:

The luminous irregular envelope of highly ionized gas outside the chromosphere of the sun.

Corporate Bond:

A debt instrument issued by a private corporation.

Corporate Charter:

See: Articles of Incorporation.

Corporate Finance:

The process of raising capital (equity or long-term debt) on behalf of corporations and governments. Corporate finance has traditionally been a speciality of merchant banks in London and of investment banks in New York.

Corporate Governance:

Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the many stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed. The principal stakeholders are the shareholders/members, management, and the board of directors. Other stakeholders include labor (employees), customers, creditors (e.g., banks, bond holders), suppliers, regulators, and the community at large. For Not-For-Profit Corporations or other membership Organizations the "shareholders" means "members" in the text below (if applicable).

Corporate Identity:

The collection of characteristics that uniquely identify an organisation; for example, the arches in the "M" of McDonald's, the colour of the pumps at a Shell filling station, or the environmentally friendly ethos of the Body Shop.

Corporate Officers:

Another "cabinetlike" institution, sometime part of the Board of Directors: president, secretary and treasurer etc. These individuals have the right to represent the company to third parties, to negotiate and make commitments in its name.

Corporate Raid:

A Corporate Raid is an American-English business term for buying a large interest in a corporation and then using voting rights to enact measures directed at increasing the share value. The measures might include replacing top executives, downsizing operations, or liquidating the company.

Corporation:

The basic existence of a Corporation usually derives from two documents: the Articles of Association and the Certificate of Incorporation.

Corporation Tax:

The tax that is charged on a company's profit. Rates of corporation tax vary around the world and multinational companies organize themselves to minimise the amount that they have to pay.

Corporation Tax Company:

A company incorporated in Jersey but not trading in Jersey and thereby designated as non-resident for tax purposes; liable only to low fixed annual rate of tax.

Corpus:

A large collection of writings of a specific kind or on a specific subject.

Economics: The capital or principal amount, as of an estate or trust; the principal of a bond.

Corpus Delecti:

Corpus Delicti (Latin: "body of the crime") is a term from Western jurisprudence referring to the principle that a crime must be proved to have occurred before a person can be convicted of committing that crime.

Correction:

A sudden reversal in the movement of a market. For example, a stock market that has been rising strongly all day might have a correction at the end of the day as investors have second thoughts about the market's optimism.

Correspondence:

The act, fact, or state of agreeing or conforming; similarity or analogy.

Communication by the exchange of letters; the letters written or received.

Corridor:

A narrow hallway, passageway, or gallery, often with rooms or apartments opening onto it.

A tract of land forming a passageway, such as one that allows an inland country access to the sea through another country.

Corridors of Power:

The higher levels of government where the most important decisions are made.

Corrody:

A Corrody was a lifetime allowance of food and clothing, and often shelter and care, granted by an abbey, monastery, or other religious house. While rarely granted in the modern era, Corrodies were common in the Middle Ages. They were routinely awarded to the servants and household staff of royalty, and as a form of charity for the aged, sick, feeble or those in poverty, but could also be purchased with donations of money or land. The Corrody is one of the earliest forms of insurance, as it provided security in sustenance and lodging in a time when social welfare was scarce.

Corruption:

Lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain.

Corsair:

A pirate, especially along the Barbary Coast.

A swift pirate ship, often operating with official sanction.

Cortège:

A train of attendants, as of a distinguished person; a retinue.

A ceremonial procession; a funeral procession.

Cortes Generales:

The Cortes Generales (English: Spanish Parliament, lit. 'General Courts') are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house).

Cortile:

(Architecture): an internal courtyard, surrounded by walls but open to the sky.

Cortisol:

Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. It is produced in humans by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex within the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and low blood-glucose concentration.

Corvée:

Corvée, or statute labour, is unpaid labour imposed by the state on certain classes of people, such as peasants, for the performance of work on public projects. The obligation of corvée work by tenant farmers on private landed estates has been widespread throughout history. The Corvée was the earliest and most extensive form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization.

COSA:

Short for: Comfortable Outdoor Smoking Area.

Cosmetics:

A preparation, such as powder or a skin cream, designed to beautify the body by direct application.

Something superficial that is used to cover a deficiency or defect.

Cosmogony:

Cosmogony (or Cosmogeny) is any scientific theory concerning the coming into existence, or origin, of the cosmos or universe, or about how what sentient beings perceive as "reality" came to be.

Cosmonaut:

A Russian (or Soviet) astronaut.

Cosmopolitan:

Pertinent or common to the whole world.

Having constituent elements from all over the world or from many different parts of the world.

So sophisticated as to be at home in all parts of the world or conversant with many spheres of interest.

A Cosmopolitan person or organism; a Cosmopolite.

Cosmos:

The universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious whole.

Cosplay:

Literally "Costume Play." Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character).

Cost:

The amount of money paid to purchase something. (See also: average, current, direct, fixed, historic, indirect, marginal, opportunity, replacement, transfer, unit and variable cost.)

Cost Accounting:

A detailed breakdown of the cost of producing goods or services to help calculate a price at which to sell them.

Cost-Benefit Analysis:

A type of analysis that tries to measure the benefit to be gained from an extra cost. For example, what would be the cost of providing a same-day mail service within a major city center, and how much would customers pay for it?

Cost Center:

A business unit which costs can be specifically allocated. A cost center can be as small as a single machine or as large as a major subsidiary.

Cost Effective:

Something that produces enough benefit to justify its cost is said to be cost effective.

Cost of Capital:

The average cost to a company of servicing its capital: its equity (through dividend payments) and its loans (through interest payments).

Cost of Living:

The average cost of the basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, and clothing; the cost of basic necessities as defined by an accepted standard.

Cost Overrun:

The amount by which a project exceeds its budget.

Cost-Plus:

A method of calculating the price at which something is to be sold based on the cost of manufacturing it. Cost-plus starts with this cost and then adds a percentage for profit and for any other hidden costs.

Costume:

The attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball.

Cotard Delusion:

Cotard Delusion is a rare mental illness in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are already dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. Statistical analysis of a hundred-patient cohort indicates that the denial of self-existence is a symptom present in 45% of the cases of Cotard's syndrome; yet, paradoxically, 55% of the patients present delusions of immortality.

Coterie:

A small, often select group of persons who associate with one another frequently.

Cotillion:

A formal ball, especially one at which young women are presented to society.

A lively dance, originating in France in the 18th century, having varied, intricate patterns and steps; a quadrille; music for these dances.

Cottage Industry:

A usually small-scale industry carried on at home by family members using their own equipment.

A small-scale industry, with relatively few employees or a limited customer base or low economic impact.

A job or occupation carried out at home or on a part-time basis.

Cottagecore:

Cottagecore is a fashion aesthetic popularised by teenagers and young adults celebrating an idealised rural life. Traditionally based on a rural English and European life. It was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named Cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018. The aesthetic centres on traditional rural clothing, interior design, and crafts such as foraging, baking, and pottery, and is related to similar aesthetic movements such as grandmacore, farmcore, goblincore, and faeriecore.

Some sources describe Cottagecore as a subculture of Millennials and Generation Z. The Cottagecore community is highly diverse.

Cougar:

A middle-aged woman who seeks out much younger men.

See also: toy boy.

Coulrophobia:

A specific fear of clowns has sometimes been discussed in terms of a specific phobia.

Count Your Blessings:

The phrase Count Your Blessings is an invitation to reconsider all of the things that you have which are going well, all of the ways in which you have been blessed, rather than focusing on the negative aspects of your life.

Counter Cyclical:

Something that occurs contrary to the normal business cycle. For example, when an economy is depressed the business of bankruptcy lawyers booms. Their business is said to be counter cyclical.

Counter Offer:

An offer made in response to another offer. A Counter Offer has to be more generous than the original offer for it to stand a chance of being accepted.

Counterfactual:

Going counter to the facts (usually as a hypothesis).

Philosophy / Logic: expressing what has not happened but could, would, or might under differing conditions.

Counterfeit:

To imitate the goods or services produced by another manufacturer so closely that they are mistaken for the goods of the other manufacturer. Luxury goods (like Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags) are particularly susceptible to counterfeit. Some say it is mankind's second-oldest profession - and no more likely to be stamped out than the oldest.

Counterintelligence:

The branch of an intelligence service charged with keeping sensitive information from an enemy, deceiving that enemy, preventing subversion and sabotage, and collecting political and military information.

Counterpoint:

Melodic material that is added above or below an existing melody.

A contrasting but parallel element, item, or theme.

Countervailing Duty:

A duty that is imposed by a country on imported goods to counting a subsidy that has been granted to the goods by the exporting country.

Country:

A nation or state; the territory of a nation or state; land; ;the people of a nation or state; populace.

The land of a person's birth or citizenship.

A region, territory, or large tract of land distinguishable by features of topography, biology, or culture.

An area or expanse outside cities and towns; a rural area.

Informal: country music.

Country of Origin:

The country from which goods originate. Where quotas are in operation it is important that goods are marked clearly with their country of origin to keep imports within their quota.

Coup d'État:

A Coup d'État is a sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force.

Coup d'Œil:

Coup d'Œil (or coup d'oeil) is a term taken from French, that more or less corresponds to the words glimpse or glance in English. The literal meaning is "stroke of [the] eye".

It is mostly used (in English) in a military context, where the coup d'œil refers to the ability to discern at one glance the tactical advantages and disadvantages of the terrain. For example, the famous king Frederick the Great of Prussia in his "Military Instruction from the Late King of Prussia to His Generals" devotes special attention to the military coup d'œil, defining it as:

"The perfection of that art to learn at one just and determined view the benefits and disadvantages of a country where posts are to be placed and how to act upon the annoyance of the enemy. This is, in a word, the true meaning of a Coup d'Œil, without which an officer may commit errors of the greatest consequence."

Coup de Foudre:

A sudden, intense feeling of love.

A sudden and amazing action or event.

Coup de Grâce:

From French: Coup de Grâce (stroke of grace). Originally referring to a merciful stroke putting a fatally wounded person out of misery or to the shot delivered to the head of a prisoner after facing a firing squad.

Coup de Main:

A Coup de Main (French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow.

Coup de Théâtre:

A sudden or unexpected event in a play, pulled off by the author, the director, or even an actor; a theatrical trick or gesture, something staged for dramatic effect.

Coup de Vieux:

To put years on.

Coup Droit:

Tennis: forehand; drive.

Coupé:

A closed two-door automobile.

Coupon:

A detachable part of a bearer bond. The Coupon gives its holder the right to the interest payments that are due on the bond.

A certificate accompanying a product that may be redeemed for a cash discount.

Coupon Clipping:

The practice of finding discounts on consumer goods such as groceries. One presents pieces of paper representing these discounts (called coupons) to receive the discount. The coupons are cut out of ("clipped" from) a periodical such as a newspaper or magazine.

The removal of interest coupons attached to a bearer bond in order that they might be taken to a bank or sent to a paying agent for redemption. Coupon clipping is necessary because owners of bearer bonds do not automatically receive interest checks in the mail every six months.

Couponsteuer:

Tax charged on distributions of certain Liechtenstein legal entities (AG and Anstalt with share capital).

Cour d'Honneur:

Cour d'honneur (French: court of honor) is the architectural term for a three-sided ceremonial courtyard, created by flanking the main central block, or corps de logis, with symmetrical advancing secondary wings containing minor rooms. The Palace of Versailles and Blenheim Palace both feature such entrance courts.

Courier:

A messenger, especially one on official diplomatic business.

A spy carrying secret information.

Court:

Law: a legislative assembly.

The place of residence of a sovereign or dignitary; a royal mansion or palace; a large open section of a building, often with a glass roof or skylight.

Sports: an open level area marked with appropriate lines, upon which a game, such as tennis, handball, or basketball, is played.

Courtesan:

A woman prostitute, especially one whose clients are members of a royal court or men of high social standing.

Courtesy:

A Courteous or respectful or considerate act.

Free of charge.

Courtesy Call:

A "Courtesy Call" previously was seen as a polite phone call meant to welcome someone to the neighborhood or to thank someone for their valued business. However, now-a-days with so many telemarketers calling home phone lines and starting off with, "Good evening, Mr. Smith, this is a courtesy call from __", these calls are seen more as a disturbance than a nice gesture.

Courtesy Pass:

A Courtesy Pass gives the holder free access to an event or service.

Courtier:

An attendant at a sovereign's court.

One who seeks favor, especially by insincere flattery or obsequious behavior.

Courtship:

Courtship is the period in a romantic couple's romantic relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. During courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement. A courtship may be an informal and private matter between two people or may be a public affair, or a formal arrangement with family approval. Traditionally, in the case of a formal engagement, it has been perceived that it is the role of a male to actively "court" or "woo" a female, thus encouraging her to understand him and her receptiveness to a proposal of marriage. Within many western societies, these distinct gender roles have lost some of their importance and rigidity. It is now common for females in younger generations both to initiate relationships and to propose marriage.

Covenant:

Law: a contractual promise to do (or not to do) some sort of business or financial activity. Someone working for a firm in a sensitive industry, such as defence, might Covenant not to work for any of the firm's rivals for a certain period of time after their employment has ended.

In the Bible, God's promise to the human race.

Cover:

To place something upon or over, so as to protect or conceal.

Protection against financial loss, as provided by insurance or by buying assets that reduce the risk of future loss.

To hide or screen from view or knowledge; conceal.

Something that covers or is laid, placed, or spread over or upon something else.

Cover Band:

A Cover Band (or Covers Band), is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs.

Cover Girl:

An attractive young woman whose picture is featured on a magazine cover.

Cover Letter:

A letter sent with other documents to explain more fully or provide more information.

Cover Sheet:

A page of explanation sent as the first page of a fax transmission.

Cover-Up:

Hide from view or knowledge.

Covert:

Not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in, accumulated, or shown.

Coverture:

Coverture (sometimes spelled couverture) was a legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a woman's legal rights and obligations were subsumed by those of her husband, in accordance with the wife's legal status of feme covert. An unmarried woman, a feme sole, had the right to own property and make contracts in her own name. Coverture arises from the legal fiction that a husband and wife are one person.

Covfefe:

Covfefe is the once secret name of an ancient tentacle monster that white supremacists fornicate with. The name was leaked to the public when Donald Trump, well known leaker of classified info, tweeted while relieving his arousal upon its girth. In the throes of passion, Trump cried out the name of his lover mid-tweet, EJACULATING IT INTO CYBERSPACE!

Read also: The Internet Defines 'Covfefe' & Donald Trump's Covfefe is a word now.

Covidiot:

Someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety. A person who hoards goods, denying them from their neighbors.

Read also: What is a COVIDIOT? Those who ignore social distancing ... - "COVIDIOT: The latest slang people are using to describe spring breakers, toilet-paper hoarders, and politicians during the coronavirus pandemic".

Cowboy:

A hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback.

An adventurous hero.

A reckless person, such as a driver, pilot, or manager, who ignores potential risks.

CPC:

Short for: Cost-Per-Click. You earn commissions with CPC campaigns simply by providing a link that visitors to your web site or readers of your newsletter click on and get redirected to the campaign's landing page.

CPM:

Short for: Cost Per Mille (that is, cost per thousand), a basis for comparing the costs of advertising in different media. The CPM is the cost of reaching an audience of 1,000. It does not take into account how many of the 1,000 are awake when the message is conveyed.

CPR:

Short for: CardioPulmonary Resuscitation. CPR is an emergency medical procedure for a victim of cardiac arrest or, in some circumstances, respiratory arrest. CPR is performed in hospitals, or in the community by laypersons or by emergency response professionals.

See also: recovery position.

CPU:

A Central Processing Unit (CPU) or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage. The term itself and its initialism have been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are made for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured to tolerances on the order of nanometers. Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.

Cracking:

Removing copyright protection from copyrighted software. Commonly used to obtain software without paying for it. Cracking is not by inserting a false or used serial number, but to insert other documents and files into the actual program to make it seem like it was registered by a paying customer, when it actually wasn't.

Cradle to Cradle:

It's the idea that at the end of life, any product can be turned into something else to close the cycle so that ultimately there is no waste.

Crash Course:

A rapid and intense course of training or research (usually undertaken in an emergency).

Crash for Cash:

"Crash for Cash" scams may involve random unaware strangers, set to appear as the perpetrators of the orchestrated crashes. Such techniques are the classic rear-end shunt (the driver in front suddenly slams on the brakes, possibly with brake lights disabled), the decoy rear-end shunt (when following one car, another one pulls in front of it, causing it to brake sharply, then the first car drives off) or the helpful wave shunt (the driver is waved into a line of queuing traffic by the scammer who promptly crashes, then denies waving).

One tactic fraudsters use is to drive to a busy junction or roundabout and brake sharply causing a motorist to drive into the back of them. They claim the other motorist was at fault because they were driving too fast or too close behind them, and make a false and inflated claim to the motorist's insurer for whiplash and damage.

Creationism:

Creationism is the belief that the Universe and Life originate "from specific acts of divine creation.

Creative Accounting:

Since many of the things that accountants measure are subject to interpretation, it is possible to put a more (or less) favourable tint on a company's accounts by being creative with that interpretation.

Creative Destruction:

Creative Destruction, sometimes known as Schumpeter's gale, is a concept in economics which since the 1950s has become most readily identified with the Austrian American economist Joseph Schumpeter who derived it from the work of Karl Marx and popularized it as a theory of economic innovation and the business cycle.

According to Schumpeter, the "gale of creative destruction" describes the "process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one". In Marxist economic theory the concept refers more broadly to the linked processes of the accumulation and annihilation of wealth under capitalism.

Credit:

A sum of money made available for a person's (or a company's) use. "His Credit is good" means that a person has access to funds which enable him to pay his bills as and when they fall due. "She bought it on Credit" means that the purchaser will have a sum of money available in future that will enable her to pay for the goods.

Belief or confidence in the truth of something.

A reputation for sound character or quality; standing.

Recognition or approval for an act, ability, or quality; influence based on the good opinion or confidence of others.

An acknowledgment of work done, as in the production of a motion picture or publication.

Credit Card:

With an old-fashioned Credit Card, you charge to your heart's content and receive a bill at the end of the month. The Credit Card company hopes that you will eventually pay off the balance. In other words, the card company trusts you to pay.

Credit Control:

The process of controlling the total amount of credit granted by either a firm or an economy. Governments or central banks can control credit by raising the interest rate; firms can control credit by calling in overdue debts.

Credit Default Swap:

A Credit Default Swap (CDS) is a swap contract in which the buyer of the CDS makes a series of payments to the seller and, in exchange, receives a payoff if a credit instrument (typically a bond or loan) goes into default (fails to pay). Less commonly, the credit event that triggers the payoff can be a company undergoing restructuring, bankruptcy, or even just having its credit rating downgraded.

Credit Line:

An amount of credit that a bank agrees, in principle, to a customer's account. The customer is then able to draw funds from the account at any time, and up to that limit. In some cases the bank lays down the purposes for which the money may be used.

Credit Note:

Formal notice that a customer's account with a supplier has been credited with a specific amount. The credit may have arisen because the customer has returned faulty goods, or was supplied less than the amount invoiced for.

Credit Rating:

The contentious practice of ranking the debt instruments of corporations, governments and people according to an independent analyst's assesment of the debtor's ability to repay them on time.

Standard &apm; Poor's Long-term Credit Ratings:

S&P rates borrowers on a scale from AAA to D. Intermediate ratings are offered at each level between AA and CCC (i.e., BBB+, BBB and BBB-). For some borrowers, S&apm;P may also offer guidance (termed a "credit watch") as to whether it is likely to be upgraded (positive), downgraded (negative) or uncertain (neutral).

Investment Grade:

  *  AAA: the best quality borrowers, reliable and stable (many of them governments).
  *  AA: quality borrowers, a bit higher risk than AAA.
  *  A: economic situation can affect finance.
  *  BBB: medium class borrowers, which are satisfactory at the moment.


Non-Investment Grade (also known as junk bonds):

  *  BB: more prone to changes in the economy.
  *  B: financial situation varies noticeably.
  *  CCC: currently vulnerable and dependent on favorable economic conditions to meet its commitments.
  *  CC: highly vulnerable, very speculative bonds.
  *  C: highly vulnerable, perhaps in bankruptcy or in arrears but still continuing to pay out on obligations.
  *  CI: past due on interest.
  *  R: under regulatory supervision due to its financial situation.
  *  SD: has selectively defaulted on some obligations.
  *  D: has defaulted on obligations and S&P believes that it will generally default on most or all obligations.
  *  NR: not rated.

Credit-Rating Agency:

An organisation that assesses the ability of borrowers to repay their debts on time, and that ranks their ability along the lines of old-fashioned exam results: A+, B-, and so on.

Creditor:

An individual or organization to whom money is owed. The opposite of debtor.

Credo:

Any formal or authorized statement of beliefs, principles, or opinions.

Creepypasta:

Creepypastas are horror-related legends that have been shared around the Internet. Creepypasta has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet. These Internet entries are often brief, user-generated, paranormal stories intended to scare readers. They include gruesome tales of murder, suicide, and otherworldly occurrences. The subject matter of Creepypasta varies widely and can include topics such as ghosts, murder, zombies, and haunted television shows and video games. Creepypastas range in length from a single paragraph to lengthy, multi-part series that can span multiple media types.

Crema:

Tan-colored foam that forms on top of an espresso shot as a result of the brewing process.

The Crema is composed of minuscule air bubbles composed of espresso film and forms a "cap" that protects the espresso proper from being exposed to the air.

Crème de la Crème:

Something superlative; the very best.

People of the highest social level.

Crescent:

In art and symbolism, a Crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points (usually in such a manner that the enclosed shape does not include the center of the original circle).

Cretin:

A person of subnormal intelligence.

Slang: an idiot.

Cri de Coeur:

French meaning approximately "a cry from the heart".

Crime Passionnel:

A crime committed from passion, especially sexual passion. Also called crime of passion.

Crime Scene:

A Crime Scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators (CSIs) or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists.

CRINK:

It stands for: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea - four dictatorships that are colluding on Moscow's bloody campaign to subdue Ukraine.

Read more here: CRINK: It’s the new ‘Axis of Evil’ - Politico.

Crisis:

A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point; an unstable condition, as in political, social, or economic affairs, involving an impending abrupt or decisive change.

An emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life.

Crisis Management:

The process of managing a crisis, an event or a series of events that are out of the ordinary.

Criterion:

A standard, rule, or test on which a judgment or decision can be based.

CRM:

Short for: Customer Relationship Management. CRM is a broad term that covers concepts used by companies to manage their relationships with customers, including the capture, storage and analysis of customer information.

Short for: Credit Risk Management.

Short for: Cockpit / Crew Resource Management.

Crock:

Slang: foolish talk; nonsense.

Crocodile Smile:

Being fake to someone. Acting like you're cool with someone then going and talking shit behind their back. Similar to crocodile tears but more of a "happy" fake.

Crocodile Tears:

An insincere display of grief; false tears.

Croissant:

A Croissant is a buttery flaky viennoiserie bread roll named for its well known crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.

Cronut:

Half CROissant, half doughNUT - a hybrid croissant-doughnut invented by famed pastry chef Dominique Ansel. The Cronut is made from sheeted pastry dough, like a croissant, and fried like a doughnut. The pastry is then stuffed with vanilla cream, rolled in sugar, and topped with icing costing US$5.

Read more here.

Crooner:

Crooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed pop standards. A Crooner is a singer of popular ballads and thus a "balladeer". The singer is normally backed by a full orchestra or big band. Generally, Crooners sang and popularized the songs from the Great American Songbook. "Crooner" was originally used as a negative term, and many people given the term, such as Russ Colombo, did not consider themselves to be Crooners. In an interview, Frank Sinatra said that he did not consider himself or Bing Crosby to be Crooners.

Crop Circle:

Crop Circles are patterns created by the flattening of crops such as wheat, barley, rapeseed (also called "canola"), rye, corn, linseed and soy.

The term was first used by researcher Colin Andrews to describe simple circles he was researching. Although, since 1990, the circles have evolved into complex geometries, the term circle has stuck.

Many circles are known to be man-made, such as those created by Doug Bower, Dave Chorley, and John Lundberg. Bower and Chorley were awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 1992 for their crop circle hoaxing.

Various hypotheses have been offered to explain the formation of crop circles of unknown origin, ranging from the naturalistic to the paranormal. The main naturalistic explanation is that all crop circles are man-made, primarily as a hoax. Paranormal explanations suggest that, while some crop circles are man-made, others are the product of alien visitors or supernatural processes.

Also visit: Skeptical Inquirer Magazine.

Croque-Monsieur:

The Croque-Monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It originated in French cafés and bars as a quick snack. Typically, Emmental or Gruyère cheese is used.

Croquis:

Croquis drawing is quick and sketchy drawing of a live model. Croquis drawings are usually made in a few minutes, after which the model changes pose and another Croquis is drawn.

Cross-Default:

A condition in a loan contract that says that if the borrower defaults on any of its other loans or securities it may be deemed to have defaulted on this one. The lender is then free to seek repayment of the loan as if it were in default.

Cross Dressing:

The practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex.

Cross-Examination:

In law, Cross-Examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and may be followed by a redirect (re-examination in England, Scotland, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, and Pakistan).

Cross My Heart (and Hope to Die):

Said to show that what you have just said or promised is completely true or sincere.

Cross-Rate:

The exchange rate between two currencies calculated via a third rate. For example, if there are 2 dollars to 1 pound and 1,000 lira to 1 dollar, the pound/lira cross-rate is 2,000 lira to the pound.

Cross-Selling:

The practice of placing products that are linked together in the consumer's mind next to each other on a retailer's shelves; for example, the bacon next to the eggs, or the ties next to the shirts. Also, the attempt to sell one product to a customer who has already bought something completely different from the same seller - when a bank that gave you a loan attempts to sell you insurance as well.

Cross-Subsidising:

Purposely selling one product at a loss in the knowledge that is being subsidised by another; for example, a café selling coffee at a low price to entice customers in to buy its cakes at a high price.

Cross-Brand Collaboration:

Cross-Brand Collaborations seem to be everywhere right now. Across fashion, beauty, travel, homewares and beyond, you can't seem to move without seeing a big 'X' sandwiched between two brand logos to show they've been working on something together.

So what exactly is cross-brand collaboration? It's about a strategic union between two or more brands with the specific goal of creating a new and unique product or service. Thereby creating an entirely 'brand' new niche in the market and space for growth.

The “X” in a collaboration stands for “by.” For example, “Disney X Dooney and Bourke” is a handbag featuring the Disney brand assets designed and made by Dooney and Bourke ... a way of saying, “This is how Dooney and Bourke does Disney.” It establishes a partnership, as both entities will collaborate on how their brands can and should be represented. But, generally, the second brand listed after the X is designated as the driving force of the product coming your way.

Crossing Over:

The exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes that occurs during meiosis and contributes to genetic variability.

"Crossing the Rubicon":

"Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war.

Crossover:

One that combines the qualities of two other things.

Music: the adaptation of a musical style, as by blending elements of two or more styles or categories, to appeal to a wider audience.

Automotive: a mixture of a stationcar and a SUV.

Crossroads:

A place where two or more roads meet; a place that is centrally located.

A crucial point; the point at which an important choice has to be made.

Crossword:

A puzzle in which an arrangement of numbered squares is to be filled with words running both across and down in answer to correspondingly numbered clues.

Croupier:

A Croupier or dealer is a casino employee who takes and pays out bets or otherwise assists at a gambling table. In American usage, dealer may imply a card game, but this is not always the case. For example it is common to refer to a craps dealer.

Crowd Funding:

Crowd Funding (sometimes called crowd financing or crowd sourced capital) describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money together, usually via the Internet, in order to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.

Crowd Pleaser:

A person, spectacle, work, or idea that appeals to popular taste.

Crowd Surfing:

The action or diversion of being passed by hand above a densely packed crowd, as at a rock concert.

Crowdsourcing:

Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task (also known as community-based design and distributed participatory design), refine or carry out the steps of an algorithm, or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data.

The term has become popular with business authors and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals. However, both the term and its underlying business models have attracted controversy and criticism.

Crown Jewels:

The jewels, such as those in a crown or scepter, used ceremonially by a sovereign.

The most prized asset or possession in a group; a part of a company sought by another party in a hostile takeover attempt.

Crow's Feet:

A wrinkle in the skin at the outer corner of your eyes.

Crude Oil

The oil produced from a reservoir, after associated gas is removed in separation. Crude Oil is a fossil fuel formed by plant and animal matter several million years ago.

Cruise:

To sail or travel about, as for pleasure or reconnaissance.

To go or move along, especially in an unhurried or unconcerned fashion.

Informal: to move leisurely about an area in the hope of discovering something.

Slang: to look for a sexual partner, as in a public place.

Crunch:

To chew with a noisy crackling sound.

Slang: to perform operations on; manipulate or process (numerical or mathematical data).

A period of financial difficulty characterized by tight money and unavailability of credit.

Crus Sexus:

Homosexual practice of rubbing one's thigh against another man's genitals (as favored by Oscar Wilde).

Crusader:

Any of the military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.

A vigorous concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse.

Cry Havoc:

(Obsolete): to shout out 'Havoc!'; that is, to give an army the order to plunder.

Cryptid:

In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a Cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland.

Crypto-:

From Greek kruptos, hidden, from kruptein, to hide.

Secret, hidden, or concealed.

Crypto Officer (ICANN):

Read about the rules regarding ICANN's appointment of "Crypto Officers" and a "Recovery Key Share Holder" here.

Cryptogram:

A piece of writing in code or cipher; a figure or representation having a secret or occult significance.

Cryptography:

The process or skill of communicating in or deciphering secret writings or ciphers.

Secret writing.

Cryptojacking:

Cryptojacking is defined as the secret use of your computing device to mine cryptocurrency.

Cryptonym:

A code name or Cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industry to protect secret projects and the like from business rivals.

CryptoParty:

CryptoParty (Crypto-Party) is a grassroots global endeavour to introduce the basics of practical cryptography such as the Tor anonymity network, key signing parties, TrueCrypt, and virtual private networks to the general public. The project primarily consists of a series of free public workshops.

Crystal Ball:

A globe of quartz crystal or glass in which images, especially those believed to portend the future, are supposedly visible to fortune tellers.

A vehicle or technique for making predictions.

CSP:

Short for: Carrier Service Provider. A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as mobile phone operator (or simply mobile operator or mobo ), carrier service provider (CSP), wireless service provider, wireless carrier, mobile phone operator, or cellular company, is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers.

CSR:

Short for: Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business and corporate social performance' is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure their adherence to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Business would embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. Furthermore, business would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.

The practice of CSR is subject to much debate and criticism. Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.

CT-Scanning:

Short for: Computed Tomography. CT is a medical imaging method employing tomography. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation. The word "tomography" is derived from the Greek tomos (slice) and graphein (to write). Computed tomography was originally known as the "EMI scan" as it was developed at a research branch of EMI, a company best known today for its music and recording business. It was later known as computed axial tomography (CAT or CT Scan) and body section röntgenography.

CT produces a volume of data which can be manipulated, through a process known as "windowing", in order to demonstrate various bodily structures based on their ability to block the X-ray/Röntgen beam.

Cuba Clause:

The so-called "Cuba Clause" allows the situs and proper law of a trust to be transferred from one jurisdiction to another.

Cube:

Mathematics: a regular solid having six congruent square faces.

Cubicle:

A small compartment, as for work or study.

A small sleeping compartment, especially within a dormitory.

Cuddle Buddy:

A partner in which one may cuddle with. Usually not in a relationship with one another, they only seek the affection of cuddling with another person.

See also: Cuddly Party.

Cue Card:

A large card held out of the audience's sight, bearing words or dialogue in large letters as an aid for a speaker or actor chiefly in television broadcasting.

Cui Bono:

Cui Bono, literally "to whose profit?", is a Latin phrase which is still in use as a key forensic question in legal and police investigation: finding out who has a motive for a crime. It is an adage that is used either to suggest a hidden motive or to indicate that the party responsible for something may not be who it appears at first to be.

Cuirass:

A Cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the front of the torso.

Cuisine:

Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking; culinary art; kitchen"; ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook") is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from.

Cul-de-Sac:

A dead-end street; an impasse.

Cult:

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.

Followers of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices.

Followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

A religion or sect that is generally considered to be unorthodox, extremist, or false; "it was a satanic Cult".

Cultural Capital:

The term Cultural Capital refers to non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means. Examples can include education, intellect, style of speech, dress, and even physical appearance, et cetera.

Cultural Capital (French: le capital culturel) is a sociological concept that has gained widespread popularity since it was first articulated by Pierre Bourdieu. Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron first used the term in "Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction" (1973). In this work he attempted to explain differences in children's outcomes in France during the 1960s. It has since been elaborated and developed in terms of other types of capital in The Forms of Capital (1986); and in terms of higher education, for instance, in The State Nobility (1996). For Bourdieu, capital acts as a social relation within a system of exchange, and the term is extended ‘to all the goods material and symbolic, without distinction, that present themselves as rare and worthy of being sought after in a particular social formation (cited in R. Harker, 1990:13) and Cultural Capital acts as a social relation within a system of exchange that includes the accumulated cultural knowledge that confers power and status.

In The Forms of Capital (1986), Bourdieu distinguishes between three types of capital:
• Economic capital: command over economic resources (cash, assets).
• Social capital: resources based on group membership, relationships, networks of influence and support. Bourdieu described social capital as "the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition."
• Cultural Capital: forms of knowledge, skills, education, and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society. Parents provide their children with Cultural Capital by transmitting the attitudes and knowledge needed to succeed in the current educational system.
• Human capital: Though not mentioned in The Forms of Capital (1986), Bourdieu, Human capital is a form of capital often cited. Human capital is a More technical knowledge gained from various education and training such as mathematical knowledge, or knowledge to use complicated machinery. Human capital is distinguishable from Cultural Capital as Cultural Capital is the implicit knowledge gained from the environment the training occurred such as music preferences, way of speech, etc.
Later he adds symbolic capital (resources available to an individual on the basis of honor, prestige or recognition) to this list.

Cultural Capital has three subtypes: embodied, objectified and institutionalised (Bourdieu, 1986:47). Bourdieu distinguishes between these three types of capital:
• Embodied Cultural Capital consists of both the consciously acquired and the passively "inherited" properties of one's self (with "inherited" here used not in the genetic sense but in the sense of receipt over time, usually from the family through socialization, of culture and traditions; a meme). Cultural Capital is not transmissible instantaneously like a gift or bequest; rather, it is acquired over time as it impresses itself upon one's habitus (character and way of thinking), which in turn becomes more attentive to or primed to receive similar influences.
• Linguistic capital, defined as the mastery of and relation to language (Bourdieu, 1990:114), can be understood as a form of embodied Cultural Capital in that it represents a means of communication and self-presentation acquired from one's surrounding culture.
• Objectified Cultural Capital consists of physical objects that are owned, such as scientific instruments or works of art. These cultural goods can be transmitted both for economic profit (as by buying and selling them with regard only to others' willingness to pay) and for the purpose of "symbolically" conveying the Cultural Capital whose acquisition they facilitate. However, while one can possess objectified Cultural Capital by owning a painting, one can "consume" the painting (understand its cultural meaning) only if one has the proper foundation of conceptually and/or historically prior Cultural Capital, whose transmission does not accompany the sale of the painting (except coincidentally and through independent causation, such as when a vendor or broker chooses to explain the painting's significance to the prospective buyer).
• Institutionalized Cultural Capital consists of institutional recognition, most often in the form of academic credentials or qualifications, of the Cultural Capital held by an individual. This concept plays its most prominent role in the labor market, in which it allows a wide array of Cultural Capital to be expressed in a single qualitative and quantitative measurement (and compared against others' Cultural Capital similarly measured). The institutional recognition process thereby eases the conversion of Cultural Capital to economic capital by serving as a heuristic that sellers can use to describe their capital and buyers can use to describe their needs for that capital.

Culture:

The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought; these patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population; these patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression.

A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training.

The unique ways of doing things and of thinking about things that differentiate one organisation from another. These are influenced by the organisation's history (by notorious disasters, for example), by its more powerful managers and by its habits (who gets access to the corporate car park).

Biology: the growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.

Culture Shock:

Culture Shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply travel to another type of life. One of the most common causes of Culture Shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture Shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, frustration, adjustment, and mastery.

Cum Dividend:

A share that is being sold together with the rights to a dividend that has been announced by the company but not yet paid.

CumEx-Files:

The CumEx-Files is a tax fraud scheme discovered in 2017 by a collaboration between a number of European news media outlets. A network of banks, stock traders, and lawyers had obtained billions from European treasuries through suspected fraud and speculation involving dividend taxes. The five hardest hit countries may have lost at least $62.9 billion. Germany is the hardest hit country, with around $36.2 billion withdrawn from the German treasury. Estimated losses for other countries include at least €17 billion for France, €4.5 billion in Italy, €1.7 billion in Denmark and €201 million for Belgium.

Cumulative Voting (U.S.):

Cumulative Voting is a voting right which, when applicable, is intended to preserve the voting strength of minority shareholders. For example, if John has 25 voting shares and there are three directors to be elected, John has 75 votes which he may allocate in any manner chooses. In some states, Cumulative Voting exists unless the articles reject it. In other states, Cumulative Voting does not exist unless the artciles permit it.

Cup:

A small open container, usually with a flat bottom and a handle, used for drinking.

A decorative cup-shaped vessel awarded as a prize or trophy.

Cup of Joe:

Slang: a cup of coffee.

See also: Joe.

Cupcake:

A Cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on Cupcakes.

Read also: The cupcake revival.

Cupid:

Roman Mythology: the god of love; the son of Venus.

A representation of Cupid as a naked cherubic boy usually having wings and holding a bow and arrow, used as a symbol of love.

Curare:

A dark resinous extract obtained from several tropical American woody plants, especially Chondrodendron tomentosum or certain species of Strychnos, used as an arrow poison by some Indian peoples of South America.

Curator:

One who manages or oversees, as the administrative director of a museum collection or a library.

Curfew:

A regulation requiring certain or all people to leave the streets or be at home at a prescribed hour.

Curio:

A curious or unusual object of art or piece of bric-a-brac.

A small article valued as a collector's item, especially something fascinating or unusual.

Curling Parents:

A reference to the Olympic sport of ice curling. Just like in the icy sport, Curling Parents smooth the way for their children. They sweep away any obstacles and make life easier. They think they are taking their role as a parent seriously. Life is so difficult anyway that they should try to cushion the blows for their, let's face it, grown up children. But what they're really doing is robbing their children of the chance to develop essential life skills and feel a sense of personal responsibility and achievement.

See also: helicopter parent.

Currency:

The denomination of the notes and coins in circulation in an economy. The UK Currency is the pound sterling (GBP); the US Currency is the dollar (USD); the new European Currency is the euro (EUR).

Current Account:

A bank account, known in the United States as a checking account, the funds of which are used mainly for the purposes of money transmission. Checks are drawn on current accounts, and standing orders are debited against them. Current accounts rarely pay significant rates of interest on credit balances.

Current Asset:

Assets on a company's balance sheet that are likely to be sold or transferred (if they are financial assets) during the next accounting period. Current assets include things like cash, stock and accounts receivable.

Current Cost:

The present market value of an asset.

Current Ratio:

The ratio of a firm's current assets to its current liabilities (that is, its short-term loans and trade debts). The ratio is used as an indicator of a company's ability to pay its debts on time, and thus of its liquidity.

Currente Calamo:

Without deliberation or hesitation: extempore, off-the-cuff.

Curriculum:

All the courses of study offered by an educational institution.

A group of related courses, often in a special field of study.

Curse of the Ninth:

The Curse of the Ninth is a superstition connected with the history of classical music. In essence, it is the belief that a ninth symphony is destined to be a composer's last; i.e. that the composer will be fated to die while or after writing it, or before completing a tenth. To those who give credence to the notion, a composer who produces a ninth symphony has reached a decisive landmark, and to then embark on a tenth is a challenge to fate.

Cursor:

This blinking indicator shows you where you are in your file.

Curtsy:

A Curtsey (also spelled Curtsy) is a traditional gesture of greeting, in which a girl or woman bends her knees while bowing her head. It is the female equivalent of male bowing in Western cultures.

Curveball:

(Baseball): any of several pitches that veer to the left when thrown with the right hand and to the right when thrown with the left hand.

(Slang): something that is unexpected or designed to trick or deceive.

Custom:

A practice followed by people of a particular group or region.

A habitual practice of a person.

Law: a common tradition or usage so long established that it has the force or validity of law.

Customer:

A person of organization who buys finished goods or services, and at whom, therefore, all industrial activity is directed.

Customer Care:

A systematic attempt by an organisation to take greater care of its customers, and to teach its employees the value of so doing.

Customized:

A product or service that is adapted specially to suit an individual customer.

Customs Duty:

A tax imposed on imported goods.

Customs Union:

An alliance of a number of countries that agree to remove customs and excise controls on goods and services that pass among them.

Cut and Paste:

To move files and folders from one location to another or to move text and images from one document to another.

See also: copy and paste

Cut to the Chase:

Cut to the Chase is a phrase that means to get to the point without wasting time.

Cutlery:

Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where Cutlery usually means knives and related cutting instruments. This is probably the original meaning of the word. Since silverware suggests the presence of silver, the term tableware has come into use.

The major items of Cutlery in the Western world are the knife, fork and spoon. In recent times, hybrid versions of Cutlery have been made combining the functionality of different eating implements, including the spork (spoon / fork), spife (spoon / knife), and knork (knife / fork) or the sporf which is all three.

Cutting-Edge:

The leading position in any movement or field.

CV:

Short for: Curriculum Vitae. résumé. Course of your career.

CW:

Short for: ClockWise. In the same direction as the rotating hands of a clock.

Cyber Attack:

Also known as Cyber War. A successful one is generally seen as targeting vulnerable computers and making them malfunction or resulting in disrupted flows of data that disable businesses, financial institutions, medical institutions, and government agencies. For example, cyber exploits that alter credit card transaction data at e-commerce Websites could cause the altered information to spread into banking systems - thus eroding public confidence in the financial sector. The same rippling effect could be seen in computer systems used for global commerce. In short, a cyber attack has the potential to create extreme economic damage that is out of proportion to the relatively low cost of initiating the attack.

Cyber Attacks can also target applications and databases. It is important to know that some of the most successful cyber attacks have not disrupted data or the computer's functioning; instead, they involve information theft with little evidence of the attack being left behind.

Although some security experts believe that terrorists will shy away from using cyber attacks to create havoc against a targeted nation because it would involve less drama and media attention as compared to a physical bombing or a chemical attack, thus saving the Internet for surveillance and espionage, other experts believe that terrorists could induce a coordinated terrorist attack using the Internet and bringing down critical infrastructures. The result could be a cyber Apocalypse.

Cyber Flashing:

Cyber Flashing is a crime which involves sending obscene pictures to strangers through AirDrop. The term can also apply to the same action carried out entirely through Bluetooth.

Cyber Flashing is the digital equivalent of old-fashioned trenchcoat-style flashing. It happens when some rando detects another iPhone user within 30 feet who has set their AirDrop settings to “Everyone,” then sends them a lewd picture. A notification pops up on the receiver’s phone, and they can accept or reject it.

Read also: How Apple could easily fix the iPhone’s "Cyber Flashing" problem & Sending Lewd Nudes to Strangers Could Mean a Year in Jail - The New York Times.

Cyber Monday:

Cyber Monday is a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. The term "Cyber Monday" was created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online. The term was coined by Ellen Davis and made its debut on November 28, 2005 in a Shop.org press release entitled "'Cyber Monday Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year".

Cyber Shill:

An Cyber Shill is someone who promotes something or someone online for pay without divulging that they are associated with the entity they shill for.

Cyberculture:

Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business.

Cybersex:

Cybersex, computer sex, internet sex or net sex is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via a computer network send one another sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience. It is a form of role-playing in which the participants pretend they are having actual sexual relations. In one iteration, this fantasy sex is accomplished by the participants describing their actions and responding to their chat partners in a mostly written form designed to stimulate their own sexual feelings and fantasies. Cybersex may also be accomplished through the use of avatars in a multiuser software environment.

Cybersex sometimes includes real life masturbation. The quality of a cybersex encounter typically depends upon the participants' abilities to evoke a vivid, visceral mental picture in the minds of their partners. Imagination and suspension of disbelief are also critically important. Cybersex can occur either within the context of existing or intimate relationships, e.g. among lovers who are geographically separated, or among individuals who have no prior knowledge of one another and meet in virtual spaces or cyberspaces and may even remain anonymous to one another. In some contexts cybersex is enhanced by the use of webcams to transmit real-time video of the partners.

Cyberspace:

The word "Cyberspace" (from cybernetics and space) was coined by science fiction novelist and seminal cyberpunk author William Gibson in his 1982 story "Burning Chrome" and popularized by his 1984 novel Neuromancer. The portion of Neuromancer cited in this respect is usually the following:

"Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding."

The scientific definition: Cyberspace (from Greek: kyberne-te-s meaning "steersman", "governor", "pilot", or "rudder") is the global domain of electromagnetics as accessed and exploited through electronic technology and the modulation of electromagnetic energy to achieve a wide range of communication and control system capabilities. The term is rooted in the science of cybernetics and Norbert Wiener’s pioneering work in electronic communication and control science, a forerunner to current information theory and computer science. Through its electromagnetic nature, cyberspace integrates a number of capabilities (sensors, signals, connections, transmissions, processors, controllers) and generates a virtual interactive experience accessed for the purpose of communication and control regardless of a geographic location. In pragmatic terms, cyberspace allows the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures (ITI), telecommunications networks - such as the internet, computer systems, integrated sensors, system control networks and embedded processors and controllers common to global control and communications. As a social experience, individuals can interact, exchange ideas, share information, provide social support, conduct business, direct actions, create artistic media, play games, engage in political discussion, and so on. The term was coined by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson. Now ubiquitous, the term has become a conventional means to describe anything associated with computers, information technology, the internet and the diverse internet culture. Cyberspace is recognized as part of the US National Critical Infrastructure.

Cyborg:

A Cyborg is a cybernetic organism (i.e., an organism that has both artificial and natural systems).

Science fiction: a human who has certain physiological processes aided or controlled by mechanical or electronic devices.

Cycle:

An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs.

Cyclical:

The occurrence of events in accordance with a cycle, in particular, the business cycle. A Cyclical stock is one that rises and falls in line with the rhythms of the business cycle.

Cyclorama:

A Cyclorama is a panoramic painting on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to provide a viewer standing in the middle of the cylinder with a 360° view of the painting. The intended effect is to make a viewer, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of an historic event or famous place.

Cynicism:

An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others.

Cyr Wheel:

A Cyr Wheel is a large metal ring that rotates gyroscopically as person 'spins' it. It acts in a similar way to a coin/penny, but every movement and motion is caused by the person inside it.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- D -

D&O:

A legal award of monetary compensation to a person or business who has suffered loss or injury caused by another. For example, a business may have suffered a loss as a result of a breach of contract, or an employee may have been injured as a result of using an unsafe piece of equipment at his or her place of work.

D-List:

A very minor celebrity according to The Ulmer Scale of bankability.

See also: the A-list.

D-Ring:

A D-Ring is an item of hardware, usually a tie-down metal ring shaped like the letter D used primarily as a lashing point.

Da Capo:

Music: from the beginning. Used as a direction to repeat a passage.

DAB:

Short for: Digital Audio Broadcasting, also known as Eureka 147. DAB is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in the UK and Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format.

The DAB standard was designed in the 1980s, and receivers have been available in many countries for several years. Proponents claim the standard offers several benefits over existing analogue FM radio, such as more stations in the same broadcast spectrum, and increased resistance to noise, multipath, fading, and co-channel interference. However, listening tests carried out by experts in the field of audio have shown that the audio quality on DAB is lower than on FM in the UK on stationary receivers, due to 98% of stereo stations using a bit rate of 128 kbit/s with the MP2 audio codec, which requires double that amount to achieve perceived CD quality.

An upgraded version of the system was released in February 2007, which is called DAB+. This is not backward-compatible with DAB, which means that DAB-only receivers will not be able to receive DAB+ broadcasts. DAB+ is approximately twice as efficient as DAB due to the adoption of the AAC+ audio codec, and DAB+ can provide high quality audio with as low as 64kbit/s. Reception quality will also be more robust on DAB+ than on DAB due to the addition of Reed-Solomon error correction coding.

Also visit: WorldDAB.

Dabbing:

The Dabbing craze sees people point one arm upwards towards the sky while also bowing their head into their other arm.

Dacha:

A country house or cottage in Russia.

Dad Bod:

"Dad Bod" is a male body type that is best described as "softly round." It's built upon the theory that once a man has found a mate and fathered a child, he doesn't need to worry about maintaining a sculpted physique.

A body resembling a man who lives a sedentary lifestyle, flabby, usually comes with a keg gut. Sometimes can see penis, most of the time cannot. Body resembles his personality; dull, lifeless, and very conservative.

Once in shape, but clearly has lost most athletic properties. Best suited for sitting at a desk chair, possibly doing ones taxes.

Read the article: Dad bod: what is it, and why is everyone suddenly talking about it?.

Dad Dancing:

The making of embarrassing flamboyant dance moves to pop music by middle-aged men.

Daesh:

A term used to describe the terrorist organization Islamic State introduced by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. The organization went with multiple names in previous occasions like Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) before the public settled with just Islamic State (IS). Fabius argued that since IS is not Islamic and absolutely not a state, he said "...the Arabs call it Daesh..." (from Arabic "to tread upon", "to trample or crush underfoot").

Daggering:

Daggering is a form of dance originating from Jamaica. The dance incorporates dry sex, wrestling and other forms of frantic movement.

Dago:

Derogatory: a member of a Latin race, especially an Italian, Spaniard or Portuguese.

Daily Me:

The Daily Me is a term popularized by MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte to describe a virtual daily newspaper customized for an individual's tastes. Fred Hapgood, in a 1995 article in Wired credited the concept and phrase to Negroponte's thinking in the 1970s.

In Steven Johnson's book Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software concerning emergent properties, Johnson addresses some of Negroponte's fears with homeostasis and feedback systems in mind. He argues that a newspaper tailored to the tastes of a person on a given day will lead to too much positive feedback in that direction, and people's choices for one day would permanently affect their viewings for the rest of their lives.

The term has also been associated with the phenomenon of individuals customizing and personalizing their news feeds, resulting in their being exposed only to content they are already inclined to agree with. The Daily Me can thus be a critical component of the "echo chamber" effect, defined in an article in Salon by David Weinberger as "those Internet spaces where like-minded people listen only to those people who already agree with them."

WorldDABCass Sunstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago, analyzes the implications of the Daily Me in his book Republic.com 2.0 . Daily Me and echo chambers have been suggested as one of the extremes of society induced by technology, the other being Tyranny of the majority.

Daimon:

Daemon is the Latin word for the Ancient Greek Daimon, which originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit; the daemons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy.

Daisy Chain:

Daisy Chain may refer to a daisy garland created from daisy flowers, the original meaning and the one from which the following derive by analogy:

In electrical and electronic engineering a Daisy Chain is a wiring scheme in which multiple devices are wired together in sequence or in a ring.

A Daisy Chain refers to sexual relations among three or more people, with each person both performing and receiving oral sex simultaneously.

Damage Control:

An effort to minimize or curtail damage or loss.

Damages:

A legal award of monetary compensation to a person or business who has suffered loss or injury caused by another. For example, a business may have suffered a loss as a result of a breach of contract, or an employee may have been injured as a result of using an unsafe piece of equipment at his or her place of work.

Damascus Moment:

A turning point; a life-changing experience. Refers to the Biblical story of Saul, who converts to Christianity (and becomes known as Paul) after he has a vision of Jesus while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. That moment was my road to Damascus. Everything changed after that.

Damnatio Memoriae:

Damnatio Memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State. The intent was to erase someone from history, a task somewhat easier in ancient times, when documentation was much sparser.

Damning With Faint Praise:

Damning With Faint Praise is an English idiom, expressing oxymoronically that half-hearted or insincere praise may act as oblique criticism or condemnation.

Danaides:

In Greek mythology, the Daughters of Danaus, also Danaids or Danaides, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid refers to them as the Belides after their grandfather Belus. They were to marry the fifty sons of Danaus's twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the most common version of the myth, all but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night, and are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated device. In the classical tradition, they came to represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed (see also Sisyphus).

Dance:

Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, often rhythmic and to music. It is performed in many cultures as a form of emotional expression, social interaction, or exercise, in a spiritual or performance setting, and is sometimes used to express ideas or tell a story.

Dance Card:

A Dance Card is used by a woman to record the names of the gentlemen with whom she intends to dance each successive dance at a formal ball.

In modern times the expression "Dance Card" is often used metaphorically, as when someone says "pencil me into your Dance Card," meaning "find some time to spend with me", or, conversely, someone's "Dance Card is full" implies they have no time for, or interest in another person.

Dance Macabre:

Dance of Death, also called Danse Macabre (from the French language), is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the Dance of Death unites all. The Danse Macabre consists of the dead or personified Death summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave, typically with a pope, emperor, king, child, and labourer.

Dance of the Seven Veils:

The Dance of the Seven Veils is a term used to refer to the dance performed by Salome before Herod Antipas. It is an elaboration on the biblical story of the execution of John the Baptist, which refers to Salome dancing before the king, but does not give the dance a name.

Dandy:

A man who affects extreme elegance in clothes and manners.

Dank Memes:

"Dank Memes" is an ironic expression used to mock online viral media and in-jokes that have exhausted their comedic value to the point of being trite or cliché. In this context, the word "dank," originally coined as a term for high quality marijuana, is satirically used as a synonym for "cool."

Dannybrook:

Free-for-all, brawl.

A usually public quarrel or dispute.

Daredevil:

One who is recklessly bold.

D(ark) Factor:

A unified theory of dark personality. Ethically, morally, and socially questionable behavior is part of everyday life and instances of ruthless, selfish, unscrupulous, or even downright evil behavior can easily be found across history and cultures.

Read more here: The Dark Factor of Personality: D.

Dark Horse:

A Dark Horse is a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed.

Dark Internet:

A Dark Internet or dark address refers to any or all unreachable network hosts on the Internet. It is also called dark address space.

The Dark Internet should not be confused with either deep web or darknet. Whereas deep web and darknet stand for hard-to-find websites and secretive networks that sometimes span across the Internet, the Dark Internet is any portion of the Internet that can no longer be accessed through conventional means.

Dark Pattern:

A Dark Pattern is "a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying overpriced insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills". User experience designer Harry Brignull coined the neologism on 28 July 2010 with the registration of DarkPatterns.org, a "pattern library with the specific goal of naming and shaming deceptive user interfaces". More broadly, Dark Patterns supplant "user value...in favor of shareholder value".

Dark Pool:

In finance, Dark Pools of liquidity (also referred to as dark liquidity or simply Dark Pools or black pools) refers to private forums and exchanges for trading securities that is not openly available to the public. The bulk of Dark Pool trades represent large trades by financial institutions that are offered away from public exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, so that such trades remain confidential and outside the purview of the general investing public. The fragmentation of financial trading venues and electronic trading has allowed Dark Pools to be created, and they are normally accessed through crossing networks or directly among market participants via private contractual arrangements.

Dark Tourism:

Dark Tourism (also black tourism or grief tourism) has been defined as tourism involving travel to sites historically associated with death and tragedy. More recently it was suggested that the concept should also include reasons tourists visit that site, since the site’s attributes alone may not make a visitor a 'dark tourist'. Thanatourism, derived from the ancient Greek word thanatos for the personification of death, refers more specifically to violent death; it is used in fewer contexts than the terms 'Dark Tourism' and 'grief tourism'. The main draw to dark locations is their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering.

Destinations of Dark Tourism include castles and battlefields such as Culloden in Scotland and Bran Castle and Poienari Castle in Romania, former prisons such as Beaumaris Prison in Anglesey, Wales, the Jack the Ripper exhibition in the London Dungeon, sites of natural disasters or man made disasters, such as Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan, Chornobyl in the Ukraine and the commercial activity at Ground Zero in New York one year after 9-11-2001. It also includes sites of human atrocities and genocide, such as the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in China, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia, the sites of the Jeju Uprising in South Korea and the Spirit Lake Internment Camp Centre near La Ferme, Quebec as an example of Canada's internment operationsof 1914-1920.

Darknet (file sharing):

A Darknet is an anonymizing network where connections are made only between trusted peers — sometimes called "friends" (F2F) — using non-standard protocols and ports.

Darling:

One that is greatly liked or preferred; a favorite.

Informal: charming or amusing.

Darth Vader:

Darth Vader, also known as Anakin Skywalker, is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. Vader appears in the original trilogy as a pivotal figure whose actions drive the plot of the first three films while his past as Anakin Skywalker, and the story of his corruption, is central to the prequel trilogy.

Dashboard (information technology):

In management information systems, a Dashboard is "an easy to read, often single page, real-time user interface, showing a graphical presentation of the current status (snapshot) and historical trends of an organization’s key performance indicators to enable instantaneous and informed decisions to be made at a glance."

DAT:

Short for: Digital Audio Tape. DAT or R-DAT is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987.

Data:

In computer science, Data is anything in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from programs. A program is a set of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform. In this sense, data is thus everything that is not program code.

Data Journalism:

Data Journalism is a journalism specialty reflecting the increased role that numerical data is used in the production and distribution of information in the digital era. It reflects the increased interaction between content producers (journalist) and several other fields such as design, computer science and statistics. From the point of view of journalists, it represents "an overlapping set of competencies drawn from disparate fields".

See also: The Data Journalism Handbook.

Data Mining:

The use of sophisticated computer programs to search systematically through a large database. Such programs are particularly useful to marketing departments which want to identify a subset of a large population (all the males in Arkansas, for instance, whose birthdays are next Monday).

Data Warehousing:

The process of organizing the storage of large quantities of electronic data in such a way that it best meets the needs of the organization to whom It belongs.

Data Protection:

The right of individuals to have access to information about themselves that is held by other parties, such as financial institutions, credit-rating agencies or government offices. Individuals usually have to submit a formal request to gain access to the information. Such rights are established in many countries by so-called data protection legislation.

Database:

A collection of information stored electronically on a computer.

Date:

An engagement to go out socially with another person, often out of romantic interest.

One's companion on such an outing.

Time stated in terms of the day, month, and year.

A particular point or period of time at which something happened or existed, or is expected to happen.

Date-Me Docs:

Tired of Dating Apps, Some Turn to ‘Date-Me Docs’ - "Writers of the online text profiles, which can read like 1,000-word versions of the personal ads of yore, hope for a more meaningful connection than a swipe might allow. Instead of using dating apps, some have turned to the date-me doc, which is a single, view-only page about the individual. It's appealing, because it's a flexible format that lets you include what you want and how you want."

Directory of date-me docs - FlowingData.

Date Rape Drugs:

See also: Rohypnol.

Date Stamp:

A mark on perishable goods indicating the date by which they should be sold, and also the date by which they should be consumed. In many countries date stamping is required by law.

Dating:

An engagement to go out socially with another person, often out of romantic interest.

Dauphin of France:

The Dauphin of France (French: Dauphin de France) - strictly, The Dauphin of Viennois (Dauphin de Viennois) - was the title given to the heir apparent of the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word is literally the French for Dolphin, as a reference to the animal they bore on their flag.

Dawn Raid:

The purchase in the early hours of the morning, as soon as the stock market opens, of a substantial chunk of a company's shares, frequently to strengthen a subsequent takeover bid. Hence, any early-morning business practice that is designed to catch someone (especially a competitor) unawares.

Day Trader:

Very active stock trader who holds positions for a very short time and makes several trades each day.

Day Zero:

The City of Cape Town has introduced the idea of Day Zero to focus everyone’s attention on managing water consumption as tightly as possible by cajoling water consumers into reducing usage. Day Zero is when most of the city’s taps will be switched off - literally.

The consequences of reaching this point will be far reaching. For one, it will mean residents will have to stand in line to collect 25 litres of water per person per day. The water will be sourced from the remaining supplies that are left in the dams.

The City of Cape Town describes Day Zero as the point at which the Disaster Risk Management Centre introduces phase 2 of its plan. Phase 2 will be triggered when the city’s big six dams supplying Cape Town reach a storage level of 13.5%. This leaves just enough water to supply critical services. This will include sufficient water to distribute to collection sites across the city.

Read also: 7 things you need to know about #DayZero - IOL News.

Daydream:

Daydreaming is a short-term detachment from one's immediate surroundings, during which a person's contact with reality is blurred and partially substituted by a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake.

There are many types of Daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists, however the characteristic that is common to all forms of Daydreaming meets the criteria for mild dissociation.

Daylight Saving Time:

Daylight Saving Time. DST is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less.

Visit: summer time.

DBAA:

Short for: Don't be an asshole.

D. B. Cooper:

D. B. Cooper is a media epithet popularly used to refer to an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the airspace between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, on November 24, 1971, extorted $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted to an uncertain fate. Despite an extensive manhunt and an ongoing FBI investigation, the perpetrator has never been located or positively identified. The case remains the only unsolved air piracy in American aviation history.

DC Extended Universe (DCEU):

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Films and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Much like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

De Facto:

De Facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established".

De Haut en Bas:

In a condescending or superior manner.

De Jure:

De Jure (in Classical Latin de iure) is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".

De Luxe:

See: deluxe.

De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum:

The Latin phrases De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum (“Of the dead, nothing unless good.”) and De mortuis nil nisi bene [dicendum] (“Of the dead, nothing [spoken] unless good.”) indicate that it is socially inappropriate to speak ill of the dead.

De Rigueur:

Required by the current fashion or custom; socially obligatory.

DEA:

Short for: Drug Enforcement Agency (U.S.).

Deacon:

A cleric ranking just below a priest in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic churches; a Protestant layperson who assists the minister in various functions.

Dead Cat Strategy:

The Dead Cat Strategy, or Deadcatting, refers to the introduction of a dramatic, shocking, or sensationalist topic to divert discourse away from a more damaging topic.

Dead Key:

A Dead Key is a special kind of a modifier key on a mechanical typewriter, or computer keyboard, that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The Dead Key does not generate a (complete) character by itself, but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after. Thus, a dedicated key is not needed for each possible combination of a diacritic and a letter, but rather only one dead key for each diacritic is needed, in addition to the normal base letter keys.

Dead Letterbox:

A dead drop or Dead Letter Box, is a location used to secretly pass items between two people, without requiring them to meet. This stands in contrast to the live drop, so called because two live persons meet to exchange items or information.

Dead Man Walking:

US: a term traditionally used to describe a person currently alive but facing imminent death, such as a death row inmate awaiting execution.

An employee who is certain to be fired in the near future.

Dead Man's Hand:

The Dead Man's Hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights". The hand gets its name from the legend of it being the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder (August 2, 1876). It is accepted that the hand included the aces and eights of both the black suits; although his biographer, Joseph Rosa, says no contemporary citation for his hand has been found, the "accepted version is that the cards were the ace of spades, the ace of clubs, two black eights (clubs and spades), and either the jack of diamonds or the queen of diamonds as the "kicker". The term, before the murder of Hickok, referred to a variety of hands. The earliest found reference to a "dead man's hand" is 1886, where it was described as "three jacks and a pair of tens."

There are various claims as to the identity of Hickok's fifth card and there is also some reason to believe that he had discarded one card. The draw was interrupted by the shooting and he never got the fifth card he was due.

The Stardust in Las Vegas had a 5 of diamonds on display as the fifth card; in the HBO television series Deadwood, a 9 of diamonds is used; the modern town of Deadwood, South Dakota also uses the 9 of diamonds in displays; and Ripley's Believe it or Not shows a queen of clubs. Saloon no. 10 in Deadwood, South Dakota, the saloon in which Wild Bill Hickock was shot while holding the infamous "dead man's hand," shows the fifth card as the 9 of diamonds. At least two of John Ford's films feature the aces and eights hand as a foreshadowing of death. In Stagecoach (1939), the hand is held by Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), soon to be shot by the Ringo Kid (John Wayne) while in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Liberty Valance draws the hand just prior to his death.

Dead Man's Switch:

A switch that automatically stops a machine or vehicle after a set period of inactivity from the operator.

A Dead Man's Switch may also be used to activate a harmful device, such as a bomb or IED.

Dead Weight:

The unrelieved weight of a heavy, motionless mass; an oppressive burden or difficulty.

An oppressive burden or difficulty.

Deadline:

A time scheduled for the completion of a task commonly used to describe the time by which journalists must file their stories to their newspapers. If Deadline that has been set in a contract is not met, legal consequences may follow.

Deadstock:

Deadstock refers to merchandise that was withdrawn from sale and warehoused without having being sold to a customer. This is due to the item no longer being in fashion or otherwise outdated or superseded. Such merchandise might once again be in demand and at such point can be returned to sale. Return to sale of fashion merchandise would make it vintage clothing. However, repurposing of deadstock in new products is one way to improve sustainability in the fashion industry.

Read also: Reuse, renew, recycle! Is making new from old the future of fashion? - "Using ‘deadstock’, the leftovers from clothes manufacturing, to create something new isn’t just environmentally sound, it’s surprisingly inspiring.".

Deal:

A business transaction; an agreement, especially one that is mutually beneficial.

Games: distribution of playing cards; the right or turn of a player to distribute the cards; the playing of one hand.

Informal: sale favorable especially to the buyer; a bargain.

Treatment received: raw deal; a fair deal.

The act or a round of apportioning or distributing.

Dealer:

A person who deals in goods or services, buying them in his own right to sell them on to someone else. Contrast with a broker, who never takes title to the goods he is broking.

Drug dealer, someone who sells illegal drugs.

Dean:

An administrative officer in charge of a college, faculty, or division in a university.

In some countries, the longest-serving ambassador to a country or the apostolic nuncio is given the title Dean, or Doyen, of the Diplomatic Corps and is sometimes accorded a high position in the order of precedence.

Dear Jane letter:

A letter in which someone writes to his wife or girlfriend to break off the relationship, is referred to as a "Dear Jane letter."

Dear John Letter:

A Dear John Letter is a letter written to a husband or boyfriend by his wife or girlfriend to inform him their relationship is over, usually because the author has found another lover. Dear John Letters are often written out of an inability or unwillingness to inform the person face to face.

Death & Taxes:

"Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin quote.

Death Cleaning:

Döstädning, which means "Death Cleaning" in English, is a new method of downsizing and organizing from the Swedish author and artist Margareta Magnusson. The approach is designed as an easy way for folks over 50 to purge their homes and organize their possessions in hopes that their children won't be overburdened by their belongings once they pass away, according to The Chronicle. Sure, it sounds morbid, but it's actually a pretty smart idea.

Death Cleaning isn't about getting rid of all your stuff, but rather streamlining your life so you're only holding onto what makes you happy. "Death Cleaning is not about dusting or mopping up," Magnusson told The Chronicle. "It is about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly."

Read also: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.

Death Doula:

A death midwife, or Death Doula, is a person who assists in the dying process, much like a midwife or doula does with the birthing process. It is often a community based role, aiming to help families cope with death through recognizing it as a natural and important part of life. The role can supplement and go beyond hospice. Practitioners perform a large variety of service, including but not limited to creating death plans, and providing spiritual, psychological, and social support before and just after death. Their role can also include more logistical activities, helping with services, planning funerals and memorial services, and guiding mourners in their rights and responsibilities.

Death March:

A Death March is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Death Marches usually feature harsh physical labor and abuse, neglect of prisoner injury and illness, deliberate starvation and dehydration, humiliation and torture, and execution of those unable to keep up the marching pace. The march may end at a prisoner-of-war camp or internment camp, or it may continue until all the prisoners are dead (a form of "execution by labor", as seen in the Armenian genocide among other examples).

Death Spiral Financing:

Death Spiral Financing is a process where convertible financing used to fund primarily small cap companies can be used against it in the marketplace to cause the company’s stock to fall dramatically and can lead to the company’s ultimate downfall.

Débâcle:

An event that turns out as a disaster.

Debauchery:

Extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures.

Debenture:

An unsecured bond backed only by the general credit of the issuing corporation.

Debit Card:

A rectangular plastic card with a black magnetic strip on the back that can be used to purchase goods and services. A Debit Card is a bit like a credit card, but with one crucial difference. A Debit Card pays for the goods immediately out of a bank account somewhere. If there is no credit in the account the purchase will not be authorized. A credit card, however, allows payment to be made later and provides the user with a loan to make the purchase.

Debit, Credit Card:

Almost as tricky to get these days as the good old "Credit, Credit Card", a Debit Card is directly tied to a bank account. Whatever charges the user runs up are debited to the bank account, and monthly statements do not carry a remittance slip. The same account may have a checkbook tied to it as well. Credit as such, however, is not extended since you are not allowed to use the card if the balance on the bank account wanders into the red.

See also: stored-value card.

Debonair:

Having a sophisticated charm; having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air.

Debriefing:

A management practice in which an employee describes their experience (with, say, a potential overseas customer) to others within their organization. The idea is that everyone should learn from the experience of each individual. This is at the heart of a learning organization.

Debt:

An obligation on a person or organization to pay something (usually money) to another person or organization.

Debt Ceiling:

The maximum borrowing power of a governmental entity.

Debt-Equity Ratio:

The ratio of a company's debt to its equity, more commonly known as gearing, or in the United States as leverage. If the ratio is high, banks are reluctant to lend the company more money.

Debt Service:

The ability of an organization (be it a company or a country) to service its debts - that is, to pay interest and capital as and when due - out of its cash flow.

Debtor:

A person or organization that owes somebody something.

Debut:

A first public appearance, as of a performer.

The formal presentation of a young woman to society.

Débutante:

A young woman making a formal debut into society.

Decade:

A period of ten years; a group or series of ten.

Decadence:

Decadence can refer to a personal trait, or to the state of a society (or segment of it). Used to describe a person's lifestyle, it describes a lack of moral and intellectual discipline, or in the Concise Oxford Dictionary: "a luxurious self-indulgence". In a society, it describes corrosive decline due to a perceived erosion of necessary moral traditions. (A society that discards unnecessary and outmoded values would not be considered Decadent, although perceptions of "unnecessary and outmoded" significantly vary.) Due to arguments over the nature of morality, whether a society is Decadent or not is a matter of debate, though certain historical societies (such as ancient Rome near its end) are generally held to have been Decadent, as Decadence often leads to objective decline.

Decalogue:

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are a set of commandments which the Bible describes as being given to the Israelites by God at biblical Mount Sinai.

December 28:

December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are three days remaining until the end of the year.

Spain's equivalent of April Fools' day is December 28.

Decentralization:

The process of moving corporate functions (and the decision-making powers that go with them) away from a company's head office. Many companies are highly decentralized in some respects (say, marketing) and highly centralized in others (accounts or human resources).

Decibel (dB):

The Decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement that expresses the magnitude of a physical quantity (usually power or intensity) relative to a specified or implied reference level. Since it expresses a ratio of two quantities with the same unit, it is a dimensionless unit. A decibel is one tenth of a bel, a seldom-used unit.

The Decibel is useful for a wide variety of measurements in science and engineering (specifically, acoustics and electronics) and other disciplines. It confers a number of advantages, such as the ability to conveniently represent very large or small numbers, a logarithmic scaling that roughly corresponds to the human perception of, for example, sound and light, and the ability to carry out multiplication of ratios by simple addition and subtraction.

The Decibel symbol is often qualified with a suffix, which indicates which reference quantity or frequency weighting function has been used. For example, "dBm" indicates that the reference quantity is one milliwatt, while "dBu" is referenced to 0.775 volts RMS.

Decimal Degrees:

Decimal Degrees (DD) express latitude and longitude geographic coordinates as decimal fractions and are used in many geographic information systems (GIS), web mapping applications such as OpenStreetMap, and GPS devices. Decimal degrees are an alternative to using degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS).

Decision Tree:

A diagram that illustrated the consequences of making different decisions, and of the decisions that flow from those consequences.

Decisive Moment:

Henri Cartier-Bresson is famous for his photographs that capture that "Decisive Moment" when random actions intersect in a single instant that makes an arresting photograph.

Deckchair:

A folding chair for use out of doors, consisting of a wooden frame suspending a length of canvas.

Declaration:

An explicit, formal announcement, either oral or written.

A statement of taxable goods or of properties subject to duty.

Déclassé:

Degraded from one's social class.

Declining Balance:

A method of depreciation that depreciates an asset by a fixed percentage of its outstanding value at the end of each year, instead of by a fixed percentage of its original value.

Decoration:

An emblem of honor, such as a medal or badge.

An addition that renders something more attractive or ornate; adornment.

Decorum:

Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety.

The conventions or requirements of polite behavior.

The appropriateness of an element of an artistic or literary work, such as style or tone, to its particular circumstance or to the composition as a whole.

Decoupage:

The technique of decorating a surface with cutouts, as of paper.

Decoy:

A person or thing used to beguile or lead someone into danger; lure.

Decree:

An authoritative order having the force of law.

Decree Nisi:

A Decree Nisi or rule nisi (from Latin nisi, meaning 'unless') is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met.

Deductible:

An expense that can be deducted from a company's revenue for the purposes of calculating its tax liability.

Deduction:

The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of Deducing.

Logic: the process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises; inference by reasoning from the general to the specific; a conclusion reached by this process.

Deed:

Something that is carried out; an act or action; a usually praiseworthy act; a feat or exploit.

Law: a document sealed as an instrument of bond, contract, or conveyance, especially relating to property.

Deed Poll:

A Deed Poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention. It is, strictly speaking, not a contract because it binds only one party and expresses an intention instead of a promise.

Deelnemingsvrijstelling:

Substantial Holding Company (in The Netherlands).

Deep Background:

Deep Backgound is a term that is used in the United States, though not consistently. Most journalists would understand "Deep Background" to mean that the information may not be included in the article but is used by the journalist to enhance his or her view of the subject matter, or to act as a guide to other leads or sources. Most Deep Background information is confirmed elsewhere before being reported. Alternative meanings exist; for instance, a White House spokesman said, "Deep Background means that the info presented by the briefers can be used in reporting but the briefers can't be quoted." Deep Background can also mean the information received can be used in the story, but cannot be attributed to any source. Depending on the publication, information on Deep Background is sometimes attributed in terms such as "[Publication name] has learned" or "It is understood by [publication name]."

See also: off the record.

Deep Discount:

A large discount on the price of goods or services, probably more than 25%.

Deep Learning:

Deep Learning (deep machine learning, or deep structured learning, or hierarchical learning, or sometimes DL) is a branch of machine learning based on a set of algorithm that attempt to model high-level abstractions in data by using model architectures, with complex structures or otherwise, composed of multiple non-linear transformations.

Alternatively, Deep Learning has been characterized as a buzzword, or a rebranding of neural networks.

Deep Linking:

Deep Linking, on the World Wide Web, is making a hyperlink that points to a specific page or image on a website, instead of that website's main or home page. Such links are called Deep Links.

Deep Web:

The Deep Web (also called the Deepnet, the Invisible Web, the Undernet or the hidden Web) is World Wide Web content that is not part of the Surface Web, which is indexed by standard search engines. It should not be confused with the dark Internet, the computers that can no longer be reached via Internet, or with a Darknet distributed filesharing network, which could be classified as a smaller part of the Deep Web.

Deepfake:

Deepfakes (a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake") are a technique for human image synthesis based on artificial intelligence. It is used to combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network. The phrase "Deepfake" was coined in 2017.

Deepfakes have garnered widespread attention for their uses in celebrity pornographic videos, revenge porn, fake news, hoaxes, and financial fraud. This has elicited responses from both industry and government to detect and limit their use.

Read also: A guide to 'Deepfakes,' the internet's latest moral crisis.

Defamation:

A false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions.

Default:

Not legally binding, as in defective title to a property. A defective title may have been obtained fraudulently, or there may have been an error in drawing up the contract.

Defective goods are those that do not meet the standard that a consumer might reasonably expect. In most countries a consumer is legally entitled to exchange defective goods or obtain a refund.

A standard hardware or software setting.

Law: failure to make a required court appearance.

Default Mode Network | DMN:

In neuroscience, the Default Mode Network (DMN), also default network, or default state network, is a network of interacting brain regions known to have activity highly correlated with each other and distinct from other networks in the brain.

The Default Mode Network is most commonly shown to be active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest, such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering. But it is also active when the individual is thinking about others, thinking about themselves, remembering the past, and planning for the future. The network activates "by default" when a person is not involved in a task. Though the DMN was originally noticed to be deactivated in certain goal-oriented tasks and is sometimes referred to as the task-negative network, it can be active in other goal-oriented tasks such as social working memory or autobiographical tasks. The DMN has been shown to be negatively correlated with other networks in the brain such as attention networks.

DEFCON:

A DEFense readiness CONdition (DEFCON) is an alert posture used by the United States Armed Forces. The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and unified and specified combatant commands. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the U.S. military, and increase in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations.

Defector:

A person who repudiates his or her country when beyond its jurisdiction or control.

Defendant:

A Defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute.

Defenestration:

(Formal humorous): the action of throwing someone out of a window.

(Informal): the action or process of dismissing someone from a position of power or authority.

Defense & Necessity:

The Necessity Defense has long been recognized as Common Law and has also been made part of most states' statutory law. Although no federal statute acknowledges the Defense, the Supreme Court has recognized it as part of the common law. The rationale behind the Necessity Defense is that sometimes, in a particular situation, a technical breach of the law is more advantageous to society than the consequence of strict adherence to the law. The Defense is often used successfully in cases that involve a trespass on property to save a person's life or property. It also has been used, with varying degrees of success, in cases involving more complex questions.

Deferred:

The postponement of a payment (or receipt) from one accounting period into another; for example, Deferred tax.

Deferred Share:

A share in a company that receives no payment in the event of a liquidation until all preference and ordinary shareholders have been paid the nominal value of their shares in full. Deferred shares are usually held by people who have a special relationship with the company, such as its founders.

Deficit:

An excess of spending over revenue. This may be by a government (as in the federal budget Deficit), by a country (as in a trade Deficit), or by a company (which then needs to fund its Deficit).

Definition:

A concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbol.

Deflation:

An across-the-board decrease in prices. Falling prices are dangerous for business since they can result in acompany having to sell its output for less that its cost.

Degree:

One of a series of steps in a process, course, or progression; a stage.

Relative social or official rank, dignity, or position.

A unit division of a temperature scale.

An academic title given by a college or university to a student who has completed a course of study.

Dégringolade:

A rapid decline or deterioration (as in strength, position, or condition).

DEI:

Short for: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.

Read more here: Three little letters that have Florida’s Ron DeSantis on the attack - CNN Opinion.

Deity:

A god or goddess.

Any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force.

Déjà Vue:

The experience of thinking that a new situation had occurred before.

Delayering:

The removal of layers of management from the middle levels of an organization, thus flattening the organization and shortening the lines of communication within it.

Deleb:

Deleb is a colloquialism for a deceased celebrity.

Delegation:

The transfer of authority from one person to another (who is generally lower down the corporate hierarchy). Delegation involves the transfer of authority but not of responsibility. Empowerment attempts to transfer both.

Delinquency:

In business, the failure to make payments as and when they fall due.

Delisting:

The removal of a quoted share from a stock exchange's list, usually for failing to follow the rules of the exchange. A company's shares may also be delisted if the company has been taken over by another and has ceased to have an independent existence.

Delivery:

The transfer of the title to an asset from one owner to another. Thus a delivery note is the document authorizing the transfer; the delivery date is the date on which the transfer formally takes places.

Deluxe:

Rich and superior in quality; elegant and sumptuous.

Demagogue:

A political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions and prejudices.

Demand:

A fundamental concept in economics (see also: supply). The extent to which titleconsumers are prepared to pay for goods and services. It is also the right to instantaneous gratification, as in payable on Demand or Demand deposit - money in an account that can be withdrawn on Demand.

Demarcation Line:

A political Demarcation Line is a temporary geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire.

Démarche:

Formal diplomatic representation (diplomatic correspondence) of the official position, views, or wishes on a given subject from one government to another government or intergovernmental organization.

Diplomatic Démarches are delivered to the appropriate official of the government or organization. Démarches generally seek to persuade, inform, or gather information from a foreign government. Governments may also use a démarche to protest or object to actions by a foreign government. Informally, the word is sometimes used as a verb to describe making or receiving such correspondence.

Dementia:

Dementia (meaning "deprived of mind") is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously-unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although Dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it may occur in any stage of adulthood.

Demerger:

The unravelling of a merger, or the separation of companies (or of business units) that are being run under one corporate umbrella.

Demesne:

In the feudal system the Demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management.

Demimonde:

A class of women kept by wealthy lovers or protectors; women prostitutes considered as a group.

A group whose respectability is dubious or whose success is marginal.

Democracy:

Democracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed (direct Democracy), or the power to do so is granted by them (as in representative Democracy).

Demographics:

The study of populations according to social characteristics such as their age, income, familiarize, and so on. Demographics is particularly helpful to advertisers and marketing departments.

Demon:

An evil supernatural being; a devil.

A persistently tormenting person, force, or passion.

One who is extremely zealous, skillful, or diligent.

Dendrochronology:

Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating, is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings, also known as growth rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year.

Denial-of-Service Attack:

In computing, a Denial-of-Service Attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the efforts of one or more people to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet.

Denim:

A coarse twilled cloth, usually cotton, used for jeans, overalls, and work uniforms.

Denomination:

The number of units of a single note or coin; for example, 1 D-mark, 10 francs, 100 dollars.

Denouement:

The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot; the events following the climax of a drama or novel in which such a resolution or clarification takes place.

The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

Department:

A distinct, usually specialized division of a large organization, especially: a principal administrative division of a government; a division of a business specializing in a particular product or service; a division of a school or college dealing with a particular field of knowledge.

An administrative district in France; one of the principal executive divisions of the federal government of the United States, headed by a cabinet officer; a section of a department store selling a particular line of merchandise.

Department Store:

A large retail outlet that stocks a wide range of goods, from kitchen utensils to make-up. Traditionally located in the center of big cities, department stores have been hit by the growth of out-of-town shopping malls and of city-center rents.

Deposit:

Money left as security before the receipt of a service, as when renting an apartment.

Money left with a bank for safe-keeping.

Raw materials found underground, such as mineral Deposits.

Deposit Account:

An account at a bank in which a customer leaves money for some period of time and on which the earns interest.

Deposit Protection:

A form of insurance which covers depositors against the loss of their money should their bank go bust. Deposit protection schemes are usually backed by the state, and they usually over only a percentage of the total deposits.

Deposition:

Law: sworn testimony recorded for use in court at a later date.

Depreciation:

The loss of an asset's value as a result of wear and tear and the passage of time. Companies are allowed to set off this amount against their taxable profits - in theory enabling them to put aside untaxed funds with which to replace the depreciating asset at the end of its useful life.

Depression:

A prolonged and steep decline in a country's GNP, a period when much industrial activity ceases.

Deregulation:

The removal of government regulations and of red tape that restrict the ability of firms within an industry to compete freely. Industries such as telecoms, banking and aviation have been considerably deregulated in recent years.

Derivatives:

Derivatives are financial contracts, or financial instruments, whose prices are derived from the price of something else (known as the underlying). The underlying price on which a derivative is based can be that of an asset (e.g., commodities, equities (stock), residential mortgages, commercial real estate, loans, bonds), an index (e.g., interest rates, exchange rates, stock market indices, consumer price index (CPI) — see inflation derivatives), or other items. Credit derivatives are based on loans, bonds or other forms of credit.

The main types of derivatives: are forwards, futures, options, and swaps.

Derivatives can be used to mitigate the risk of economic loss arising from changes in the value of the underlying. This activity is known as hedging. Alternatively, derivatives can be used by investors to increase the profit arising if the value of the underlying moves in the direction they expect. This activity is known as speculation.

- also named "the financial weapons of mass destruction" by 'The Oracle of Omaha' investment guru Warren Buffet.

Derived Demand:

Demand for things that occurs because of the demand for other things. Thus the demand for capital goods can be said to be derived from the demand for consumer goods. Once consumers start spending, producers begin to invest in plant and equipment.

Dernier Cri:

The latest sensation; the last word, the newest or ultimate expression or example (of something).

Derogatory:

Expressive of low opinion.

Déroute:

Total collapse.

Derrière:

Borrowing from French derrière: bottom, bum, backside.

Dervish:

A Dervish or darvesh is someone guiding a Sufi Muslim ascetic down a path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a Dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most common practice is Sama which is associated with Rumi.

DES:

Short for: Department of Education Standards (United Kingdom).

Desdemona's Handkerchief:

The handkerchief in William Shakespeare's Othello, Act 3, Scene 3 symbolizes different things to different characters. Since the handkerchief was the first gift Desdemona received from Othello, she keeps it about her constantly as a symbol of Othello’s love. Iago manipulates the handkerchief so that Othello comes to see it as a symbol of Desdemona herself - her faith and chastity. By taking possession of it, he is able to convert it into evidence of her infidelity. But the handkerchief’s importance to Iago and Desdemona derives from its importance to Othello himself. He tells Desdemona that it was woven by a 200-year-old sibyl, or female prophet, using silk from sacred worms and dye extracted from the hearts of mummified virgins. Othello claims that his mother used it to keep his father faithful to her, so, to him, the handkerchief represents marital fidelity. The pattern of strawberries (dyed with virgins’ blood) on a white background strongly suggests the bloodstains left on the sheets on a virgin’s wedding night, so the handkerchief implicitly suggests a guarantee of virginity as well as fidelity.

Desideratum:

Something that is wished for, or considered desirable.

Design:

A graphic representation, especially a detailed plan for construction or manufacture.

The purposeful or inventive arrangement of parts or details.

A plan; a project.

A secretive plot or scheme.

Design Hotel:

A hotel that is designed around a theme.

See also: boutique hotel.

Design Thinking:

Design Thinking refers to the methods and processes for investigating ill-defined problems, acquiring information, analyzing knowledge, and positing solutions in the design and planning fields.

Designated Survivor:

In the United States, a Designated Survivor (or designated successor) is an individual in the presidential line of succession, usually a member of the United States Cabinet, who is arranged to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President and the country's other top leaders (e.g., Vice President and Cabinet members) are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. This is intended to guarantee continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic occurrence that kills the President and many officials in the presidential line of succession, such as a mass shooting or bombing. If such an event occurred, killing both the President and Vice President, the surviving official highest in the line, possibly the Designated Survivor, would become the Acting President of the United States under the Presidential Succession Act.

Designer Baby:

The term "Designer Baby" was originally derived from "designer clothing" and used pejoratively as implying commodification of children. The term can refer to the use of Preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select desired qualities of a child.

Designer Drug:

A drug with properties and effects similar to a known hallucinogen or narcotic but having a slightly altered chemical structure, especially such a drug created in order to evade restrictions against illegal substances.

Designer Label:

The term Designer Label refers to clothing and other personal accessory items sold under an often prestigious marquee which is commonly named after a designer. The term is most often only applied to luxury items.

Desktop Publishing:

Using a collection of computers, software and printers that can fit on a desk in order to produce publications of a quality that used to be possible only in printing plants.

Despot:

A ruler with absolute power; a person who wields power oppressively; a tyrant.

Destination:

The place to which one is going or directed.

The ultimate purpose for which something is created or intended.

Destiny:

The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.

A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control.

The power or agency thought to predetermine events.

Desuetude:

In law, Desuetude is a doctrine that causes statutes, similar legislation or legal principles to lapse and become unenforceable by a long habit of non-enforcement or lapse of time. It is what happens to laws that are not repealed when they become obsolete. It is the legal doctrine that long and continued non-use of a law renders it invalid, at least in the sense that courts will no longer tolerate punishing its transgressors.

Détente:

The easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations), as by agreement, negotiation, or tacit understandings.

Determinism:

Determinism is the philosophical position that for every event there exist conditions that could cause no other event.

Detox:

Treatment designed to rid the body of poisonous substances, esp. alcohol and drugs.

Deus Ex Machina:

Any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an insoluble difficulty.

Devaluation:

A lowering of the value of a country's currency vis-à-vis other countries' currencies. This can be done either by market forces or by government forces.

Developer:

Someone who adds value to land by building on it or by otherwise turning it into an asset that can produce a stream of income.

Device:

A contrivance or an invention serving a particular purpose, especially a machine used to perform one or more relatively simple schemetasks.

A technique or means; a plan or scheme, especially a malign one.

A literary contrivance, such as parallelism or personification, used to achieve a particular effect.

A decorative design, figure, or pattern, as one used in embroidery.

A graphic symbol or motto, especially in heraldry.

(Computer Science): computer hardware that is designed for a specific function.

Devil in the Detail:

"The Devil is in the Detail" is an idiom that refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details, meaning that something might seem simple at a first look but will take more time and effort to complete than expected and derives from the earlier phrase, "God is in the detail" expressing the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.

Devil's Advocate:

In common parlance, a Devil's Advocate is someone who takes a position he or she does not agree with for the sake of argument. This process can be used to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure.

Dewey Decimal Classification:

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), or Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876.

D'Hondt Method:

The D'Hondt Method (mathematically but not operationally equivalent to Jefferson's method) is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt, who described it in 1878.

Dhow:

Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region.

Diagnosis:

The act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of laboratory data; the opinion derived from such an evaluation.

Diegesis:

Diegesis is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: 1): Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narrative; 2): The story is told or recounted, as opposed to shown or enacted; 3): There is a presumed detachment from the story of both the speaker and the audience.

In Diegesis, the narrator tells the story. The narrator presents the actions (and sometimes thoughts) of the characters to the readers or audience. Diegetic elements are part of the fictional world ("part of the story"), as opposed to non-Diegetic elements which are stylistic elements of how the narrator tells the story ("part of the storytelling").

Diagram:

A drawing intended to explain how something works; a drawing showing the relation between the parts.

Dialect:

The usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people.

Dialogue:

A conversation between two or more people.

Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative.

An exchange of Idea or opinions.

Diamond Hands:

Diamond Hands is a slang term that refers to holding a volatile investment even when there's pressure to sell. It's popular with high-risk assets such as cryptocurrency and meme stocks.

Diary:

A daily record, especially a personal record of events, experiences, and observations; a journal.

A book for use in keeping a personal record, as of experiences.

Diaspora:

A dispersion of an originally homogeneous entity, such as a language or culture.

The Jewish Diaspora or exile refers to the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of the globe. The scattering of the Jews after the period of Babylonian exile.

Diatonic:

Of or using only the seven tones of a standard scale without chromatic alterations.

Diatribe:

A bitter, abusive denunciation.

Dichotomy:

A Dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts, meaning it is a procedure in which a whole is divided into two parts.

Dickensian:

Of or pertaining to Charles Dickens or, especially, his writings.

Reminiscent of the environments and situations most commonly portrayed in Dickens' writings, such as poverty and social injustice and other aspects of Victorian England.

Dictaphone:

A trademark used for an apparatus that records and reproduces dictation for transcription.

Dictator:

An ancient Roman magistrate appointed temporarily to deal with an immediate crisis or emergency.

A ruler who is unconstrained by law.

Dictionary:

A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them.

Dictograph:

(Telecommunications): a telephonic instrument for secretly monitoring or recording conversations by means of a small, sensitive, and often concealed microphone.

Dictum:

An authoritative declaration.

Dictum Meum Pactum:

Latin meaning: My word is my bond.

Dies Irae:

Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath") is a Latin hymn. It is a Medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic. The poem describes the Last Judgment, trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames.

The hymn is best known from its use as a sequence in the Requiem (Mass for the Dead or Funeral Mass). An English version is found in various Anglican Communion service books. The melody is one of the most quoted in musical literature, appearing in the works of many composers.

Diet:

The usual food and drink of a person or animal.

A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.

In politics, a Diet is a formal deliberative assembly.

"Different Strokes For Different Folks":

This idiom means that different people do things in different ways that suit them.

Differentiation:

The process of establishing the way in which a company's products or services differ from those of its rivals (how Pepsi tastes different from Coca-Cola, for example), and then reinforcing that difference in the consumer's mind by advertising and promotion.

Digestive:

Relating to or aiding digestion.

Functioning to digest food.

Digital:

The representation of data by a series of digits. In a Digital computer, information is transmitted as a row of binary digits, 0 or 1, represented by "on" or "off". In an analog computer, information is represented by some variable physical property (such as an alectric voltage).

Digital Blackface:

The use by white people of digital depictions of Black or brown people or skin tones especially for the purpose of self-representation or self-expression.

Digital Dementia:

"Digital Dementia" is a term coined by neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer to describe an overuse of digital technology resulting in the breakdown of cognitive abilities. Spitzer proposes that short-term memory pathways will start to deteriorate from underuse if we overuse technology.

Digital Detox:

Digital Detox refers to a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic connecting devices such as smartphones and computers. It is regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress, focus more on true social interaction and connection with nature in the physical world. Claimed benefits include increased mindfulness, lowered anxiety, and an overall better appreciation of one's environment. The best way to detox is by going into nature. Studies have shown that blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the level of “stress hormones” like Cortisol all decrease faster in natural settings. Depression, anger and aggressiveness are reduced in green environments and ADHD symptoms in children reduce when they play in green settings.

Read also: Spending Too Much Time on Your Phone? Try a Digital Detox.

Digital Diplomacy:

Digital Diplomacy, also referred to as eDiplomacy, has been defined as the use of the Internet and new information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives.

See also: twiplomacy.

Digital Ecosystem:

A Digital Ecosystem is a distributed, adaptive, open socio-technical system with properties of self-organisation, scalability and sustainability inspired from natural ecosystems. Digital Ecosystem models are informed by knowledge of natural ecosystems, especially for aspects related to competition and collaboration among diverse entities.The term is used in the computer industry, the entertainment industry, and the World Economic Forum.

Read also: Why Apple's ecosystem is king - Business Insider.

Digital Fingerprint:

Digital Fingerprinting is a technology to protect multimedia from unauthorized redistribution. It embeds a unique ID into each user's copy, which can be extracted to help identify culprits when an unauthorized leak is found.

Digital Fugitive:

"Digital Fugitive" Library Customers: Initially it seemed that referring to those senior individuals who have not found any particular interest, attraction or value in digital technology and mobile connectedness as "traditional" library customers was recognizing their right NOT to become "digital immigrants". This group also includes those individuals who love their "brick & mortar" library with its ambiance and stacks and tactile attractions, and avoided technology as unnecessary and often intrusive. On further reflection (and in an attempt to include the term "digital" in each description), it occurred to me that those "traditional" library customers are choosing to avoid technology and the digital age, so therefore they are "Digital Fugitives".

Digital Labor:

Digital Labor: The Internet as Playground and Factory - the book asks whether life on the internet is mostly work, or play. We tweet, we tag photos, we link, we review books, we comment on blogs, we remix media, and we upload video to create much of the content that makes up the web. And large corporations profit on our online activity by tracking our interests, affiliations, and habits—and then collecting and selling the data. What is the nature of this interactive ‘labor’ and the new forms of digital sociality that it brings into being?

This unique collection of essays provides a wide-ranging account of the dark side of the Internet. It claims that the divide between leisure time and work has vanished so that every aspect of life drives the digital economy. The book reveals the anatomy of playbor (play/labor), the lure of exploitation and the potential for empowerment.

Digital Nomad:

Digital Nomads are a type of people who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and, more generally, conduct their life in a nomadic manner. Such workers often work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces, or recreational vehicles. This is often accomplished through the use of devices that have wireless Internet capabilities such as smartphones or mobile hotspots. Successful Digital Nomads typically have a financial cushion. The Digital Nomad community has had various events established to host members of it, such as the Nomad Cruise. Digital Nomads may vary depending on status; common types of Digital Nomads include refugees, affluent people, younger people, and entrepreneurs. People who become Digital Nomads often do so due to positive reasons, such as financial independence and a career that allows for location independence. Negative factors for why people become Digital Nomads include a reduced amount of full-time employment, political unrest, and a high cost of living in their country of origin.

Read also: Global Nomad & Laptop, WiFi, Wanderlust: The Rise of the Digital Nomad - 'The world is my office: why I chose to become a Digital Nomad worker. From copywriters to computer programmers, people with online-based jobs are seizing the chance to take their work on their travels.'

Digital Rights Management (DRM):

Digital Rights Management (DRM) tools or technological protection measures (TPM) are a set of access control technologies for restricting the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM technologies try to control the use, modification, and distribution of copyrighted works (such as software and multimedia content), as well as systems within devices that enforce these policies.

DRM opponents argue that the presence of DRM violates existing private property rights and restricts a range of heretofore normal and legal user activities. A DRM component would control a device a user owns (such as a digital audio player) by restricting how it may act with regard to certain content, overriding some of the user's wishes (for example, preventing the user from burning a copyrighted song to CD as part of a compilation or a review). Doctorow has described this possibility as "the right to make up your own copyright laws".

In one instance of DRM that caused a rift with consumers, Amazon.com in July 2009, remotely deleted purchased copies of George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) from customers' Amazon Kindles after providing them a refund for the purchased products. Commentors have described these actions as Orwellian and have compared Amazon to Big Brother from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. After Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos issued a public apology, the Free Software Foundation wrote that this was just one more example of the excessive power Amazon has to remotely censor what people read through its software, and called upon Amazon to free its e-book reader and drop DRM. Amazon then revealed the reason behind its deletion: the e-books in question were unauthorized reproductions of Orwell's works, which were not within the public domain and to which the company that published and sold them on Amazon's service had no rights.

Digital Signal:

A signal in which the original information is converted into a string of bits before being transmitted. A radio signal, for example, will be either on or off. Digital signals can be sent for long distances and suffer less interference than analog signals. The communications industry worldwide is in the midst of a switch to digital signals. Sound storage in a compact disc is in digital form.

Digital Signature:

A Digital Signature or Digital Signature Scheme is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital message or document. A valid Digital Signature gives a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender, and that it was not altered in transit. Digital Signatures are commonly used for software distribution, financial transactions, and in other cases where it is important to detect forgery and tampering.

Digital Signatures are often used to implement electronic signatures, a broader term that refers to any electronic data that carries the intent of a signature, but not all electronic signatures use Digital Signatures. In some countries, including the United States, and in the European Union, electronic signatures have legal significance. However, laws concerning electronic signatures do not always make clear whether they are digital cryptographic signatures in the sense used here, leaving the legal definition, and so their importance, somewhat confused.

Digital Signatures employ a type of asymmetric cryptography. For messages sent through an insecure channel, a properly implemented Digital Signature gives the receiver reason to believe the message was sent by the claimed sender. Digital Signatures are equivalent to traditional handwritten signatures in many respects; properly implemented Digital Signatures are more difficult to forge than the handwritten type. Digital Signature schemes in the sense used here are cryptographically based, and must be implemented properly to be effective. Digital Signatures can also provide non-repudiation, meaning that the signer cannot successfully claim they did not sign a message, while also claiming their private key remains secret; further, some non-repudiation schemes offer a time stamp for the Digital Signature, so that even if the private key is exposed, the signature is valid nonetheless. Digitally signed messages may be anything representable as a bitstring: examples include electronic mail, contracts, or a message sent via some other cryptographic protocol.

See also: signature.

Digital Sweatshop:

A Digital Sweatshop is any online company that recruits people to perform repetitive data processing microwork and/or specialized projects, generally at home on the workers' own computers, from a wage of a few cents per task to hundreds of dollars per project.

Digital Sweatshops should not be confused with sweatshops, which are usually manufacturing plants that are known to exploit the labor force and violate human rights. In contrast, digital sweatshops represent a phenomenon in a recent trend that offers workers and the employers the freedom to accept and request services. However, some believe that completing repetitive tasks for very small amount of money is an act of exploitation, hence the term sweatshop. A notable example is the Amazon Mechanical Turk, a marketplace dedicated to crowdsourcing.

Digital Tax:

Tax on the revenues from some digital activities of multinational corporations at 3 percent.

Read more here: New digital tax policies: What, when, where, how and by whom? - EY.

Digital Wallet:

A Digital Wallet refers to an electronic device that allows an individual to make electronic transactions. This can include purchasing items on-line with a computer or using a smartphone to purchase something at a store. An individual's bank account can also be linked to the Digital Wallet. They might also have their driver’s license, health card, loyalty card(s) and other ID documents stored on the phone. The credentials can be passed to a merchant’s terminal wirelessly via near field communication (NFC). Increasingly, Digital Wallets are being made not just for basic financial transactions but to also authenticate the holder's credentials. For example, a Digital Wallet could verify the age of the buyer to the store while purchasing alcohol. The system has already gained popularity in Japan, where digital wallets are known as "wallet mobiles".

Dignitary:

A person of high rank or position.

Dignity:

The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect.

Inherent nobility and worth.

The respect and honor associated with an important position.

Dilemma:

A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.

Dilettante:

A dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge; a lover of the fine arts; a connoisseur.

DILF:

An acronym for "Dad I'd Like to Fuck". A DILF is any man (typically between the ages of 30-50) who is incredibly attractive and has kids.

Dilute:

To reduce the value of existing shares in a company by issuing new shares at a price lower than the shares' current market value.

Dim Sum:

Dim Sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim Sum is also well known for the unique way it is served in some restaurants, wherein fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables.

Dimension:

A measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length.

Extent or magnitude; scope; aspect; element.

Diminishing Returns:

The phenomenon whereby the addition of extra resources to a production process fails to produce the same additional value. The law of diminishing returns is said to have set in.

Diner:

A small, usually inexpensive restaurant with a long counter and booths and housed in a building designed to resemble a dining car.

Dinghy:

A Dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility Dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor, but some are rigged for sailing. They are used for off-ship excursions from larger boats, outside of docking at suitably-sized ports or marinas. Because the smaller sailing Dinghy responds more quickly to maneuvers, whether correct or incorrect, it is more suitable for beginner training in sailing than full-sized sloops.

A small wheeled vehicle towed behind a motorhome is sometimes referred to as a Dinghy, by analogy with the watercraft.

Dining Dead:

A couple that eats at restaurants in total silence, very awkward, very sad.

Dinosaur:

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, 231.4 million years ago, and were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for 135 million years, from the start of the Jurassic (about 200 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most Dinosaur groups (and three-quarters of plant and animal species on Earth) ending the Mesozoic Era. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod Dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period and, consequently, they are considered to be modern feathered Dinosaurs. Some birds survived the extinction event that occurred 66 million years ago, and their descendants continue the Dinosaur lineage to the present day.

Diocese:

The district or churches under the jurisdiction of a bishop; a bishopric.

Dioptre:

Mathematics & Measurements / Units: a unit for measuring the refractive power of a lens: the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens expressed in metres.

Diorama:

A three-dimensional miniature or life-size scene in which figures, stuffed wildlife, or other objects are arranged in a naturalistic setting against a painted background.

Diploma:

A document issued by an educational institution, such as a university, testifying that the recipient has earned a degree or has successfully completed a particular course of study.

A certificate conferring a privilege or honor.

An official document or charter.

Diploma Mill:

A Diploma Mill (also known as a degree mill) is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit. These degrees are often awarded based on vaguely construed life experience.

Diplomacy:

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international Diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomat with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture. International treaties are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national politicians.

In an informal or social sense, Diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.

Diplomat:

A Diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of Diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and friendly relations.

Diplomatic Bag:

A Diplomatic Bag is a bag or container in which mail is sent to and from foreign embassies. Diplomatic Bags are protected by law, so that they are not opened by anyone except the official or embassy they are addressed to, as codified in article 27 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Diplomatic Pouch:

A mail pouch that is sealed shut and that is used to carry communications between a legation and its home office.

Dipshit:

A despised person; a moron; an ineffectual person; one with a habit of being wrong, loudly and often.

Dipsomania

Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol.

Direct Cost:

A cost that can be directly attributed to a particular production process. Direct costs rise in proportion to the number units produced.

Direct Debit:

An instruction from a customer to a bank requesting the bank to debit the customer's account with whatever sums are demanded by a named creditor. Direct debits make life easier (and therefore cheaper) for organizations like telephone and electric utilities which receive payments that are regular in time but irregular in amount.

Direct Mail:

The sale and promotion of goods and services by mail. Direct Mail is a fast-growing distribution channel in many countries, despite a widespread belief that most direct mail is thrown away unread.

Direct Marketing:

The selling of products and services directly to the final consumer by the original producer. Direct marketing cuts out intermediatries (such as shops) in the supply chain. But it often involves substantial costs in reaching the consumer in other ways; for example, by direct mail.

Direct Taxation:

Taxation that is imposed directly on an individual (for example, income tax) or a company (corporation tax). Contrast with indirect taxation.

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C or DTC):

D2C (Direct-to-consumer, or Direct2Consumer) is a type of business-to-consumer (B2C) retail sales strategy where a business will build, market, sell and ship a product directly to the customer.

Selling D2C streamlines the distribution process by avoiding any middlemen (such as third-party retailers and distribution partners) - allowing D2C companies to offer products at lower prices than brands using traditional retail business models - as well as maintain end-to-end control over business operations. With the omission of traditional retail distributors, direct-to-consumer advertising, marketing and sales activities are used to differentiate brands.

Direction:

Management, supervision, or guidance of an action or operation.

Music: a word or phrase in a score indicating how a passage is to be played or sung.

An instruction or series of instructions for doing or finding something. Often used in the plural.

An authoritative indication; an order or command.

Director:

A member of the board of a company who has been properly appointed by the company's shareholders to look after their interest. In many companies, however, people have titles containing the work director even though they are not on the board. In this context, a director is no more than a senior manager.

A person who supervises the creative aspects of a dramatic production or film and instructs the actors and crew.

The conductor of an orchestra or chorus.

Director's Cut:

The version of a film in which the editing process is overseen, executed, or approved by the director, usually including footage not included in the standard release; a version of a film which realizes the artistic aims of the director more fully than the original version.

Directory:

A book containing an alphabetical or classified listing of names, addresses, and other data, such as telephone numbers, of specific persons, groups, or firms.

Computer Science: a listing of the files contained in a storage device, such as a magnetic disk; a description of the various characteristics of a file, such as the layout of the fields in it.

A group or body of directors.

Dirndl:

A Dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in Germany – especially Bavaria – Liechtenstein, Austria, and South Tyrol, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. A Dirndl skirt generally describes a light circular cut dress, gathered at the waist, that falls below the knee.

See also: lederhosen.

Dirty:

Slang: possessing or using illegal drugs.

Obscene or indecent; squalid or filthy; run-down.

Dirty Float:

A government policy of generally allowing its currency's exchange rate to float freely according to market demand, but on occasions deciding to intervene in order to adjust the rate to suit other priorities. This is also known as a managed float.

Dirty Linen:

Personal matters that could be embarrassing if made public.

Disambiguation:

To establish a unique semantic interpretation of something.

Disc Jockey:

A Disc Jockey (also known as Disk Jockey, DJ or Deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling.

There are several types of Disc Jockeys. Radio DJs introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, shortwave, digital, or internet radio stations. Club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs, discothèques, at raves, or even in a stadium. Hip hop Disc Jockeys select and play music using multiple turntables, often to back up one or more MCs, and they may also do turntable scratching to create percussive sounds. In reggae, the Disc Jockey (deejay) is a vocalist who raps, "toasts", or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks while the individual choosing and playing them is referred to as a selector. Mobile Disc Jockeys travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events.

Discharge:

The fullfilment of (and release from) an obligation. In many countries the restrictions on people declared bankrupt apply only for a certain length of time. At the end of that time, the bankrupt is said to be discharged.

Disciple:

Someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another.

Discipline:

Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.

Control obtained by enforcing compliance or order; a systematic method to obtain obedience.

Punishment intended to correct or train.

A branch of knowledge or teaching.

Disclosure:

The legal requirement of companies to reveal information to certain parties at certain times. Hence, for example, a director must disclose to fellow directors if he has a financial interest in a company to which the board is about to award a contract.

Discount:

The verb to Discount means to sell at a reduced price; the noun Discount is the amount by which the price is reduced.

Discount Rate:

In general, the rate of interest that is represented by the discount to its value on maturity at which a financial instrument is sold. Thus if a $100 bond is due to be repaid in a year's time, and somebody is prepared to pay $95 for it today, the Discount Rate is the $5 discount at which the bond is being sold, divided by the $95 that is being paid for it (that is, 5.26%).

Discount Store:

A store selling a wide variety of goods, many of them at a discount to their normal retail price.

Discounted Cash Flow:

Popularly known as DCF, a method of calculating the present value of a future stream of income and/or capital. It discounts the future value of expected flows of cash in order to find their net present value.

Discourse:

In semantics and Discourse analysis: Discourse is a conceptual generalization of conversation within each modality and context of communication. The totality of codified language (vocabulary) used in a given field of intellectual enquiry and of social practice, such as legal Discourse, medical Discourse, religious Discourse, et cetera.

Discretion:

The quality of being discreet; circumspection.

Ability or power to decide responsibly.

Freedom to act or judge on one's own.

Discretionary Trust:

A highly flexible arrangement in which the beneficiary has no fixed interest in any part of the income of the trust or its assets except perhaps at the termination of the trust. The Trustees usually hold the property and income for a broad class of beneficiaries to whom they distribute the assets at their discretion. However, the Trustees may be guided by an informal memorandum written by the settlor which outlines his wishes but has no legal status. One advantage of this arrangement is that benefits can be varied according to changes in circumstances with little difficulty. Another is that the beneficiary has a somewhat nebulous hope of receiving anything and therefore it is difficult for any creditors to find an interest to which to attach a liability.

Discrimination:

Treating someone differently because of a particular attribute that they have, such as their sex, their religion, or their color. In many countries Discrimination in the workplace is illegal.

Discussion:

Consideration of a subject by a group; an earnest conversation.

A formal discourse on a topic; an exposition.

Dishdasha:

An ankle-length robe with long sleeves worn by some Arab men.

Disinflation:

A slowing down in the rate of inflation. Not to be confused with deflation.

Disinformation:

Deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government or especially by an intelligence agency in order to influence public opinion or the government in another nation.

Dissemination of such misleading information.

Disintermediation:

The process by which financial intermediaries are cut out of the business of allocating savings. This happens in a number of ways; for example, when companies raise equity directly from the public, or when governments promote savings schemes that attract money directly from consumers.

Disk:

The part of a computer where information is stored and which acts as its memory. Floppy Disks are light and detachable (but far from floppy) rectangular pieces of plastic and metal on which can be stored electronic data. They enable information to be transferred easily from one stand-alone computer to another. Optical Disks and compact Disks are disks that hold considerably more data than floppy disks. The non-detachable part of a computer's memory is called the hard disk.

Dismissal:

The ending of an individual's contract of employment with an organization. Depending on the nature of the dismissal (for example, by redundancy) the individual may be entitled to a lump sum on the termination of the contract. If individuals think that they have been unfairly dismissed they may have the right to sue their employer.

Disneyfication:

Disneyfication (also called Disneyization) is a term which describes the transformation of something, usually society at large, to resemble The Walt Disney Company's theme parks.

Disorder:

A physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning.

Displacement (ship):

The Displacement or Displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight, expressed in long tons of water its hull displaces. It is measured indirectly using Archimedes' principle by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship then converting that value into tons.

Display:

Something intended to communicate a particular impression.

Disposable Income:

Income (after taxes) that is available to you for saving or spending.

Disposophobia:

Fear of disposing. See: Collyer's Syndrome.

Disruptive Innovation:

In business theory, a Disruptive Innovation is an innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market-leading firms, products, and alliances. The term was defined and first analyzed by the American scholar Clayton M. Christensen and his collaborators beginning in 1995, and has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century.

Read also: The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail.

Disruptive Technology:

In 2009, Milan Zeleny described the high technology as Disruptive Technology and raised the question what is being disrupted during this process. The answer, according to Zeleny, is the support network of high technology. For example, introducing electric cars disrupts the support network for gasoline cars (network of gas and service stations). Such disruption is fully expected and therefore effectively resisted by support net owners. In the long run, high (Disruptive) Technology either bypasses, upgrades or replaces the outdated support network.

Technology, being a form of social relationship, always evolves. No technology remains fixed. Technology starts, develops, persists, mutates, stagnates and declines – just like living organisms. The evolutionary life-cycle occurs in the use and development of any technology. A new high technology core emerges and challenges existing Technology Support Nets which are thus forced to co-evolve with it. New versions of the core are being designed and fitted into an increasingly appropriate TSN, with smaller and smaller high-technology effects. High technology becomes just regular technology, with more efficient versions fitting the same support net. Finally, even the efficiency gains diminish, emphasis shifts to product tertiary attributes (appearance, style) and technology becomes TSN-preserving appropriate technology. This technological equilibrium state becomes established and fixated, resisting being interrupted by a technological mutation – new high technology appears and the cycle is repeated.

Dissenters' Rights (U.S.):

Dissenters' Rights or shareholder appraisal rights are a mechanism designed to protect minority shareholders. Business corporation laws prescribe the procedures by which these rights may be exercised. If a corporation proposes to sell substantially all of its assets or merge with another corporation, minority shareholders may be able to force the corporation to purchase their shares.

Dissolution / Liquidation:

Dissolution and Liquidation are procedures by which a corporation concludes its activities and prepares to liquidate its assets for the purpose of paying bills and creditors, and if funds remain, make distributions to shareholders. Dissolution can be voluntary, initiated by the corporation, or involuntary, initiated by creditors. When in dissolution, activities of the corporation must be geared to winding up corporate business, not expanding it.

Distinct:

Not alike; different in nature or quality.

Distinguished:

Characterized by excellence or Distinction; eminent.

Dignified in conduct or appearance.

Distress Sale:

A sale that occurs when owners of goods find themselves in a position of having to sell those goods at a deep discount - often because of cash flow difficulties.

Distribution:

The process of getting finished goods into the hands of consumers.

The way in which something is shared out; a product in a particular market, for example, or wealth in a country.

Distribution Channel:

A route by which goods are distributed by a manufacturer to a final consumer.

District:

A region marked off for administrative or other purposes.

Dithyramb:

The Dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

Ditto:

The same as stated above or before.

A duplicate; a copy.

Diva:

A Diva is a celebrated female singer. The Italian term is used to describe a woman of rare, outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension in theatre and popular music. The meaning of Diva is closely related to that of "prima donna".

Legendarily, these "prima donnas" (prime donne in Italian) were often regarded as egotistical, unreasonable and irritable, with a rather high opinion of themselves not shared by others. Although whether they are truly more vain or more hot-tempered than other singers (or than any other people in the opera houses) is not substantiated, the term often describes a vain, obnoxious and temperamental person who, although irritating, cannot be done without.

The basic sense of the term is "goddess".

See also: Divo.

Divan:

A Divan or Diwan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official (see dewan).

Diversification:

The spreading of a company's risk by its participation in a number of different businesses. A move by an insurance company into retailing is one example of Diversification. It is a way of ensuring that not all the company's eggs are in one industrial basket.

Divertissement:

A short performance, typically a ballet, that is presented as an interlude in an opera or play.

Dives:

Used to refer to a typical or hypothetical rich man.

'The rich man' in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Divestment:

The selling off by a company of businesses that do not fit in with its general strategy.

Divide and Rule:

In politics and sociology, Divide and Rule (or divide and conquer) is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. The concept refers to a strategy that breaks up existing power structures and prevents smaller power groups from linking up.

The maxims divide et impera and divide ut regnes were utilised by the Roman ruler Caesar and the French emperor Napoleon. The strategy of division and rule has been attributed to sovereigns ranging from Louis XI to the Habsburgs.

Elements of this technique involve:

creating or encouraging divisions among the subjects to prevent alliances that could challenge the sovereign
aiding and promoting those who are willing to cooperate with the sovereign
fostering distrust and enmity between local rulers
encouraging meaningless expenditures that reduce the capability for political and military spending.

Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their territories.

Dividend:

A Dividend is a distribution of cash or property by a corporation to a shareholder. Dividends are paid out of the corporation's net earnings and profits. If there are no earnings and profits, Dividends cannot be paid. Generally, there is no right to have a Dividend declared, and the board of directors can decide whether or not to declare a Dividend. Certain classes of preferred stock may limit this discretion of the board.

Dividend Cover:

The number of times that a company's annual dividend is covered by its annual earnings, that is, its profit divided by its dividend.

Divine Inspiration:

An act or process that is purportedly inspired by a deity; inspiration endowed by God upon spiritually gifted persons.

Division:

The proportional distribution of a quantity or entity.

An independent unit within a company.

Division of Labour:

The breaking up of a production process and its distribution among a number of workers so that it is carried out in the most efficient way.

Divo:

Divo is an Italian word used sometimes to describe male superstars, celebrities.

Although not as commonly used as it's female version (Diva), many famous male stars have been described with this word too.

DIY:

Short for: Do It Yourself, is a term used by various communities that focus on people (called do-it-yourselfers or DIYers) creating or repairing things for themselves without the aid of professionals.

The notion is related in philosophy to the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many modern DIY subcultures take the traditional Arts and Crafts movement's rebellion against the perceived lack of soul of industrial aesthetics a step further. DIY subculture explicitly critiques modern consumer culture, which emphasizes that the solution to our needs is to purchase things, and instead encourages people to take technologies into their own hands to solve needs.

The phrase "do it yourself" came into common usage in the 1950s in reference to various jobs that people could do in and around their own houses without the help of professionals. A very active community of people continues to use the term DIY to refer to fabricating or repairing things for home needs, on one's own rather than purchasing them or paying for professional repair. In other words, home improvement done by the householder without the aid of paid professionals.

In recent years, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning that covers a wide range of skill sets. Today, for example, DIY is associated with the international alternative and hardcore music scenes. Members of these subcultures strive to blur the lines between creator and consumer by constructing a social network that ties users and makers close together. There are various communities of media-makers that consider themselves DIY, for example the indymedia network, pirate radio stations, and the zine community.

DJ:

See: disc jockey.

Djellaba:

The Djellaba is a long, loose-fitting unisex outer robe with full sleeves that is worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa.

DLIPS:

Short for: Distinctness, Loudness, Inflection, Projection, and Snap.

Drill commands are best given in an excellent command voice. A command voice is characterized by DLIPS.

DLNA:

Short for: Digital Living Network Alliance. DLNA is a standard used by manufacturers of consumer electronics to allow entertainment devices within the home to share their content with each other across a home network.

DM:

DM - a Direct Message sent to one or more users of a social media service or private messaging service, usually when the accounts involved have an established relationship; to send a Direct Message to (another user of such a service).

DNA:

Short for: DeoxyriboNucleic Acid. DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints or a recipe, or a code, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.

Chemically, DNA consists of two long polymers of simple units called nucleotides, with backbones made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. These two strands run in opposite directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called bases. It is the sequence of these four bases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA, in a process called transcription.

Within cells, DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are duplicated before cells divide, in a process called DNA replication. Eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, fungi, and protists) store their DNA inside the cell nucleus, while in prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) it is found in the cell's cytoplasm. Within the chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA. These compact structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed.

See also: genome, snip and gene.

DNS:

Short for: Domain Name System. DNS is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource participating in the Internet. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participants. Most importantly, it translates domain names meaningful to humans into the numerical (binary) identifiers associated with networking equipment for the purpose of locating and addressing these devices world-wide. An often used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, www.example.com translates to 208.77.188.166.

DNS Server:

In computing, a name server (also spelled nameserver) consists of a program or computer server that implements a name-service protocol. It maps a human-recognizable identifier to a system-internal, often numeric, identification or addressing component.

For example, on the Internet, a special case of name servers, so called Domain Name System (DNS) servers, are used to translate a hostname or a domain name (for example, 'en.wikipedia.org') to its corresponding binary identifier (the IP address 145.97.39.155), or vice versa.

Do a Gucci:

Do a Gucci is taking a traditional fashion house that has fallen off the map and reinventing it as Tom Ford did so brilliantly at Gucci. (Anna Wintour).

Do A One-Eighty:

Lit.: to turn around and go in the opposite direction.

Fig.: to radically reverse a decision or opinion.

Do-Gooder:

(Derogatory): one who advocates or performs what they believe to be the morally superior course of action, even in the face of overwhelming experience or factual evidence that its effect is only irrelevant or harmful.

See also: political correctness.

Do Not Track:

Do Not Track is a term that refers to a series of policy proposals that protects users’ right to choose whether or not to be tracked by third-party websites. It is often called the online version of "Do Not Call".

The European concept of privacy has now been extended to include the dramatic "right to be forgotten", soon to become law across the EU. This legislation will allow Internet users to permanently delete personal information from the Internet if they regard it as incorrect or embarrassing.

Do-Nothing Machine:

Wooden versions of the trammel of Archimedes have been produced also as toys or novelty items, and sold under the name of nothing grinders or Do-Nothing Machines. In these toys the drafting instrument is replaced by a crank handle, and the position of the sliding shuttles is usually fixed.

A trammel of Archimedes is a mechanism that traces out an ellipse. It consists of two shuttles which are confined ("trammelled") to perpendicular channels or rails, and a rod which is attached to the shuttles by pivots at fixed positions along the rod. As the shuttles move back and forth, each along its channel, the end of the rod moves in an elliptical path. The semi-axes a and b of the ellipse are the distances between the end of the rod and the two pivots. An ellipsograph is a trammel of Archimedes intended to draw, cut, or machine ellipses, e.g. in wood or other sheet materials. An ellipsograph has the appropriate instrument (pencil, knife, router, etc.) attached to the rod. Usually the distances a and b are adjustable, so that the size and shape of the ellipse can be varied.

See also American architect and designer Charles Eames with his "Do-Nothing Machine," Calif., August 1957.

DOC:

Short for: Department of Corrections.

Dock (computing):

A Dock or Quick Launch bar is a graphical user interface element that typically provides the user with a way of launching, switching between, and monitoring running programs or applications. The Dock can exist as an autonomous entity or incorporated within another GUI element, such as a Taskbar.

Docking Station:

A small cabinet to which a laptop or notebook computer can be attached for use as a desktop computer, usually having a connector for externally connected devices, such as hard drives or scanners, and ports that can be linked to components such as a keyboard, monitor, and printer.

Doctorate:

The degree or status of a doctor as conferred by a university.

Doctrine:

A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma.

A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent.

A statement of official government policy, especially in foreign affairs and military strategy.

Doctrine of Laches:

Neglect and unreasonable delay in the assertion of one's claims or rights. Courts expect reasonable diligence from a claimant, in addition to conscience and good faith. Under the legal Doctrine of Laches, they may refuse to enforce or recognize an individual's rights if he or she waits more than a reasonable length of time to assert them. Unlike the statute of limitations this doctrine, however, does not define 'reasonable time' but leaves its determination to the courts. Laches is French for, loose, slack, or sluggish.

Doctrine of the Affections:

The Doctrine of the Affections, also known as the doctrine of affects, doctrine of the passions, theory of the affects, or by the German term Affektenlehre (after the German Affekt; plural Affekte) was a theory in the aesthetics of painting, music, and theatre, widely used in the Baroque era (1600–1750) (Harnoncourt 1983; Harnoncourt 1988). Literary theorists of that age, by contrast, rarely discussed the details of what was called "pathetic composition", taking it for granted that a poet should be required to "wake the soul by tender strokes of art" (Rogerson 1953, p. 68). The doctrine was derived from ancient theories of rhetoric and oratory (Buelow 2001). Some pieces or movements of music express one Affekt throughout; however, a skillful composer like Johann Sebastian Bach could express different affects within a movement (Boetticher 2010).

Document:

A Document is a written or printed paper that bears the original, official, or legal form of something and can be used to furnish decisive evidence or information; something, such as a recording or a photograph, that can be used to furnish evidence or information; a writing that contains information.

Anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks.

A written account of ownership or obligation.

Computer Science: a piece of work created with an application, as by a word processor. In computing, DOC or doc (an abbreviation of 'Document') is a file extension for word processing documents; most commonly for Microsoft Word. Historically, the extension was used for documentation in plain-text format, particularly of programs or computer hardware, on a wide range of operating systems. During the 1980s, WordPerfect used DOC as the extension of their proprietary format. Later, in the 1990s, Microsoft chose to use the DOC extension for their proprietary Microsoft Word word processing formats.

Documentary:

Consisting of, concerning, or based on documents.

Presenting fact objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film.

Documentary Credit:

A method of financing trade in which the documents proving that a sale has been made are used as collateral for a loan.

Dodo:

The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Its closest genetic relative was the also extinct Rodrigues solitaire, the two forming the subfamily Raphinae of the family of pigeons and doves. The closest extant relative of the Dodo is the Nicobar pigeon.

Doe Names:

The Doe Names are also used for anonymous or unknown defendants. Another set of names used for anonymous parties, particularly plaintiffs, are Richard Roe for men and Jane Roe for women.

Dog-and-Pony Show:

"Dog-and-Pony Show" is a colloquial term which has come to mean a highly promoted, often over-staged performance, presentation, or event designed to sway or convince opinion for political, or less often, commercial ends. Typically, the term is used in a pejorative sense to connote disdain, jocular lack of appreciation, or distrust of the message being presented or the efforts undertaken to present it.

The term was originally used in the United States in the late-19th and early-20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas. The name derives from the common use of performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the events. Performances were generally held in open-air arenas, such as race tracks or public spaces in localities that were too small or remote to attract larger, more elaborate performers or performances. By the latter part of the 20th century, the original meaning of the term had largely been lost.

Dog Latin:

Dog Latin, Cod Latin, macaronic Latin, or mock Latin refers to the creation of a phrase or jargon in imitation of Latin, often by "translating" English words (or those of other languages) into Latin by conjugating or declining them as if they were Latin words. Unlike the similarly named language game Pig Latin (a form of playful spoken code), Dog Latin is more of a humorous device for invoking scholarly seriousness.

Dog Tag:

A metal identification tag worn on a chain around the neck by members of the armed forces.

Dog-Whistle Fashion:

"Dog-Whistle" Fashion is defined as fashion that speaks in such high-pitched, distinctive terms that only a select group of people can understand it. It's rich people fashion. It's celebrity fashion.

Dog Whistle Tactic (politics):

In politics, a Dog Whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not humans. Dog Whistles use language that appears normal to the majority but communicates specific things to intended audiences. They are generally used to convey messages on issues likely to provoke controversy without attracting negative attention.

Dog Year:

A unit of measurement equal to one seventh of a year, or approximately 52 days, is primarily used to approximate the equivalent age of dogs and other animals with similar life spans.

Dogfishing:

Lonely hearts are deceiving love interests on dating apps by engaging in a practice known as “Dogfishing” - when the person borrows someone else’s pooch for profile snaps.

Read more here: ‘Dogfishing’ is the latest strange dating app trend - New York Post.

Doggy Bag:

A bag for leftover food that a customer of a restaurant may take home after a meal, supposedly for the diner's dog.

Dogfight:

A Dogfight, or Dog Dight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft, conducted at close range. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every major war, despite beliefs after World War II that increasingly greater speeds and longer range weapons would make Dogfighting obsolete. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat maneuvering (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requiring the use of individual basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) to attack or evade one or more opponents. This differs from aerial warfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions.

Doghouse:

A small shelter for a dog.

Idiom / Slang: 'in the Doghouse' meaning: in great disfavor or trouble.

Dogma:

A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a church.

An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true.

Doigt d'Honneur:

See: the finger.

Dolce Far Niente:

Dolce Far Niente (literally 'sweetness [of] doing nothing, sweet idleness') is an Italian saying.

Translated as 'sweet doing nothing', this phrase encapsulates the art of relaxation and taking pleasure in idleness. This has become a central part of Italian culture and lifestyle.

Read also: The life sabbatical: is doing absolutely nothing the secret of happiness? - "Few of us have the money to take a long pause from work or caring responsibilities. But, as I found, even a day can make a difference."

Dollar-A-Year Men:

In the early-to-mid-20th century, "Dollar-A-Year Men" were business and government executives who helped the government mobilize and manage American industry during periods of war, notably World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. US law forbids the government from accepting the services of unpaid volunteers. Those employed by the government had to be paid a nominal salary, and the salary establishes their legal relationship as employees of the government. During World War I, about 1,000 such people were employed by the United States. While they received only a dollar in salary from the government, most executives had their salaries paid by the companies.

Dollar Premium:

See also: Investment Currency Premium.

Dollar Princess:

The fabulously rich daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century who came to England looking for the one thing they couldn't buy at home: a title. In 1895 alone, nine American heiresses married members of the English aristocracy, and by the end of the century a quarter of the House of Lords had a transatlantic connection.

Domain Name:

The text name corresponding to the numeric IP address of a computer on the Internet (i.e., www.example.com).

Domain Name Lookup:

The process of converting a numeric IP address into a text name (for example, 204.245.240.194 is converted www.webtrends.com).

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti:

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world's greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world's most expensive. It takes its name from the domaine's most famous vineyard, Romanée-Conti.

Domesday Book:

The Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror.

Domestic Partner:

A person, other than a spouse, with whom one cohabits.

Domicile:

The place where an individual has his permanent home, or to which he intends to return, or in some cases the country of origin. In other jurisdictions the place where an individual has a long established residence or in relation to a company, where it is incorporated.

Dominatrix:

A woman who is the dominant sexual partner in a sadomasochistic relationship.

Domino Effect:

A cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a chain of similar events.

Domino Theory:

The Domino Theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. The Domino Theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world.

Domus Aurea:

The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped palace built by the Emperor Nero in the heart of ancient Rome after the great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part of the city and the aristocratic villas on the Palatine Hill.

Don:

Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area.

A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge; a college or university professor.

The leader of an organized-crime family.

Archaic: an important personage.

Don Quixote:

The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha (El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha), or just Don Quixote, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon.

Dona Nobis Pacem:

Latin for Grant us peace.

Dongle:

A Dongle is a small piece of hardware that connects to a computer, and may be portable like a USB Pen. Although earlier use of dongles was to authenticate a piece of software, the word Dongle is now widely used to refer to a broadband wireless adaptor.

Donjon:

The fortified tower of a motte or early castle; a keep.

Donor:

One that contributes something, such as money, to a cause or fund.

Medicine: an individual from whom blood, tissue, or an organ is taken for transfusion, implantation, or transplant.

Don't Be a Stranger:

Usually used as a farewell, inviting one to visit again or communicate more often; don't forget about me; keep in touch.

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater:

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater is an idiomatic expression for an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the favorable along with the unfavorable.

A slightly different explanation suggests that this flexible catchphrase has to do with discarding the essential while retaining the superfluous because of excessive zeal. In other words, the idiom is applicable not only when throwing out the baby with the bathwater, but also when someone might throw out the baby and keep the bathwater.

Doodle:

A Doodle is an unfocused drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be abstract shapes.

The Google Doodle is an artistic version of the Google logo. Lists of Google Doodles.

Doomer:

Doomer and, by extension, doomerism, are terms which arose primarily on the Internet to describe people who are extremely pessimistic or fatalistic about global problems such as overpopulation, peak oil, climate change, ecological overshoot, pollution, nuclear weapons, and runaway artificial intelligence. Some doomers assert that there is a possibility these problems will bring about human extinction.

Doomscrolling:

Doomscrolling (or doomsurfing) is the act of consuming an endless procession of negative online news, to the detriment of the scroller's mental wellness.

The word has gained popularity during the coronavirus pandemic. Health professionals have advised that excessive Doomscrolling can negatively impact existing mental health issues.

Doomsday:

Judgment Day. (New Testament) day at the end of time following Armageddon when God will decree the fates of all individual humans according to the good and evil of their earthly lives.

For all time; forever.

Visit also: Doomsday Clock.

Door-to-Door:

A once-popular but now little used method of selling in which a salesman goes from one house to the next, attempting to persuade the occupier to purchase goods or services. Traditionally used for selling insurance and encyclopedias.

Doormat:

A mat placed before a doorway for wiping the shoes.

Slang: one who submits meekly to domination or mistreatment by others.

Doorstep:

If someone such as a journalist Doorsteps you, they come to your house to try to get information from you, although you do not want to talk to them.

The first use of Doorstep as a verb is attributed to the English novelist Nancy Mitford, who used it in ‘The Pursuit of Love’, pubished in 1945. Mitford used the verb to mean ‘to leave on a Doorstep‘, referring (metaphorically) to the abandonment of a child. The usual current meaning is the one shown above; it was first recorded in the 1960s. The noun dates from the early 19th century.

Doorstep Interview:

Doorstep Interviews or ambush interviews are dramatic and unnerving. It's very easy to slip up and look guilty, inept or both. Here are some guidelines.

Dopamine:

In popular culture and media Dopamine is often seen as the main chemical of pleasure, but the current opinion in pharmacology is that Dopamine instead mediates incentive salience which signals the value of a given reward to the organism and motivating action required for attainment. In other words, Dopamine appears to mediate desire and motivation more than pleasure.

Dopamine Decor:

Brilliantly bold colors and patterns, eclectic prints, inviting textures, and a nostalgia-infused, unmissable vibe: This is “Dopamine Decor” in a nutshell.

Read more here: Dopamine Decor Is the Feel-Good Interior Trend We Need.

Dopamine Dressing:

Dopamine Dressing is all about dressing loud with vibrant and colorful pieces, whether it's a pop of color or a bold outfit. There are four categories that are trending particularly in the fashion world: Fuchsia outfits, color-blocking outfits, emerald green dresses and pink shoes.

This association between brightly coloured clothing and happiness is not new; in fact, the idea of instilling joy through what we wear has a name - ‘Dopamine Dressing’ - and has long been the subject of psychological research.

Read more here: Should we all be Dopamine Dressing? - "Could having more colour in our wardrobes actually help us to feel happier?"

Doping:

In sports, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is commonly referred to by the disparaging term "Doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Doppelgänger:

A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart.

Do-Re-Mi:

(US, slang): money.

Dorganism:

Tad Dorgan is generally credited with either creating or popularizing such words and expressions as "dumbbell" (a stupid person); "for crying out loud" (an exclamation of astonishment); "cat's meow" and "cat's pajamas" (as superlatives); "applesauce" (nonsense); "cheaters" (eyeglasses); "skimmer" (a hat); "hard-boiled" (tough and unsentimental); "drugstore cowboy" (loafers or ladies' men); "nickel-nurser" (a miser); "as busy as a one-armed paperhanger" (overworked); and "Yes, we have no bananas," which was turned into a popular song.

Dorian Grey Syndrome | DGS:

The Dorian Gray Syndrome (DGS) denotes a cultural and societal phenomenon characterized by a man's extreme pride in his personal appearance and the fitness of his physique, which are accompanied by difficulties in coping with the requirements of psychological maturation and with the aging of his body.

To preserve ephemeral youth, the man afflicted with DGS tends to consume cosmetic products and services, hair-restoration procedures, anti-impotence drugs, and cosmetic surgery; hence, he might resist the The psychosomatic and The psychodynamic explanations of the syndrome. The term "Dorian Gray Syndrome" refers to the protagonist of the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), an exceptionally handsome man whose hedonism and excessive self-love proved detrimental to the personal, social, and emotional aspects of his life, and who sought to escape the ravages of time and his own decadent lifestyle by having a supernatural portrait of himself age in his place.

Read also: Dorian Gray effect: how your name alters your face.

Doric Order:

The Doric Order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognised by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. It was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

Dormant Company:

A company that is not currently trading. It has a registered name, directors, articles of association, and so on. But it has no turnover.

Dormer Window:

A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows. Often conflated with the term "dormer", a Dormer Window is a window set into the dormer. Like skylights, Dormer Windows are a source of light and ventilation for top floors, but unlike skylights (which are parallel to the roof surface) they also increase the amount of headroom in the room and allow for more usable space.

Dormitory Town:

A settlement made up largely of daily commuters who are employed elsewhere in a larger centre. These commuters have displaced the original residents or live in new housing at the edge of the town or village. Dormitory towns are characterized by a relative paucity of retail outlets since the commuters will use services in the centre of the city or in out-of-town shopping centres.

DoS Attack:

See: denial-of-service attack.

Dossier:

A collection of papers giving detailed information about a particular person or subject.

dotBrand Domain Extension:

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the governing body of the Internet's namespace, now allows brands to secure their brand name at the top level of the Internet hierarchy as a domain extension - a generic top-level domain (gTLD). Put your company's name on the right side of the dot in its Internet address. No longer will companies be limited to dot com (or dot info, or any other variant) - it will be .mycompany. By any definition, a branded Top-Level (bTLD) Domain represents a huge opportunity.

Dot-Com Bubble:

See: Internet bubble.

Double Cross:

An act of betraying an ally, a friend, or an associate.

Double-Dip Recession:

A Double-Dip Recession occurs when you have, in this order: a recession; a short period of growth; another recession.

Double-Dip Recessions often have weak recoveries in between the recessions (though the example above included some years of very strong growth); analysts therefore tend to worry about a Double-Dip Recession when a recovery is weak.

List of recessions in the United States - Wikipedia.

Double Dipping:

The practice of drawing two incomes from the government, usually by holding a government job and receiving a pension, as for prior military service.

Double-Edged Sword:

Something that has or can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences.

Double-Entry Book-Keeping:

A fundamental principle of accounting whereby every entry into a company's balance sheet has an equal and opposite counterpart: Every asset has a balancing liability. A new factory is recorded as an asset; the money used to buy it is recorded as a liability.

Double Irish Arrangement:

The Double Irish Arrangement was a tax strategy that some multinational corporations used to lower their corporate tax liability. The strategy has ceased to be available since 1 January 2015, though those already engaging in the arrangement have until 2020 to find another arrangement. The strategy used payments between related entities in a corporate structure to move income from a higher-tax country to a lower or no tax jurisdiction. It relies on the fact that Irish tax law does not include transfer pricing rules as does the United States and those of many other jurisdictions. Specifically, Ireland has territorial taxation, and does not levy taxes on income booked in subsidiaries of Irish companies that are outside the state.

The double Irish tax structure was first used in the late 1980s by companies such as Apple Inc. In 2010 Ireland passed a law intended to counter such arrangements, though existing arrangements were exempt and lawyers have said that this change will cause no significant problems for multinational firms.

Double Jeopardy:

The act of putting a person through a second trial for an offense for which he or she has already been prosecuted or convicted.

Double-Taxation Agreement:

An agreement between two countries designed to ensure that companies and individualsindividuals are not taxed on the same bit of income in both jurisdictions. The agreements lay out rules as to who has the right to tax which bit of profit, dividend, income or whatever.

Double Taxation Agreement (or Double Tax Treaty):

Agreement between two countries intended to relieve persons who would otherwise be subject to tax in both countries from being taxed twice in respect of the same transactions or events.

Double Time:

Any period of time during which an employee is paid double the normal rate - for example, for working on a Sunday or a public holiday.

Douceur:

Sweetness of manner: agreeableness, gentleness.

(Obsolete): sweet speech: a compliment.

A sweetener: a gift offered to sweeten another's attitude, a tip or bribe.

(Britain): a tax break provided as an inducement to sell valuable items (especially art) to public collections rather than on the open market.

Douchebag:

An individual who has an over-inflated sense of self worth, compounded by a low level of intellegence, behaving ridiculously in front of colleagues with no sense of how moronic he appears.

Doughboy:

Doughboy was an informal term for a member of the United States Army or Marine Corps, especially used to refer to members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, but initially used in the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848.

Doughnut:

A Doughnut is a sweet, deep-fried piece of dough or batter. The two most common types are the torus-shaped ring Doughnut and the filled Doughnut, a flattened sphere injected with jam, jelly, cream, custard, or other sweet filling. A small spherical piece of dough may be cooked as a Doughnut hole. Baked Doughnuts are a variation that is baked in an oven instead of being deep fried.

Doula:

A Doula, also known as a birth companion and post-birth supporter, is a nonmedical person who assists a person before, during, and/or after childbirth, as well as her spouse and/or family, by providing physical assistance and emotional support. The provision of continuous support during labour is associated with improved maternal and fetal health and a variety of other benefits, including lower risk of induction and interventions and less need for pain relief. These benefits are particularly significant when continuous support is provided by someone who is not there as family/friend or as medical staff (i.e. a Doula). Additionally, a Doula is sometimes hired to work with families beyond the postpartum stages, providing continued physical and emotional support, for as long as needed (sometimes, this support can be ongoing for several years).

Dow Jones:

The best-known index of movements in the price of US stocks and shares. The main index, Dow Jones Indexes, was founded in October 1896 and measures the price movements of leading shares quoted on the New York Stock Exchange.

Dowager:

A widow who holds a title or property derived from her deceased husband.

Down Feather:

The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding, pillows and sleeping bags. Powder down is a special kind of down found only in a few birds, being exceptionally fine in natured with a dust between the frons.

Down Market:

A marketing term based on a theoretical division of markets into a top, a middle and a bottom. A product aimed to appeal to the bottom end of the market is said to be downmarket. The division of markets can be based on social class, wealth or lifestyle. Contrast with upmarket.

Down Syndrome:

Down Syndrome, or Down's Syndrome (primarily in the United Kingdom), trisomy 21, or trisomy G is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866.

Down Under:

Australia and often New Zealand.

Download:

To transmit electronically stored information from one computer to another, or from a hard disk to a floppy disk.

Downsizing:

A corporate strategy aimed at producing the same amount of output from a smaller quantity of resources (of land, labor or capital). The resource that gets hit first in downsizing is usually labor. In the early 1990s Downsizing became almost synonymous with redundancy.

Downstream:

An expression used (particular in the oil industry) to indicate an activity that is close to the final consumer. A filling station is much more Downstream than an oil rig, for example.

Downtime:

The amount ot time that is lost during a production process in maintaining the machinery or in waiting for essential inputs. In most companies the amount of Downtime has been falling sharply in recent years.

Downtown:

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core (or center) or central business district (usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense).

Dowry:

Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage.

A natural endowment or gift; a talent.

Doxing:

Doxing (from dox, abbreviation of documents), or doxxing, is the Internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting private or identifiable information (especially personally identifiable information) about an individual or organization.

The methods employed to acquire this information include searching publicly available databases and social media websites (like Facebook), hacking, and social engineering. It is closely related to internet vigilantism and hacktivism.

Doxing may be carried out for various reasons, including to aid law enforcement, business analysis, extortion, coercion, harassment, online shaming, and vigilante justice, or for more comical and harmless purposes such as to perform Pranks.

"Doxing" is a neologism that has evolved over its brief history. It comes from a spelling alteration of the abbreviation "docs" (for "documents") and refers to "compiling and releasing a dossier of personal information on someone". Essentially, Doxing is openly revealing and publicizing records of an individual, which were previously private or difficult to obtain.

Doyen:

A man who is the eldest or senior member of a group.

DPO:

Short for: Data Protection Officer.

A DPO is supposed to be an expert in data-privacy law and must be given a highly independent position in the business reporting to the top level of management.

Dr. Feelgood:

A physician who prescribes amphetamines, vitamins, hormones, etc, to induce euphoria.

Dragnet (policing):

A Dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. The term derives from a fishing technique of dragging a fishing net across the sea bottom, or through a promising area of open water.

Dragoman:

A Dragoman was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A Dragoman had to have a knowledge of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and European languages.

DRAM:

Short for: Dynamic Random Access Memory. DRAM is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. Since real capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. Because of this refresh requirement, it is a dynamic memory as opposed to SRAM and other static memory.

Dram (unit):

A unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce or to 60 grains (3.89 grams).

Drama:

A serious narrative work or program for television, radio, or the cinema.

A situation or succession of events in real life having the Dramatic progression or emotional effect characteristic of a play.

Drama Queen:

(Idiomatic, informal): any exaggeratedly dramatic person; attention whore.

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking emotions, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval. Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. HPD affects four times as many women as men.

Dramatis Personae:

Dramatis Personae (Latin: "persons of the drama") is a phrase used to refer collectively, in the form of a list, to the main characters in a dramatic work. Such lists are commonly employed in various forms of theater, and also on screen. Typically, off-stage characters are not considered part of the Dramatis Personae.

Dramedy:

A television or film drama in which there are important elements of comedy.

Drawing Board:

Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture: a smooth flat rectangular board on which paper, canvas, etc., is placed for making drawings.

Dread Pirate Roberts:

The Dread Pirate Roberts is a fictional character in the novel The Princess Bride (1973) and its 1987 film adaptation.

The creator (Ross William Ulbricht) of the Silk Road website used for discreet business transactions including buying and selling illicit drugs used Dread Pirate Roberts as a nickname. Just as in the story, the title can be passed down – another person is using the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, reopening the Silk Road website one month after the original site was seized by US law enforcement.

Dreadlocks:

A natural hairstyle in which the hair is twisted into long matted or ropelike locks; popularized by Rastafarians.

DREAM Act:

The DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) is an American legislative proposal for a multi-phase process for qualifying alien minors in the United States that would first grant conditional residency and, upon meeting further qualifications, permanent residency.

Dream Team:

A team or group whose members are among the most qualified or talented in their particular fields.

Dreamer:

Those protected under Daca are known as "Dreamers".

Dreamers are immigrant children brought to the United States by their parents who as adults had entered illegally.

Read also: What is Daca and who are the Dreamers? - The Guardian.

Dress Code:

Clothing is an aspect of human physical appearance, and like other aspects of human physical appearance it has social significance. All societies have Dress Codes, most of which are unwritten but understood by most members of the society. The Dress Code has built in rules or signals indicating the message being given by a person's clothing and how it is worn. This message may include indications of the person's social class, income, occupation, ethnic and religious affiliation, attitude, marital status, sexual availability and sexual orientation. Clothes convey other social messages including the stating or claiming personal or cultural identity, the establishing, maintaining, or defying social group norms, and appreciating comfort and functionality.

For example, wearing expensive clothes can communicate wealth, the image of wealth, or cheaper access to quality clothing. All factors apply inversely to the wearing of inexpensive clothing and similar goods.The observer sees the resultant, expensive clothes, but may incorrectly perceive the extent to which these factors apply to the person observed. (cf. conspicuous consumption). Clothing can convey a social message, even if none is intended.

Visit also: Dress code - Wikipedia.

Dress Down:

To reprimand severely or scold (a person).

To dress in a casual or informal manner, especially at work.

Of or relating to a policy adopted by some business organizations of promoting a relaxed atmosphere by wearing informal clothing on certain days, usually Fridays.

Dressed to the Nines:

English idiom meaning "to perfection" or "to the highest degree" or to dress "buoyantly and high class". In modern English usage, the phrase most commonly appears as "Dressed to the Nine" or "dressed up to the nine".

Dressy:

Showy or elegant in dress or appearance.

Drifting:

Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is said to be Drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors. As a motor sport, professional Drifting competitions are held across the world.

Drink & Dial:

See: drunk dialing.

Drive:

To push, propel, or press onward forcibly; urge forward; to supply the motive force or power to and cause to function.

To compel or force to work, often excessively.

Sports: to hit, throw, or impel a ball or other missile forcibly.

Computer Science: a device that reads data from and often writes data onto a storage medium, such as a floppy disk.

Droit du Seigneur:

Droit du Seigneur (French: "right of the lord"), is the supposed right of a feudal lord to have sexual relations with a vassal's bride on her wedding night.

See also: jus primae noctis.

Droit Moral:

French term for Moral Rights. A doctrine that protects artistic integrity (as opposed to the other rights that come with having a copyright, which are economic rights) and prevents others from altering the work of artists, or taking the artist's name off work, without the artist's permission.

Drone:

See: unmanned aerial vehicle.

Dronie:

A selfie taken using a remote controlled drone.

Visit also: Top 10 Best Personal Drone Brands.

Drop Shipping:

Drop Shipping is a supply chain management technique whereby a retailer, instead of keeping goods in stock, transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who ship the goods directly to the customer. Like in retail businesses, most retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price; some retailers earn an agreed percentage of the sales in commission paid by the wholesaler to the retailer.

Dropout:

One who quits school.

One who has withdrawn from a given social group or environment.

Computer Science: the failure to read a bit of stored information.

Droste Effect:

The Droste Effect - known as mise en abyme in art - is the effect of a picture appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. The appearance is recursive: the smaller version contains an even smaller version of the picture, and so on.

Drug:

A substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic.

Drunch:

A late morning or early afternoon meal (usually on Saturday or Sunday) at which hipsters and poseurs alike gather at a local hotspot in which they consume more alcohol than food, in an attempt to rid themselves of the previous night's hangover.

A lunch that involves heavy consumption of alcohol to the point where you become 'drunched'. Also known as a liquid lunch.

Drunk Dialing:

Drunk dialing is a pop-culture term denoting an instance in which an intoxicated individual places phone calls that he or she would not likely place if sober. The term often refers to a lonely individual calling former or current love interests.

Dry Cleaning:

Dry Cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), which the industry calls "perc" or "PERC". It is used to clean delicate fabrics that cannot withstand the rough and tumble of a washing machine and clothes dryer; it can also eliminate labor-intensive hand washing.

Dry January:

Dry January is a public health campaign urging people to abstain from alcohol for the month of January, particularly practised in the United Kingdom.

Dry Run:

A Dry Run (or a practice run) is a testing process where the effects of a possible failure are intentionally mitigated. For example, an aerospace company may conduct a "Dry Run" test of a jet's new pilot ejection seat while the jet is parked on the ground, rather than while it is in flight.

Dryasdust:

Dryasdust was an imaginary and tediously thorough literary authority cited by Sir Walter Scott to present background information in his novels; thereafter, a derisory term for anyone who presents historical facts with no feeling for the personalities involved.

DSL:

Short for: Digital Subscriber Line. DSL or xDSL is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop, but as of 2009[update] the term digital subscriber line has been widely adopted as a more marketing-friendly term for ADSL, the most popular version of consumer-ready DSL. DSL can be used at the same time and on the same telephone line with regular telephone, as it uses high frequency bands, while regular telephone uses low frequency.

The download speed of consumer DSL services typically ranges from 256 kilobits per second (kbit/s) to 24,000 kbit/s, depending on DSL technology, line conditions and service-level implementation. Typically, upload speed is lower than download speed for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and equal to download speed for the rarer Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL).

DTV:

Short for: Digital Television. DTV is an advanced broadcasting technology that has transformed your television viewing experience. DTV has enable broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality. It also offers multiple programming choices, called multicasting, and interactive capabilities.

Learn more on DTV.gov - "What you need to know about the digital TV transition."

Du Jour:

Made for a particular day - used of an item not specified on the regular menu.

Popular, fashionable, or prominent at a particular time.

Dual Pricing:

Asking different prices for the same goods and services in different markets. Dual Pricing may give rise to accusations of dumping.

Dubbing:

To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood.

To insert a new soundtrack, often a synchronized translation of the original dialogue, into (a film).

Duckface:

Duckface is the common term for a hideous facial expression, popularly used in self-taken photographs, in which the lips are pursed and flattened, usually accompanied by widened eyes which rarely look directly at the camera. It is mainly used by the subject to show how cute and "random" they are; the face made by puckering one's lips as if to kiss someone. A common alternative to smiling when having one's photo taken.

Duct Tape:

Duct Tape (sometimes called Duck Tape after a brand name version) is a vinyl, fabric-reinforced, multi-purpose pressure sensitive tape with a soft and tacky pressure sensitive adhesive. It is generally silver or black in color but many other colors and transparent tapes have recently become available. With a standard width of 17/8 inches (48 mm), duct tape was originally developed during World War II in 1942 as a water resistant sealing tape for ammunition cases. Permacel, then a division of Johnson & Johnson, used a rubber-based adhesive to help the tape resist water and a fabric backing to add strength. It was also used to repair military equipment quickly, including jeeps, firearms, and aircraft because of these properties. In Canadian military circles, this variant is known as "gun-tape", typically olive-green, and also known for its resistance to oils and greases. Duct Tape is also called "Riggers Tape", "100-MPH tape", or "Hurricane Tape" in the military - a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of Duct-Tape that was supposed to hold up to 100mph winds. Another version attributes this to the fact that soldiers often refer to something that exceeds expectations as "High Speed."

In the post-war period, the housing industry boomed and people started using duct tape for many other purposes. The name "Duct Tape" came from its use on heating and air conditioning ducts, a purpose for which it, ironically, has been deemed ineffective. Its strength, low cost, and remarkable versatility make it a household staple throughout North America and Europe for temporary repairs and general-purpose use.

Dude:

Dude is an American English slang term for an individual. It typically applies to males, although the word can encompass all genders.

Dude is an old term, recognized by multiple generations although potentially with slightly different meanings. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a person who dressed in an extremely fashion-forward manner (a dandy) or a citified person who was visiting a rural location but stuck out (a city slicker). In the 1960s, dude evolved to mean any male person, a meaning that slipped into mainstream American slang in the 1970s. Current slang retains at least some use of all three of these common meanings.

Dude Ranch:

A resort patterned after a Western ranch, featuring camping, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities.

Due Date:

The date on which an obligation is due to be met; for example, the payment of interest or principal on a loan.

Due Diligence:

A thorough search of a company's businesses carried out by the manager of a new issue of the company's securities or by representatives of another company that is interested in taking it over. If the searchers find that things are not as they had been led to believe, they have grounds for withdrawing from the deal.

Due Process:

Due Process is the legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Due Process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a Due Process violation, which offends the rule of law.

Duel:

A prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor.

A struggle for domination between two contending persons, groups, or ideas.

Duende (mythology):

A Duende is a fairy- or goblin-like mythological creature from Iberian, South American, Chamorro and Filipino folklore.

A quality of passion and inspiration.

Duenna:

A chaperone of a young lady, usually an older woman; a governess or nanny.

Duffle Coat:

A warm, usually hooded coat made of duffel or a similar material and fastened with toggles.

DUI:

Short for: Driving Under the Influence (of alcohol). Driving while intoxicated, drunk driving, operating under the influence, drinking and driving, drink-driving, impaired driving) or other drugs, is the act of operating a vehicle (including bicycle, boat, airplane, wheelchair, or tractor) after consuming alcohol or another drugs. It is a criminal offense in most countries.

Duma:

A Russian national parliament during czarist times.

Dumb Blonde:

Blonde stereotypes are stereotype of blond haired people, especially women, and its sub-types of blonde bombshell and Dumb Blonde. Blondes are differently stereotyped from brunettes as more desirable and less intelligent. There are many blonde jokes made on those premises.

The notion of "Dumb Blonde" has been a topic of academic research reported in scholarly articles and university symposia, which tend to confirm that many people hold to the perception that light-haired women are less intelligent than women with dark hair. There is no evidence to support this perception, which raises the question of its origin. It is believed the originator of the "Dumb Blonde" was an 18th-century blonde French prostitute named Rosalie Duthé whose reputation of being beautiful but dumb inspired a play about her called Les Curiosites de la Foire (Paris 1775).

Dumbwaiter:

A Dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator (or lift) intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaurants, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, retirement homes or in private homes, the lifts generally terminate in a kitchen.

Dummy:

An imitation of a real or original object, intended to be used as a practical substitute.

A stupid person; a dolt.

A person or an agency secretly in the service of another.

Printing: a set of bound blank pages used as a model to show the size and general appearance of a book being published.

Games: the partner in bridge who exposes his or her hand to be played by the declarer.

Computer Science: a character or other piece of information entered into a computer only to meet prescribed conditions, such as word length, and having no effect on operations.

Dump:

To release or throw down in a large mass.

To empty (material) out of a container or vehicle.

To discard or reject unceremoniously.

To place (goods or stock, for example) on the market in large quantities and at a low price.

Dumpster Diving:

Dumpster Diving, commonly referred to in the UK and many parts of Europe as totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage, is a popular form of modern salvaging of waste in large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but that may prove useful to the picker. It is not confined to dumpsters specifically, and may cover standard household waste containers, landfills or small dumps.

Dunbar's Number:

Dunbar's Number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. This number was first proposed in the 1990s by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, who found a correlation between primate brain size and average social group size. By using the average human brain size and extrapolating from the results of primates, he proposed that humans can only comfortably maintain 150 stable relationships. Proponents assert that numbers larger than this generally require more restrictive rules, laws, and enforced norms to maintain a stable, cohesive group. It has been proposed to lie between 100 and 250, with a commonly used value of 150. Dunbar's Number states the number of people one knows and keeps social contact with, and it does not include the number of people known personally with a ceased social relationship, nor people just generally known with a lack of persistent social relationship, a number which might be much higher and likely depends on long-term memory size.

Read also: Most of your Facebook friends couldn't care less about you - engadget.

Dunning–Kruger Effect:

In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger Effect is a cognitive bias in which people mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is. It is related to the cognitive bias of illusory superiority and comes from the inability of people to recognize their lack of ability. Without the self-awareness of metacognition, people cannot objectively evaluate their competence or incompetence.

As described by social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, the cognitive bias of illusory superiority results from an internal illusion in people of low ability and from an external misperception in people of high ability; that is, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others."

Dupe:

An easily deceived person.

A person who functions as the tool of another person or power.

Duracell Bunny:

A Duracell Bunny is any of several anthropomorphic pink rabbits powered by batteries, used to promote Duracell brand batteries. In commercial advertisements, the Duracell Bunny is actually only one of these rabbits, powered by a Duracell battery rather than rival batteries. The point of the advertisement is that the bunny powered by a Duracell battery can continue functioning for a longer amount of time before its battery runs down.

Durag:

A piece of cloth used to cover the head.

Durbar:

The court of a native ruler or a governor in India and British Colonial West Africa.

Dutch Auction:

A Dutch Auction is a type of auction in which the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price, or a predetermined reserve price (the seller's minimum acceptable price) is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price. This is also known as a clock auction or an open-outcry descending-price auction.

Dutch Disease:

In economics, the Dutch Disease is the apparent causal relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example natural resources) and a decline in other sectors (like the manufacturing sector or agriculture). The putative mechanism is that as revenues increase in the growing sector (or inflows of foreign aid), the given nation's currency will become stronger (appreciate) compared to that of other nations (manifest in an exchange rate). This results in the nation's other exports becoming more expensive for other countries to buy, and imports becoming cheaper, making those sectors less competitive.

Duty:

An act or a course of action that is required of one by position, taxsocial custom, law, or religion.

A tax imposed on goods or services as they are traded (for example, import Duties) or as they are consumed (for example, the Duty on tobacco or alcohol.

DVD:

Short for: Digital Versatile Disc. DVD is an optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are video and data storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but store more than six times as much data.

Variations of the term DVD often describe the way data is stored on the discs: DVD-ROM (Read Only Memory), has data that can only be read and not written, DVD-R and DVD+R can record data only once and then function as a DVD-ROM. DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM can both record and erase data multiple times. The wavelength used by standard DVD lasers is 650 nm, and thus the light has a red color.

DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs respectively refer to properly formatted and structured video and audio content. Other types of DVDs, including those with video content, may be referred to as DVD-Data discs. As next generation high-definition optical formats also use a disc identical in some aspects yet more advanced than a DVD, such as Blu-ray Disc, the original DVD is occasionally given the retronym SD DVD (for standard definition).

Click here to see the DVD region codes.

DVR:

Short for: Digital Video Recorder. A DVR or personal video recorder (PVR) is a device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other memory medium within a device.

Dyad:

Two individuals or units regarded as a pair; two items of the same kind.

Dying Declaration:

In the law of evidence, the Dying Declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may nonetheless be admitted as evidence in certain kinds of cases because it constituted the last words of a dying person.

Dynamic:

Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress.

Marked by intensity and vigor; forceful.

Dynamic Duo:

A nickname for Batman and Robin.

Two People who are really close or are always together. They do anything and everything together, and when they are together they dominate anything and everyone!

The affectionate "name" of a womans breasts.

Dynamic List:

Dynamic Lists are rule-based lists of prospects that automatically update as prospect data changes.

Dynasty:

A succession of rulers from the same family or line.

A family or group that maintains power for several generations.

Dynasty Trust:

A Dynasty Trust is a trust designed to avoid or minimize estate taxes being applied to great family wealth with each transfer to subsequent generations. By holding assets in the trust and making well-defined distributions to each generation, the entire wealth of the trust is not subject to estate taxes with the passage of each generation.

Dynasty trusts in the United States are the combined result of the imposition of the generation-skipping transfer tax upon trusts that attempted to bypass transferring all assets to children, and the repeal of the rule against perpetuities by states attempting to attract the great wealth of such trusts.

Dyne:

A centimeter-gram-second unit of force, equal to the force required to impart an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second to a mass of one gram.

DYOR:

Short for: Do Your Own Research.

Dysfunctional:

Abnormal or impaired functioning, especially of a bodily system or social group.

Dyslexia:

A learning disability in which a person finds it difficult to read and write.

Dysmorphia:

(Pathology): any of various psychological disorders whose sufferers believe that their body is wrong or inadequate, such as anorexia, bulimia, and muscle Dysmorphia ("bigorexia").

Dysmorphic Disorder:

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (also known as BDD, body dysmorphia, dysmorphic syndrome, or dysmorphophobia), is a disorder that involves belief that one's own appearance is unusually defective and is worthy of being hidden or fixed. This belief manifests in thoughts that many times are pervasive and intrusive.

Dysmorphology:

The study of genetic defects, especially congenital malformations.

Dysphagia:

Dysphagia is the medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, the term is sometimes used as a condition in its own right.

Dysphemism:

A Dysphemism is an expression with connotations that are offensive either about the denotatum (the object referred to by the linguistic expression) or to the audience, or both.

Dystopia:

A Dystopia is an imaginary community or society that is undesirable or frightening. It is literally translated as "not-good place", an antonym of utopia. Such societies appear in many artistic works, particularly in stories set in a future. Dystopias are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society. Dystopian societies appear in many subgenres of fiction and are often used to draw attention to real-world issues regarding society, environment, politics, economics, religion, psychology, ethics, science, and/or technology, which if unaddressed could potentially lead to such a Dystopia-like condition.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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E-Book:

An E-Book (short for: Electronic Book, also written eBook or ebook) is an e-text that forms the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book, sometimes protected with a digital rights management system. E-books are usually read on personal computers or smartphones, or on dedicated hardware devices known as e-Readers or e-book devices. Many mobile phones can also be used to read e-books.

E-Book Reader:

An E-Book Reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a device used to display e-books. It may be a device specifically designed for that purpose, or one intended for other purposes as well. The main advantages of these devices are portability, readability of their screens in bright sunlight, and long battery life. Any Personal Data Assistant (PDA) capable of displaying text on a screen is also capable of being an e-book reader, but without the advantages of an electronic ink display.

E-Commerce:

Short for: Electronic Commerce, the transacting of business electronically, largely via the internet.

E-Ink:

E Ink is a specific proprietary type of electronic paper. It is currently available commercially in grayscale only and is commonly used in mobile devices such as e-Readers and to a lesser extent mobile phones and watches.

E-Mail:

Short for: Electronic Mail. E-mail is the production and distribution of messages electronically; literally, a form of paperless post. There are semi-public ways of sending E-Mail (via the Internet) and there are private networks for sending E-Mails, between employees of the same firm, for example. Such a private network is referred to as an intranet.

An Electronic Mail message consists of two components, the message header, and the message body, which is the email's content. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's E-mail address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually additional information is added, such as a subject header field.

E-Mail Spam:

E-Mail Spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email (UBE), is a subset of electronic spam involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. The messages may contain disguised links that appear to be for familiar websites but in fact lead to phishing web sites or sites that are hosting malware. Spam E-Mail may also include malware as scripts or other executable file attachments. Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk.

E Pluribus Unum:

E Pluribus Unum Latin for "Out of many, one" (alternatively translated as "One out of many" or "One from many") — is a phrase on the Seal of the United States.

E-Score:

The E-Score is a consumer rating metric used to to determine an individual's potential value as a customer and to use that information to guide marketing efforts. E-Score algorithms factor in variables such as salary, occupation, home value, debt load and shopping history, and assign a numerical score.

E-Scores are often used to evaluate an appropriate level of marketing and the types of offerings that are likely to be successful with a given consumer. Perhaps even more importantly, E-Scores can indicate which consumers are unlikely to be profitable, so marketing resources will not be wasted. However, the E-Score has no bearing on an individual's credit rating and cannot be taken into account for financial dealings such as loan applications.

E-Waste:

Short for: Electronic Waste. E-Waste may be defined as all secondary computers, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, and other items such as television sets and refrigerators, whether sold, donated, or discarded by their original owners. This definition includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal. Others define the reusables (working and repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc.) to be "commodities", and reserve the term "waste" for residue or material which was represented as working or repairable but which is dumped or disposed or discarded by the buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations. Because loads of surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and nonrecyclable), several public policy advocates apply the term "e-waste" broadly to all surplus electronics.

EAN:

Short for: European Article Number.

Early Adopter:

An Early Adopter or Lighthouse Customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology; in politics, fashion, art, and other fields, this person would be referred to as a trendsetter. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition (1962).

Earnest Payment:

An Earnest Payment is a specific form of security deposit made in some major transactions such as real estate dealings or required by some official Procurement processes to demonstrate that the applicant is serious and willing to demonstrate an earnest of good faith about wanting to complete the transaction.

Earnings:

A commonly used expression in America for a company's net profit.

Earnings per Share:

The net profit (or earnings) of a company divided by the number of ordinary shares in issue. Earnings by the number of ordinary shares in issue. Earnings per share (EPS) is a useful way to measure a company's performance over time, and its performance relative to other companies.

Earn Out:

A method of buying a company which relates the price to its future earnings. This is popular when the company is being sold by its present managers to an outsider who is keen to ensure not only that the managers stay on, but also that they are motivated to maximize the company's earnings in the future.

Easter Egg:

Easter Eggs are dyed or decorated eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.

A virtual Easter Egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in a work such as a computer program, web page, video game, movie, book or crossword.

Ébauche:

Ébauche (loanword from French, meaning blank, outline or sketch) is a term used in art to denote the first preliminary underpainting or quick sketch in oils for an oil painting. One early criticism of Impressionist painting was that its practitioners sought to elevate the status of the Ébauche to the level of finished painting. Horology, clockmaking and watchmaking appropriated the term ébauche to refer to an incomplete or unassembled watch movement and its associated components. The French term is regularly used by English-speaking artists and art historians, as well as horologists and hobbyists.

EBIT:

Short for: Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.

EBITDA:

EBITDA is the acronym for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the Income Statement are reversed out from the bottom line Net Income. Whether it measures anything of value is debated.[citation needed] It purports to measure cash earnings without accrual accounting, canceling tax-jurisdiction effects, and canceling the effects of different capital structures.

EBITDA differs from the operating cash flow in a cash flow statement primarily by excluding payments for taxes or interest as well as changes in working capital. EBITDA also differs from free cash flow because it excludes cash requirements for replacing capital assets (capex).

EBRD:

Short for: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a London-based international financial institution set up to help channel funds from the West to Russia and other countries of eastern Europe as they emerged from decades of communism.

EBT:

Short for: Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). Electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, is a system through which recipients of certain government benefits receive and spend funds electronically, using a plastic EBT card similar to a bank debit card.

All U.S. states now use EBT in addition to traditional paper coupons to distribute food stamp benefits. Some states also use EBT to disburse benefits for other programs, including the US Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs.

There are no fees when recipients use EBT cards for purchases, but fees may apply to cash withdrawals from ATMs or electronic balance inquiries.

Eccentric:

Departing from a recognized, conventional, or established norm or pattern.

Deviating from a circular form or path, as in an elliptical orbit.

One that deviates markedly from an established norm, especially a person of odd or unconventional behavior.

Ecclesiastical:

Of or relating to a church especially as an established institution.

ECG:

Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG) is the recording of the electrical activity of the heart over time via skin electrodes. It is a noninvasive recording produced by an electrocardiograph. The etymology of the word is derived from electro, because it is related to electrical activity, cardio, Greek for heart, graph, a Greek root meaning "to write".

Electrical impulses in the heart originate in the sinoatrial node and travel through conducting system to the heart muscle.The impulses stimulate the muscle fibres to contract and thus producing the systole. The electrical waves can be measured at selectively placed electrodes (electrical contacts) on the skin. Electrodes on different sides of the heart measure the activity of different parts of the heart muscle. An ECG displays the voltage between pairs of these electrodes, and the muscle activity that they measure, from different directions, also understood as vectors. This display indicates the overall rhythm of the heart and weaknesses in different parts of the heart muscle. It is the best way to measure and diagnose abnormal rhythms of the heart, particularly abnormal rhythms caused by damage to the conductive tissue that carries electrical signals, or abnormal rhythms caused by levels of dissolved salts (electrolytes), such as potassium, that are too high or low.

Echelon:

Almost all phone calls in the world are routinely scanned for "suspicious words" by various governmental agencies' computers.

You have probably heard of Echelon, the international surveillance system setup by U.S.A.'s NSA (Nation Security Agency) in close collaboration with their counterparts in Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand that listens in on all telephone conversations in the world and scans your faxes, e-mails for "suspicious words", such as 'drugs', 'terrorist' 'bombs', 'money laundering', 'offshore', 'tax havens', etc. etc. - and even your private ATM transactions.

And there are others, and more to come!. The European Union is planning its own EU Phone, Fax & Internet Surveillance System. In Germany, all international calls are already automatically scanned by the Bundes-Nachrichten-Dienst. Even Austria is following suit. Big Brother is indeed listing in on you EVERYWHERE - whether you have something to "hide" or not!

See also: EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) whose web site contains tons and tons of useful privacy information and tools!

Echo Chamber (media):

In media, an Echo Chamber is a situation in which information, ideas, or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission and repetition inside an "enclosed" system, often drowning out different or competing views.

Eclectic:

Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles.

Ecology:

The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments.

Economic Life:

The length of time during which a machine or a piece of equipment will produce more revenue than it costs to maintain it.

Economics:

How the world makes a living or, more specifically, how resources (land, labor and capital) are used to produce goods and services to meet human wants. When one early economist, Thomas Malthus, believed that resources were so scarce that the world was permanently on the edge of famine, Economics came to be known as the dismal science.

Economies of Scale:

Factors which cause the average cost of producing something to drop as output is increased, or the savings that can be made by manufacturing goods or supplying services in large quantities. This is the principle behind all mass production. Whereas a company's direct costs increase in direct proportion to the volume of its output, its overheads do not. Whatever number of widgets a company produces, it needs only one headquarters, one board, and one CEO.

Economies of Scope:

The savings that can be made by producing a broad range of goods or services. A bank, for instance, may find that it costs only a little bit more for it to sell insurance products at the same time and the same place as it sells loans.

Economy:

An Economy consists of the economic systems of a country or other area; the labor, capital, and land resources; and the manufacturing, production, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area.

Écorché:

An Écorché is a figure drawn, painted, or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin, normally as a figure study for another work or as an exercise for a student artist.

Ecosystem:

An Ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.

Ecstasy:

Intense joy or delight.

A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.

The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.

Slang: MDMA (3,4-MethyleneDioxyMethAmphetamine), also known as "E", "X", "Thizz", "Rolls" and "XTC". A powerful drug that acts as a stimulant and can produce hallucinations.

EDC:

Short for: Electronic Debit Card.

Edge:

Keenness, sharpness, or urgency; force, effectiveness, or incisiveness.

Edge Enhancement:

Also: seamless, edge-to-edge. Edge Enhancement is an image processing filter that enhances the edge contrast of an image or video in an attempt to improve its acutance (apparent sharpness).

eDiplomacy:

See: digital diplomacy.

Edition:

The entire number of copies of a publication issued at one time or from a single set of type; a single from this group.

A broadcast of a radio or television news program.

One that closely resembles an original; a version.

Editorial:

An article in a publication expressing the opinion of its editors or publishers.

Edsel:

The Edsel was an automobile marque that was planned, developed, and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. With the Edsel, Ford had expected to make significant inroads into the market share of both General Motors and Chrysler and close the gap between itself and GM in the domestic American automotive market. But contrary to Ford's internal plans and projections, the Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. The Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars on the Edsel's development, manufacturing and marketing.

Figurative sense of "something useless and unwanted" is almost as old; a product, project, etc. that fails to gain public acceptance despite high expectations, costly promotional efforts, etc.; a poor or unsuccessful product, especially if vigorously promoted; dud.

Education:

A program of instruction of a specified kind or level.

EDW:

Short for: Excessive Display of Wealth.

Edwardian:

A person belonging to or exhibiting characteristics (style of life, architecture, dress, etc.) typical of the Edwardian period during the reign (1901-10) of Edward VII (1841-1910).

-ee:

Recient or beneficiary of (a specified action); person furnished with (a specified thing).

EEG:

ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain. In clinical contexts, EEG refers to the recording of the brain's spontaneous electrical activity over a short period of time, usually 20–40 minutes, as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. In neurology, the main diagnostic application of EEG is in the case of epilepsy, as epileptic activity can create clear abnormalities on a standard EEG study. A secondary clinical use of EEG is in the diagnosis of coma and encephalopathies. EEG used to be a first-line method for the diagnosis of tumors, stroke and other focal brain disorders, but this use has decreased with the advent of anatomical imaging techniques such as MRI and CT.

See also: neurofeedback.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe:

"Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe", which can be spelled a number of ways, is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person to be "it" for games (such as tag) and similar purposes such as counting out a child who has to be excluded from a group of children as part of a playground game. It is one of a large group of similar 'counting-out rhymes' where the child pointed-to by the chanter on the last syllable is 'counted out'. The rhyme has existed in various forms since well before 1820, and is common in many languages with similar-sounding nonsense syllables.

Effect:

A phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon.

Movable belongings; goods.

Effendi:

Effendi or Effendy is a title of nobility meaning a Lord or Master.

Efficiency:

The relationship between the input into a machine and the output from the machine. The term is extended to refer to human machines: some workers are more efficient than others.

Effigy:

A crude figure or dummy representing a hated person or group.

EFT:

An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading day. Most ETFs track an index, such as a stock index or bond index. ETFs may be attractive as investments because of their low costs, tax efficiency, and stock-like features. By 2013, ETFs were the most popular type of exchange-traded product.

e.g.:

Latin: exempli gratia (as an example).

Egg of Columbus:

See: Columbus's egg.

Egghead:

In the American English slang, Egghead is an anti-intellectual epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered too out-of-touch with ordinary people and too lacking in realism, common sense, virility, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. It was part of a widespread anti-elitist social movement that insisted that credentialed intellectuals were not the only smart people, but that serious human intelligence could be found widespread among ordinary people regardless of class, race or gender.

Eggporn:

Eggporn is a popular tag with egg lovers and millions of users used that tag for their photos.

EGM:

Short for: Extraordinary General Meeting, a special meeting of company's shareholders called to consider matters that cannot wait until the company's next annual general meeting.

Ego:

The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.

In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is most in touch with external reality.

An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit; appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.

EGOT:

Short for: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award.

Egyptian Cotton:

The term Egyptian Cotton is usually applied to the extra long staple cotton produced in Egypt and favored for the luxury and upmarket brands worldwide.

Eidetic Memory:

Eidetic Memory (more commonly called photographic memory) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision for a brief period after seeing it only once, and without using a mnemonic device. Although the terms Eidetic Memory and photographic memory are popularly used interchangeably, they are also distinguished, with Eidetic Memory referring to the ability to view memories like photographs for a few minutes, and photographic memory referring to the ability to recall pages of text or numbers, or similar, in great detail. When the concepts are distinguished, Eidetic Memory is reported to occur in a small number of children and generally not found in adults, while true photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist.

Eid-ul-Fitr:

Eid-ul-Fitr, often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day and Muslims are not permitted to fast that day. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fit.r means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal. This is a day where Muslims around the world try to show a common goal of unity.

Eight-Thousander:

The Eight-Thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) high above sea level. They are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia.

List of eight-thousanders: Mount Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, Gasherbrum I (aka Hidden Peak or K5), Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II (aka K4), Shishapangma.

E.I.N.:

Short for: (U.S. Federal) Employer Identification Number.

Einstellung Effect:

Einstellung is the development of a mechanized state of mind. Often called a problem solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though better or more appropriate methods of solving the problem exist.

The Einstellung Effect is the negative effect of previous experience when solving new problems. The Einstellung Effect has been tested experimentally in many different contexts.

E.K.I.A.:

Short for: Enemy Killed In Action.

Élan:

A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness; distinctive and stylish elegance.

Elasticity:

The amount by which one thing changes for each unit change in something else. The elasticity of supply and demand are the amounts by which the production or consumption of goods or services change for each unit change in price.

Elbow Grease:

Elbow Grease is an idiom for working hard at manual labour.

Elder (Christianity):

An Elder in Christianity is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility in a Christian group.

Electoral Vote:

The vote cast in the electoral college of the U.S. by the representatives of each state in a presidential election.

See also: popular vote.

Electric Car:

An Electric Car, EV, is an alternative fuel automobile that uses electric motors and motor controllers for propulsion, in place of more common propulsion methods such as the internal combustion engine (ICE). Electric cars are a specifically a variety of electric vehicle intended for use as a road-going automobile. Electric cars are commonly powered by on-board battery packs, and as such are battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Other on-board energy storage methods that are expected to come into use in the future include ultracapacitors, or a spinning flywheel, which stores energy as potential energy.

Electric Cars enjoyed popularity between the mid-19th century and early 20th century, when electricity was among the preferred methods for automobile propulsion, providing a level of comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline cars of the time. Advanced in ICE technology soon rendered this advantage moot; the greater range of gasoline cars, quicker refueling times, and growing petroleum infrastructure, along with the mass production of gasoline vehicles by companies such Ford, which reduced prices of gasoline cars to nearly 50% of that of equivalent electric cars, effectively killed off the electric car in important markets such as the United States by the 1930s.

In recent years, increased concerns over the environmental impact of gasoline cars, along with reduced consumer ability to pay for fuel for gasoline cars, has brought about renewed interest in electric cars, which are perceived to be more environmentally friendly and cheaper to maintain and run, despite high initial costs. Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in countries around the world, though they are notably absent from the roads of the United States, where electric cars briefly re-appeared in the late 90s as a response to changing government regulations. The hybrid car has become the most common form of electric car, combining a gasoline powertrain with supplementary electric motors to run the car at idle and low speeds, making use of techniques such as regenerative braking to improve its efficiency over comparable gasoline cars, while not being hampered by the limited range inherent to current battery electric cars. Hybrids are now sold by most major manufacturers, with notable models including the Toyota Prius and the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid which uses a fully electric drivetrain supplemented by a gasoline-powered electric generator to extend its range. As of 2009, the world's most popular battery electric car is the REVAi, which is produced by an Indian company and sold in a number of countries in Europe and Asia.

Elegance:

Refinement, grace, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.

Restraint and grace of style.

Simple, comfortable.

Elegant:

Tasteful in dress, style, or design.

Dignified and graceful in appearance, behavior.

Refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style; "Elegant handwriting"; "an Elegant dark suit"; "she was Elegant to her fingertips"; "small churches with Elegant white spires"; "an Elegant mathematical solution - simple and precise and lucid."

Élégantier:

Characterized by or exhibiting refined, tasteful beauty of manner, form, or style.

Element:

A fundamental, essential, or irreducible constituent of a composite entity.

One of four substances, earth, air, fire, or water, formerly regarded as a fundamental constituent of the universe.

Elementary, my dear Watson:

A third major reference to Sherlock Holmes (the other two being: a deerstalker and Inverness cape) is the oft-quoted catchphrase: "Elementary, my dear Watson" (the supposed explanation that Sherlock Holmes gave to his assistant, Dr. Watson, when explaining deductions he had made), which is never actually uttered by Holmes in any of the sixty Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the stories, Holmes often remarks that his logical conclusions are "elementary", in that he considers them to be simple and obvious. He also, on occasion, refers to Dr. Watson as "my dear Watson". The two fragments, however, never appear together. One of the closest examples to this phrase appears in "The Adventure of the Crooked Man", when Holmes explains a deduction: "'Excellent!' I cried. 'Elementary,' said he."

In fact the line doesn't appear in the Conan Doyle books, only later in Sherlock Holmes' films. He does come rather close at a few of points. Holmes says "Elementary" in 'The Crooked Man', and "It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you" in 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box'. He also says "Exactly, my dear Watson, in three different stories. The phrase was first used by P. G. Wodehouse, in Psmith, Journalist, 1915.

Elephant in the Room:

"Elephant in the Room" or "Elephant in the living room" is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

It is based on the idea that an Elephant in a Room would be impossible to overlook.

Eleusinian Mysteries:

The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece". It is thought that their basis was an old agrarian cult which probably goes back to the Mycenean period (c. 1600 – 1100 BC) and it is believed that the cult of Demeter was established in 1500 BC. The mysteries represented the myth of the abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the king of the underworld Hades, in a cycle with three phases, the "descent" (loss), the "search" and the "ascent", with the main theme the "ascent" of Persephone and the reunion with her mother.

Elevator Music:

Elevator Music (piped music or lift music in the Commonwealth) refers to the gentle instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), cruise ships, airports, on television shows, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators. The term is also frequently applied as a generic (and often derogatory) term for any form of Easy Listening, smooth jazz, or Middle of the road music, or to the type of recordings once commonly heard on "beautiful music" radio stations.

The Muzak corporation is a supplier of business background music. In fact, the term Muzak has become a generic epithet for excessively bland music. Muzak, however, moved away from this type of music, for the most part, in 1997 and now uses only "original artists" for its music source, except on the Environmental channel.

Elevator Music is typically set to a very simple melody, so that it can be unobtrusively looped back to the beginning. In a mall or shopping center, elevator music (really, any music) of a specific type has been found to have a psychological effect: slower, more relaxed music tends to make people slow down and browse longer. Elevator music (or music without lyrics) has become preferred over broadcast radio stations in some areas because the shopping center won't have to worry about commercial interruptions or that they might offend long-time customers if an explicit song is inadvertantly played.

Elevator Pitch:

An extremely concise presentation of an entrepreneur’s idea, business model, company solution, marketing strategy, and competition delivered to potential investors.

An Elevator Pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an Elevator Pitch should be possible to deliver in the time span of an elevator ride, meaning in a maximum of 30 seconds and in 130 words or fewer.

Eleventh Commandment:

Trust God. But never try to understand God.

Eleventh Hour:

The latest possible time; the latest possible time; last minute; the last possible moment for doing something.

Phrase meaning "late in the day", taken from a passage in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in the King James Bible. According to Matthew 20:1–16 Jesus says that any "laborer" who accepts the invitation to the work in the vineyard (said by Jesus to represent the Kingdom of Heaven), no matter how late in the day, will receive an equal reward with those who have been faithful the longest.

Elite:

An Elite in political and sociological theory, is a small group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth or political power.

A group or class of persons or a member of such a group or class, enjoying superior intellectual, social, or economic status.

The best or most skilled members of a group.

Elitist:

The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

Elixir:

A sweetened aromatic solution of alcohol and water, serving as a vehicle for medicine.

A substance believed to maintain life indefinitely.

An underlying principle.

Ellenberg's Indicator Values:

Ellenberg's Indicator Values were the first model of bioindication proposed and applied to the flora of Germany, and they have a long tradition in interpretation and understanding of plant communities and their evolution. The latest edition of Ellenberg's Indicator Values applies a 9-point scale for each of six gradients: soil acidity, soil productivity or fertility, soil humidity, soil salinity, climatic continentality and light availability.

Elliott Wave Principle:

The Elliott Wave Principle is a form of technical analysis that finance traders use to analyze financial market cycles and forecast market trends by identifying extremes in investor psychology, highs and lows in prices, and other collective factors. Ralph Nelson Elliott (1871–1948), a professional accountant, discovered the underlying social principles and developed the analytical tools in the 1930s. He proposed that market prices unfold in specific patterns, which practitioners today call "Elliott Waves", or simply "waves". Elliott stated that "because man is subject to rhythmical procedure, calculations having to do with his activities can be projected far into the future with a justification and certainty heretofore unattainable." The empirical validity of the Elliott Wave Principle remains the subject of debate.

Ellipse:

Mathematics: a closed conic section shaped like a flattened circle and formed by an inclined plane that does not cut the base of the cone.

Ellipsis:

An Ellipsis is a series of dots (typically three, such as "...") that usually indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning.

Elm Street:

The term Elm Street is derived as an alternative to the usual Main Street/Wall Street economic dichotomy. Elm Street is meant to symbolize an economy focused on the residential neighborhood as an economic unit. This is in contrast to Main Street, which (as used by Elm Street promoters) is meant to symbolize large corporate interests, and Wall Street which symbolizes global finance. It is unclear how prevalent the Elm Street economy is currently in use as a total system. Rather, the movement is perhaps best understood as a patchwork of the Green movement, urban homesteading, buy local initiatives and the new frugality movement.

Elo Rating System:

The Elo Rating System is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor.

Eloge:

A statement or disquisition in praise of someone who has died.

Elvis Has Left the Building:

"Elvis Has Left the Building" is a phrase that was often used by public address announcers following Elvis Presley concerts to disperse audiences who lingered in hopes of an encore. It has since become a popular culture catchphrase and punchline.

The show is over - go home; said about things that have ended; finished.

Em Dash:

The Em Dash, em rule, or mutton (—) is longer than an en dash.

Embargo:

A ban on transferring something from one party to another. It may be goods, such as a trade Embargo preventing the export of arms to a particular country. Or it may be information, for example: "This news is Embargoed until midday tomorrow".

Embassy:

A mission to a foreign government headed by an ambassador.

Embedded Journalism:

Embedded Journalism refers to news reporters being attached to military units involved in armed conflicts. While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Emblem:

Special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group.

Embonpoint:

The condition of being plump; stoutness.

Embossing:

Embossing is a printing technique used to create raised surfaces in the converted paper stock. The process relies upon mated dies that press the paper into a shape that can be observed on both the front and back surfaces.

Embryo:

An organism in its early stages of development, especially before it has reached a distinctively recognizable form.

Emcee:

A master of ceremonies.

Emerging Economy:

A country that is on the way to becoming a developed economy in terms of its GDP per head, and its financial and industrial structure.

Emeritus:

One who is retired but retains an honorary title corresponding to that held immediately before retirement.

EMI:

Short for: European Monetary Institute, the Frankfurt-based central bank established as part of EMU.

Emigration:

Emigration to a tax haven or to a country offering special retirement incentives may serve to break totally or in part the link between a taxpayer and the high tax jurisdiction from which he is Emigrating. Normally, it is the change in the place of residence which is material; however, in other cases a change in domicile or even citizenship (in the case of the United States) may be necessary. Anti-avoidance provisions or exchange controls may delay or render extremely difficult the coming into effect of the fiscal advantages of the act of Emigration.

Émigré:

An Émigré is a person who has "migrated out", often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French émigrer 'to emigrate'.

Eminence:

A position of great distinction or superiority.

Éminence Grise:

An Éminence Grise (French for "grey eminence") is a powerful decision-maker or advisor who operates "behind the scenes" or in a non-public or unofficial capacity.

Eminent Domain:

Eminent Domain (United States, the Philippines), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia), or expropriation (South Africa, Canada) is the power to take private property for public use by a state. However, it can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even private persons or corporations when they are authorized to exercise functions of public character.

The property may be taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development. The most common uses of property taken by Eminent Domain are for government buildings and other facilities, public utilities, highways, and railroads; however, it may also be taken for reasons of public safety, as in the case of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Some jurisdictions require that the condemnor offer to purchase the property before resorting to the use of Eminent Domain.

Eminent Orphans:

In the early 2000’s, Malcolm Gladwell termed the phrase “Eminent Orphans”. Eminent Orphans is defined as an child who experiences the loss of a parent before their 18th birthday. Statistics have shown that approximately 1 in 20 or about 5% of children experience endure this situation according to the UC Census Bureau.

According to Malcolm Gladwell’s popular book, “The Outliers” and several studies by researchers Worden & Silverman, there is a large number of successful individuals who have lost a parent at a young age. Around a third of the presidents in U.S. have lost their fathers at a young age including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Read also: A Theory of Elon Musk’s Maniacal Drive - "Some historians and psychologists have marveled at how many of the most significant figures in history lost a parent at an early age, either to death or abandonment - from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. These are what one psychologist termed 'eminent orphans.'"

Emo:

Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional, lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace. As the style was echoed by contemporary American punk rock bands, its sound and meaning shifted and changed, blending with pop punk and indie rock and encapsulated in the early 1990s by groups such as Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate. By the mid-1990s numerous Emo acts emerged from the Midwestern and Central United States, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the style.

Emoji:

Emoji are the ideograms or smileys used in Japanese electronic messages and webpages, whose use is spreading outside Japan. Originally meaning pictograph, the word Emoji literally means "picture" (e) + "letter" (moji). The characters are used much like ASCII emoticons or kaomoji, but a wider range is provided, and the icons are standardized and built into the handsets.

Although originally only available in Japan, some Emoji character sets have been incorporated into Unicode, allowing them to be used elsewhere as well. As a result, some phones such as Windows Phone 7 line and the iPhone allow access to the symbols without requiring a Japanese carrier. Emoji have also started appearing in emailing services such as Gmail.

Emoticon:

An Emoticon is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a writer’s mood.

See: list of emoticons & emoticons.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) | Emotional Quotient (EQ):

Emotional Intelligence (EI), emotional leadership (EL), emotional quotient (EQ) and emotional intelligence quotient (EIQ), is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one's goal(s).

Read also: The secret to a high salary? Emotional intelligence - The Guardian.

Emotional Quotient (EQ):

Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as Emotional Quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

IQ tests measure your ability to solve problems, use logic, and grasp or communicate complex ideas. EQ tests measure your ability to recognize emotion in yourself and others, and to use that awareness to guide your decisions.

Emotional Spending:

Emotional Spending occurs when you buy something you don't need and, in some cases, don't even really want, as a result of feeling stressed out, bored, under-appreciated, incompetent, unhappy or any number of other emotions.

5 Ways to Control Emotional Spending & 7 Signs You Might Be Emotional Spending.

Emotional Support Animal | ESA:

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) or support animal, is a companion animal (pet) that a medical professional says provides some benefit for a person disabled by a mental health condition or emotional disorder. Emotional Support Animals are typically dogs, but are sometimes cats or other animals.

Empire:

A political unit having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations and ruled by a single supreme authority.

An extensive enterprise under a unified authority.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a neoclassic style, as in clothing or the decorative arts, prevalent in France during the first part of the 19th century.

Empirical:

Pertaining to or based on experience; ertaining to, derived from, or testable by observations made using the physical senses or using instruments which extend the senses.

Employee:

Someone who works for an organization doing a defined job for an agreed amount of compensation.

Employer:

Someone who employs others to perform stipulated tasks in return for monetary rewards.

Employment Agency:

An agency that tries to match the needs of employers with those of employees. Many agencies specialize in finding workers with particular sorts of skill, such as computer, secretarial or accounting.

Emporium:

A large retail store organized into departments offering a variety of merchandise; commonly part of a retail chain.

Empowerment:

Empowerment refers to measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities in order to enable them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. Empowerment refers both to the process of self-empowerment and to professional support of people, which enables them to overcome their sense of powerlessness and lack of influence, and to recognise and eventually to use their resources and chances.

Empty Leg:

That part of a voyage in which the carrier vessel or vehicle is without any paying cargo.

Empty Magnanimous Gesture (EMG):

"Empty Magnanimous Gesture, it’s when you’re trying to avoid seeing someone but you don’t want to be rude by straight-up rejecting them, so instead you make them a counteroffer for a plan you know they won’t be able to - or won’t want to - agree to."

Read more here: The Newest Way to Ghost Is All About Seeming Nice & Drinks at 11pm? How to tell if you are the victim of EMG - "The Empty Magnanimous Gesture is a new dating tactic that allows uninterested parties to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings".

Empty Nest Syndrome:

Empty Nest Syndrome is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents may feel when their children leave home for the first time, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition.

EMS:

Short for: Electronic Muscle Stimulation. EMS, also known as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) or ElectroMyoStimulation, is the elicitation of muscle contraction using electric impulses. The impulses are generated by a device and delivered through electrodes on the skin in direct proximity to the muscles to be stimulated. The impulses mimic the action potential coming from the central nervous system, causing the muscles to contract. The electrodes are generally pads that adhere to the skin. EMS is both a form of electrotherapy and of muscle training. It is cited by important authors[1] as complementary technique for sport training, and there is published research[2] on the results obtained. In the United States, EMS devices are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

EMU:

Short for: Economic and Monetary Union, a series of steps whereby the members of the European Union bring their monetary and exchange-rate policies into line.

EMV:

Short for: Europay, MasterCard and VISA. EMV is a standard for interoperation of IC cards ("Chip cards") and IC capable POS terminals and ATMs, for authenticating credit and debit card payments. The name EMV comes from the initial letters of Europay, MasterCard and VISA, the three companies that originally cooperated to develop the standard. Europay International SA was absorbed into Mastercard in 2002. JCB (formerly Japan Credit Bureau) joined the organization in December 2004, and American Express joined in February 2009. IC card systems based on EMV are being phased in across the world, under names such as "IC Credit" and "Chip and PIN".

En Bloc:

As a whole; in a mass; all together.

En Brosse:

(Of a person’s hair): cut in a short and bristly style; crew cut.

From the French: 'in the form of a brush'.

En Clair:

(Of the transmission of a signal): in clear language without any encryption.

En Dash:

The En Dash, en rule, or nut (–) is traditionally half the width of an em dash. In modern fonts, the length of the en dash is not standardized, and the en dash is often more than half the width of the em dash. The widths of en and em dashes have also been specified as being equal to those of the upper-case letters N and M respectively, and at other times to the widths of the lower-case letters.

En Famille:

With one's family; at home.

In a casual way; informally.

En Garde:

Used to warn a fencer to assume the position preparatory to a match.

En Masse:

In one group or body; all together.

En Passant:

In passing; by the way; incidentally.

En Route:

On or along the way; on the road.

Enclave:

A country or part of a country lying wholly within the boundaries of another.

A distinctly bounded area enclosed within a larger unit.

Encomium:

Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Classical Greek encomion meaning the praise of a person or thing.

Encore:

A demand by an audience for an additional performance, usually expressed by applause.

Encrypt:

To put into code or cipher.

Computing: to alter (a file, for example) using a secret code so as to be unintelligible to unauthorized parties.

Encyclopedia:

A comprehensive reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects or on numerous aspects of a particular field, usually arranged alphabetically.

Encyclical:

A papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.

Encyclopedist:

A person who writes for or compiles an encyclopedia.

Endogamy:

Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such a basis as being unsuitable for marriage or for other close personal relationships.

Endorphin:

Endorphins are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitement, pain, and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers", whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.

The term "Endorphin" implies a pharmacological activity (analogous to the activity of the corticosteroid category of biochemicals) as opposed to a specific chemical formulation. It consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean "a morphine like substance originating from within the body."

The term Endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of Endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, Endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Immediately after injury, Endorphins allow humans to feel a sense of power and control over themselves that allows them to persist with activity for an extended time.

Endorse:

To place (one's signature), as on a contract, to indicate approval of its contents or terms.

To give approval of or support to, especially by public statement; sanction.

Endorsement:

A signature on the back of a check or other financial instrument by the payee. It effectively transfers the ownership of the instrument from the signatory to the bearer. In advertising, an endorsement is the recommendation of a product by a well-known person.

End User:

The ultimative user of a product who is not necessarily the purchaser of it; for example the driver of a company car.

End-User Certificate | EUC:

An End-User Certificate, or EUC, is a document used in international transfers, including sales and arms provided as aid, of weapons and ammunition to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the materials, and is not planning on transferring the materials to another party. EUCs are required by many governments to restrict the flow of the materials to undesired destinations, such as embargoed states or rebel groups, governments with bad human rights records or states which are considered a threat by the original supplier of the arms.

Endowment:

Funds or property donated to an institution, individual, or group as a source of income.

A natural gift, ability, or quality.

Enduring Power of Attorney:

A power of attorney that continues even if and after a donor becomes incapacitated.

Enemy Combatant:

An Enemy Combatant is an individual who, under the laws and customs of war, may be detained for the duration of an armed conflict. In the current conflict with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the term includes a member, agent, or associate of al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

Enemy of the People:

The term Enemy of the People is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are acting against the larger group, for example against society as a whole. It is similar to the notion of "enemy of the state".

Energy:

Physics: a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of Energy are joules or ergs.

The capacity or power to do work, such as the capacity to move an object (of a given mass) by the application of force. Energy can exist in a variety of forms, such as electrical, mechanical, chemical, thermal, or nuclear, and can be transformed from one form to another. It is measured by the amount of work done, usually in joules or watts.

Enfant Terrible:

One whose startlingly unconventional behavior, work, or thought embarrasses or disturbs others.

Enfilade:

Gunfire directed along the length of a target, such as a column of troops.

Architecture: a linear arrangement of a series of interior doors, as to a suite of rooms, so as to provide a vista when the doors are open.

Enforcer:

One whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior.

Engel's Law:

Engel's Law is an economic relationship proposed by the statistician Ernst Engel in 1857. It suggests that as family income increases, the percentage spent on food decreases, even though the total amount of food expenditure increases. Expenditure on housing and clothing remains proportionally the same, and that spent on education, health and recreation rises.

English Rose:

An attractive English girl with a delicate, fair-skinned complexion regarded as typically English.

Enigma:

One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable.

A perplexing speech or text; a riddle.

Ennui:

A feeling of listlessness and general dissatisfaction resulting from lack of activity or excitement; boredom.

Enoteca:

Enoteca is an Italian word, which literally means "wine repository", but is used to describe a special type of local or regional wine shop that originated in Italy. The concept of an Enoteca has also spread to some other countries. A genuine Enoteca is primarily directed at giving visitors or tourists the possibility to taste these wines at a reasonable fee and possibly to buy them. An Enoteca is often run in collaboration with growers or growers' or tourism organisations in the village or region.

Enquête:

Survey, review, overview, statistical study.

Ensemble:

A unit or group of complementary parts that contribute to a single effect.

A work for two or more vocalists or instrumentalists.

Entasis:

In architecture, Entasis ("a lie that tells the truth') is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upward. It also may serve an engineering function regarding strength.

Entelechy:

(Aristotelian metaphysics): the complete realisation and final form of some potential concept or function; the conditions under which a potential thing becomes actualized.

(Chiefly philosophy): a particular type of motivation, need for self-determination, and inner strength directing life and growth to become all one is capable of being; the need to actualize one's beliefs; having both a personal vision and the ability to actualize that vision from within.

Entente Cordiale:

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy): a friendly understanding between political powers: less formal than an alliance.

(Historical Terms): the understanding reached by France and Britain in April 1904, which settled outstanding colonial disputes.

Enter Net:

Slang for Internet.

Enterprise:

An undertaking, especially one of some scope, complication, and risk.

A business organization.

Entertainer:

A person who tries to please or amuse.

Entertainment:

An Entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.

Enthusiasm:

Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause.

Entity:

Something that exists as a particular and discrete unit.

The fact of existence; being.

The existence of something considered apart from its properties.

Entoptic Phenomenon:

Entoptic Phenomena are visual effects whose source is within the eye itself.

Entourage:

A group of attendants or associates; a retinue.

Entrain:

Spirit, liveliness, vivacity, drive.

Entrapment:

Law: the luring, by a police officer, of a person into committing a crime so that he may be prosecuted for it.

Entrée:

An Entrée (French "entrance") is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.

Entrepôt:

A place where goods are stored or deposited and from which they are distributed.

A trading or market center.

Entrepreneur:

An Entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. It is an ambitious leader who combines land, labour, and capital to create and market new goods or services. The term is a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome. Jean-Baptiste Say, a french economist, believed to be coined the word Entrepreneur first in about at 1800. He said an Entrepreneur is "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediatory between capital and labour".

Entrepreneurship is often difficult and tricky, resulting in many new ventures failing. The word Entrepreneur is often synonymous with founder. Most commonly, the term Entrepreneur applies to someone who creates value by offering a product or service, by carving out a niche in the market that may not exist currently. Entrepreneurs tend to identify a market opportunity and exploit it by organizing their resources effectively to accomplish an outcome that changes existing interactions within a given sector.

Some observers see them as being willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue opportunity.

Business Entrepreneurs are viewed as fundamentally important in the capitalistic society. Some distinguish business Entrepreneurs as either "political Entrepreneurs" or "market Entrepreneurs," while social Entrepreneurs' principal objectives include the creation of a social and/or environmental benefit.

Entropy:

A measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system; a measure of the loss of information in a transmitted message.

Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.

Environment:

The circumstances or conditions that surround one; surroundings; the totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms.

Computer Science: the entire set of conditions under which one operates a computer, as it relates to the hardware, operating platform, or operating system.

Environmental Audit:

An audit of a company's impact on the environment. The International Chamber of Commerce's definition is: "A management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well (the company's) environmental organization, management and equipment are performing.

Environmental Performance Index (EPI):

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a method of quantifying and numerically marking the environmental performance of a state's policies.

In the 2014 EPI ranking, the top five countries were Switzerland, Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and the Czech Republic. The bottom five countries in 2014 were Somalia, Mali, Haiti, Lesotho, and Afghanistan. The United Kingdom was ranked in 12th place, Japan 26th place, the United States 33rd, Brazil 77th, China 118th, and India came in 155th. The top five countries based on their 2012 Pilot Trend EPI were Estonia, Kuwait, El Salvador, Namibia and Congo.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG):

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) is a framework designed to be integrated into an organization's strategy to create enterprise value by expanding the organizational objectives to include the identification, assessment and management of sustainability-related risks and opportunities in respect to all organizational stakeholders (including but not limited to customers, suppliers and employees) and the environment.

Read more here: One of the Hottest Trends in the World of Investing Is a Sham - "Just because a company meets E.S.G. criteria doesn't mean it's a good corporate citizen."

Environmentalist:

Advocacy for or work toward protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution.

Envoi:

An Envoi or envoy is a short stanza at the end of a poem such as ballad used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem.

Envoy:

A diplomat having less authority than an ambassador.

Enzyme:

Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts.

Eo Ipso:

Eo Ipso means "by (or from) the thing itself" in Latin and is similar to the sense expressed by the English idioms, "by the same token," "of itself" or "on its own account". It is often used in various schools of philosophy to demonstrate the possibility/impossibility of propositions from their nature. For example, "That I am does not Eo Ipso mean that I think." The term is also used in law, and it is through law that it was brought into English from Latin.

Eon:

An indefinitely long period of time; an age.

The longest division of geologic time, containing two or more eras.

One billion years.

Épater la Bourgeoisie:

Épater la Bourgeoisie or épater le (or les) bourgeois is a French phrase that became a rallying cry for the French Decadent poets of the late 19th century including Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud. It means to shock the bourgeoisie.

Epaulette:

Epaulette (also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. In several European armies epaulettes are also worn by all ranks of elite or ceremonial units when on parade.

Ephebe:

Ephebe is the term for an adolescent male. In ancient Greek society and mythology, an ephebos was a boy, aged 17–18, who went through a period of initiation that included military training.

Ephemera:

Ephemera (singular: ephemeron) is any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved.

Epi-:

A prefix, origin: Greek, from Epi meaning upon, beside, among, on the outside, above, over.

It becomes ep before a vowel, as in epoch, and eph before a Greek aspirate, as in ephemeral.

Epi Leather:

Epi Leather was created in response to the need to have a good, durable leather for use in modern travel conditions. Epi Leather is dyed all the way through and has a grained texture. It is made to pass the test of time. Epi is weather resistant.

Epic:

A long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds.

Epicenter:

The point of the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

A focal point.

Epicurean:

Modern accepted use of the terms Epicurean and Epicureanism refers often to the appreciation of, and indulgement in, good food (gourmet), luxury, hedonism, and sensual pleasure. This strays significantly from the original philoposhic intent of Epicureanism. The philosophy indeed elevated pleasure and happiness as the most worthy pursuit, but specifically warned against fine food and frequent sex, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later. Instead, the goal was a long-term pleasure, marked by serenity and temperance, achieved through moderation rather than indulging. Modern senses of gourmet, luxury, hedonism, sensual pleasure and lust are mostly in contrast with the original ancient teachings.

Epidemic:

Medicine: (especially of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area.

Epidural Blocks:

An Epidural Block is an injection of pain medication (it blocks pain) into the epidural space. You can do Epidurals for the neck or the low back. They are rarely done for the mid-back (thoracic spine).

The Epidural space is the area around your spinal cord and spinal nerves. Medications injected include local anesthetics (drugs like Novocain) and steroids (the strongest anti-inflammatory drugs). These medicines act on the nerves to stop them from transmitting pain signals.

Epidurals for low back pain are similar to the Epidurals given to pregnant women during labor. The needle is placed in about the same location. The medications which are injected for labor are, however, different than those used for back pain.

Epidurals are given in such a way that the medications spread out and cover all of the nerve roots in the low back or the neck. They differ from selective blocks in that selective blocks are done for just one or two nerves.

Epigone:

A follower or disciple.

An undistinguished or inferior imitator of a well known artist or their style.

Epigram:

A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation.

A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement.

Click here to enjoy some of the Master's (Epigrams of Oscar Wilde (People's Pocket Series No. 168) Epigrams: Oscar Wilde quotes.

Epigraph:

A motto or quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme.

Epiphany:

A divine manifestation.

Episode:

A happening that is distinctive in a series of related events.

An Episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An Episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars. Episodes of news programs are also known as editions.

Epitaph:

An inscription on a tombstone in memory of the one buried there.

A brief literary piece commemorating a deceased person.

Epithet:

A term used as a descriptive substitute for the name or title of a person.

An abusive or contemptuous word or phrase.

Epitome:

A representative or perfect example of a class or type.

A brief summary, as of a book or article; an abstract.

EPO:

EPO, or ErythroPOietin, is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production and sometimes used as a performance-enhancing drug.

Eponym:

A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country, or area. For example, Romulus is the Eponym of Rome.

Époque:

French: Epoch, era, distinct period of time noted for particular events characteristics or developments.

Epoxy:

Epoxy or Polyepoxide is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives.

EQ:

Short for: Emotional Quotient: a measurement of a person's emotional intelligence (= their ability to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others).

Equal Opportunity:

The idea that all men and women should have an equal opportunity to do any particular job. Much progress has been made in ensuring that this is the case, but there are still exceptions, as is apparent from the small number of women in senior positions in big corporations.

Equation:

Mathematics: a statement asserting the equality of two expressions, usually written as a linear array of symbols that are separated into left and right sides and joined by an equal sign.

Chemistry: a representation of a chemical reaction, usually written as a linear array in which the symbols and quantities of the reactants are separated from those of the products by an equal sign, an arrow, or a set of opposing arrows.

Equator:

An imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles.

Equilibrium:

A condition in which all acting influences are canceled by others, resulting in a stable, balanced, or unchanging system.

Equinox:

Astronomy: either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator.

Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal; the vernal Equinox or the autumnal Equinox.

Equity:

The risk capital supplied by shareholders to a business and the balancing item in a company's balance sheet - the amount by which its assets exceeds its other liabilities (to bankers, suppliers, and so on). This is the company's surplus funds, which belong equitably to its shareholders.

Era:

A period of time as reckoned from a specific date serving as the basis of its chronological system.

Erastianism:

Erastianism, doctrine that the state is superior to the church in ecclesiastical matters. It is named after the 16th-century Swiss physician and Zwinglian theologian Thomas Erastus, who never held such a doctrine. He opposed excommunication as unscriptural, advocating in its stead punishment by civil authorities. The state, he held, had both the right and the duty to punish all offenses, ecclesiastical as well as civil, wherever all the citizens adhered to a single religion.

Eremitage:

The habitation of a hermit; a secluded residence or private retreat.

Erg:

The centimeter-gram-second unit of energy or work equal to the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter.

Ergo:

Consequently; therefore; hence.

Ergonomics:

The study of the way in which people work, and of the ways in which this (and the machines that they use) can be improved in order to make them more more efficient.

Ermine:

The stoat or Ermine (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae. It is also known as a Shorttail (or Short-tailed) Weasel and less frequently as an Ermelin. Sometimes "Ermine" refers to the animal only when it has white fur, while "stoat" only refers to when it has brown fur.

The skins of Ermines are prized by the fur trade, especially in winter coat, and used to trim coats and stoles. The fur from the winter coat is referred to as Ermine. There is also a design, also called Ermine, which is inspired by the winter coat of the stoat but which is painted onto other furs, such as rabbit. In Europe these furs are a symbol of royalty; the ceremonial robes of members of the UK House of Lords are trimmed with Ermine. The Ermine is also considered a symbol of purity in Europe. In the Renaissance era, legend had it that an Ermine would die before allowing its pure white coat to be besmirched. When it was being chased by hunters, it would supposedly turn around and give itself up to the hunters rather than risk soiling itself. Henry Peacham's Emblem 75, which depicts an Ermine being pursued by a hunter and two hounds, is entitled "Cui candor morte redemptus" or "Purity bought with his own death." Peacham goes on to preach that men and women should follow the example of the Ermine and keep their minds and consciences as pure as the legendary Ermine keeps its fur. In some Nordic countries the Ermine is invoked as a symbol of curiosity and timely action. In some areas of Japan, because of its adorable appearance and somewhat elusive nature it is still considered a symbol of good luck.

Eros (concept):

Eros (ancient Greek: "love" or "desire") is one of the four words in Ancient Greek which can be rendered into English as “love”. The other three are storge, philia and agape. Eros refers to “intimate love” or romantic love; storge to familial love; philia to friendship as a kind of love; and agape refers to “selfless love”, or “charity” as it is translated in the Christian scriptures (from the Latin caritas, dearness).

Erotica:

Erotica is any artistic work that deals substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing subject matter. All forms of art may depict erotic content, including painting, sculpture, photography, drama, film, music or literature. Erotica has high-art aspirations, differentiating it from commercial pornography.

Erotomania:

Erotomania is a type of delusion in which the affected person believes that another person, usually a stranger or famous person, is in love with him or her.

Erotomania is also called de Clérambault's syndrome, after the French psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault (1872–1934), who published a comprehensive review paper on the subject (Les Psychoses Passionelles) in 1921.

Errata:

Plural of erratum.

Erratum:

An error in printing or writing, especially such an error noted in a list of corrections and bound into a book.

Ersatz:

German loanword in English which refers to substitutes of an inferior quality; serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial.

An artificial substance or article used to replace something natural or genuine; a substitute.

ESC:

Short for: Electronic Stability Control (ESC). ESC is a computerized technology that improves the safety of a vehicle's handling by detecting and preventing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, ESC automatically applies individual brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver wants to go. Braking is automatically applied to individual wheels, such as the outer front wheel to counter oversteer, or the inner rear wheel to counter understeer. Some ESC systems also reduce engine power until control is regained.

Escapism:

Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to help relieve persisting feelings of depression or general sadness.

Eschatology:

Eschatology is a part of theology, physics, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events of history, the ultimate destiny of humanity — commonly referred to as the "end of the world" or "end time". The Oxford English Dictionary defines Eschatology as "The department of theological science concerned with 'the four last things: death, judgement, heaven, and hell'."

Escort:

One or more persons accompanying another to guide, protect, or show honor.

A man who is the companion of a woman, especially on a social occasion.

A person, often a prostitute, who is hired to spend time with another as a companion.

One or more vehicles accompanying another vehicle to guide, protect, or honor its passengers.

The state of being accompanied by a person or protective guard.

Escrow:

When a contract or an asset such as money is placed with a third party until certain conditions are met, it is said to be held in escrow. Parties that are in dispute over the ownership of an sset may agree to place the asset in escrow until an arbitrator has had time to decide who is the rightful owner.

Escutcheon (heraldry):

In heraldry, an Escutcheon is a shield which forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word is used in two related senses.

Firstly, as the shield on which a coat of arms is displayed. Escutcheon shapes are derived from actual shields used by knights in combat, and thus have varied and developed by region and by era. As this shape has been regarded as a war-like device appropriate to men only, British ladies customarily bear their arms upon a lozenge, or diamond-shape, while clergymen and ladies in continental Europe bear theirs on a cartouche, or oval.

Secondly, a shield can itself be a charge within a coat of arms. More often, a smaller shield is placed over the middle of the main shield (in pretence or en surtout) as a form of marshalling. In either case, the smaller shield is usually given the same shape as the main shield.

Esotericism:

The holding of secret doctrines; the practice of limiting knowledge to a small group.

ESP:

Short for: Extra Sensory Perception - apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses.

Espadrille:

Espadrilles (aka Alpargatas) are normally casual flat, but sometimes high heeled shoes originating from the Pyrenees. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of rope or rubber material moulded to look like rope. The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an Espadrille.

Espionage:

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, as the legitimate holder of the information may change plans or take other countermeasures once it is known that the information is in unauthorized hands.

Esplanade:

An Esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk.

Espresso:

Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Espresso often has a thicker consistency than coffee brewed by other methods, a higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids, and crema (meaning cream, but being a reference to the foam with a creamy texture that forms as a result of the pressure). As a result of the pressurized brewing process the flavors and chemicals in a typical cup of Espresso are very concentrated. Espresso is the base for other drinks, such as a latte, cappuccino, macchiato, mocha, or americano. Espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most beverages, but the usual serving size is smaller—a typical 60 mL (2 US fluid ounce) of Espresso has 80 to 150 mg of caffeine, a little less than the 95 to 200 mg of a standard 240 mL (8 US fluid ounces) cup of drip-brewed coffee.

Esprit de Corps:

A common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.

Sociology: consciousness of and pride in belonging to a particular group; the sense of shared purpose and fellowship.

-esque:

In the style or manner of; indicating a specified character, manner, style, or resemblance.

Esquire:

A man or boy who is a member of the gentry in England ranking directly below a knight.

Abbr.: Esq. - used as an honorific usually in its abbreviated form, especially after the name of an attorney or a consular officer.

In medieval times, a candidate for knighthood who served a knight as an attendant and a shield bearer.

Archaic: an English country gentleman; a squire.

Essay:

A short literary composition on a single subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author.

A testing or trial of the value or nature of a thing; an initial attempt or endeavor, especially a tentative attempt.

Esse Quam Videri:

Esse Quam Videri is a Latin phrase meaning "To be, rather than to seem".

Essence:

The intrinsic or indispensable properties that serve to characterize or identify something.

The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience.

Establishment:

Something established, as: an arranged order or system, especially a legal code; a permanent civil, political, or military organization; a place of residence or business with its possessions and staff.

A group of people holding most of the power and influence in a government or society.

An Establishment is a single business location of a company which is engaged in a single activity. See also: Anstalt.

Estate:

A landed property, usually of considerable size.

The whole of one's possessions, especially all the property and debts left by one at death.

The nature and extent of an owner's rights with respect to land or other property.

A major social class, such as the clergy, the nobility, or the commons, formerly possessing distinct political rights.

Esteem:

Favorable regard.

Estimate:

An approximate price given by somebody for something that they with to sell to a potential customer.

Et in Arcadia Ego

The translation of the phrase is "Even in Arcadia, there am I". The usual interpretation is that "I" refers to Death, and "Arcadia" means a utopian land. It would thus be a memento mori. During Antiquity, many Greeks lived in cities close to the sea, and led an urban life. Only Arcadians, in the middle of the Peloponnese, lacked cities, were far from the sea, and led a shepherd life. Thus Arcadia symbolized pure, rural, idyllic life, far from the city.

ETA:

Short for: Estimated Time of Arrival.

etc.:

Abbreviation for: ET Cetera; continuing in the same way.

Ethereal:

Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible; highly refined; delicate; of the celestial spheres; heavenly; not of this world; spiritual.

Ethernet:

Ethernet is a family of frame-based computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs). The name comes from the physical concept of the ether. It defines a number of wiring and signaling standards for the Physical Layer of the OSI networking model, through means of network access at the Media Access Control (MAC) /Data Link Layer, and a common addressing format.

Ethernet is standardized as IEEE 802.3. The combination of the twisted pair versions of Ethernet for connecting end systems to the network, along with the fiber optic versions for site backbones, is the most widespread wired LAN technology. It has been in use from around 1980 to the present, largely replacing competing LAN standards such as token ring, FDDI, and ARCNET.

Ethical Investment:

The idea, promoted particularly by certain funds in the United States, of investing only in companies that meets specific ethical criteria. Companies that do not do business with fascist regimes, for example, or do not massively pollute the environment.

Ethics:

Philosophy: the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group.

Ethnic:

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sizable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage.

Relating to a people not Christian or Jewish.

Ethos:

The disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, culture, or movement.

Etiquette:

Etiquette is a code of behavior that influences expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or groups.

Etude:

A short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity.

Etymology:

The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

EU:

Short for: The European Union (EU).

Eucharist:

A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus's death; Communion.

Eugenics:

Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population. It is a social philosophy advocating the improvement of human genetic traits through the promotion of higher rates of sexual reproduction for people with desired traits (positive eugenics), or reduced rates of sexual reproduction and sterilization of people with less-desired or undesired traits (negative eugenics), or both.

Eulogy:

A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died.

High praise or commendation.

Eunuch:

A castrated man employed as a harem attendant or as a functionary in certain Asian courts.

Informal: an ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine man.

Euphemism:

The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.

Euphoria:

Euphoria is an affective state and a form of pleasure in which a person experiences intense feelings of well-being, happiness, and excitement. Certain drugs, many of which are addictive, can cause Euphoria, which at least partially motivates their recreational use. Similarly, certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to emotionally arousing music, music-making, and dancing, can induce a state of Euphoria. Euphoria is also a symptom of certain neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders, such as mania. Romantic love and components of the human sexual response cycle are also associated with the induction of Euphoria.

Eureka:

An exclamation of triumph on discovering or solving something.

Euro:

The Euro is the single currency shared by (currently) 17 of the 27 European Union's Member States, which together make up the Euro area. The introduction of the Euro in 1999 was a major step in European integration. It has also been one of its major successes: around 329 million EU citizens now use it as their currency and enjoy its benefits, which will spread even more widely as other EU countries adopt the Euro.

Eurobonds:

Eurobonds are long-term loans issued in terms of the United States dollars or other currencies or in terms of composite units of account. They may take the form of loans, debentures or convertible debentures and are issued at a fixed rate of interest. Eurobonds are normally issued in countries where interest payments are not subject to withholding tax. Major issues are frequently handled by international underwriting syndicates.

Eurocurrency/-Dollar:

Eurocurrencies are currencies held outside the country of origin by non-residents of that country and made available to the Eurocurrency market for lending. The market originally developed in Eurodollars, but other currencies, e.g. Deutschemarks, Swiss francs and Yen, now form a major part of the market. The market is not subject to exchange controls or other restrictions, although investors and borrowers may be so subject in their own countries.

Eurodollar:

The name given to dollars held outside the United States, particularly those held by European banks and by American banks in Europe.

Euromarket:

A market in financial instruments that are denominated in a currency other than that of the market in which they are traded; for example, a Zurich-based market in dollar-denominated corporate bonds.

European Commission:

The executive organ of the European Union, run by 20 commissioners (two each from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and one from each of the other ten member states). The commission drafts legislation in the form either of regulations of directives. Regulations are passed through the European Parliament and apply in all member states. Directives leave the means of achieving the desired result up to individual, member states.

European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS):

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a planned electronic authorisation system of the European Union for visa-exempt visitors travelling to the European Union or the Schengen Area (including EFTA countries), as well as Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania[1] with the exception of Ireland, which is part of the Common Travel Area. The European Parliament and European Council gave their respective approvals on 12 September 2018. The implementation of ETIAS has been postponed several times. As of 2023, it is expected to become operational in 2024, with a 6-month transitional grace period to allow eligible travellers and staff to become familiar with the new system, and to catch possible technical problems.

Eurotrash:

Eurotrash is a human sub-phylum characterized by its apparent affluence, worldliness, social affectation and addiction to fashion. Males are characterized by a semi-slovenly appearance (including half-shaven faces), greasy hair, rib-hugging shirts, tight jeans and loafers worn without socks. Women are easily distinguished by anorexia, over-bleached hair, gaudy jewellery, plastic surgery (particularly breast-enlargement) and their attachment to the male species. Both sexes greet each other with "air kisses", immediately speak of their last trip (often Paris, Rome, Majorca), spend hours at "see-and-be-seen" restaurants and exhibit a world-weariness and pained sense of irony.

Visit also: Eurotrash (TV series).

Eusocial:

Biology: of or pertaining to certain social animals societies (such as those of ants) in which sterile individuals work for reproductive individuals.

Euthanasia:

Euthanasia refers to the act of killing someone painlessly (especially someone suffering from an incurable illness).

EV:

Short for: Electric Vehicle.

See also: electric car.

Evaluate:

To ascertain or fix the value or worth of.

To examine and judge carefully; appraise.

Evangelist:

Any of the authors of the four Gospels in the New Testament, traditionally identified by the names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

One who practices evangelism, especially a Protestant preacher or missionary.

One who promulgates or promotes something enthusiastically.

Even-Steven:

Having nothing due or owed on either side.

Having an equal score, as in a game or contest.

Event:

Something that takes place; an occurrence.

A significant occurrence or happening.

A social gathering or activity.

The final result; the outcome.

Sports: a contest or an item in a sports program.

Event Planner:

A usually professional planner of parties or social events, as for corporate or government officials.

Evergreen:

An Evergreen tree, shrub, or plant, such as the pine, holly, or rhododendron.

Something that remains perennially fresh, interesting, or well liked.

Everyday Carry:

Everyday Carry (EDC) or every day carry refers to items that are carried on a consistent basis to assist in dealing with normal everyday needs of modern western society, including possible emergency situations.

While often distributed among pockets in everyday clothing, carry options are frequently expanded by the addition of clothing accessories like a fanny pack, purse, small day pack, bracelets, or even footwear like long boots or a vest with pockets. The multiple large pockets of cargo pants make them a popular choice among people who carry EDC items.

Some of the most common EDC items are knives, flashlights, multitools, wallets, smartphones, notebooks, and pens. The type and quantity of such items may vary widely.

Read also: What are your EDC essentials?.

Everything Shower:

A long shower where you take care of all personal hygiene, such as shaving body parts, washing hair, and washing face.

An “Everything Shower” isn't simply about washing. It includes a whole host of self-care practices, from slathering on a thick, deeply conditioning hair mask and using a luxurious cleanser on your skin, to shaving and exfoliating from head to toe.

Read also: Everything Shower: Why This Self-Care Routine Is Taking Over TikTok - "The trend comprises a series of self-care rituals that are said to improve mental health. Proponents say “Everything Showers” can aid stress management, improve mood, and lower anxiety."

Evidence:

A thing or things helpful in forming a conclusion or judgment.

Law: the documentary or oral statements and the material objects admissible as testimony in a court of law.

Ex Ante:

The term Ex-Ante (sometimes written ex ante or exante) is a phrase meaning "before the event". Ex-Ante is used most commonly in the commercial world, where results of a particular action, or series of actions, are forecast in advance (or intended). The opposite of Ex-Ante is ex-post (actual) (or ex post).

Ex Cathedra:

With the authority derived from one's office or position.

Ex-Dividend:

An expression used to refer to a share price that does not incorporate a dividend payment that has been declared by the company but not yet paid. The dividend in question goes to a previous owner of the share.

Ex-Factory:

An annotation added to a price to indicate the point at which the price applies, in this case when it leaves the factory. In other words, the cost of delivery is extra. Similarly, a price could be ex-warehouse or ex-customs.

Ex Gratia:

An extra payment made to an employee "out of thanks". A feature of an Ex-Gratia payment is that the payer is under no contractual obligation to make it.

Ex Libris:

Bookplate: a label identifying the owner of a book in which it is pasted.

Ex Nihilo:

Ex Nihilo is a Latin phrase meaning "out of nothing". It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creatio Ex Nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing" — chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but also occurs in other fields.

In theology, the common phrase creatio Ex Nihilo ("creation out of nothing"), contrasts with creatio ex materia (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with creatio ex deo (creation out of the being of God).

Ex Officio:

A Latin expression for something that arises "out of the office" - belonging to somebody because of the office that they hold rather than because of the person that they are. For example, many of the duties of the chairman of a company (such as making the casting vote at a board meeting) arise from the fact that he or she occupies the office of chairman, not because they have been chosen as individuals to carry out that duty.

Ex Parte:

Law: from or on one side only, with the other side absent or unrepresented.

From a one-sided or strongly biased point of view.

Ex Post Facto:

An Ex Post Facto law (Latin for "from after the action" or "after the facts") is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. In criminal law, it may criminalize actions that were legal when committed; it may aggravate a crime by bringing it into a more severe category than it was in when it was committed; it may change the punishment prescribed for a crime, as by adding new penalties or extending sentences; or it may alter the rules of evidence in order to make conviction for a crime likelier than it would have been when the deed was committed. Conversely, a form of Ex Post Facto law commonly called an amnesty law may decriminalize certain acts or alleviate possible punishments (for example by replacing the death sentence with lifelong imprisonment) retroactively.

Ex-Rights:

A note added to the quotation of a share price to indicate that anybody buying the share at that price does not get the benefit of a declared (but not yet issued) rights issued.

Ex-Voto:

An Ex-Voto is a votive offering to a saint or to a divinity. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for Ex Voto suscepto, "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Ex-Votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshiper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with Ex-Votos.

Ex-Works:

The same as ex-factory.

Exa-:

Exa is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting 10¹⁸ or 1000000000000000000. It was added to the International System of Units (SI) in 1975, and has the unit symbol E.

Exact Science:

An Exact Science is any field of science capable of accurate quantitative expression or precise predictions and rigorous methods of testing hypotheses, especially reproducible experiments involving quantifiable predictions and measurements.

Examination:

The act of examining or the state of being examined.

A set of questions or exercises testing knowledge or skill.

Example:

An item of information that is typical of a class or group.

A person, action, thing, etc., that is worthy of imitation; pattern.

Excalibur:

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain.

Excellence:

The state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority.

Something in which one excels.

Exchange Control:

Regulations whereby a country controls transactions in foreign currencies or securities. In some jurisdictions (e.g. Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom) the regulations may render a contract void unless prior consent is obtained.

Exchange Rate:

The amount of money denominated in one currency that can be obtained for a unit of another. Most countries express their currency first and foremost in terms of the US dollar.

Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF):

An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund that is also an exchange-traded product, i.e., it is traded on stock exchanges. ETFs own financial assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, debts, futures contracts, and/or commodities such as gold bars. The list of assets that each ETF owns, as well as their weightings, is posted on the website of the issuer daily, or quarterly in the case of active non-transparent ETFs. Many ETFs provide some level of diversification compared to owning an individual stock.

Excise:

A selective tax imposed on the consumption of goods and services.

Exclamation Point:

Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. (F. Scott Fitzgerald).

Exclusive:

An Exclusive right or privilege, as to market a product.

A news item initially released to only one publication or broadcaster.

Catering to a wealthy clientele; expensive.

Excluding some or most, as from membership or participation.

Not divided or shared with others; excluding or tending to exclude; complete; undivided; not accompanied by others; single or sole.

Excommunicate:

To deprive of the right of church membership by ecclesiastical authority.

To exclude by or as if by decree from membership or participation in a group.

Excuse My French:

Or "Pardon my French", a common English-language phrase intended to excuse the speaker's use of profanity.

Executive:

Someone who has the power to decide that tasks should be executed. The word usually refers to managers at senior levels.

Executive Branch:

The branch of the United States government that is responsible for carrying out the laws.

Executive Director:

Strictly speaking, a company executive who is also a director, that is, who serves on the company board. The term director is, however, sometimes used loosely as a title for someone not on the board. In this case an executive director is just a senior executive.

Executive Order:

A rule the President of the United States issues that has the force of law, and doesn't require the consent of Congress, or the chief executive of a state which has the effect of law.

Executive Privilege:

The principle that members of the executive branch of government cannot legally be forced to disclose their confidential communications when such disclosure would adversely affect the operations or procedures of the executive branch.

Exegesis:

Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

Exempt Company:

A company exempted from tax or from compliance with specified regulations of the country in which it is established.

Exempt Gilt:

Security issued by the British Government with the condition that they will be free of United Kingdom tax when beneficially owned by non-residents.

Exempt Trust:

A trust established in a country where the Government issues a guarantee that the trust income and property will not be taxed for a specified number of years no matter what laws are subsequently passed relating to income, inheritance, estate duty, or capital gains taxes.

Exequatur:

Recognition of a country's consul by a foreign government.

Exercise:

An act of employing or putting into play; use.

The discharge of a duty, function, or office.

Activity that requires physical or mental exertion, especially when performed to develop or maintain fitness.

Making use of a right given under the terms of a contract. For instance, the option to purchase as share at a certain price and within a certain time; or the right to take up a rights issue.

Executor:

Law: a person who is appointed by a testator to execute the testator's will.

Exhibition:

A public display of art, products, skills, activities.

Exile:

Exile means to be away from one's home (i.e. city, state or country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. It can be a form of punishment and solitude.

Exit Poll:

A poll taken of a sample of voters as they leave a polling place, used especially to predict the outcome of an election or determine the opinions and characteristics of the candidates' supporters.

Exit Rate:

Exit Rate as a term used in web site traffic analysis (sometimes confused with bounce rate) is the percentage of visitors to a site who actively click away to a different site from a specific page, after possibly having visited any other pages on the site. The visitors just exited on that specific page.

Exit Route:

The way in which an investor hopes to realize a capital gain from an investment. With investment in a business, this usually involves floating the business on a stockmarket and selling shares to the general public. In a more general sense, an Exit Route can be any strategy for withdrawing from a particular course of action.

Exogamy:

Exogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of Exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, Exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects: biological and cultural. Biological Exogamy is marriage of non blood-related beings, regulated by forms of incest law. A form of exogamy is dual Exogamy, in which two groups engage in continual wife exchange. Cultural Exogamy is the marrying outside of a specific cultural group. The opposite of Exogamy is endogamy, a marriage within a social group.

Exonym:

An Exonym or xenonym is an external name for a geographical place, a group of people, an individual person, or a language or dialect.

Exoplanet:

An Exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet that orbits a star other than the Sun, a stellar remnant, or a brown dwarf. Nearly 2000 exoplanets have been discovered (1935 planets in 1225 planetary systems including 484 multiple planetary systems as of 28 July 2015).

Exorcise:

To expel (an evil spirit) by or as if by incantation, command, or prayer.

Exorcism:

The act, practice, or ceremony of exorcising.

Exoteric:

Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside, and independent from, a person's experience and can be ascertained by anyone (related to common sense).

Exotic:

Originating in a foreign country, especially one in the tropics; not native.

Having a strange or bizarre allure, beauty, or quality.

A striptease performer.

Expatriate Expat:

A person living and working in a foreign country. The tax position of Expatriates can become complicated because they fall under at least two jurisdictions. Expatriates often enjoy a lifestyle above what they might expect at home because they get perks to compensate for the "hardship" of their posting.

Expense Account:

An allowance given to an executive for the purposes of entertaining and / or traveling in pursuit of business.

Experience:

The apprehension of an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind.

Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill.

An event or a series of events participated in or lived through.

Experiential Gifts:

Experiential Gifts also known as gift experiences and experience gifts, pioneered in the UK in the 1990s, now represent one of the faster growing segments of the $253 billion a year gift industry. As opposed to material gifts, they allow the recipient to have an experience, such as skydiving, kayaking, race car driving or touring a vineyard.

Experiential Gifts tend to fall into the following groups:
• Adventure - skydiving, kayaking, whitewater rafting, hang gliding.
• Driving - rallying, NASCAR, V8 supercars, classic cars.
• Gourmet - wine tasting, cigar tasting, gourmet cooking lessons, tasting menu experiences.
• Environmentally friendly - Segway city tours, whale watching.
• Rejuvenate - spa treatments, pilates, stone massages.
• Travel - weekend getaways, golfing breaks, etc.
• Music - karaoke singing.

Expert:

A person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject.

Export:

Goods or services that are sold to someone or some organization outside the country in which they are produced.

Export Credit:

A loan given to an exporter in which the goods being exported provide security for the loan. An Export Credit is designed to bridge the gap between the time when an exporter receives an order and the time when it receives payment. With large capital goods this can be many months, if not years.

Export Credit Agency:

An organization set up to administer export credit guarantees. Such agencies also sometimes lend money directly to foreign buyers to enable them to buy goods from the country of the agency. These loans are frequently granted at favorable rates of interest, involving an element of subsidy to the overseas buyer.

Export Credit Guarantee:

A scheme set up (usually by a government or government agency) to help its countries' exporters by giving guarantees to bankers that their loans to those exporters will be repaid.

Export:

An insurance policy taken out to reduce the risk of loss of exported goods while they are in transit.

Exposé:

An exposure or a revelation of something discreditable.

A formal exposition of facts.

Exposure:

The extent to which a creditor is vulnerable to a particular debtor. For example, a bank is exposed to the textiles industry if it has lent considerably more to that industry than to others.

Expression:

The act of Expressing, conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement; a manifestation.

Something that expresses or communicates.

The manner in which one Expresses oneself, especially in speaking, depicting, or performing.

Expropriation:

The process of taking over property, especially real property, of another by any process, lawful or not.

Extemporary:

Spoken, done, or composed with little or no preparation or forethought.

Extended Reality (XR):

Extended Reality is a catch-all term to refer to augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). The technology is intended to combine or mirror the physical world with a "digital twin world" able to interact with it.

The fields of virtual reality and augmented reality are rapidly growing and being applied in a wide range of areas such as entertainment, marketing, real estate, training, and remote work.

External Debt:

The financial obligations of a company or a country to overseas (that is, non-domestic) creditors.

External Funds:

The funds available to an organization that come from outside the organization, usually in the form of bank loans, trade credit, bonds or shares.

Extraordinary Item:

An item in a company's accounts which is out of the ordinary, that is, which does not appear as a matter of course in every year's accounts. Extraordinary items need to be explained to shareholders in the company's annual report.

Extortion:

An excessive or exorbitant charge.

Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.

Extra:

More than or beyond what is usual, normal, expected, or necessary.

Extraordinary Resolution:

A resolution, or statement of intent, to do something that falls outside a company's ordinary course of business. For example, a resolution to take over another company, or to dismiss a director for fraud.

Extraterrestrial:

Originating, located, or occurring outside the Earth or its atmosphere.

Extravagant:

Given to lavish or imprudent expenditure.

Exceeding reasonable bounds; extremely abundant; profuse; unreasonably high; exorbitant.

Extreme Sport:

Extreme Sports (also called action sport and adventure sport) is a media term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger. These activities often involve speed, height, high level of physical exertion, highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts.

Extrovert:

Psychology: a person concerned more with external reality than inner feelings.

Eye:

An organ of vision or of light sensitivity.

The ability to make intellectual or aesthetic judgments; a way of regarding something; a point of view.

The center or focal point of attention or action.

Eye Candy:

A common slang term for visually appealing persons or effects used to draw mass attention is Eye Candy. The implication is that they are eye-catching in a superficial fashion, for example due to adding an element of sexuality. Like actual candy, this addition is seen to be neither nutritious nor substantial, but rather provides a potentially addictive appeal which will sustain the attention of a wider audience, possibly despite their better nature.

This expression is sometimes used for example to actors/actresses whose visual enjoyment to the audience is perceived as so evident they are alleged as having been cast for this reason, e.g. for their sex appeal. Various novels, articles, and stories have used this slang term to show a physical attraction one person has toward another.

Eye Dialect:

Eye Dialect is the use of nonstandard spelling for speech to draw attention to an ironically standard pronunciation. The term was coined by George Philip Krapp to refer to the literary technique of using nonstandard spelling that implies a pronunciation of the given word that is actually standard, such as wimmin for women; the spelling indicates that the character's speech overall is dialectal, foreign, or uneducated. This form of nonstandard spelling differs from others in that a difference in spelling does not indicate a difference in pronunciation of a word. That is, it is dialect to the eye rather than to the ear. It suggests that a character "would use a vulgar pronunciation if there were one" and "is at the level of ignorance where one misspells in this fashion, hence mispronounces as well".

Eye For an Eye:

The meaning of the principle, an Eye For an Eye, is that a person who has injured another person receives the same injury in compensation. The exact Latin (lex talionis) to English translation of this phrase is actually "The law of retaliation." At the root of this principle is that one of the purposes of the law is to provide equitable retribution for an offended party.

Eye in the Sky:

The Eye in the Sky is a term given to casino and other commercial security closed circuit cameras. In casinos, they are positioned to monitor seats, tables, hallways, restaurants, and even elevators closely, often with enough clarity to read the time on the watch of a player at a table.

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR):

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro starting in 1988 in which the person being treated is asked to recall distressing images; the therapist then directs the patient in one type of bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye rapid movement or hand tapping. According to the 2013 World Health Organization practice guideline: "This therapy [EMDR] is based on the idea that negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours are the result of unprocessed memories. The treatment involves standardized procedures that include focusing simultaneously on (a) spontaneous associations of traumatic images, thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations and (b) bilateral stimulation that is most commonly in the form of repeated eye movements."

Eye of the Beholder:

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder means that different people will find different things beautiful and that the differences of opinion don't matter greatly.

Eye of the Storm:

Eye (cyclone), a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones.

Eyewitness:

A person who has seen someone or something and can bear witness to the fact.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- F -

F Word:

See: F-bomb.

Fabian Strategy:

The Fabian Strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause attrition, disrupt supply and affect morale. Employment of this strategy implies that the side adopting this strategy believes time is on its side, but it may also be adopted when no feasible alternative strategy can be devised.

Fabianism:

Socialism to be established by gradual reforms within the law.

Fabius Cunctator

The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided ... were the only feasible means of driving Hannibal from Italy. This strategy of attrition earned Fabius the cognomen "Cunctator" (the Delayer).

Fable:

A usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing as characters animals that speak and act like humans.

A deliberately false or improbable account.

Fabliau:

A Fabliau (plural fabliaux) is a comic, often anonymous tale written by jongleurs in northeast France between c. 1150 and 1400. They are generally characterized by sexual and scatological obscenity, and by a set of contrary attitudes—contrary to the church and to the nobility.

Fac et Excusa:

Act now, and make excuses later.

Façade:

The face of a building, especially the principal face.

An artificial or deceptive front.

Face:

A person; a person's countenance; a contorted facial expression; a grimace.

Facial cosmetics.

Outward appearance; value or standing in the eyes of others; prestige.

The most significant or prominent surface of an object.

Printing: a typeface or range of typefaces; the raised printing surface of a piece of type.

Face Value:

The value printed or written on the face, as of a bill or bond.

Apparent worth or value, as opposed to real worth.

Facebook:

Informal: a school yearbook.

A popular social networking website.

Facebook Rape:

The access of a Facebook account by a third party, unknown to the account's owner, which alters and adds humiliating or otherwise derogatory words to the account's profile for the purpose of a prank. The act usually takes place between friends after one leaves their Facebook account logged in.

Facelift:

A Facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (literally, surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful appearance. It usually involves the removal of excess facial skin, with or without the tightening of underlying tissues, and the redraping of the skin on the patient's face and neck. The first Facelift was performed in Berlin in 1901 by Eugen Holländer.

Faceoff:

A method of starting play in ice hockey, lacrosse, and other games in which an official drops the puck or ball between two opposing players who contend for its control.

A direct confrontation.

Facerape:

The act of abusing someone's Facebook account on a computer where they have left themselves logged in. Usually results in a change of status proclaiming their sudden change in sexuality, as well as numerous wall posts to friends containing bizzare messages.

Facétie:

Practical joke.

Facial Recognition Technology:

A Facial Recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. One of the ways to do this is by comparing selected facial features from the image and a facial database.

It is typically used in security systems and can be compared to other biometrics such as fingerprint or eye iris recognition systems.

Facilitating Payment:

A Facilitating Payment is a certain type of payment to foreign officials that is not considered to be bribery according to legislations of some states as well as in the international anti-bribery conventions, e.g., coming from the OECD.

Facilitator:

Someone who makes progress easier.

A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose.

Facility:

A service made available to customers or employees to use as and when they please. Hence an overdraft facility is a bank overdraft made available to customers to use whenever they need it. A canteen facility is a place serving food for employees to take advantage of as they wish.

FACS | Facial Action Coding System:

Facial Action Coding System (FACS) is a system to taxonomize human facial movements by their appearance on the face. It is a common standard to systematically categorize the physical expression of emotions, and it has proven useful to psychologists and to animators. Due to subjectivity and time consumption issues, FACS has been established as a computed automated system that detects faces in videos, extracts the geometrical features of the faces, and then produces temporal profiles of each facial movement.

Facsimile:

An exact copy or reproduction, as of a document.

At the present time, Facsimiles are generally made by the use of some form of photographic technique. It is most often referring to fax machines.

Fact:

Knowledge or information based on real occurrences.

Something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed.

A real occurrence; an event.

Something believed to be true or real.

Law: the aspect of a case at law comprising events determined by evidence.

Fact-Challenged:

A lie.

Faction:

A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group.

Conflict within an organization or nation; internal dissension.

Factor:

One that actively contributes to an accomplishment, result, or process.

Originally, an agent sent from Europe by the East India Company to run its trading posts in far-flung parts of the British Empire. Today a Factor is any agent who is buying and selling something on commission.

Mathematics: one of two or more quantities that divides a given quantity without a remainder. For example, 2 and 3 are Factors of 6; a and b are Factors of ab.

A quantity by which a stated quantity is multiplied or divided, so as to indicate an increase or decrease in a measurement.

Factoring:

A service in which a Factoring house or other financial institution purchases a customer's accounts receivables and assumes all the credit risk of the customer's debtors and the responsibility of collection payments.

Factors of Production:

The essential elements - land, labor and capital - required for any wealth-creating process.

Factory:

Originally, a trading post that was run by a factor. Subsequently, any site where factors of production are used in the manufacture of goods.

Factotum:

A person hired to do all sorts of work; handyman.

Facts of Life:

Something unavoidable that must be faced or dealt with.

The basic physiological functions involved in sex and reproduction; the sexual activity of conceiving and bearing offspring.

Factum:

(Law): the due execution of a will, including everything necessary to its validity.

Faculty:

An inherent power or ability.

Any of the powers or capacities possessed by the human mind.

The ability to perform or act.

Any of the divisions or comprehensive branches of learning at a college or university.

Fad:

A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.

Fag Bag:

A heterosexual woman who consorts with homosexual men.

A heterosexual woman who marries a homosexual man.

Fagging:

Fagging was a traditional practice in British boarding private schools (nearly all "public schools" in the English sense) and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys. While domestic servants were common in family households, the custom reflected household task distribution and taught pupils about service from both ends of the relationship very much reminiscent of the relationship between squire and knight in the Middle Ages.

Fagin:

Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".

Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit usually refers to a temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). Today, the scale has been replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other nations, such as Belize.

On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and the boiling point 212 °F (at standard atmospheric pressure), placing the boiling and freezing points of water exactly 180 degrees apart. A degree on the Fahrenheit scale is 1/180 of the interval between the freezing point and the boiling point. On the Celsius scale, the freezing and boiling points of water are 100 degrees apart, hence the unit of this scale. A temperature interval of 1 degree Fahrenheit is equal to an interval of 5/9 degrees Celsius. The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales converge at -40 degrees (i.e. -40 °F and -40 °C represent the same temperature).

Absolute zero is -459.67 °F. The Rankine temperature scale was created to use degree intervals the same size as those of the Fahrenheit scale, such that a temperature difference of one Rankine (1 R) is equal to a difference of 1 °F, except that absolute zero is 0 R.

See also: celsius.

Faible:

A moral weakness; a failing; a weak point; a frailty.

Fail-Safe Device:

Engineering: designed to return to a safe condition in the event of a failure or malfunction.

Military: capable of being deactivated in the event of a failure or accident.

Guaranteed not to fail.

Failed State:

The term Failed State is often used by political commentators and journalists to describe a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government. In order to make this definition more precise, the following attributes, proposed by the Fund for Peace, are often used to characterize a Failed State: 1) loss of physical control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein; 2) erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions; 3) an inability to provide reasonable public services; and 4) an inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community. Often a failed nation is characterized by social, political, and economic failure.

Faille:

Faille is a type of fabric which is woven with a faintly ribbed pattern, creating a distinctive textured feel. This fabric is often used on formal dresses and gowns, and it can also be used to make jackets, vests, skirts and other garments.

Fainéant:

An irresponsible idler.

Fair:

Of pleasing appearance, especially because of a pure or fresh quality; comely.

Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics.

Moderately good; acceptable or satisfactory.

Fair Play:

Conformity to established rules.

A conventional standard of honourable behaviour.

Fairy Tale:

A Fairy Tale is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. Fairy Tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables.

In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "Fairy Tale ending" (a happy ending) or "Fairy Tale romance" (though not all Fairy Tales end happily). Colloquially, a "Fairy Tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any farfetched story or tall tale; it is used especially of any story that not only is not true, but could not possibly be true. Legends are perceived as real; Fairy Tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, people, and events; they take place once upon a time rather than in actual times.

Fair Trade:

Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit and flowers.

Fair Trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to one of security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade. Fair Trade proponents include a wide array of international development aid, social, religious and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Catholic Relief Services, and Caritas International.

In 2007, Fair Trade certified sales amounted to approximately €2.3 billion (US$3.62 billion) worldwide, a 47% year-to-year increase. While this represents a tiny fraction of world trade in physical merchandise, Fair Trade products generally account for 1-20% of all sales in their product categories in Europe and North America. In June 2008, it was estimated that over 7.5 million disadvantaged producers and their families were benefiting from Fair Trade funded infrastructure, technical assistance and community development projects.

Fairness:

Conformity with rules or standards.

Ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty.

Fairy:

A tiny imaginary being in human form, depicted as clever, mischievous, and possessing magical powers.

Offensive Slang: used as a disparaging term for a homosexual man.

Fairy Tale:

A fanciful tale about fairies of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children; a fictitious, highly fanciful story or explanation.

Fait Accompli:

An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.

Faithless Servant:

The Faithless Servant doctrine is a doctrine under the laws of a number of states in the United States, and most notably New York State law, pursuant to which an employee who acts unfaithfully towards his or her employer must forfeit to his or her employer all compensation received during the period of disloyalty.

Faits Divers:

(Idiomatic): brief news stories, as those typically found in some French newspapers, that are sensational, lurid, etc.

Fake News:

Fake News is a type of hoax or deliberate spread of misinformation, be it via the traditional news media or via social media, with the intent to mislead in order to gain financially or politically. It often employs eye-catching headlines or entirely fabricated news-stories in order to increase readership and online sharing. Profit is made in a similar fashion to clickbait and relies on ad-revenue generated regardless of the veracity of the published stories. Easy access to ad-revenue, increased political polarization and the ubiquity of social media, primarily the Facebook newsfeed have been implicated in the spread of Fake News. Anonymously hosted websites lacking known publishers have also been implicated, because they make it difficult to prosecute sources of Fake News for libel or slander.

Read also: What is fake news? Its origins & how it grew under Donald Trump - The Telegraph.

Falafel:

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from spiced chickpeas and / or fava beans. Originally from Egypt, Falafel is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze.

Falafel is usually served in a pita-like bread called lafa, either inside the bread, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat bread. In many countries Falafel is a popular street food or fast food. The Falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset.

Falange:

A member of a fascist organization constituting the official ruling party of Spain after 1939.

An adherent of fascism or other right-wing authoritarian views.

Fall Guy:

A person who is the victim of a confidence trick; a scapegoat; a gullible victim; a dupe.

Fall Off a Truck:

Idiomatic, US, euphemistic: of an item of merchandise, to come into a person's possession without having been paid for; to be acquired illegally.

Fall On One's Sword:

To fall down and be penetrated by one's own sword, accidentally or on purpose.

Idiomatic: to resign from a job or other position of responsibility, especially when pressured to do so; to voluntarily take the blame for a situation.

To accept defeat; to go to extremes to indicate one's defeat. (From the ancient practice of a military commander committing suicide this way rather than being captured.)

Fallback:

An alternative plan of action devised in case a primary plan fails.

False Confession:

A False Confession is an admission of guilt for a crime for which the confessor is not responsible. False Confessions can be induced through coercion or by the mental disorder or incompetency of the accused. Research demonstrates that False Confessions occur on a regular basis in case law, which is one reason why jurisprudence has established a series of rules—called "confession rules"—to detect, and subsequently reject, False Confessions. Plea agreements typically require the defendant to stipulate to a set of facts establishing that he/she is guilty of the offense; in the United States federal system, before entering judgment on a guilty plea, the court must determine that there is a factual basis for the plea.

False Flag:

The contemporary term False Flag describes covert operations that are designed to deceive in such a way that activities appear as though they are being carried out by entities, groups, or nations other than those who actually planned and executed them.

Historically, the term "False Flag" has its origins in naval warfare where the use of a flag other than the belligerent's true battle flag before (but not while) engaging the enemy has long been accepted as a permissible ruse de guerre; by contrast, flying a False Flag while engaging the enemy constitutes perfidy.

False Friends:

False Friends are words in two languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. There is often a partial overlap in meanings, which creates additional complications.

As well as producing completely False Friends, the use of loanwords often results in the use of a word in a restricted context, which may then develop new meanings not found in the original language. For example, angst means "fear" in a general sense (as well as "anxiety") in German, but when it was borrowed into English in the context of psychology, its meaning was restricted to a particular type of fear described as "a neurotic feeling of anxiety and depression".

False Lien:

A False Lien is a lien that has no factual basis, or is based upon false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations. It is sometimes used as a tool of harassment in paper terrorism, often against government officials.

Falsetto:

A male singing voice with artificially high tones in an upper register.

Fame:

Great renown.

Public estimation; reputation.

Famesque:

Amy Argetsinger coined the term "Famesque" ("famous for being famous") to define actors, singers, or athletes whose fame is mostly (if not entirely) due to ones' physical attractiveness and/or personal life, rather than actual talent and (if any) successful career accomplishments.

Family:

A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.

A group of like things; a class.

Family Firm:

A company owned and run largely by the members of one or two families. Such firms have special characteristics and special problems, such as how to motivate non-family employees when the most senior positions in the company are probably closed to them.

Family Office:

Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve ultra-high net worth investors. Family offices are different from traditional wealth management shops in that they offer a total outsourced solution to managing the financial and investment side of a affluent individual or family. For example, many family offices offer budgeting, insurance, charitable giving, family-owned businesses, wealth transfer and tax services.

Family Tree:

A genealogical diagram of a family's ancestry; the ancestors and descendants of a family considered as a group.

Fan:

An ardent devotee; an enthusiast.

Fan Mail:

Mail sent to a public figure by admirers.

Fanaticism:

An extreme and uncritical zeal or enthusiasm, as in religion or politics.

Fanboi:

Someone who is hopelessly devoted to something and will like anything associated with this particular thing; geek term related to forum users who think a product / company / person can do no wrong.

Fanboi pre-dates both Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi" song (2002) and Apple's iDevices (iMac, 1998), however usage increased dramatically since the 2007 release of the iPhone, and it is now often used a put-down when talking about zealous Apple fans.

Fancy:

Elaborate in structure or decoration; feel a desire or liking for; a feeling of liking or attraction, typically one that is superficial or transient.

Fancy Dress:

Costume worn at masquerades, etc., usually representing a particular role, historical figure, etc.

Fandango:

Fandango is a lively couples dance from Spain, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping ("palmas" in Spanish). Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung Fandango is usually bipartite: it has an instrumental introduction followed by "variaciones". Sung Fandango usually follows the structure of "cante" that consist of four or five octosyllabic verses (coplas) or musical phrases (tercios). Occasionally, the first copla is repeated.

The meter of Fandango is similar to that of the bolero and seguidilla. It was originally notated in 6/8 time, but later in 3/8 or 3/4.

Informal: nonsense; tomfoolery.

Fandom:

Fandom (consisting of fan [fanatic] plus the suffix -dom, as in kingdom) is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their Fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices (a Fandom); this is what differentiates "fannish" (Fandom-affiliated) fans from those with only a casual interest.

Fanfare:

Music: a loud flourish of brass instruments, especially trumpets.

A spectacular public display.

FANG Stocks:

In finance, the acronym "FANG" refers to the stocks of four prominent American technology companies: Facebook (F), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Alphabet (GOOG). In 2017, the company Apple (AAPL) was also added, causing the acronym to be rewritten as "FAANG."

Fannie Mae:

A security issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and secured by a pool of federally insured and conventional mortgages.

See also: Freddie Mac.

Fantasy:

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction.

FAQ:

Short for: Frequently Asked Questions. A list of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers about a given subject.

Far Figura:

To make quite an impression.

Farang:

Farang is a Persian word which refers to Franks, once the major Germanic tribe ruling Western Europe. In the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia "Farang" refers to Europeans.

Farce:

A light dramatic work in which highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect.

A ludicrous, empty show; a mockery.

Farthing (British coin):

The British Farthing (¼d) coin, from "fourthing", was a unit of currency of one quarter of a penny, or one nine hundred and sixtieth of a pound sterling. It was minted in bronze, and replaced the earlier copper Farthings. It was used during the reign of six monarchs: Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II, ceasing to be legal tender in 1960. It featured two different designs on its reverse during its one hundred years in circulation: from 1860 until 1936, the image of Britannia; and from 1937 onwards, the image of a wren. Like all British coinage, it bore the portrait of the monarch on the obverse.

Fascism:

A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

Fashion:

The prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.

Something, such as a garment, that is in the current mode.

The style characteristic of the social elite: a man of Fashion.

To some, Fashion is an art form. To others, it is almost a religion.

For most people it is a method of utilizing clothing, accessories and hair to show or hide something about yourself.

You can use Fashion to express yourself, to serve as an extension of your personality: goth, skater, soccer mom, professional.

Or you can use Fashion to disguise your true self: a conservative in vamp clothing, a vamp in conservative clothing.

Fashion statements can be made with clothes, accessories, shoes, hair, makeup, even your cellphone.

Fashion Police:

"Fashion Police" is a term which refers to the idea of an imaginary police force that make sure that people dress according to fashion. The term is jokingly used for self-appointed individuals who criticise the clothing others wear, and thereby those others' fashion sense. The term can sometimes be used in a disparaging sense, holding that the fashion police have a narrow, rigid or uncreative sense of style or propriety, or it can be used with approval of what the presumed judgment of the fashion police would be if present ("Somebody call the fashion police!"), if the speaker believes someone has committed a fashion faux pas.

Fashionable:

A stylish person.

Conforming to the current style; stylish.

Associated with or frequented by persons of fashion.

Fashionista:

A person who creates or promotes high fashion, i.e. a fashion designer or fashion editor; a person who dresses according to the trends of high fashion, or one who follows those trends.

FAST:

Short for: Free Ad-Supported Streaming (television).

Fast Fashion:

Fast Fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers for designs that move from catwalk quickly to capture current fashion trends. A second, critical definition adds that Fast Fashion is not only about quickly moving from runway to store to consumer, but also to the garbage. Fast Fashion clothing collections are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year. Fast Fashion brands are not necessarily creating pieces to last a long time, with over 60 percent of the fabric used being synthetics. These synthetic fibers end up in land fills, with 85 percent of textile waste in the United States unable to decay. Emphasis is on optimizing certain aspects of the supply chain for these trends to be designed and manufactured quickly and inexpensively to allow the mainstream consumer to buy current clothing styles at a lower price. This philosophy of quick manufacturing at an affordable price is used in large retailers such as H&M, Zara, C&A, Peacocks, Primark, Xcel Brands, and Topshop. It particularly came to the fore during the vogue for "boho chic" in the mid-2000s.

Fast Food:

Inexpensive food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken, prepared and served quickly.

See also: slow food.

Fast Track:

A separate career path in an organization designed to cater for particularly able people who might not be prepared to wait and make the standard ascent of the corporate ladder.

A procedure in the United States, which allows for the fast passage of legislation concerning trade agreements.

Fat Finger Syndrome:

Fat Finger, or "Fat Finger Syndrome", a slang term, refers to an unwanted secondary action when typing. When one's finger is bigger than the touch zone, there can be inaccuracy in the fine motor movements and accidents occur. This is common with touchscreens. One may hit two adjacent keys on the keyboard in a single keystroke. An example is buckled instead of bucked, due to the L key being next to the K key on many keyboards.

A human error caused by pressing the wrong key when using a computer to input data. Fat Finger errors are often harmless but can sometimes have significant consequences for example, if the wrong number is entered in performing a mathematical calculation.

In the aftermath of the May 6, 2010, "flash crash" that caused a significant, rapid and unexpected drop in the Dow, one possible early explanation was Fat Finger error. The idea was that a trader had entered an order incorrectly, placing the order in the billions rather than the millions. In reality, such trading errors are unlikely because of safeguards implemented by brokerages and exchanges.

Fat Grafting:

Fat Grafting, also called autologous fat transfer, is emerging as a new breast reconstruction technique. In Fat Grafting, fat tissue is removed from other parts of your body -- usually your thighs, belly, and buttocks -- by liposuction. The tissue is then processed into liquid and injected into the breast area to recreate the breast.

Fata Morgana:

See: mirage.

Fatal:

Bringing death.

Having momentous consequences; of decisive importance.

Fatalism:

A submissive mental attitude resulting from acceptance of the doctrine that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable.

Fate:

The supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events; the inevitable events predestined by this force.

A final result or consequence; an outcome.

Unfavorable destiny; doom.

FATF:

Short for: G-7's Financial Action Task Force set up in 1989.

Father Figure:

A person often of particular power or influence who serves as an emotional substitute for a father.

Fathom:

A Fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 metres), used especially for measuring the depth of water.

Fatwa:

A Fatwa in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any Fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a Fatwa is called, in that respect, a Mufti, i.e. an issuer of Fatawa. This is not necessarily a formal position, since most Muslims argue that anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (Fatwa) on its teachings.

Fauna:

All the animal life in a particular region or period.

Faustian:

Of, relating to, resembling, or suggesting Faust.

Made or done for present gain without regard for future cost or consequences.

Faustian Bargain:

From the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gains.

(Idiomatic): an agreement in which a person abandons his or her spiritual values or moral principles in order to obtain wealth or other benefits.

Faute de Mieux:

French for: for want of a better alternative.

Faux Naïf:

A person who pretends to be naïve; appearing or seeking to appear simple and unsophisticated.

Faux Pas:

A socially embarrassing action or mistake.

Favela:

A Favela is the term for a shanty town in Brazil, most often within urban areas. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos (African neighbourhoods). This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in.

Favor:

A gracious, friendly, or obliging act that is freely granted.

A privilege or concession.

Unfair partiality; Favoritism.

Favorite:

One that is trusted, indulged, or preferred above all others, especially by a superior.

A contestant or competitor regarded as most likely to win.

Fax:

A facsimile machine. A machine that makes paper based copies of messages that have been transmitted electronically via telephone lines and computer networks.

A printed page or image transmitted or received by a Fax machine.

F-Bomb:

A word that starts with "F" and rhymes with "truck."

Fuck is an English word that is generally considered profane which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. However, by extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed.

"Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb, adjective, command, interjection, noun, and can logically be used as virtually any word in a sentence (e.g., "Fuck the fucking fuckers"). Moreover, it is one of the few words in the English language which could be applied as an infix (e.g., "Am I sexy? Absofuckinglutely!"; "Bullfuckingshit!"). It has various metaphorical meanings. The verb "to be fucked" can mean "to be cheated" (e.g., "I got fucked by a scam artist"), or alternatively, to be sexually penetrated.

FBI:

Short for: the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (U.S.A.).

FBO:

Short for: Fixed Base Operator. In the aviation industry, a Fixed Base Operator (also known as fixed base of operation), or FBO, is a service center at an airport that may be a private enterprise or may be a department of the municipality that the airport serves. The term is originally North American, but it is becoming more common in Europe and the UK.

At a minimum, most FBOs offer aircraft fuel, oil, and parking, along with access to washrooms and telephones. Some FBOs offer additional aircraft services such as hangar (indoor) storage, maintenance, aircraft charter or rental, flight training, deicing, and ground services such as towing and baggage handling.

FBOs may also offer services not directly related to the aircraft, such as rental cars, lounges, and hotel reservations.

Fcc:

Short for: File Carbon Copy. A function in an e-mail client program that saves an outgoing message to a particular folder.

FDIC:

Short for: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: a U.S. government-sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions.

Feasibility Study:

A paper-based analysis of the likelihood that a project will meet its planned targets.

Feature:

The overall appearance of the face or its parts.

A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic.

A full-length film.

A special attraction at an entertainment.

Feature Phone:

A Feature Phone is a mobile phone which at the time of manufacture is not considered to be a smartphone due to it lacking in several features, but nevertheless has additional functions over and above standard mobile services. It is intended for customers who want a lower-price phone without all the features of a smartphone.

Federal:

National; especially in reference to the government of the United States as distinct from that of its member units.

Fee:

A payment for the provision of professional services; for example, the lawyer's Fee and the accountant's Fee. Other service providers, such as window cleaners and bus conductors, are not paid Fees. They are paid cash.

Feed:

A Feed is a regularly updated summary of web content, along with links to full versions of that content. When you subscribe to a given website's Feeds by using a Feed reader, you'll receive a summary of new content from that website. Important: you must use a Feed reader in order to subscribe to website Feeds. When you click on an RSS or Atom Feed link, your browser may display a page of unformatted gobbledygook.

For more information, visit Google FeedBurner help.

Feedback:

The return of a portion of the output of a process or system to the input, especially when used to maintain performance or to control a system or process.

The return of information about the result of a process or activity; an evaluative response.

Feedback Loop:

A Feedback Loop is system structure that causes output from one node to eventually influence input to that same node.

Feeder Fund:

A fund that conducts virtually all of its investing through another fund (called the master fund that is responsible for managing the underlying investments).

"Feels Like" Temperature:

The "Feels Like" Temperature is the apparent temperature based on temperature, humidity and wind speed. The "Feels Like" Temperature is based on a model of an adult walking outdoors in the shade. The official definition is "the temperature, at the reference humidity level, producing the same amount of discomfort as that experienced under the current ambient temperature and humidity".

What this means is that the "Feels Like" Temperature is an adjustment to the actual temperature to take into account the humidity level. The reference humidity level is chosen as a dewpoint of 14C. If the humidity is higher than this reference, the "Feels Like" Temperature will be higher than the temperature and if the humidity is lower than this reference, the "Feels Like" Temperature will be lower than the temperature. For small variations from the reference humidity level, there will be little difference between the temperature and the "Feels Like" Temperature. It is valid over a wide range of temperature and includes wind chill at lower temperatures.

Feinschmecker:

See: gourmet.

Fellow:

A person who is member of one's class or profession; a member of a learned society.

Felo De Se:

Felo De Se, Latin for "felon of himself", is an archaic legal term meaning suicide. Early English common law considered suicide a crime and a person found guilty of it, even though dead, was subject to punishments including forfeiture of property to the monarch and being given a shameful burial. Beginning in the seventeenth century law and custom gradually changed to consider a person who committed suicide to be temporarily insane at the time and conviction and punishment were gradually phased out. The term and punishments could also apply to a person killed while committing a felony.

Felony:

One of several grave crimes, such as murder, rape, or burglary, punishable by a more stringent sentence than that given for a misdemeanor.

Femme Fatale:

A woman of great seductive charm who leads men into compromising or dangerous situations.

An alluring, mysterious woman.

Fender:

A cushioning device, such as a bundle of rope or a piece of timber, used on the side of a vessel or dock to absorb impact or friction; a device at the front end of a locomotive or streetcar designed to push aside obstructions.

Fender Bender:

A minor accident involving at least one motor vehicle.

Feng Shui:

The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of qi that have positive and negative effects.

See also: geomancy.

Ferris Wheel:

A Ferris Wheel (also known as an Observation Wheel or Big Wheel) is a structure, consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached to the rim.

Visit: the London Eye.

Festival:

An often regularly recurring program of cultural performances, exhibitions, or competitions.

Festoon:

A Festoon is a wreath or garland, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicting conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons. The motif is sometimes known as a swag when depicting fabric or linen.

Fête:

A festival or feast.

An elaborate, often outdoor entertainment; an elaborate party.

Fête Champêtre:

A Fête Champêtre was a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century, taking the form of a garden party.

While the term is derived from the French expression for a "pastoral festival" or "country feast" and in theory was a simple form of entertainment, in practice (especially in the 18th century), a Fête Champêtre was often a very elegant form of entertainment involving on occasions whole orchestras hidden in trees, with guests sometimes in fancy dress. Thus the simplicity of the event was often contrived.

Fête Galante:

Fête Galante (courtship party) is a term referring to a category of painting specially created by the French Academy in 1717 to describe Antoine Watteau's (1684–1721) variations on the theme of the fête champêtre which featured figures in ball dress or masquerade costumes disporting themselves amorously in parkland settings. When Watteau applied to join the French academy in 1717, there was no suitable category for his works, so the academy simply created one rather than reject his application.

Fetish:

An object that is believed to have magical or spiritual powers, especially such an object associated with animistic or shamanistic religious practices.

An object of unreasonably excessive attention or reverence.

Something, such as a material object or a nonsexual part of the body, that arouses sexual desire and may become necessary for sexual gratification.

An abnormally obsessive preoccupation or attachment; a fixation.

Feud:

A bitter, often prolonged quarrel or state of enmity, especially such a state of hostilities between two families or clans.

Feudalalism:

A political and economic system of Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture.

A political, economic, or social order resembling this medieval system.

Feydeau Farce:

See: bedroom farce.

Fiasco:

A complete failure.

Fiat Money:

FIAT Money is paper money that has value only because of government regulation or law. The term derives from the Latin fiat, meaning "let it be done", as such money is established by government decree.

Fiat Money originated in 11th century China, and its use became widespread during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Nixon Shock of 1971 ended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. Since then all reserve currencies have been Fiat Currencies, including the dollar and the euro.

Fibonacci Number:

The sequence of numbers, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, . . . , in which each successive number is equal to the sum of the two preceding numbers.

List of Fibonacci numbers.

Fibula (brooch):

A Fibula is an ancient brooch. Technically, the Latin term, Fibulae, refers to Roman brooches; however, the term is widely used to refer to brooches from the entire ancient and early medieval world that continue Roman forms. Nevertheless, its use in English is more restricted than in other languages, and in particular post-Roman brooches from the British Isles are just called brooches (for example, the penannular brooches), where in German they would probably be Fibulae. Unlike most modern brooches, Fibulae were not only decorative; they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing, such as cloaks.

FICO Credit Score:

FICO is a publicly-traded corporation that created the best-known and most widely used Credit Score model in the United States. The FICO Score is calculated statistically, with information from a consumer's credit files. The FICO score is primarily used in credit decisions made by banks and other providers of secured and unsecured credit.

Fiction:

An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented; a lie.

A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

Something untrue that is intentionally represented as true by the narrator.

See also: non-fiction.

Fiduciary:

See also: Trustee.

Fiesta:

A festival or celebration.

Fiefdom:

The domain controlled by a feudal lord.

Something over which one dominant person or group exercises control.

FIFO:

Short for: First In, First Out. A fundamental accounting principle which says that any fungible raw materials being used in a business are to be costed on the basis that the first to come in (probably the cheapest) are deemed to be the first to go out. Contrast with its opposite, LIFO.

Fifth Amendment:

An Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1791, that deals with the rights of accused criminals by providing for due process of law, forbidding double jeopardy, and stating that no person may be forced to testify as a witness against himself or herself.

Fifth Column:

A subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in espionage or sabotage; an enemy in your midst.

Fifth Element:

According to ancient and medieval science, aether, also called quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere is the Fifth Element.

Fifth Estate:

The Fifth Estate is a modern extension of the three classical Estates of the Realm. The Fifth Estate is most strongly associated with bloggers, journalists, and media outlets that operate outside of the mainstream media (and often in opposition to the mainstream media). It may also include political groups and other groups outside of the mainstream in their views and functions in society (the term "Fourth Estate" emerged in reference to forces outside the established power structure, and is now most commonly used in reference to the independent press or media).

Figuratively:

Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical.

Figure of Speech:

An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way, such as a metaphor or synecdoche, or in a structured or unusual way, such as anaphora or chiasmus, or that employs sounds, such as alliteration or assonance, to achieve a rhetorical effect.

Figure Running:

Figure Running is a new sport that encourages you to get creative, go outside and discover new places while running and getting fit. The competition is not about your running speed or distance, it’s all about drawing.

With the Figure Running app you can track your running route and with different colors and an eraser you have the right tools create art pieces with your workout. Afterwards you can easily share your FigureRun on Facebook, Twitter or any social network and your friends can start guessing what you have ran. While guessing your friends motivate you to keep on drawing and stay fit! You can also save your drawing as a draft and create really large art pieces while you run.

Figurehead:

A person given a position of nominal leadership but having no actual authority.

File:

A collection of related data or program records stored as a unit with a single name.

To put or keep (papers, for example) in useful order for storage or reference; to enter (a legal document) on public official record.

File Sharing:

File Sharing is the exchange of files over computer networks, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks in particular.

Filibuster:

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.

An instance of the use of this delaying tactic.

An adventurer who engages in a private military action in a foreign country.

Read also New York Times' article Filibusters and Debate Curbs.

Fille de Joie:

French, meaning "girl of pleasure"; a prostitute.

Filler Text:

Filler Text (also Placeholder Text or Dummy Text) is text that shares some characteristics of a real written text, but is random or otherwise generated. It may be used to display a sample of fonts, generate text for testing, or to spoof an e-mail spam filter. The process of using Filler Text is sometimes called Greeking, although the text itself may be nonsense, or largely Latin, as in Lorem ipsum.

Filters:

A means of narrowing the scope of a computer report or view by specifying ranges or types of data to include in or exclude.

Film Noir:

Film Noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Hollywood's classic Film Noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film Noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.

The term Film Noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the era. Cinema historians and critics defined the canon of Film Noir in retrospect; many of those involved in the making of the classic noirs later professed to be unaware of having created a distinctive type of film.

Filter Bubble:

A Filter Bubble is a state of intellectual isolation that can result from personalized searches when a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user, such as location, past click-behavior and search history. As a result, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles. The choices made by these algorithms are not transparent. Prime examples include Google Personalized Search results and Facebook's personalized news-stream. The bubble effect may have negative implications for civic discourse, according to Pariser, but contrasting views regard the effect as minimal and addressable. The surprising results of the U.S. presidential election in 2016 have been associated with the influence of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and as a result have called into question the effects of the "Filter Bubble" phenomenon on user exposure to fake news and echo chambers, spurring new interest in the term, with many concerned that the phenomenon may harm democracy.

FILTH:

Short for: Failed in London, flew to Hongkong.

Filthy Rich:

Colloquialism for being extremely rich.

See also: high net worth individual and How rich is filthy rich?.

Fin de Siècle:

Fin de Siècle is French for "end of the century".

Of or characteristic of the last part of the 19th century, especially with reference to its artistic climate of effete sophistication.

Final Assembly:

The last stages in an assembly process before a product rolls off the production line.

Final Cut:

The final edited version of a movie as approved by the director and producer.

Finance:

The commercial activity of providing funds and capital.

Finance Company:

A company engaged in making loans to individuals and businesses. Unlike a bank, a Finance Company does not collect deposits from retail customers. Rather, it raises funds by borrowing from other financial institutions and from the wholesale money markets.

Finance Director:

The executive director on a company's board who is in charge of the company's financial position.

Financial Engineering:

The process of reorganizing a company's finances, either by raising money from one source (a bank, say) to pay off another (trade creditors, perhaps); or by extending the maturity of the company's borrowing, raising long-term bonds, for instance, in order to repay short-term bank loans.

Financial Institution:

Any company or organization whose business is finance. This includes banks, insurance companies, pension funds and factoring companies.

Financial Instrument:

Document (such as a check, draft, bond, share, bill of exchange, futures or options contract) that has a monetary value or evidences a legally enforceable (binding) agreement between two or more parties regarding a right to payment of money.

Financial Leverage:

See: gearing.

Financial Statement:

A written record of the financial position of an organization, consisting normally of a balance sheet, an income statement and a cash flow statement.

Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Derivatives are Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction - Warren Buffett.

Financial Year:

The 12-month period for which an organization prepares its financial statement. This may or may not coincide with the calendar year.

Financier:

a person skilled in large scale financial transactions.

FINCEN:

Short for: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. FINCEN's mission is to enhance U.S. national security, deter and detect criminal activity, and safeguard financial systems from abuse by promoting transparency in the U.S. and international financial systems.

Finder's Fee:

A fee paid to someone for bringing together two (other) parties who make a deal and do business together. The fee may be a flat fee, or it may be calculated as a percentage of the value of business arising from the meeting.

Finesse:

Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution, or artisanship.

Skillful, subtle handling of a situation; tactful, diplomatic maneuvering.

A stratagem in which one appears to decline an advantage.

Finger:

See: the finger.

Finger of God:

The "Finger of God" is a phrase used in the Bible. In Exodus 8:16–20 it is used during the plagues of Egypt by the Egyptian magicians. In Exodus 31:18 and Deuteronomy 9:10 it refers to the method by which the Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone that were brought down from biblical Mount Sinai by Moses.

Fingerprint:

A Fingerprint is an impression of the friction ridges on all parts of the finger. A friction ridge is a raised portion of the epidermis on the palmar (palm) or digits (fingers and toes) or plantar (sole) skin, consisting of one or more connected ridge units of friction ridge skin.

Fingerspitzengefühl:

The German term Fingerspitzengefühl is a stated ability of military commanders, such as Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel, to maintain with great accuracy in attention to detail an ever-changing operational and tactical situation by maintaining a mental map of the battlefield. The term literally means "finger tip feeling", and is synonymous with the English expression of "keeping finger on the pulse". The mental image given is of a military commander who is in such intimate communication with the battlefield that it is as though he has a fingertip on each critical point, expressed in the 18th and 19th centuries as "having a feel for combat".

Finished Goods:

Goods which have completed the manufacturing process and are now ready to be sold to a final consumer.

Finishing School:

A Finishing School (or charm school) is defined as "a private school for girls that emphasizes training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows an ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience. It may consist of an intensive course, or a one-year program.

Finishing Touch:

A small change or addition that serves to complete something; a final touch; a crowning achievement; a culmination.

Finlandization:

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: neutralization of a small country by a superpower, using conciliation, as the former Soviet Union did in relation to Finland.

Fino:

A pale, very dry sherry.

Fintech:

Finstagram, Finsta for short, is a mixture of Fake & Instagram. People, usually girls, get a second Instagram account along with their real instagrams, rinstagrams, to post any pictures or videos they desire. The photos or videos posted are usually funny or embarrassing. Only your closest friends follow this account.

Fintech:

Financial technology, also known as Fintech, is an economic industry composed of companies that use technology to make financial services more efficient. Financial technology companies are generally startups trying to disintermediate incumbent financial systems and challenge traditional corporations that are less reliant on software.

Fire:

To bring someone's employment contract to an end, often an abrupt one.

Fire-and-Forget:

Fire-and-Forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the target. This is an important property for a guided weapon to have, since a person or vehicle that lingers near the target to guide the missile (using, for instance, a laser designator) is vulnerable to attack and unable to carry out other tasks.

FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement:

The FIRE Movement is a lifestyle system. The goal is Financial Independence and Retiring Early. The model is popular among millennials.

Read also: How to Retire in Your 30s With $1 Million in the Bank - "Fed up with their high-pressure jobs, some millennials are quitting and embracing the FIRE movement. (It stands for financial independence, retire early).

Fire Sale:

A sale of goods at reduced prices after a fire at a shop or factory.

Any instance of offering goods or assets at greatly reduced prices to ensure a quick sale.

Firewall (computing):

A can either be software-based or hardware-based and is used to help keep a network secure. Its primary objective is to control the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set. A network's firewall builds a bridge between an internal network that is assumed to be secure and trusted, and another network, usually an external (inter)network, such as the Internet, that is not assumed to be secure and trusted.

Firewater:

Strong liquor, especially whiskey.

Firing Line:

The line of positions from which fire is directed at a target.

The forefront of an activity or pursuit; the vanguard.

Firm:

Strictly speaking, a business entity that is not incorporated; for example, a Firm of lawyers who do business as a partnership and not as a company. The word has come to be used more widely, however, to refer to all but the largest business organizations.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution:

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

First Blood:

Military: the first killing or wounding in a fight or war.

The first damage or reverse inflicted on an opponent in a conflict.

First Cause:

First Cause, in philosophy, the self-created being (i.e., God) to which every chain of causes must ultimately go back. The term was used by Greek thinkers and became an underlying assumption in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many philosophers and theologians in this tradition have formulated an argument for the existence of God by claiming that the world that man observes with his senses must have been brought into being by God as the First Cause. The classic Christian formulation of this argument came from the medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, who was influenced by the thought of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aquinas argued that the observable order of causation is not self-explanatory. It can only be accounted for by the existence of a First Cause; this First Cause, however, must not be considered simply as the first in a series of continuing causes, but rather as First Cause in the sense of being the cause for the whole series of observable causes.

First Class:

First Class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.

First Hundred Days:

The First Hundred Days is a sample of the first 100 days of a first term presidency of a president of the United States. It is used to measure the successes and accomplishments of a president during the time that their power and influence is at its greatest. The term was coined in a July 24, 1933, radio address by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, although he was referring to the 100 day session of the 73rd United States Congress between March 9 and June 17, rather than the first 100 days of his administration.

See also: 100 days.

First Impression:

What stays in some body's mind: a lasting effect, opinion, or mental image of somebody or something.

First In, First Out (FIFO):

First In, First Out, commonly known as FIFO, is an asset-management and valuation method in which assets produced or acquired first are sold, used, or disposed of first. For tax purposes, FIFO assumes that assets with the oldest costs are included in the income statement's cost of goods sold (COGS). The remaining inventory assets are matched to the assets that are most recently purchased or produced.

First Mover:

The initial agent that is the cause of all things; a brand or company that starts a new category.

First Mover Advantage:

First Mover Advantage, or FMA, is the advantage gained by the initial occupant of a market segment. This advantage may stem from the fact that the first entrant can gain control of resources that followers may not be able to match. Sometimes the first mover is not able to capitalise on its advantage, leaving the opportunity for another firm to gain second-mover advantage.

First Refusal:

A right given by the owner of an asset to a potential purchaser to match anybody else's offer for that asset. Such rights are often given, either by contract or by law to tenants of state-owned apartment blocks.

Fiscal:

Of the public finances, particularly in relation to the raising and collecting of taxes.

Fiscal Cliff:

In the United States, the Fiscal Cliff is a term used to refer to the economic effects that could result from tax increases, spending cuts and a corresponding reduction in the US budget deficit beginning in 2013 if existing laws are not changed by the end of 2012. The deficit—the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends—is expected to be reduced by roughly half beginning in the first days of 2013. This sharp decrease in the deficit in such a short period of time is known as the Fiscal Cliff. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this sudden reduction will probably lead to a mild recession in early 2013.

Fiscal Year:

The 12-month period used by governments for their accounting purposes.

Fishing Expedition:

Informal: a legal proceeding mainly for the purpose of interrogating an adversary, or of examining his or her property and documents, in order to gain useful information; any inquiry carried on without any clearly defined plan or purpose in the hope of discovering useful information.

Fishtailing:

Fishtailing (also called "tank slapping") is a vehicle handling problem which occurs when the rear wheels lose traction, resulting in oversteer. This can be caused by low friction surfaces (sand, gravel, rain, snow, ice, etc.). Rear-drive vehicles with sufficient power can induce this loss of traction on any surface, which is called power-oversteer.

During fishtailing, the rear end of the car skids to one side, which must be offset by the driver counter-steering, which is turning the front wheels in the same direction as the skid, (e.g. left if the rear swings left) and reducing engine power. Over-correction will result in a skid in the opposite direction; hence the name. Without a proper driver's reaction, the fishtailing vehicle will spin completely.

Fist Bump:

A Fist Bump (also called fist pound, bro fist, spudding, fo' knucks, Bust, pound dogg, props, or respect) is a gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high five. A Fist Bump can also be a symbol of giving respect. It can be followed by various other hand and body gestures and may be part of a dap greeting. It is commonly used in baseball as a form of celebration with teammates, and with opposition players at the end of a game.

The gesture is performed when two participants each form a closed fist with one hand and then lightly tap the front of their fists together. The participant's fists may be either vertically oriented (perpendicular to the ground) or horizontally oriented. Unlike the standard handshake, which is typically performed only with each participants' right hand, a Fist Bump may be performed with participants using either hand.

Fitness:

Physical Fitness comprises two related concepts: general Fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific Fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations).

In previous years, Fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. These days, physical Fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations.

Fitzrovia:

Fitzrovia is a district in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the City of Westminster (in the west), and partly in the London Borough of Camden (in the east); and situated between Bloomsbury and Marylebone, and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail, education and healthcare, with no single activity dominating. The historically bohemian area was once home to such writers as Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Rimbaud.

Five Eyes:

The Five Eyes consists of the intelligence communities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. While this cooperative relationship is not monolithic, it is certainly more cohesive than is generally understood.

It grew from UK-US intelligence cooperation in the Second World War, matured during the Cold War, and continues to protect the national interests of all members today. The evolving international security environment indicates a need for enhanced Five Eyes intelligence cooperation in the future.

Currently, the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden have shown that the intelligence-sharing activities between the First World allies of the Cold War are rapidly shifting into the digital realm of the World Wide Web.

See also: AUSCANNZUKUS.

Five Flags Theory:

Flag 1:
Business Base: these are places where you make your money. They must be different from your personal fiscal domicile, the place where you legally reside.

Flag 2:
Passport & Citizenship: these should be from a country unconcerned about offshore citizens and what they do outside its borders.

Flag 3:
Domicile: this should be a tax haven with good communications. A place where wealthy, productive people can be creative, live, relax, prosper and enjoy themselves. Such a place should not be threatened by war or revolution and preferably should enjoy good levels of banking secrecy.

Flag 4:
Asset Repository: this should be a place from which assets, securities and business affairs can be managed anonymously by proxy.

Flag 5:
Playgrounds: these are places where you would actually physically spend your time.

Also visit: PT.

Five O'Clock Shadow:

Five O'Clock Shadow, also known as designer stubble which is a short growth of a man's facial hair that became popular in the 1980s. This style was worn by singer George Michael and actor Don Johnson and was adopted by many others. Several companies manufacture beard trimmers designed to maintain designer stubble.

Five Points, Manhattan:

Five Points (or The Five Points) was a neighborhood in central lower area of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, the Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south. The former neighborhood known as Five Points is now split between the Civic Center on the west and south and Chinatown on the east and north.

The name Five Points was derived from the five-pointed intersection created by Orange Street (now Baxter Street) and Cross Street (now Mosco Street); from this intersection Anthony Street (now Worth Street) began and ran in a northwest direction, creating a triangular-shaped block thus the fifth "point". To the west of this "point" ran Little Water Street (which no longer exists) north to south, creating a triangular plot which would become known as Paradise Square or Paradise Park.

Five-Second Rule:

The Five-Second Rule, sometimes also the three-second rule, is a western cultural food hygiene concept, that states that there is a defined window where it is permissible to pick up food (or sometimes cutlery) after it has been dropped and thus exposed to contamination. Some may believe this assertion, whereas most people employ the rule as an amusing social fiction that allows them to eat a dropped piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers. How many and what type of bacteria would stick to a piece of dropped food depends on many factors, the food or the floor being wet or dry among them. There is also a social dimension as dropped food in a restaurant or when guests are around is simply unacceptable, but in a family or private situation it may be still tolerated.

Five Senses:

Five methods of perception, or sense: hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste.

Fives:

Fives is a British sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In Fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a special court using gloved or bare hands as though they were a racquet.

Fix:

The act of adjusting, correcting, or repairing.

Informal: something that repairs or restores; a solution.

An instance of arranging a special consideration, such as an exemption from a requirement, or an improper or illegal outcome, especially by means of bribery.

Slang: an amount or dose of something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic.

Fixed Asset:

An asset that is used in a business for some period of time and that is not easy to move, such as a building, land or machinery.

Fixed Cost:

A cost that does not vary in proportion to the amount of goods or services that are produced; the opposite of variable cost. Fixed costs, such as the amount paid for rent and depreciation, are unrelated to a company's turnover. They are incurred whether it is selling a lot or a little.

Fixed Income:

Fixed Income refers to any type of investment that yields a regular (or fixed) return.

Fixed Rate:

An interest rate that does not vary until the financial asset to which it is attached comes to maturity. A ten-year fixed-rate loan has its interest rate fixed once and for all at the beginning of its ten-year life.

Fixie:

A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed wheel bicycle) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving. The sprocket is screwed directly onto the hub. When the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction. This allows a cyclist to stop without using a brake, by resisting the rotation of the cranks, and also to ride in reverse.

Flacon:

A small, often decorative bottle with a tight-fitting stopper or cap.

Flag:

A piece of cloth, usually rectangular, of distinctive color and design, used as a symbol, standard, signal, or emblem.

A marking device, such as a gummed strip of paper, attached to an object to attract attention or ease identification; a tab.

National or other allegiance, as symbolized by a Flag.

Computer Science: a variable or memory location that stores true-or-false, yes-or-no information.

Flag of Convenience:

The flag of a ship is the flag of the country of its registration. The term "Flag of Convenience" refers to the flag of a country (in particular Liberia and Panama) which is chosen for ship registration in order to achieve fiscal benefits (no income tax being levied by such countries on international shipping operations) and other non-tax advantages relating to lower labour costs and manning scales, officer and crew requirements, trade union practices, etc. Ownership of the ship is normally vested in a company incorporated in the country of the flag.

In addition to Liberia and Panama, the following countries offer or are preparing incentives to offer Flag of Convenience facilities: the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malta, Morocco, the Netherlands Antilles, Madeira, Singapore and Vanuatu.

Flag Officer:

An officer in the navy or coast guard holding a rank higher than captain, such as rear admiral, vice admiral, or admiral.

Flagrante Delicto:

In the very act of committing an offense; red-handed.

In the act of having sex.

Flagship:

A Flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or best known.

As with many other naval terms, Flagship has crossed over into common parlance, where it means the most important or leading member of a group. It has also come to be an adjective describing the most prominent or highly touted product, brand, location, or service among those offered by a company. It now has common derivations such as the "Flagship brand" or "Flagship product" of a manufacturing company or "Flagship store" of a retail chain. Auto companies usually have a Flagship in the form of their leading, highest-priced car.

Flagship Stores:

Flagship Stores, or simply Flagships, are main stores from retailers designed to serve a mainstream of customers. Most noticeably, Flagships are found in prominent shopping districts that are targets for a main set of worldwide high-income shoppers. Because of this, shopping at an upscale Flagship is seen as high social / economic status. Flagships are, as well, larger in retail size (bigger than its retailer's outlets and in mall stores) and hold the most volumes in merchandise. These stores become a more preferred shopping destination for the retailers' goods. Flagships are meant to overshadow its sister stores in its area.

Flair:

A natural talent or aptitude; a knack.

Distinctive elegance or style.

Flak:

Flak refers to anti-aircraft warfare, derived during World War II from the German Flugabwehrkanone, for "aircraft defence cannon"; antiaircraft artillery; the bursting shells fired from such artillery.

Informal: excessive or abusive criticism; dissension; opposition.

Flak Jacket:

A bulletproof jacket or vest.

Flamboyant:

Given to ostentatious or audacious display; highly elaborate; ornate; richly colored; resplendent.

Flame:

The zone of burning gases and fine suspended matter associated with rapid combustion; a hot, glowing mass of burning gas or vapor; the condition of active, blazing combustion; something resembling a flame in motion, brilliance, intensity, or shape.

A violent or intense passion.

Informal: an insulting criticism or remark meant to incite anger, as on a computer network.

Informal: a sweetheart.

Flaming (Internet):

Flaming is a hostile and insulting interaction between persons over the internet, often involving the use of profanity. It can also be the swapping of insults back and forth or with many people teaming up on a single victim. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, social media services, and on video-sharing websites such as YouTube. It is frequently the result of the discussion of heated real-world issues such as politics, religion, and philosophy, or of issues that polarize sub-populations, but can also be provoked by seemingly trivial differences.

Flâneur:

A person who walks the city in order to experience it.

Refers to an urban, upper-middle class ideal man of society. A Flâneur takes pleasure in observing the modern, progressive, everyday life. He takes in his surroundings, both the fleeting beauty and the universal, timeless beauty, and he is conscious of social distinction.

Flapper:

Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. Flappers had their origins in the liberal period of the Roaring Twenties, the social, political turbulence and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of World War I, as well as the export of American jazz culture to Europe.

Flash:

Computer Science: a bandwidth friendly and browser independent vector-graphic animation technology. As long as different browsers are equipped with the necessary plug-ins, Flash animations will look the same.

Flash Crash:

A Flash Crash is a very rapid, deep, and volatile fall in security prices occurring within an extremely short time period. A Flash Crash frequently stems from trades executed by black-box trading, combined with high-frequency trading, whose speed and interconnectedness can result in the loss and recovery of billions of dollars in a matter of minutes and seconds.

Flash Mob:

A Flash Mob (or Flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse.

Flash Memory:

Flash Memory is a non-volatile computer storage that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products.

Flash Sale:

Flash Sales (also called deal of the day, one deal a day) is a type of ecommerce in which a website offers a single product for sale for a period of 24 to 36 hours. Members of deal of the day websites receive online offers and invitations in postal mail, email and social networks. Flash Sale are a time-limited offer of high discounts. Flash Sale is the latest business byword in the American e-retail sector.

Flashback:

A literary or cinematic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative.

An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use.

A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience.

Flat Earth Society:

Modern Flat Earth Societies are organizations that promote the erroneous idea that the Earth is flat rather than a sphere. Such groups date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by pseudoscience or excessive Biblical literalism.

Flat Rate:

A fixed price for goods or services. For example, the unit price for goods is the same whether you buy 10 units or 10,000; there is no discount for buying in bulk. Or the price charged for auditing a firm's accounts is fixed at a flat rate, regardless of how many hours it takes.

Flatter:

To compliment excessively and often insincerely, especially in order to win favor.

To please or gratify the vanity of.

To portray favorably.

To show off becomingly or advantageously.

Flavonoids:

Flavonoids have antioxidant activity. Flavonoids are becoming very popular because they have many health promoting effects. Some of the activities attributed to Flavonoids include: anti-allergic, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. The Flavonoids quercetin is known for its ability to relieve hay fever, eszema, sinusitis and asthma.

Epidemiological studies have illustrated that heart diseases are inversely related to Flavonoid intake. Studies have shown that Flavonoids prevent the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein thereby reducing the risk for the development of atherosclerosis.

The contribution of Flavonoids to the total antioxidant activity of components in food can be very high because daily intake can vary between 50 to 500 mg.

Red wine contains high levels of Flavonoids, mainly quercetin and rutin. The high intake of red wine (and Flavonoids) by the French might explain why they suffer less from coronary heart disease then other Europeans, although their consumption of cholesterol rich foods is higher (French paradox). Many studies have confirmed that one or two glasses of red wine daily can protect against heart disease. Green tea flavonoids have many health benefits. Tea Flavonoids reduce the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, lowers the blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Soy Flavonoids (isoflavones) can also reduce blood cholesterol and can help to prevent osteoporis. Soy Flavonoids are also used to ease menopausal symptoms.

Flavor:

Distinctive taste; savor.

A distinctive yet intangible quality felt to be characteristic of a given thing.

Flavored Water:

Flavored Water is a category of beverage that is water enhanced with natural flavors, herbs, vitamins, and/or sweeteners and generally lower in calories than non-diet commercial soft drinks. The flavored water category of beverage continues to grow in popularity every year and is the fastest growing segment of the still beverage category.

Flea Market:

A market, usually held outdoors, where antiques, used household goods, and curios are sold.

Fleabagging:

A new term to describe the act of repeatedly dating people who are wrong for you - like Fleabag did in the eponymous TV show, with the nice man she lived with in the first series, and then the priest she had sex with once.new term to describe the act of repeatedly dating people who are wrong for you– like Fleabag did in the eponymous TV show, with the nice man she lived with in the first series, and then the priest she had sex with once.

Read more here: Everyone’s talking about Fleabagging - but no one can agree what it is - The Guardian.

Fleet Street

Fleet Street is a street in London, England, named after the River Fleet, a London stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s.

Fletcherize:

To thoroughly chew (dozens or hundreds of times) before swallowing. From Horace Fletcher, who advocated the practice.

Fleur-de-Lis:

Heraldry: a device consisting of a stylized three-petaled iris flower, used as the armorial emblem of the kings of France.

An iris, especially a white-flowered form of Iris germanica.

Flexible Manufacturing:

A manufacturing system that can be rapidly switched from making product A to making product B, as and when market demand dictates.

Flexi Time:

A schedule of working that allows employees to choose their working hours around a core period, usually in the middle of the day. They can thus work from 8am to 4pm if they with, or from 10.30am to 6.30pm. Within this framework, employees have to fit a fixed number of working tasks that require a team effort.

Flexicurity:

Flexicurity (a portmanteau of flexibility and security) is a welfare state model with a pro-active labour market policy.

Flexitarianism:

A combination of flexible + vegetarian + -ism.

(US): the practice of eating mainly vegetarian food, but making occasional exceptions for social, pragmatic, cultural, or nutritional reasons; ne who normally maintains a vegetarian diet but occasionally makes exceptions and eats meat or fish.

Flick:

A cinema film.

Flier:

A pamphlet or circular for mass distribution.

Fling:

Informal: a usually brief attempt; a period or occasion of unrestrained, impulsive, or extravagant behaviour.

A brief sexual or romantic relationship.

Flirting:

To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures.

To deal playfully, triflingly, or superficially with.

Floating Charge:

A charge that floats over all a borrower's assets. If the borrower should fail to repay the debt to which the charge relates, the lender can lay claim to any of the borrowers' assets up to the value of the loan.

Floating Point Operation:

Computing: any simple operation, such as addition, multiplication or division, that a particular computer can perform using a single operation.

Floating Rate:

An interest rate that fluctuates according to market rates, the opposite of fixed rate.

Floor:

The Floor of a stock exchange is the physical room in which brokers transact their business. As their business nowadays almost all takes place by telephone or computer, this sort of floor is becoming increasingly rare.

A lower limit placed on a variable price in a contract. This can be a minimum interest rate to be paid on a floating rate loan, for instance, or it can be the lowest acceptable bid on a painting at auction.

Flop:

To fail utterly.

To drop or lay (something) down heavily and noisily.

To move about loosely or limply.

Floppy Disk:

A Floppy Disk is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible ("floppy") magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell.

FLOPS:

In computing, FLOPS (or Flops or Flop/s) is an dataacronym meaning FLoating point Operations Per Second. The FLOPS is a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating point calculations, similar to the older, simpler, instructions per second.

Flora:

All the plant life in a particular region or period.

Florence Syndrome:

See: Stendhal syndrome.

Flotsam and Jetsam:

(Figuratively): a collection of miscellaneous items or fragments of little importance.

Flotation:

The obtaining of a quotation for a company's shares on a recognised stock exchange. Exchanges have extensive rules on how this can be done.

Flotilla:

A group of warships organized as a tactical unit.

Informal: a group of vehicles owned or operated as a unit.

FLOTUS | First Lady of the United States:

The First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the wife of the President of the United States, concurrent with the president's term of office. Although the First Lady's role has never been codified or officially defined, she figures prominently in the political and social life of the nation. Since the early 20th century, the First Lady has been assisted by official staff, now known as the Office of the First Lady and headquartered in the East Wing of the White House. Melania Trump is the current First Lady of the United States, and wife of 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.

See also: POTUS.

Flow (experience):

To exhibit a smooth or graceful continuity.

An apparent ease or effortlessness of performance.

Flow Chart:

A diagrammatic representation of any process involving a series of steps. It may be a manufacturing process, such as the production of an automobile, or a strategic process, such as the way in which a company intends to enter a new market. The Flow Chart will show which steps need to be taken first and which can wait until later.

Flow Conditioning:

Flow Conditioning ensures that the "real world" environment closely resembles the "laboratory" environment for proper performance of inferential flowmeters like orifice, turbine, coriolis, ultrasonic etc.

Flow of Funds:

The ways in which money moves around a country's financial system, from banks to consumers, to producers, to government, and back to banks again.

Flow Television:

In television programming, flow is how channels and networks try to hold their audience from program to program, or from one segment of a program to another. Thus, it is the "flow" of television material from one element to the next.

See also: video on demand.

Flower Power:

Flower Power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles. Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children. The term later became generalized as a modern reference to the hippie movement and the so-called counterculture of drugs, psychedelic music, psychedelic art and social permissiveness.

Flow Theory (psychology):

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.

The Flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus. However, hyperfocus is not always described in a positive light. Some examples include spending "too much" time playing video games or becoming pleasurably absorbed by one aspect of an assignment or task to the detriment of the overall assignment. In some cases, hyperfocus can "capture" a person, perhaps causing them to appear unfocused or to start several projects, but complete few. Hyperfocus is often mentioned "in the context of autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - conditions that have consequences on attentional abilities."

Fluffer:

A Fluffer is a person employed to keep a male adult film star aroused on the set. These duties, which do not necessarily involve touching the actors, are considered part of the makeup department. After setting up the desired angle, the director asks the actors to hold position and calls for the Fluffer to "fluff" the actors for the shot.

Fly / Leave the Nest:

To leave your parents' home for the first time in order to live somewhere else.

Fly on the Wall:

Someone who secretly watches something. like they're a fly on the wall and you don't notice them; an unseen or unnoticed presence in a situation; o be present to listen/see what goes on behind closed doors, that is, in a room closed to the media or other non-participants.

Flygskam:

Shame of flying, due to the environmental impact of aviation.

Read also: What is flygskam? Greta speaks up about 'flight-shaming' & Why you shouldn't feel too guilty about flying.

Flying Colors:

Complete success.

Flyleaf:

A blank or specially printed leaf at the beginning or end of a book.

FMCG:

Short for: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, things like foodstuffs and toothpaste that do not stay on shop shelves for long. The key to selling FMCGs profitably lies in the logistics of getting them from producer to consumer.

FOB:

Short for: Free On Board, a term attached to a price quotation given by an exporter. FOB signifies that the exporter undertakes, for the given price, to deliver the goods as far as the buyer's chosen means of transport - a port or railway station, for example. The French expression is franco à bord.

FOBO:

Short for: Fear Of Better Options.

Focus:

The distinctness or clarity of an image rendered by an optical system.

A center of interest or activity.

A condition in which something can be clearly apprehended or perceived.

Focus Group:

A small group of consumers who are brought together for the purposes of market research, usually to discuss in some detail the merits of a particular product or service.

Folder:

Files on a computers hard disk are arranged within a system of Folders, which group related items. Folders have names to describe what is in them, e.g. My Documents.

Folie à Deux:

The simultaneous occurrence of symptoms of a mental disorder (as delusions) in two persons who are closely related (as siblings or man and wife).

Folie de Grandeur:

French: delusion of grandeur.

Folklore:

The traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.

A popular but unfounded belief.

Folksonomy:

A Folksonomy is a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content; this practice is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging.

Folktale:

A story or legend forming part of an oral tradition.

Follow the Money:

A rule for finding guilty parties by persuing their financial trails. Read more background history here.

Folly:

A lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight; an act or instance of foolishness; a costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.

Performing Arts / Theatre: an elaborately costumed revue.

Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Architecture: a building in the form of a castle, temple, etc., built to satisfy a fancy or conceit, often of an eccentric kind.

FOMO:

Short for: Fear of missing out. Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.

FOMONG:

Short for: Fear Of Missing Out (on) My Goals.

Fondue:

Cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces.

Fons et Origo:

Fons et Origo is a Latin term meaning "source and origin". Typical usage of the term describes Athens as the Fons et Origo of democracy.

Font:

A set of letters, numbers and other symbols in a particular style.

Food Chain:

A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member.

Informal: a competitive hierarchy.

Food Stamps:

A stamp or coupon, issued by the government to persons with low incomes, that can be redeemed for food at stores.

Foodie:

Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. The word was coined in 1981 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their 1984 The Official Foodie Handbook.

Foolproof:

Designed so as to be impervious to human incompetence, error, or misuse.

Effective; infallible.

Footprint:

Something related to but of lesser importance than a larger work or occurrence.

Footprint:

The area on the ground that is reached by a signal from a satellite. For satellite broadcasters this is their potential market, the bait with which they try to entice advertisers.

A trace suggesting that something was once present or felt or otherwise important.

For Official Use Only:

For Official Use Only (FOUO) is an information security designation used by governments throughout the world.

For the Record:

For public knowledge : on record.

Forage:

The act of looking or searching for food or provisions.

Forbidden Fruit:

Forbidden Fruit is a phrase that originates from Genesis concerning Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16–17. In the narrative, the fruit of good and evil was eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As a metaphor, the phrase typically refers to any indulgence or pleasure that is considered illegal or immoral.

An indulgence or a pleasure that is illegal or is believed to be immoral.

Force:

Strength or energy; might; power.

Intellectual, social, political, or moral influence or strength.

A group of persons organized for particular duties or tasks.

Force Majeure:

A clause in a contract which abrogates the parties from responsibility in the case of events beyond their control - such as an earthquake or the outbreak of war - that prevent them from fulfilling their side of the contract.

Forced Sale:

Any sale that has to take place immediately, denying the seller the opportunity to look around and wait for a better price.

Forecast:

An estimate of future economic or market data.

Foreign Bank Accounts (U.S.):

Every United States resident, partnership, corporation, estate or trust must advise the United States Treasury of any financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign bank, securities or other financial account in a foreign country and must report that relationship each calendar year by filing Form 90-22.1 with the Treasury Department on or before June 30 of the succeeding year. This report must be at the following address: United States Treasury Department, P.O. Box 28309, Central Station, Washington, DC 20005. A "foreign country" includes all geographical areas located outside the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Foreign Branding:

Foreign Branding is an advertising and marketing term describing the implied cachet or superiority of products and services with foreign or foreign-sounding names.

Foreign Corporation:

A corporation organized under the laws of a foreign country and whose parent company in the home country may participate in any percentage of shares of the affiliate corporation.

Foreign Currency:

The currency of a foreign country. For everybody but Americans and Puerto Ricans, the US dollar is a foreign currency.

Foreign Direct Investment:

A substantial investment by a resident of one country in the industry of another. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) includes all purchases of stakes of more than 10% of a foreign company, and all investment in greenfield sites abroad.

Foreign Exchange:

Methods of making payment from one country in the currency of another, either electronically or by the exchange of notes and coins.

Forever Chemicals:

PFAS (Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), also known as the Forever Chemicals, are a large chemical family of over 4,700 highly persistent chemicals that don't occur in nature. Fluorosurfactants such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) have caught the attention of regulatory agencies because of their persistence, toxicity, and widespread occurrence in the blood of general populations and wildlife. In 2009, PFOS, its salts and perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride were listed as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention, due to their ubiquitous, persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic nature. PFAS chemicals were dubbed the "Forever Chemicals" following a 2018 op-ed. The nickname was derived by combining the two dominant attributes of this class of chemicals: 1) PFAS chemicals are characterized by a carbon-fluorine (C-F) backbone (the "F-C" in "Forever Chemicals"); and 2) the carbon fluorine bond is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry, which gives these chemicals an extremely long environmental half-life (the "Forever" in "Forever Chemicals"). The Forever Chemicals name is now commonly used in media outlets in addition to the more technical name of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFASs. Their production has been regulated or phased out by manufacturers, such as 3M, DuPont, Daikin, and Miteni in the US, Japan, and Europe. In 2006 3M replaced PFOS and PFOA with short-chain PFASs, such as perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS). Shorter fluorosurfactants may be less prone to accumulating in mammals; there is still concern that they may be harmful to both humans, and the environment at large. A majority of PFASs are either not covered by European legislation or are excluded from registration obligations under REACH (which is the European flagship chemical legislation). Several PFASs have been detected in drinking water, municipal wastewater and landfill leachates, worldwide.

Read more here: What are PFAS chemicals? - "The ‘Forever Chemicals’ in 99% of Americans." & ‘Forever chemicals’: the hidden threat from the toxic PFAS on your shelf - "PFAS are used in paints, food packaging and even cosmetics. We know they are in our water, air, soil and bodies - but less about how they will affect us."

FOREX:

The FOReign EXchange market (FOREX, FX, or currency market) is a worldwide decentralized over-the-counter financial market for the trading of currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. The Foreign Exchange Market determines the relative values of different currencies.

Forfeiting:

Buying without recourse of obligations, usually trade drafts or promissory notes, arising from international transactions. The buyer of the obligations explicitly foregoes his legal right to a claim upon any previous owner of the debt when endorsing "without recourse." The seller of Forfeitable trade drafts or promissory notes usually is an exporter who has taken the obligations in full or part payment for goods supplied and who wishes to pass on all risks and responsibility for collection of the debt to the Forfeiting financier and receive immediate cash.

Forgotten Man:

Forgotten Man is a phrase with several meanings, some of which are polar opposites. It was first used by William Graham Sumner in his article The Forgotten Man (published posthumous in 1918) to refer to the person compelled to pay for reformist programs; however, since Franklin Roosevelt appropriated the phrase in a 1932 speech, it has more often been used to refer to those at the bottom of the economic government whom the state (in Roosevelt's view and in the general social humanitarian approach) needed to help.

Form:

The shape and structure of an object.

The essence of something.

Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom.

A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information.

Form Letter:

A usually impersonal letter in a standardized format that may be sent to different people or to large numbers of recipients.

Formal:

Relating to or involving outward form or structure; being or relating to essential form or constitution.

Following or being in accord with accepted forms, conventions, or regulations.

Characterized by strict or meticulous observation of forms; methodical; stiffly ceremonious.

Formality:

The quality or condition of being formal.

Rigorous or ceremonious adherence to established forms, rules, or customs.

An established form, rule, or custom, especially one followed merely for the sake of procedure or decorum.

Format:

A plan for the organization and arrangement of a specified production.

The material form or layout of a publication.

Computer Science: to divide (a disk) into marked sectors so that it may store data; to determine the arrangement of (data) for storage or display.

Formula:

An established form of words or symbols for use in a ceremony or procedure; an utterance of conventional notions or beliefs; a hackneyed expression.

Chemistry: a symbolic representation of the composition or of the composition and structure of a compound; a prescription of ingredients in fixed proportion; a recipe.

Mathematics: a statement, especially an equation, of a fact, rule, principle, or other logical relation.

Forsitan et Nostrum Nomen Miscebitur Istis:

Latin: Perhaps my name will be linked with theirs (Ovid).

Forte:

Something in which a person excels.

The strong part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt.

Fortes Fortuna Juvat:

Latin for: Fortune favors the brave.

Fortress:

A fortified place, especially a large, permanent military stronghold that often includes a town.

Fortress Economy:

Fortress economics or a Fortress Economy is a phrase used in relation to the defense and sustenance of a countries' economy amidst international sanctions. The term has been used in reference to Russia in 2022, Taiwan with relation to China-US relations, and Europe.

Fortuna:

The Roman goddess of fortune and good luck Greek counterpart Tyche.

Fortune:

The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; luck.

Success, especially when at least partially resulting from luck.

A person's condition or standing in life determined by material possessions or financial wealth.

Extensive amounts of material possessions or money; wealth.

Fate; destiny.

A foretelling of one's destiny.

Fortune Cookie:

A cookie made from a thin layer of dough folded and baked around a slip of paper bearing a prediction of fortune or a maxim.

Forty-Niner:

A participant in the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Forum:

An online community where users read and post topics of common interest.

Forward:

A Forward contract is a contract that specifies the details of a deal to be consummated in the future, such as the sale of wheat next September.

Forward cover is the buying today of the means to meet an obligation in the future.

To Forward something is to act as an intermediary by sending on to a third party something that you have received.

Forwarding Agent:

A business or an individual that arranges for the shipment of freight.

Fossil Fuels:

Fossil Fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source fuels, that is, carbon or hydrocarbons found in the earth’s crust.

Fossil Fuel range from volatile materials with low carbon: hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates. It is generally accepted that they formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.

FOTB:

FOTB refers to: Fresh Off The Boat, a phrase used to describe immigrants that have not assimilated into the host nation.

Adjective: Fresh Off The Boat. (idiomatic, usually derogatory) Newly arrived from a foreign place, especially as an immigrant who is still unfamiliar with the customs and language of his or her new environment.

Fouet:

An accessory (other French names: moser, mosser, batteur, agitateur or moussoir. Named a swizzle stick in English) in the late 1800s and early 1900s prized by many bon vivant, was a Fouet for champagne which was usually carried on the far end of a watch chain and whose purpose was to eliminate the carbonated effect from the wine into which it had been incorporated with such trouble by the vintner. It consists of a slender gold tube (preferably made by Cartier in 18ct gold) from which retractable spines emerge in a whisk-broom effect, each spine with (or without) a jeweled end which, when briskly agitated in the glass, can effectively reduce the best and most costly champagne to a flat white wine comparable to a low-grade Chablis. They were and are specially favored by sufferers from stomach ulcers who are allowed low-proof beverages but forbidden all sparkling drinks.

Foulard:

A lightweight twill or plain-woven fabric of silk or silk and cotton, usually having a small printed design.

An article of clothing, especially a necktie or scarf, made of this fabric.

Foundation:

See: Stiftung.

Founding Father:

Someone who founds or is instrumental in founding an institution, nation, etc.

A participant in the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, especially one who signed the document.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a scroll in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals. Jesus Christ opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons forth the four beasts that ride on white, red, black, and pale horses which each symbolize Conquest, War, Famine and Death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the four horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.

Four Hundred:

The social elite of New York City in the late 19th century; term coined by Ward McAllister, supposedly the number of people Mrs William Backhouse Astor, Jr's ballroom could accommodate.

The Four Hundred (sometimes The Four Hundred Club) a phrase meaning the wealthiest, most famous, or most powerful social group, leading to the generation of such lists as the Forbes 400. To be a member of The Four Hundred, a family must be able to trace its wealth and lineage at least three generations without being tainted by any work.

McAllister coined the phrase "the Four Hundred". According to him, this was the number of people in New York who really mattered; the people who felt at ease in the ballrooms of high society. ("If you go outside that number," he warned, "you strike people who are either not at ease in a ballroom or else make other people not at ease.") The number was popularly supposed to be the capacity of Mrs William Backhouse Astor Jr.'s ballroom.

Four Percent Rule:

A rule of thumb used to determine the amount of funds to withdraw from a retirement account each year. The Four Percent Rule seeks to provide a steady stream of funds to the retiree, while also keeping an account balance that will allow funds to be withdrawn for a number of years. The 4% rate is considered to be a "safe" rate, with the withdrawals consisting primarily of interest and dividends. The withdraw rate is kept constant, though it can be increased to keep pace with inflation.

The Four Percent Rule helps financial planners and retirees set a portfolio's withdrawal rate. Life expectancy plays and important role in determining if this rate is going to be sustainable, as retirees who live longer will need their portfolios to last a longer period of time and medical costs and other expenses can increase as the retiree ages.

Visit also: New Math for Retirees and the 4% Withdrawal Rule.

Four Social Seasons (U.S.):

The Four Social Seasons in the U.S.A. started with spring, or the "petit saison", for horse racing; summer for the Hamptons or other cooler country climes; fall for riding to hounds; winter for the debutante balls, and deep winter for Palm Beach or sport fishing in the Keys.

Four Temperaments:

Four Temperaments is a theory of psychology that stems from the ancient medical concept of humorism.

See: choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine.

Fourth Estate:

The Fourth Estate (or fourth estate) is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. "Fourth Estate" most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism or "The Press". Thomas Carlyle attributed the origin of the term to Edmund Burke, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787 on the opening up of Press reporting of the House of Commons of Great Britain. Earlier writers have applied the term to lawyers, to the British queens consort (acting as a free agent, independent of the king), and to the proletariat. The term makes implicit reference to the earlier division of the three Estates of the Realm.

Fourth Wall:

The Fourth Wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes, the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th century onwards, the rise of illusionism in staging practices, which culminated in the realism and naturalism of the theatre of the 19th century, led to the development of the Fourth Wall concept.

Oliver Hardy was probably the first to break the Fourth Wall, in his movies with Stan Laurel, by staring at the camera to seek comprehension from the viewers.

On television, breaking the Fourth Wall has been done throughout the history of the medium. George Burns did it numerous times on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show he starred in with his real-life wife Gracie Allen from 1950 to 1958.

Given their interactive nature, nearly all video games break the Fourth Wall by asking for the player's participation.

Fox Hole:

A small dugout with a pit for individual shelter against enemy fire.

Fracking:

Hydraulic fracturing (called "Frac jobs" or "Frac'ing" in the industry, with the spelling "Fracking" being common in general use) is a process that results in the creation of fractures in rocks, the goal of which is to increase the output of a well. Hydraulic fractures may form naturally, as in the case of veins or dikes, or may be man-made in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction. The energy from the injection of a highly-pressurized Fracking fluid, creates new channels in the rock which can increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of fossil fuels.

Fragging:

The term Fragging is used to describe the deliberate killing or attempted killing by a soldier of a fellow soldier, usually a superior officer or non-commissioned officer (NCO). The word was coined by U.S. military personnel during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often attempted with a fragmentation grenade, sometimes making it appear as though the killing was accidental or during combat with the enemy. The term Fragging is now often used to encompass any means used to deliberately and directly cause the death of military colleagues.

Frame:

Informal: to make up evidence or contrive events so as to incriminate (a person) falsely.

Frame Story:

A Frame Story (also known as a frame tale or frame narrative) is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. The Frame Story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one (or several ones) within it. The Frame Story may also be used to allow readers to understand a part of the story, then jump to another part that can now be understood. This is not however, to be mixed up with a narrative structure or character personality change.

Framework:

A fundamental structure, as for a written work.

A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality.

Franchise:

A contractual agreement in which one party (the Franchisee) buys the rights from another (the Franchiser) to sell goods and services as specified by the Franchiser. McDonald's and Benetton are well-known examples of Franchises.

Francophone:

The adjective Francophone means "French-speaking", typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. The word is also often used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person.

Frangine:

French for sister.

Frat Boy:

A young man who behaves in a boisterous or foolish manner considered typical of members of some college fraternities.

Fraternity:

A social club for male undergraduates.

Fraternize:

To associate on friendly terms with an enemy or opposing group, often in violation of discipline or orders.

Fraud:

An act of deception that is aimed at gaining financial benefit at the expense of others. Tinkering with companies' accounts is a common form of Fraud.

Freak:

A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular.

An abnormally formed organism, especially a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity.

Slang: a drug user or addict; an eccentric or nonconformist person, especially a member of a counterculture; an enthusiast.

Freakonomics:

The study of economics based on the principle of incentives.

Freckle:

Freckles are clusters of concentrated melanin which are most often visible on people with a fair complexion. A Freckle is also called an "ephelis".

Freddie Mac:

A security issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) and secured by a pool of conventional home mortgages.

See also: Fannie Mae.

Free Agent:

A person whose actions are not constrained by others.

Free Choice:

Free Choice/Will is the ability of agents to make choices unimpeded. Factors that might impede choice include metaphysical constraints (particularly forms of determinism such as logical, physical, biological, social or theological determinism), physical constraints (such as the requirements of the laws of science), social constraints (such as threat of punishment, censure, or imprisonment), and mental constraints (such as compulsions or phobias, neurological disorders, or genetic predispositions). The principle of Free Will has religious, legal, ethical, and scientific implications. For example, in the religious realm, Free Will implies that individual will and choices can coexist with an omnipotent, omniscient divinity that raises certain injunctions or moral obligations for man. In the law, it affects considerations of punishment and rehabilitation. In ethics, it may hold implications for whether individuals can be held morally accountable for their actions. In science, neuroscientific findings regarding Free Will may suggest different ways of predicting human behavior.

Free City:

A Free City may refer to: A city-state is a sovereign state, also described as a type of small independent country, that usually consists of a single city and its dependent territories. Historically, this included cities such as Rome, Athens, Carthage, and the Italian city-states during the Renaissance. Today only a handful of sovereign city-states exist, with some disagreement as to which are city-states. A great deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies currently to Singapore, Monaco, and Vatican City. City states are also sometimes called micro-states which however also includes other configurations of very small countries.

Free Float:

Shares of a public company that are freely available to the investing public.

See: free-float methodology.

Free Lunch:

A Free Lunch is a sales enticement that offers a meal at no cost in order to attract customers and increase revenues from other offerings.

Free food or drink is sometimes supplied in contemporary times, often by gambling establishments such as casinos.

The saying "there ain't no such thing as a Free Lunch", often abbreviated to TANSTAAFL, refers to this custom, meaning that things which appear to be free are always paid for in some way.

Free Port:

A port where no duties are imposed on ships that unload cargo. Free Ports are designed to be places where cargoes are transferred from ship to ship, in transit to their ultimate destination.

Free-Radical Theory of Aging:

The Free-Radical Theory of Aging (FRTA) states that organisms age because cells accumulate Free Radical damage over time. A Free Radical is any atom or molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell.

Free Running:

Free Running, to summarize, could be described as a form of "urban acrobatics" in which participants (free runners) use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacles.

The term Free Running was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, Free Running and parkour are separate, distinct concepts — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline emphasizes efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic maneuvers. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different. The founder Sébastien Foucan defines Free Running as a discipline to self development, following your own way.

See also: parkour.

Free Solo Climbing:

A form of climbing without the use of any safety equipment.

Free Spirit:

One who is not restrained, as by convention or obligation; a nonconformist.

Free Trade:

The economic principle that optimal growth is achieved when trade among countries is unhindered by tariffs or visible barriers.

Free Trade Area:

A region, such as the European Union, where a number of national governments agree to remove any existing barriers to trade between them.

Free Zones:

Free Zones are designated areas which receive special treatment through their exclusion from the area to which the country’s normal customs rules apply. A free port is one at which imports may be landed without paying customs duties. The system of Free Zones or free ports favours export processing, transshipment and the entrepôt trade since there is no need to pay and then reclaim customs duties.

Though free zones are often part of a tax incentive package in what would otherwise be a high tax jurisdiction, they may also be found in tax havens, e.g. Freeport in the Bahamas.

Freebasing:

The act of smoking a drug freebase. "Freebase" refers to the non-salt form of a drug. Drugs are usually converted to a water soluble salt so that they can be orally or intranasally consumed. The term "freebase" has nothing at all to do with the purity or potency of a drug.

For example, cocaine powder is cocaine hydrochloride, a water soluble salt. Being water soluble means that you can snort it, eat it, inject it, or plug it (put it up your ass) and you will get high. However, a cruder form of cocaine is cocaine freebase (i.e. crack), which is not water soluble and therefore cannot bet eaten or snorted. You must smoke it to feel the effects.

Freebie:

Slang: an article or service given free.

Freedom of the City:

The Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected citizens freedom from serfdom, the tradition still lives on in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand – although today the title of "freeman" confers no special privileges. The Freedom of the City can also be granted by municipal authorities to military units which have earned the city's trust; in this context, it is sometimes called the Freedom of Entry. This allows them the freedom to parade through the city, and is an affirmation of the bond between the regiment and the citizenry.

Freelance:

Originally, a medieval mercenary who lent his lance and fighting skills to the highest bidder. Then used to refer to a journalist with no affiliation to any particular publication. Now it is used to refer to any person who works for themselves rather than for an employer.

Freelancer:

A Freelancer is a person who is self employed. Freelance work is used in many different professions, but most commonly a Freelancer works in the fields of writing and editing, photography, web design, graphic arts, or computer programming. In any given profession, Freelancers sell or contract their work to a client rather than being employed by a business.

Freeloader:

A person who habitually depends on the charity of others for food, shelter, etc.

Freemasonry:

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million, including just under two million in the United States and around 480,000 in England, Scotland and Ireland. The various forms all share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include, in most cases, a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.

See also: funny handshakes.

Freemium:

Freemium is a business model that works by offering basic Web services, or a basic downloadable digital product, for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features. The word "Freemium" is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: "free" and "premium". The business model has gained popularity with Web 2.0 companies.

Freestyle:

A swimming event or leg of an event in which the contestants may choose any stroke; the crawl.

A competition, as in figure skating, skiing, or surfing, in which any maneuver or movement is allowed and competitors are judged on their artistic expression, acrobatic skill, and athletic expertise.

Freight:

Any goods that are in the process of being transported by road, rail, sea or air.

Freight Forwarder:

An agent who handles the shipment of exports, in particular the documentation required to get goods from their point of manufacture to their shipper.

French:

Latin-derived language originating in what is now northern France.

Slang: coarse or vulgar language.

French Cuffs:

Double, or French Cuffs, are twice as long and worn folded back on themselves. French Cuffs were once considered to be more formal than button cuffs, although they are seeing a resurgence in the business environment, particularly in Europe. Even though traditionally French Cuffs could only be worn with a lounge suit or more formal clothing (and not a sports jacket), this is now not followed by most, while some even wear these cuffs without a tie or jacket. They remain the preferred choice for semi-formal, black tie events.

French Paradox:

The French Paradox is the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. The phenomenon was first noted by Irish physician Samuel Black in 1819. The term French Paradox was coined by Dr. Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University in France in 1992.

When a description of this paradox was aired in the United States on 60 Minutes in 1991 with the proposal that red wine decreases the incidence of cardiac diseases, the consumption of red wine increased 44% and some wineries began lobbying for the right to label their products "health food".

However, some health researchers question the validity of this paradox. A systematic review of dietary studies found insufficient evidence of any association of saturated fats and coronary heart disease. Statistics collected by the WHO from 1990–2000 show that the incidence of heart disease in France may have been underestimated, and may in fact be similar to that of neighboring countries. In 2008 it was found that high doses of resveratrol (a constituent of red wine) mimicked some of the benefits of caloric restriction (including reduced effects of aging) in a mice study. However, the effects of resveratrol are insufficient to explain the French Paradox.

Frenemy:

"Frenemy" (less commonly spelled "frienemy") is an oxymoron and a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that refers to "a person with whom one is friendly, despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry" or "a person who combines the characteristics of a friend and an enemy". The term is used to describe personal, geopolitical and commercial relationships both among individuals and groups or institutions.

Frequent-Flyer Program:

A Frequent-Flyer Program (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate points corresponding to the distance flown on that airline. Accrued points (also known as frequent flyer miles) can be redeemed for free air travel; for other goods or services; or for increased benefits, such as airport lounge access or priority bookings.

Fresco:

The art of painting on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water.

Fresh off the Boat:

The phrases Fresh off the Boat (FOB), Off the boat (OTB), Freshy, or just simply Boat; are terminologies used to describe immigrants that have arrived from a foreign nation and have not yet assimilated into the host nation's culture, language, and behaviour.

Freshman:

A student in the first-year class of a high school, college, or university.

See also: sophomore.

Freudian Slip:

In psychoanalysis, a Freudian Slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that occurs due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish or internal train of thought. Classical examples involve slips of the tongue, but psychoanalytic theory also embraces misreadings, mishearings, mistypings, temporary forgettings, and the mislaying and losing of objects.

Friday the 13th:

Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of good or bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year.

The Knights Templar were a monastic military order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 C.E., whose mission was to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. Over the next two centuries, the Knights Templar became extraordinarily powerful and wealthy. Threatened by that power and eager to acquire their wealth, King Philip secretly ordered the mass arrest of all the Knights Templar in France on Friday, October 13, 1307 - Friday the 13th.

Friendly Fire:

Fire that injures or kills an ally.

Friends with Benefits:

An agreement between two people who are both friends and physically attracted to one another to have a sexual relationship. Neither party is considered committed to the other, and both can start dating someone else at any time with prior warning. A friends with benefits arrangement is not considered dating, a relationship or even casual dating by most people who use the term.

Friendship Book:

Friendship Books (also known as "FBs" in their abbreviated form) are small booklets made by stapling paper together, or are sometimes just sheets or strips of paper. They are usually decorated and the person who starts the book writes their name and address as the first person sending the book. People often include a list of interests as well. The FB is then passed around from penpal to penpal, and can often also become a way for one to meet new penpals.

Fringe Benefits:

Benefits that employees receive in addition to their normal wage or salary. They include such things as pensions, private health insurance, cars, low-interest loans and canteen facilites. In some companies they are worth as much as one-third of a person's total remuneration.

Fritz:

Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (der alte Fritz was a nickname for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor), as well as for similar names including Fridolin. Fritz was also a name given to German troops by the British and others in the first and second world wars, equivalent to Tommy, as the British troops were called by German and other troops. Other common bases for which the name Fritz was used include the surnames Fritsche, Fritzsche, Fritsch, and Frisch(e).

A state of disorder or disrepair - used in the phrase on the Fritz.

Informal: a condition in which something does not work properly; not in working order.

Frog:

Offensive Slang: used as a disparaging term for a French person.

Informal: hoarseness or phlegm in the throat.

The Frog & the Scorpion:

One day a Scorpion is hanging around the side of a stream. A Frog happens by on his way across the stream. The Scorpion cannot swim so he stops the Frog and asks if he can climb on his back for a ride across the water.

"Do you think I am crazy?" The Frog says. "If I let you on my back, you’ll certainly sting me and I’ll sink in the water and die."

The Scorpion replies, "Hey, just think about it for a second, I can’t swim. If I sting you, then you’ll die and I’ll sink and die too."

The Frog thinks for a second and decides that makes sense, so he proceeds to give the Scorpion a ride across the stream.

About half way across the stream, the Scorpion stings the Frog. The Frog screams "What are you doing? Why did you sting me? Now I am going to drown and die and you are going to sink and die too."

The Scorpion says "because I am a Scorpion."

From the Horse's Mouth:

From an authoritative or dependable source.

Front:

A position of leadership or superiority; vanguard.

Informal: a business or other activity serving as a respectable cover for another, usually criminal, organization.

Front-End:

Business / Commerce: of or relating to the initial phase of a project.

Front Office:

The opposite of the back office, the place where a business has direct contact with its customers, be it a shop, a showroom, or a telephone sales operation.

Front-Runner:

Front-Runner is a term to describe the leaders in a race, whether political or athletic. The term arose from the close symbolism between political campaigns and athletic running events. The term is used in the U.S. Presidential primary process to label the potential nominee with the lead in the polls, the most name recognition, or most funds raised (or a combination of these).

Front Running:

Front Running is the illegal practice of a stockbroker executing orders on a security for its own account while taking advantage of advance knowledge of pending orders from its customers. When orders previously submitted by its customers will predictably affect the price of the security, purchasing first for its own account gives the broker an unfair advantage, since it can expect to close out its position at a profit based on the new price level. The Front Running broker either buys for his own account (before filling customer buy orders that drive up the price), or sells (where the broker sells for its own account, before filling customer sell orders that drive down the price).

Frontispiece:

An illustration that faces or immediately precedes the title page of a book, book section, or magazine.

Architecture: a facade, especially an ornamental façade; a small ornamental pediment, as on top of a door or window.

Froufrou:

Fussy or showy dress or ornamentation.

A rustling sound, as of silk.

Frow-ing:

Fashion: Sitting on the front row at a fashion show's catwalk.

Frozen Assets:

Assets that a court has decreed cannot be used by their owner. The Freeze may be only temporary, to be removed once the reason for its imposition has gone. Assets are often Frozen when the ownership of the assets is in question.

Frozen Conflict:

In international relations, a Frozen Conflict is a situation in which active armed conflict has been brought to an end, but no peace treaty or other political framework resolves the conflict to the satisfaction of the combatants. Therefore, legally the conflict can start again at any moment, creating an environment of insecurity and instability.

The term has been commonly used for post-Soviet conflicts, but it has also often been applied to other perennial territorial disputes. The de facto situation that emerges may match the de jure position asserted by one party to the conflict; for example, Russia claims and effectively controls Crimea following the 2014 Crimean crisis despite Ukraine's continuing claim to the region. Alternatively, the de facto situation may not match either side's official claim. The division of Korea is an example of the latter situation: both the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea officially assert claims to the entire peninsula; however, there exists a well-defined border between the two countries' areas of control.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree:

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is a legal metaphor in the United States used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally. The logic of the terminology is that if the source (the "tree") of the evidence or evidence itself is tainted, then anything gained (the "fruit") from it is tainted as well.

Fruitcake:

Slang: a crazy or an eccentric person.

FTP:

Short for: File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard method of sending files between computers over the Internet.

(Vulgar): also short for: Fuck The Police.

FTSE 100:

The FTSE 100 is the most commonly used stockmarket index in the UK, based on the price movements of the 100 largest companies quoted on the London market. Its name is an amalgam of its two founders, the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange.

Fu Manchu:

Fu Manchu is a fictional character.

A Fu Manchu moustache or simply Fu Manchu is a full, straight moustache that originates on the corners of the mouth and grows downward past the clean-shaven lips and chin in two tapered "tendrils", often extending past the jawline. An expansion of the Fu Manchu sometimes includes a third long "tendril" descending from a small patch on the chin.

FUBAR:

FUBAR is a military acronym for "fucked up beyond all/any recognition/ repair/ reason/ redemption."

Fuck Boy:

(Slang, vulgar, derogatory): a weak and contemptible man.

(Prison, slang, vulgar): a prisoner who provides sexual favors to a stronger inmate, either as the result of rape or in return for protection and gifts.

(Slang, vulgar): a womanizer; a young man who sleeps with women without any intention of having a relationship with them.

Fuck Finger:

(Vulgar, slang): the middle finger.

See also: Reversed Hand With Middle Finger Extended - Emojipedia.

Fuck You Money:

Any amount of money allowing infinite perpetuation of wealth necessary to maintain a desired lifestyle without needing employment or assistance from anyone.

Fuck Your Money:

Phrase used to dismiss someone's place in a conversation. Telling someone to fuck their money is like saying their entire net worth as a human being is being disregarded because of something they have said.

Fuckable:

(Slang): able to be or worthy of being fucked; sexually attractive.

Fudge:

Fudge is a type of confectionery which is usually very sweet, extremely rich and sometimes flavoured with cocoa.

Fudge Factor:

A Fudge Factor is an ad hoc quantity or element introduced into a calculation, formula or model in order to make it fit observations or expectations.

Fuerdai:

Fuerdai, lit. 'rich second generation'; is a Chinese term for the children of the nouveau riche in China. This term, generally considered pejorative, is often invoked in the Chinese media and everyday discussions in mainland China as it incorporates some of the social and moral problems associated with modern Chinese society.

Fugu:

Japanese cuisine: literally "river pig", pufferfish.

Fujita Scale:

The Fujita Scale (F-Scale), or Fujita–Pearson Scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita Scale category is determined by meteorologists and engineers after a ground or aerial damage survey, or both; and depending on the circumstances, ground-swirl patterns (cycloidal marks), radar tracking, eyewitness testimonies, media reports and damage imagery, as well as photogrammetry or videogrammetry if motion picture recording is available.

Fulfillment:

The process of satisfying an order received by direct mail. Much of the fulfillment process these days is carried out by computer.

Full Employment:

An economy is said to have full employment when there are jobs available for every citizen who wants to work.

Full Ginsburg:

The "Full Ginsburg" is a buzzword that refers to an appearance by one person on all five American major Sunday morning talk shows on the same day: This Week on ABC, Fox News Sunday, Face the Nation on CBS, Meet the Press on NBC, and Late Edition on CNN. State of the Union replaced Late Edition on CNN in January 2009.

The term is named for William H. Ginsburg, the lawyer for Monica Lewinsky during the sexual conduct scandal involving President Bill Clinton. Ginsburg was the first person to accomplish this feat, on February 1, 1998.

Full Grassley:

Since first taking office in 1981, Senator Chuck Grassley has held public meetings in all of Iowa's 99 counties each year, even after losing honorarium payments for them in 1994.[30] This has led to the coinage of the term "Full Grassley," to describe when a United States presidential candidate visits all 99 counties of Iowa before the Iowa caucuses.

Full House:

A poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair, ranked above a flush and below four of a kind.

Place that is crowded with people.

Full Monty:

The Full Monty is a British slang phrase of uncertain origin. It is generally used to mean "everything which is necessary, appropriate, or possible; 'the works'", and has been in common usage in the north of England for many years.

Function:

The action for which a person or thing is particularly fitted or employed.

An official ceremony or a formal social occasion.

The work done by a self-contained part of division of a business; for example, the marketing Function or the personnel Function.

Fund:

A source of supply; a stock.

An organization established to administer and manage a sum of money.

Fundamental:

Something that is an essential or necessary part of a system or object.

Fundamentals:

Economic factors that influence prices in the financial markets.

Fundamentalism:

A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

Fundamentalist:

A supporter of fundamentalism.

Funded:

Usually seen in the phrase "fully Funded", to refer to a pension fund whose investments are sufficient to pay all its obligations as and when they become due. In other words, the fund does not need to rely on future contributions to meet its present obligations.

Funds:

Assets in the form of money.

Fungible:

The quality of things, such as notes and coins or grains of sand, where any one individual specimen is indistinguishable from any other. Anything to be used as a store of value (be it beads or gold coins) has to be fungible.

Funky:

Having a strong, offensive, unwashed odor.

Music:: combining elements of jazz, blues, and soul and characterized by syncopated rhythm and a heavy, repetitive bass line.

Characterized by originality and modishness; unconventional.

Outlandishly vulgar or eccentric in a humorous or tongue-in-cheek manner; campy.

Funny Handshakes:

Freemasonry is a very old society that pre-dates many present day institutions. The earliest Masonic records are to be found in Scotland and date from a time when members of Lodges were mainly illiterate. As stone masons had to travel all over the country, and occasionally overseas, some simple method of recognition had to be devised in order to secure employment appropriate to the degree of skill of each individual. Modern day Freemasonry continues that practice.

Funny Money:

Money gained in a devious or sneaky manner; a highly inflated currency; bills of any foreign currency or of counterfeit origin; play money.

Furlong:

A Furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, or 10 chains. Using the internationally accepted conversion ratio that one inch equals exactly 25.4 millimetres, one Furlong is 201.168 metres. However, the United States does not uniformly use this conversion ratio. Older ratios are in use for surveying purposes in some states, leading to variations in the length of the Furlong of about two parts per million, or 0.4 millimetres (1/64 inch). This variation is too small to have many practical consequences. Five Furlongs are about 1.0 kilometre (1.00584 km is the exact value, according to the international conversion).

Fusion:

The act or procedure of liquefying or melting by the application of heat.

The merging of different elements into a union.

Physics: a nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine to form more massive nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy.

A style of cooking that combines ingredients and techniques from very different cultures or countries.

Fusion Cuisine:

Fusion Cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any. The term generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.

Futon:

Futon is a Japanese term generally referring, in Japan, to the traditional style of Japanese bedding consisting of padded mattresses and quilts pliable enough to be folded and stored away during the day, allowing the room to serve for purposes other than as a bed room. The bedding set referred to as futon in Japan fundamentally consists of a shikibuton (bottom mattress) and a kakebuton (thick quilted bedcover).

Futon is a flat, about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) thick mattress with a fabric exterior stuffed with cotton or synthetic batting that makes up a Japanese bed. They are sold in Japan at speciality stores called futon-ya as well as at department stores. They are often sold in sets which include the futon mattress (shikibuton), a comforter (kakebuton) or blanket (mo-fu), a summer blanket resembling a large towel, and pillow (makura), generally filled with beans, buckwheat chaff or plastic beads. Futons are designed to be placed on tatami flooring, and are traditionally folded away and stored in a closet during the day to allow the tatami to breathe and to allow for flexibility in the use of the room. Futons must be aired in sunlight regularly, especially if not put away during the day. In addition, many Japanese people beat their futons regularly using a special tool, traditionally made from bamboo, resembling a Western carpet beater.

Futon are available in single, semi-double, and double sizes.

The Western Futon is based on the Japanese original, with several major differences. They are almost always placed on a configurable wood or metal frame for dual use as a bed and a chair or couch. Typically, the frame folds in the middle allowing the futon to be used as a couch and flattens to be used as a bed. They are usually filled with foam as well as batting, often in several layers, and they are often much thicker and larger than Japanese futons, resembling a traditional mattress in size. Western-style futons are a cheap alternative to a bed or other furniture, and are often sold in sets that include the mattress and frame. Futons normally feature a removable and replaceable cover, giving them more versatility.

Futures:

Contracts agreeing to buy something in the future for a price that is fixed in the present. Futures began in agricultural markets in order to enable farmers to sell in advance crops that had not yet ripened. They have spread more recently into financial markets.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- G -

G-7:

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.

G-8:

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.

G-20:

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.

G-20 - official website.

G-77:

The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 130 member countries.

G-77 - official website.

G-Force:

The G-Force of an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. The unit of measure used is informally but commonly known as the "gee", symbolized as g (also G and g). An acceleration of 1 g is generally considered as equal to standard gravity (symbol: gn), which is defined as precisely 9.80665 metres per second squared.

The G-force of an object is 0 g in any weightless environment such as free-fall or an orbiting satellite and is 1 g (upwards) for a stationary object on the earth's surface. However, G-Forces can be much greater than 1 g on, for instance, accelerating rockets, centrifuges, and rollercoasters.

G-Man:

G-Man (short for Government Man) is a slang term for special agents of the United States government of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

G-String:

A G-String (short for Governmental String) is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear mostly by women, but also by men. The two terms G-String and thong are sometimes used interchangeably; however, technically they refer to different pieces of clothing.

GAAP:

Short for: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. GAAP is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statements.

Gabion:

A Gabion is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping.

GAFA:

Acronym for: Google, Apple, Facebook & Amazon.

Gag Order:

A court order forbidding public reporting or commentary, as by the news media, on a case currently before the court.

Gadget:

A small specialized mechanical or electronic device.

A device or control that is very useful for a particular job.

A gadget is a small technological object (such as a device or an appliance) that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty.

See also: gizmo.

Gag Order:

A court order forbidding public reporting or commentary, as by the news media, on a case currently before the court.

Gaia Movement:

Visit: Gaia Movement - the official website.

Gala:

A festive occasion, especially a lavish social event or entertainment.

Galahad:

Sir Galahad is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail. He is the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition.

One who is pure, noble, and unselfish.

Galenic Formulation:

Galenic Formulation deals with the principles of preparing and compounding medicines in order to optimize their absorption.

Galère:

French: an undesirable group or coterie.

Galileo:

Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) currently being built by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA). The €5 billion project is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. One of the aims of Galileo is to provide a high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely, independently from the Russian GLONASS, US GPS, and Chinese Compass systems, which can be disabled in times of war or conflict.

Gallant:

Smartly or boldly stylish; dashing.

Unflinching in battle or action; valiant; nobly or selflessly resolute; stately; majestic.

Courteously attentive especially to women; chivalrous; flirtatious; amorous.

A fashionable young man; a man courteously attentive to women; a woman's lover; a paramour.

Galleria:

A roofed passageway or indoor court usually containing a variety of shops or businesses.

Gallery:

A room or building for exhibiting works of art.

A covered passageway open on one side or on both sides; a balcony running along or around the inside wall of a church, hall, etc.

A building or room where articles are sold at auction.

Spectators at a golf or tennis match.

A collection; an assortment.

Galley:

Nautical: an ancient Mediterranean seagoing vessel propelled by oars.

The kitchen of an airliner, ship, or camper.

Printing: a long tray, usually of metal, used for holding composed type; Galley proof.

Gallon:

Mathematics & Measurements / Units: a unit of volume in the U.S. Customary System, used in liquid measure, equal to 4 quarts (3.785 liters); a unit of volume in the British Imperial System, used in liquid and dry measure, equal to 4 quarts (4.546 liters).

Gallows Humor:

Humorous treatment of a grave or dire situation.

Gambling:

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods.

Game:

An activity providing entertainment or amusement; a pastime.

An active interest or pursuit, especially one involving competitive engagement or adherence to rules.

Game Changer:

A person who is a visionary.

A company that alters its business strategy and conceives an entirely new business plan. This type of company switches up and forms a new business strategy in order to compete directly or indirectly with competitors. A Game Changer changes the way that something is done, thought about or made.

Game Face:

A serious or determined expression that you put on when you are going to try to win or achieve something: Most players had their Game Face on and just ignored the calls from the crowd.

Game of Chance:

A Game of Chance is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, and upon which contestants may or may not wager money or anything of monetary value. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels or numbered balls drawn from a container.

Game of Hot Potato:

Game of Hot Potato is a party game that involves players gathering in a circle and tossing a small object such as a beanbag or tennis ball to each other while music plays. The player who is holding the "hot potato" when the music stops is out. Play continues until only one player is left. The game is designed to be fast-paced and high-pressure and is often played by children. The game can also be played without music where there is a designated leader who shouts out "hot!" and the player holding the object is eliminated.

Game Over:

Game Over is a traditional message in video games which usually signals the game has ended with a negative outcome. Notably used first in pinball machines.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it. Video game Gameplay is distinct from graphics, and audio elements.

Gamification:

Gamification is the use of game mechanics, feedback loops, and rewards to drive deeper engagement in non-games.

Visit also: The Gamification Encyclopedia.

Gang:

A group of criminals or hoodlums who band together for mutual protection and profit.

A group of adolescents who band together, especially a group of delinquents.

A group of people who associate regularly on a social basis.

Gangnam:

Gangnam (Gangnam, literally "South of the River"), officially the Gangnam-gu is one of the 25 gu (local government districts) which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. As of the 2010 census, Gangnam had a population of 527,641, making it the 4th most populated district in Seoul. Gangnam is the third largest district in Seoul with an area of 39.5 km².

Until the early 1980's Gangnam and its neighboring areas had remained the least developed in Seoul, but a prodigious development over the last 30 years has earned it a reputation of being the most affluent, dynamic, and influential area in both Seoul and South Korea as a whole.

Gangnam was made famous world-wide by "Gangnam Style", a single by South Korean rapper PSY. The song was released on July 15, 2012, as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1. "Gangnam Style" debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart, the national record chart of South Korea. As of October 26, 2012, the music video has been viewed over 559 million times on YouTube, and is the site's third most watched video and most watched K-pop video.

The phrase "Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district of Seoul. The song and its accompanying music video went viral in August 2012 and has influenced popular culture since then. "Gangnam Style" is considered by some to be a worldwide phenomenon, while others have praised "Gangnam Style" for its catchy beat and PSY's amusing dance moves in the music video and during live performances. On September 17, the song was nominated for Best Video at the upcoming 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Frankfurt, Germany. On September 20, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history.

See also: macarena.

Gangsta:

Black English: a member of a youth gang.

Gangster:

A criminal who is a member of gang.

Ganymede (mythology):

In Greek mythology, Ganymede or Ganymedes is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals, and in one version of the myth Zeus falls in love with his beauty and abducts him in the form of an eagle to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus.

GAO:

Short for: General Accounting Office (U.S.A.).

Gap:

An opening in a solid structure or surface; a cleft or breach.

An opening through mountains; a pass.

A space between objects or points; an aperture.

An interruption of continuity.

A problematic situation resulting from such a disparity.

Gap Analysis:

A technique used by a market researcher to identify gaps in a particular market. Once identified, companies can set out to fill the gaps, thereby meeting unrequited consumer demand.

Gap Year:

A Gap Year is time out to travel between life stages. It is also known as a sabbatical, time off, time out and a year out, referring to a period of time (not necessarily 12 months) in which people disengage from curricular education and/or work and undertake activities such as traveling, volunteering or working abroad.

In the field of college applications, a Gap Year is a year taken between high school and college. During this Gap Year, students engage in extra-academic and non-academic courses, language studies, volunteer work, travel, internships, sports and more, all for the purpose of improving themselves and their resumes before going to college. These academic Gap Years are also called Pathways, Prep-Year and Bridge-Year.

GapBuster:

A GapBuster is a variety of secret shopper employed by the above McDonald's company, designed to secretly audit stores across the nation. What They Do A GapBuster will walk into a store, dressed like Joe Nobody or Jane Average, order their food, pay, and walk out. What they are really doing is looking over every single minute detail in the store, trying to pick out any discernable flaw.

Garage Sale:

A Garage Sale, also known as a yard sale, rummage sale, tag sale, attic sale, moving sale, or junk sale, is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals, in which "block sales" are allowed, so that sellers are not required to obtain business licenses or collect sales tax. Typically the goods in a garage sale are unwanted items from the household with the home owners conducting the sale.

Garçonnière:

French for a bachelor pad.

Garden City:

A residential suburb or community planned so as to provide a pleasant environment with low-density housing and open public land.

Garland:

A Garland is a decorative wreath or cord, used at festive occasions, which can be hung round a person's neck, or on inanimate objects like Christmas trees. Originally Garlands were made of flowers or leaves.

Garrote:

A Garrote or Garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone. The term especially refers to an execution device but is sometimes used in assassination, because it can be completely silent.

Gaslighting:

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person or a group covertly sows seeds of doubt in a targeted individual, making them question their own memory, perception, or judgment, often evoking in them cognitive dissonance and other changes such as low self-esteem. Using denial, misdirection, contradiction, and misinformation, gaslighting involves attempts to destabilize the victim and delegitimize the victim's beliefs. Instances can range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents occurred to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.

The term originated from the play Gas Light (1938, but originally performed as Angel Street in the United States) and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations (both titled Gaslight). The term has been used in clinical psychological literature, as well as in political commentary and philosophy.

Gastronomy:

The art or science of good eating.

See also: molecular gastronomy.

Gate:

A movable barrier in a fence or wall.

A computer circuit with several inputs but only one output that can be activated by particular combinations of inputs.

Total admission receipts at a sports event.

Passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark.

Since the Watergate scandal of 1972-74, commentators have referred to some social and political scandals by adding the suffix "-gate" to a related noun or name. This new label has sometimes stuck but often a new name is used. The process, an example of a snowclone, is known as -gate construction.

Gatecrasher:

One who gains admittance, as to a party or concert, without being invited or without paying.

Gated Community:

In its modern form, a Gated Community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated Communities usually consist of small residential streets and include various shared amenities. For smaller communities, this may be only a park or other common area. For larger communities, it may be possible for residents to stay within the community for most daily activities.

Gatekeeper:

One that is in charge of passage through a gate.

One who monitors or oversees the actions of others.

Gateway:

An opening or a structure framing an opening, such as an arch, that may be closed by a gate.

Something that serves as an entrance or a means of access.

Software or hardware that enables communication between computer networks that use different communications protocols. Also called router.

Gauche:

Lacking social polish; tactless.

Gaucherie:

Awkward or unsophisticated ways.

Gaucho:

Gaucho is a resident of the South American pampas, Gran Chaco, or Patagonian grasslands, found mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Southeastern Bolivia, Southern Brazil and Southern Chile.

Gauss (unit):

The Gauss, symbol G, sometimes Gs, is the cgs unit of measurement of magnetic flux density (or "magnetic induction") (B). It was named after German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1936. One Gauss is defined as one maxwell per square centimeter.

Gaydar:

The Gay Panic Defense (or defence) is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims they acted in a state of violent, temporary insanity, committing assault or murder, because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances. Broadly, a defendant may allege to have found the same-sex sexual advances so offensive or frightening that they were provoked into reacting, were acting in self-defense, were of diminished capacity, or were temporarily insane, and that this circumstance is exculpatory or mitigating.

Gaydar:

Gaydar (a portmanteau of gay and radar) is a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' sexual orientations as gay, bisexual or heterosexual. Gaydar relies almost exclusively on non-verbal clues and LGBT stereotypes. These include (but are not limited to) the sensitivity to social behaviors and mannerisms; for instance, acknowledging flamboyant body language, the tone of voice used by a person when speaking, overtly rejecting traditional gender roles, a person's occupation, and grooming habits.

The detection of sexual orientation by outward appearance or behavior is frequently challenged by situations in which masculine gay men who do not act in a stereotypically "gay" fashion, or with metrosexual men (regardless of sexuality) who exhibit a lifestyle, spending habits, and concern for personal appearance stereotypical of fashionable urban gay men.

Gaza Strip:

The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a small self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border. Gaza, together with the West Bank, comprise the Palestinian territories claimed by the Palestinians as the State of Palestine. The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory. Both fall under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, but Gaza has since June 2007 been governed by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic organization which came to power in free elections in 2006. It has been placed under an Israeli and U.S.-led international economic and political boycott from that time onwards.

A euphemism describing a woman's landing strip when she is on her period, although the term is generally viewed as more offensive after its actual meaning is understood.

Gaze of Orpheus:

Rather than obtained, the object of desire is always displaced. Drawn from darkness to light, its absence or invisibility is re-articulated as a gap, a notion of loss, a signifier, within the frame of language, within a poem of lament.

GBH:

Short for: Grievous Bodily Harm. Term used in English criminal law.

Gchat:

Google Talk, also known as Google Chat, was an instant messaging service that provided both text and voice communication. The instant messaging service was variously referred to colloquially as Gchat, Gtalk, or Gmessage among its users.

GCP:

Short for: Gross Criminal Product.

GDA:

Short for: Guideline Daily Amounts. GDAs are designed to help consumers make sense of the nutrition information provided on food labels. They translate science into consumer friendly information, providing guidelines on pack that help consumers put the nutrition information they read on a food label into the context of their overall diet.

GDP:

Short for: Gross Domestic Product of a country. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a basic measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living.

See also: GNP.

GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. It addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. The GDPR aims primarily to give control to citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU.

Gear:

Clothing and accessories; personal belongings.

A transmission configuration for a specific ratio of engine to axle torque in a motor vehicle.

Slang: stolen goods; illegal drugs.

Gearing:

A fundamental analysis ratio of a company's level of long-term debt compared to its equity capital. Gearing is expressed in percentage form.

Companies with high Gearing - more long-term liabilities than shareholder equity - are considered speculative.

Gee Whiz:

(US, dated): expression of surprise or annoyance.

"Why should I care?"; so what?

Very good, impressive.

Geek:

A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

See also: nerd.

Geisha:

One of a class of professional women in Japan trained from girlhood in conversation, dancing, and singing in order to entertain professional or social gatherings of men.

Gem:

A pearl or mineral that has been cut and polished for use as an ornament.

Gemstone:

Precious or semiprecious stone that may be used as a jewel when cut and polished.

Gen:

Military shorthand term for ‘intelligence’.

Gender:

Grammar: a grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.

Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.

Genderqueer:

Genderqueer (GQ), also termed non-binary (NB), is a catch-all category for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine—identities which are thus outside of the gender binary and cisnormativity.

Gene:

A Gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Genes hold the information to build and maintain their cells and pass genetic traits to offspring.

See also: DNA.

Genealogy:

A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.

Direct descent from an ancestor; lineage or pedigree.

The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.

General Power of Attorney:

General Power of Attorney is the legal authority given to any person to manage all of his financial and business activities without limiting the scope to any particular transaction or act.

General Strike:

A strike involving almost all sectors of the economy. General Strikes are usually organized as workers' protests against general social conditions rather than against their own specific pay and contract.

Generalíssimo:

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral and comparable to commander-in-chief or General of the Armies.

Generation:

All of the offspring that are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor.

Biology: a form or stage in the life cycle of an organism.

The average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.

A group of generally contemporaneous individuals regarded as having common cultural or social characteristics and attitudes.

A stage or period of sequential technological development and innovation.

The act or process of generating; origination, production, or procreation.

Generation R:

Generation R is a prospective, population based cohort study from fetal life until young adulthood in a multi-ethnic urban population in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes of normal and abnormal growth, development and health. Eventually, results forthcoming from the Generation R Study have to contribute to the development of strategies for optimizing health and healthcare for pregnant women and children.

The study focuses on five primary areas of research: Growth and physical development Behavioral and cognitive development Asthma and atopy Diseases in childhood Health and healthcare.

Generation Snowflake:

Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a neologistic term used to characterize the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offense and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own. The term is considered derogatory. It is one of several informal examples of usage of the word snowflake to refer to people.

Generation X:

A lifestyle defined in a book of the same name. Generation X's are, roughly, people born between 1965 and 1980, and they differ from other generations in that they are less inclined to seek full-time, lifetime employment. Instead, they prefer a series of short-term contractual arrangements.

Generation Y:

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, Generation Next, Gamer Generation or Net Generation, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as Millennials or Echo Boomers.

Characteristics of the generation vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. However, it is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies.

See also: millennial generation.

Generation Z:

Generation Z or Gen Z, also known by a number of other names, is the demographic cohort after the Millennials (Generation Y). There is no precise date for when Generation Z begins, but demographers and researchers typically use the mid-1990s to mid-2000s as starting birth years. There is little consensus regarding ending birth years. Most of Generation Z have used the Internet since a young age and are comfortable with technology and social media.

Generic:

Relating to or descriptive of an entire group or class; general.

Not having a brand name; a product or substance sold under or identified by a Generic name.

A product that is sold with no brand name. Pharmaceuticals are said to become Generic when they are no longer protected by patent and can be manufactured and sold by anybody.

A wine that is a blend of several varieties of grapes with no one grape predominating; a wine that does not carry the name of any specific grape.

Generic Brand:

No-name' or non-decrepit brand that is not advertised, and is sold at a price substantially lower than the comparable branded products.

Generic Top-Level Domain:

See: dotBrand Domain Extension.

Genericization:

The process of becoming generic.

(Law): with respect to a trademark, the act or process of becoming so widely identified as a reference for a type of product as to cease representing a particular brand or manufacturer of that type of product.

See also: List of generic and genericized trademarks.

Read: Even in the New Alphabet, Google Keeps Its Capital G - The New York Times.

Generous:

Liberal in giving or sharing.

Characterized by nobility and forbearance in thought or behavior; magnanimous.

Genesis:

The origin or coming into being of something.

Genetic Engineering:

Genetic Engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM) and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes. Genetic engineering is different from traditional breeding, where the organism's genes are manipulated indirectly. Genetic engineering uses the techniques of molecular cloning and transformation to alter the structure and characteristics of genes directly. Genetic engineering techniques have found some successes in numerous applications. Some examples are in improving crop technology, the manufacture of synthetic human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the manufacture of erythropoietin in hamster ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the oncomouse (cancer mouse) for research.

The term "Genetic Engineering" was coined in Jack Williamson's science fiction novel Dragon's Island, published in 1951, two years before James Watson and Francis Crick showed that DNA could be the medium of transmission of genetic information.

Genetics:

The branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms.

Genie:

A supernatural creature who does one's bidding when summoned.

Genius:

Genius refers to a person, a body of work, or a singular achievement of surpassing excellence. More than just originality, creativity, or intelligence, Genius is associated with achievement of insight which has transformational power. A work of Genius fundamentally alters the expectations of its audience. Genius may be generalized, or be particular to a discrete field such as sports, statesmanship, science, or art.

Click here for a free test of your IQ!

Genius Loci:

In classical Roman religion a Genius Loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia, patera (libation bowl) or snake.

Genocide:

The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

Genome:

In classical genetics, the Genome of a diploid organism including eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a gamete; thereby, a regular somatic cell contains two full sets of Genomes. In a haploid organism, including bacteria, archaea, virus, and mitochondria, a cell contains only a single set of Genome, usually in a single circular or contiguous linear DNA (or RNA for some viruses). In modern molecular biology the Genome of an organism is its hereditary information encoded in DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA).

See also: dna and snip.

Genre:

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content.

A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life.

Gentile:

A person who is not Jewish.

Gentleman:

The term Gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or "gens", and "man", cognate with the French word gentilhomme and the Italian gentil uomo or gentiluomo), in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus (its invariable translation in English-Latin documents). In this sense the word equates with the French gentilhomme (nobleman), which latter term was in Great Britain long confined to the peerage. The term "gentry" (from the Old French genterise for gentelise) has much of the social class significance of the French noblesse or of the German Adel, but without the strict technical requirements of those traditions (such as quarters of nobility).

John Selden in Titles of Honour (1614), discussing the title "Gentleman", speaks of "our English use of it" as "convertible with nobilis" (an ambiguous word, like 'noble' meaning elevated either by rank or by personal qualities) and describes in connection with it the forms of ennobling in various European countries.

To a degree, "Gentleman" signified a man with an income derived from property, a legacy or some other source, and was thus independently wealthy and did not need to work. The term was particularly used of those who could not claim nobility or even the rank of esquire. Widening further, it became a politeness for all men, as in the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen,..." and this was then used (often with the abbreviation Gents) to indicate where men could find a lavatory, without the need to indicate precisely what was being described.

In modern speech, the term is usually democratised so as to include any man of good, courteous conduct, or even to all men (as in indications of gender-separated facilities).

See also: butler.

Gentleman Thief:

In the Victorian vernacular, a Gentleman Thief or Lady Thief (called phantom thief in the East) is a particularly well-behaving and apparently well bred thief. A "gentleman or lady" is usually, but not always, a man with an inherited title of nobility and inherited wealth, who need not work for a living. Such a person steals not in order to gain material wealth, but for adventure; they act without malice. These thieves rarely bother with anonymity or force, preferring to rely on their charisma, physical attractiveness, and clever misdirection to steal the most unobtainable objects — sometimes for their own support, but mostly for the thrill of the act itself.

Gentleman's Gentleman:

A manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer.

Gentlemen's Agreement:

A Gentlemen's Agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties for its fulfillment, rather than being in any way enforceable (by the government). It is, therefore, distinct from a legal agreement or contract, which can be enforced if necessary. The phrase's first recorded use was in 1888 in the Report of the Railway Accounting Officers published by the Association of American Railroads Accounting Division (page 337).

Gentry:

People of gentle birth, good breeding, or high social position.

An upper or ruling class; the class of English landowners ranking just below the nobility.

People of a particular class or group.

Genus:

A class, group, or kind with common attributes.

Geocaching:

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world.

A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook where the geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition boxes can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little financial value, although sometimes they are sentimental.

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

Visit: geocaching - The Official Website.

Geoengineering:

The modern concept of Geoengineering is usually taken to mean proposals to deliberately manipulate the Earth's climate to counteract the effects of global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. The National Academy of Sciences defined Geoengineering as "options that would involve large-scale engineering of our environment in order to combat or counteract the effects of changes in atmospheric chemistry."

Some Geoengineering techniques are based on carbon sequestration. These seek to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere directly. These include direct methods (e.g. carbon dioxide air capture) and indirect methods (e.g. ocean iron fertilization). These techniques can be regarded as mitigation of global warming. Alternatively, solar radiation management techniques (e.g. stratospheric sulfur aerosols) do not reduce greenhouse gas concentrations, and can only address the warming effects of carbon dioxide and other gases; they cannot address problems such as ocean acidification, which are expected as a result for rising carbon dioxide levels. Examples of proposed Geoengineering techniques include the production of stratospheric sulfur aerosols, which was suggested by Paul Crutzen, and cloud reflectivity enhancement. Most techniques have at least some side effects.

To date, no large-scale Geoengineering projects have been undertaken, nor has a consensus been reached that Geoengineering is desirable. Some commentators additionally suggest that consideration of Geoengineering is unhelpful because it threatens to reduce the political and popular pressure for emissions reduction. Typically, the scientists and engineers proposing Geoengineering strategies do not suggest that they are an alternative to emissions control, but rather an accompanying strategy. Some limited tree planting and cool roof projects are already underway, and ocean iron fertilization is at an advanced stage of research, with small scale research trials having been completed.

Visit: Giving us time to act?

Geo-Fence:

A Geo-Fence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. A Geo-Fence could be dynamically generated—as in a radius around a point location, or a Geo-Fence can be a predefined set of boundaries (such as school zones or neighborhood boundaries).

The use of a Geo-Fence is called Geo-Fencing, and one example of usage involves a location-aware device of a location-based service (LBS) user entering or exiting a Geo-Fence. This activity could trigger an alert to the device's user as well as messaging to the Geo-Fence operator. This info, which could contain the location of the device, could be sent to a mobile telephone or an email account.

Geographic Coordinate System:

Visit: Geographic Coordinate System - Wikipedia. Also visit: GPS.

Geography:

The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.

The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an area.

Geomancy:

Geomancy is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory Geomancy involves interpreting a series of 16 figures formed by a randomized process that involves recursion followed by analyzing them, often augmented with astrological interpretations.

See also: feng shui.

Geometry:

The mathematics of the properties, measurement, and relationships of points, lines, angles, surfaces, and solids.

Georgian:

A person of, or whose style is imitative of, either of the reigns of the four Georges who ruled Great Britain from 1714 to 1830 named the Georgian era.

Geosocial Networking:

Geosocial Networking is social networking in which geographic services and capabilities such as geocoding and geotagging are used to enable additional social dynamics. User-submitted location data or geolocation techniques can allow social networks to connect and coordinate users with local people or events that match their interests. For mobile social networks, texted location information or mobile phone tracking can enable location-based services to enrich social networking.

Gepetto:

A guy who is able to carve out a woman when the odds are stacked against him (ie. she is surrounded by many other men).

Geriatric:

Of or pertaining to the elderly.

Slang: an aged person.

Gerontocracy:

Government based on rule by elders; the system in which the rulers are old men.

Gerontology:

Gerontology is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of ageing.

Gerontophilia:

Gerontophilia is the primary sexual attraction to the elderly. A person with such a sexual preference is a gerontophile.

Gerrymandering:

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: to divide the constituencies of (a voting area) so as to give one party an unfair advantage. Read more here!

To manipulate or adapt to one's advantage.

Gesamtkunstwerk:

A Gesamtkunstwerk (translated as total work of art, ideal work of art, universal artwork, synthesis of the arts, comprehensive artwork, all-embracing art form or total artwork) is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. The term is a German word which has come to be accepted in English as a term in aesthetics.

Gestalt Psychology:

Gestalt Psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt – "essence or shape of an entity's complete form") is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of Gestalt Psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. The principle maintains that the human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts, suggesting the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology tries to understand the laws of our ability to acquire and maintain stable percepts in a noisy world.

Gestell:

This concept was applied to Martin Heidegger's exposition of the essence of technology. The conclusion regarding the essence of technology was that technology is fundamentally enframing. As such, the essence of technology is Gestell. Indeed, "Gestell, literally 'framing', is an all-encompassing view of technology, not as a means to an end, but rather a mode of human existence."

Gesture:

A motion of the limbs or body made to express or help express thought or to emphasize speech.

An act or a remark made as a formality or as a sign of intention or attitude.

Gesundheit:

An expression used to wish good health to someone who has just sneezed.

Gesundschrumpfen:

German for: to trim down, to streamline.

"Get a Life":

"Get a Life" is an idiom and catch phrase usually intended as a taunt, to indicate that the person being so addressed is devoting an inordinate amount of time to trivial or hopeless matters. The phrase has also appeared as a generally more emphatic variant of the taunt "get a job" and implies the addressee needs to go out and make their way in the world, without being supported by outside sources such as parents or benefactors. It may also be directed at someone who is perceived as boring or single-minded; suggesting they acquire some other, more practical interests or hobbies and get dates, find a job, or move into their own home. Similar terms include "Get a job", "Has no life", "Get a car, house, girl, etc."

The ultimate insult for insecure people who have nothing better to say. people who use this "diss" have no life themselves. they usually say this to feel better about their own sad lives by criticizing someone else's "life".

Phrase used by insecure xenophobes as a response to someone with different hobbies, interests or attitudes to themselves. These people often think they have a lot of friends, but usually nobody really cares for them.

Get Back on the Horse:

To return to or resume an activity that one has previously failed at, had difficulty with, or which has previously caused one harm.

Get Under Someone's Skin:

Annoy or irritate someone intensely; fill someone’s mind in a compelling and persistent way; reach or display a deep understanding of someone.

Getaway Car:

A Getaway Car is a motor vehicle used by a criminal (such as a robber) to flee the scene of a crime.

Getting the Trains Running on Time:

"Say What You Want About Mussolini; At Least The Trains Ran On Time.

What It's Supposed To Mean: Although some profess that this cliche is now merely a cynical expression of good things happening in terrible circumstances, I only hear it uttered by angry and fatigued commuters dying for a powerful man to set their travel schedule right.

Why I Hate It: No one can deny that Benito Mussolini was a fascist, a Nazi ally, and a proponent of censorship and propaganda. But, apparently, all that was a small price to pay for the 8:32 out of Venice always running on time! Somehow, there was a direct correlation between torturing political opponents and getting someone else off to work on schedule."

Getting Things Done (GTD):

Getting Things Done (abbreviated to G.T.D.) is a time management method, described in the book of the same title by productivity consultant David Allen.

The GTD method rests on the idea of moving planned tasks and projects out of the mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items. This allows attention to be focused on taking action on tasks, instead of recalling them.

Ghetto:

A Ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure."

Ghillie Suit:

A Ghillie Suit is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble the background environment such as foliage, snow or sand. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of burlap, cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and optionally augmented with scraps of foliage from the area.

Military personnel, police, hunters, and nature photographers may wear a ghillie suit to blend into their surroundings and conceal themselves from enemies or targets. The suit gives the wearer's outline a three-dimensional breakup, rather than a linear one. When manufactured correctly, the suit will move in the wind in the same way as surrounding foliage. Some Ghillie Suits are made with light and breathable material that allows a person to wear a shirt underneath. Ghillie Suits are also made as a yarn version which make the suit very hot.

Ghost Town:

A once thriving town, especially a town of the American West, that has been completely abandoned.

Ghosting:

Ghost, a word more commonly associated with Casper, the boy who saw dead people and a 1990 movie starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, has also come to be used as a verb that refers to ending a romantic relationship by cutting off all contact and ignoring the former partner’s attempts to reach out.

Ghostwriter:

A Ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire Ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written material.

GI:

An enlisted person in or a veteran of any of the U.S. armed forces, especially a person enlisted in the army.

Giant Order:

In Classical architecture, a Giant Order (also known as Colossal Order) is an order whose columns or pilasters span two (or more) stories. At the same time, smaller orders may feature in arcades or window and door framings within the storeys that are embraced by the Giant Order.

Gibberish:

Unintelligible or nonsensical talk or writing.

Gibson Girl:

The Gibson Girl began appearing in the 1890s and was the personification of the feminine ideal of beauty portrayed by the satirical pen-and-ink illustrations of illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States and Canada. The artist saw his creation as representing the composite of "thousands of American girls."

Gibus:

Gibus, also known as opera hat, is a type of top hat which is collapsible.

The opera hat was invented in 1812 by a Frenchman called Antoine Gibus. They're purpose was for convenience in opera house cloak rooms, hence their name. The mechanism of a Gibus involves springs, which allow it to be folded flat. Opera hats are still used as evening wear.

GIF:

Short for: Graphics Interchange Format. GIF is an image file format commonly used in HTML documents.

Giffen Good:

In economics and consumer theory, a Giffen Good is a product that people consume more of as the price rises and vice versa - violating the basic law of demand in micro economics. For any other sort of good, as the price of the good rises, the substitution effect makes consumers purchase less of it, and more of substitute goods; for most goods, the income effect (due to the effective decline in available income due to more being spent on existing units of this good) reinforces this decline in demand for the good. But a Giffen Good is so strongly an inferior good in the minds of consumers (being more in demand at lower incomes) that this contrary income effect more than offsets the substitution effect, and the net effect of the good's price rise is to increase demand for it. A Giffen Good is considered to be the opposite of an ordinary good.

Gift:

Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.

A talent, endowment, aptitude, or inclination.

Gig:

A light, two-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse.

Nautical: a long light ship's boat, usually reserved for use by the ship's captain.

A job, especially a booking for musicians.

Gig Economy:

Gig Economy is a way of working that is based on people having temporary jobs or doing separate pieces of work, each paid separately, rather than working for an employer.

The Gig Economy gets its name from each piece of work being akin to an individual 'gig' - although, such work can fall under multiple names. It has previously been called the "sharing economy" — mostly in reference to platforms such as Airbnb - and the "collaborative economy". However, at its core are app-based platforms that dole out work in bits and pieces — making deliveries, driving passengers or cleaning homes - leading some to prefer the term "platform economy".

Want to book a taxi? Tap your smartphone. Order pizza? Tap. Get a cleaner? Tap. The so-called “gig” or “sharing” economy has risen hand-in-hand with iPhones and smartphones.

Giga Yacht:

A 100+ metres (328 feet) (sail or power) yacht.

As of 2009 yachts above 100 metres (328 feet) are still rare but increasingly more common. They typically have five decks above the water line and one below. The very largest yachts have begun to incorporate such features as helicopter hangars, indoor swimming pools and miniature submarines. The burgeoning number of "small" superyachts has led to the introduction of the hyperbolic terms "Mega Yacht" and "Giga Yacht" to demarcate the elite among luxury yachts.

See also: superyacht, mega yacht & shadow yacht.

Gigabyte:

Gigabyte is an SI-multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. Gigabyte means 1,000,000,000 bytes. However, this term is also often used meaning 1,073,741,824 bytes.

Originally the binary use of SI prefixes (kilo, mega, giga, etc.) was confined to contexts where the quantities were inherently determined in powers of two by the computer word or address size, like memory or disk sizes, so that confusion was unlikely. Later, disk design was not constraint by address word sizes or other physical details and disk blocks were numbered consecutively in decimal numbers (logical block addressing), creating the opportunity for confusion when size was still reported with binary interpretation of the prefix.

Today the usage of the word "gigabyte" is ambiguous: the value depends on the context. When referring to RAM sizes it traditionally has a binary interpretation of 10243 bytes. Some operating systems list file sizes in SI units, but using the binary interpretation. Today, when referring to disk storage capacities it usually means 10003 bytes. This also applies to data transmission volumes over telecommunication lines, as the telecommunications industry has always used the SI prefixes with their standards-based meaning.

See also: megabyte and terabyte.

Gigaflop:

A unit of measure for the calculating speed of a computer equal to one billion (109) floating point operations per second.

Gigolo:

A man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman.

A man who is hired as an escort or a dancing partner for a woman.

Gilded Age:

In American history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century (1865-1901). The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their 1873 book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. The name refers to the process of gilding and is meant to ridicule ostentatious display.

Gilt:

Security issued and guaranteed by the government.

Gilt-Edged:

A bond that is believed to be exceptionally high quality (in terms of its ability to pay interest and capital as and when they fall due). The term is applied particularly to British government securities, once known as gilts.

Gimbal:

A Gimbal is a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. A set of three Gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost Gimbal to remain independent of the rotation of its support (e.g. vertical in the first animation). For example, on a ship, the gyroscopes, shipboard compasses, stoves, and even drink holders typically use Gimbals to keep them upright with respect to the horizon despite the ship's pitching and rolling.

Gimmick:

In marketing language, a Gimmick is a quirky feature that distinguishes a product or service without adding any obvious function or value. Thus, a Gimmick sells solely on the basis of distinctiveness and may not appeal to the more savvy or shrewd customer.

Gini Coefficient:

The Gini Coefficient (also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio) is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation's residents, and is the most commonly used measure of inequality. It was developed by the Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability".

Girl Dinner:

"Girl Dinner" is many things. However, most iterations of "Girl Dinner" seen on TikTok are really just like ordering a bunch of appetizers for dinner instead of making one big thing. The trend essentially involves filling up your plate with small portions of a bunch of different snacks, and then eating all of that food instead of one larger meal. Typically, Girl Dinners are fairly high-brow, and involve things like bread paired with olive oil or a vinaigrette, fresh fruit, vegetables, and dips, etc.

The idea behind these meals is obviously not new, but TikTok is responsible for the name, which can be sourced back to a video posted by Olivia Maher in May of 2023 in which she showed off a "Girl Dinner" composed of bread, cheeses, pickles, and grapes.

Read also: Is It a Meal? A Snack? No, It’s ‘Girl Dinner’ - "Women across TikTok are showing off their suppers - snack plates made by one person, for the consumption and enjoyment of one person." The New York Times.

Girl Friday:

An efficient and faithful woman aide or employee.

Girl Next Door:

Every guy may have his specific Girl-Next-Door prototype, but in general, she's the girl whom you always admired from afar and were afraid to approach, fearing that any erotic projection toward her would ruin her image as a decent, pure and almost virginal womanly ideal.

She's (in your mind at least) untrodden ground; unspoiled by other men and so sweet-natured it almost frightens you to think of her in explicit sexual situations. Almost.

Girl Power:

Power exercised by girls; specially a self-reliant attitude among girls and young women manifested in ambition, assertiveness, and individualism. Although also used more widely (esp. as a slogan), the term has been particularly and repeatedly associated with popular music; most notably in the early 1990s with the briefly prominent ‘riot girl’ movement in the United States; then, in the late 1990s, with the British all-female group The Spice Girls.

Gitmo:

United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (also called Gitmo or GTMO by the Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen that have been stationed there) is located on 45 square miles (120 km²) of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling and naval station in the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas U.S. Naval Base, and the only U.S. military installation located in a country with which the United States does not share diplomatic relations.

Since 2002, the Naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for persons alleged to be unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places. The torture of prisoners, and their denial of protection under the Geneva Conventions, has been a source of international controversy.

Gizmo:

A mechanical device or part whose name is forgotten or unknown.

See also: gadget.

Glacis:

A slight incline; slope.

Military / Fortifications: an open slope in front of a fortified place.

Glad-Hand:

To be overly friendly with a stranger in order to gain an advantage.

Gladiator:

Ancient Rome: a professional combatant or a captive who entertained the public by engaging in mortal combat.

A person engaged in a controversy or debate, especially in public; a disputant.

Gladstone Bag:

A Gladstone Bag is a small portmanteau suitcase built over a rigid frame which could separate into two equal sections. Unlike a suitcase, a Gladstone Bag is "deeper in proportion to its length."

Glam:

Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour; glamorous; make oneself look glamorous.

GLAM: an acronym for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums, the cultural heritage institutions.

Glamma:

Glamorous Grandma; one of the terms adopted by boomer grandparents in favor of more traditional names like Grandmother.

Glamour:

Glamour is an appearance of enhanced attractiveness.

Glamour originally described a magical-occult spell cast on somebody to make them believe that something or somebody was attractive. In the late 19th century terminology a non magical item used to help create a more attractive appearance was 'a Glamour'. Today, Glamour usually denotes the impression of attraction or fascination that a particularly luxurious or elegant appearance creates, an impression which is better than the reality. Typically, a person, event, location, technology, or product such as a piece of clothing can be glamorous.

Glamour Girl:

a girl or woman whose appearance or lifestyle is considered glamorous by popular standards.

Glasnost:

An official policy of the former Soviet government emphasizing candor with regard to discussion of social problems and shortcomings.

Glass Ceiling:

The invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching the top echelons of organizations in the proportion that their numbers in business suggest they should.

Glitterati:

Wealthy or famous people who conspicuously or ostentatiously attend fashionable events.

Glitz:

Ostentatious showiness; flashiness.

To invest with an ostentatiously showy quality.

Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP):

A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, a part of the International Union of Geological Sciences. Most, but not all, GSSPs are based on paleontological changes. Hence GSSPs are usually described in terms of transitions between different faunal stages, though far more faunal stages have been described than GSSPs. The GSSP definition effort commenced in 1977. As of 2021, 76 of the 104 stages that need a GSSP have a ratified GSSP.

List of Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points. The Status column has a "Golden Spike" for every GSSP which has been formally agreed by the ICS. Those without have only candidate sections which have not yet been formally ratified. The clock stands for times that are currently defined only by an age.

Global Warming:

Global Warming and climate change are terms for the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming. Although the increase of near-surface atmospheric temperature is the measure of Global Warming often reported in the popular press, most of the additional energy stored in the climate system since 1970 has gone into the oceans. The rest has melted ice and warmed the continents and atmosphere. Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented over tens to thousands of years.

Globalization:

A strategy in which companies aim to sell their products and services all around the world. Driven by the convergence of consumer tastes from Tvilisi to Timbuctoo, Globalization presents companies with opportunities for achieving economies of scale.

Globetrotter:

A person who travels often to faraway places.

Gloomth:

Gloom + warmth. Gloominess.

Glory:

Great honor, praise, or distinction accorded by common consent; renown; adoration, praise, and thanksgiving offered in worship.

A height of achievement, enjoyment, or prosperity.

Glory hole (sexual slang):

A Glory Hole (also spelled gloryhole and glory-hole) is a hole in a wall, or other partition, often between public lavatory stalls or adult video arcade booths, for people to engage in sexual activity or observe the person in the next cubicle while one or both parties masturbate. In addition to the penis, fingers or the tongue may be inserted into the hole.

Glossary:

A Glossary is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a Glossary appears at the end of a book and includes terms within that book which are either newly introduced or at least uncommon.

Glossolalia:

See: speaking in tongues.

Glyph:

A Glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written.

GmbH:

Short for: Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung. A German form of incorporation roughly equivalent to a limited company without shares.

GMO:

Short for: Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species. Some GMOs contain no DNA from other species and are therefore not transgenic but cisgenic.

Gnomon:

Indicator provided by the stationary arm whose shadow indicates the time on the sundial.

GNP:

Short for: General National Product. A variety of measures of national income and output are used in economics to estimate total economic activity in a country or region, including gross domestic product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP).

Go Ahead:

Permission to proceed.

proceed (with a plan of action).

Go-Between:

One who acts as an intermediary or messenger between two sides.

Go Dutch:

To pay one's own expenses on a date or outing.

Go-Getter:

An ambitious enterprising person.

Someone whose career progresses rapidly.

Go Native:

Used humorously, to go native means to take on some (or all) of the culture traits of the people around you, often said of people who go to foreign countries or far away cities. These traits may include dress, language, accent, etiquette, religion, etc.

Go On Record:

To embrace a certain position publicly.

Go See:

Modeling term: an appointment to "Go See" a prospective client. A model takes his / her portfolio along with him / her when he/she goes to Go-Sees.

Similar to an audition. You go and visit a client to investigate what a particular assignment entails.

Go South:

To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.

Go to the Mattresses:

Prepare for a battle or adopt a warlike stance. Click here to learn the origin.

From the movie "The Godfather": To prepare for a protracted fight. Going to war with a rival clan or family. Used in the mafia. Its when a mafia family sends someone out to get someone apartments and some mattresses for the soldiers of the family to sleep on while they hide out in safety, waiting for a call to do something.

GOAT:

Short for: Greatest Of All Time. Praises exceptional athletes but also musicians and other public figures.

Not many people can claim to be the G.O.A.T., but those who can are the Greatest Of All Time in their field. Most often, the acronym G.O.A.T. praises exceptional athletes but also musicians and other public figures.

On social media, it’s common to see the goat 🐐 emoji in punning relation to the acronym.

Gobbledygook:

(Informal): nonsense; meaningless or encrypted language; something written in an overly complex, incoherent, or incomprehensible manner.

Goblin Mode:

Goblin Mode is a neologism for rejecting societal expectations and living in an unkempt, hedonistic manner without regard to self-image. Although usage of the term dates back to 2009 with varying definitions, the term went viral in 2022 due to a tweet by Twitter user JUNlPER, featuring a doctored headline of an interview with Julia Fox, where she alleges that her then-boyfriend Kanye West's dislike of her going "Goblin Mode" was the cause of their breakup. This doctored image prompted a huge spike in searches for "Goblin Mode", leading Fox to deny having used the term. The term has also been linked to a viral Reddit post in which a user admits to acting "like a goblin" when alone at home.

Read also: 'Goblin Mode' chosen as Oxford word of the year for 2022 - "As you read this, look around. Are you still in bed? Are there piles of clothes and takeout food boxes strewn across the floor? Do you have chip crumbs on your sheets? Have you broken your self-care routine more times than you can count? Do you not even care? If so, you might already be in 'Goblin Mode' - chosen by the public as the 2022 Oxford word of the year."

Gobsmacked:

British slang: combines the northern English and Scottish slang term gob, mouth, with the verb smack. It suggests the speaker is utterly astonished or astounded. It’s much stronger than just being surprised; it’s used for something that leaves you speechless, or otherwise stops you dead in your tracks. It suggests that something is as surprising as being suddenly hit in the face.

God:

The supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions.

God Particle:

The Higgs boson (often referred as God Particle) is a hypothetical particle that is postulated to be the carrier particle, or boson, of the Higgs field, a theoretical field that permeates space and endows all elementary subatomic particles with mass through its interactions with them. The field and the particle—named after Peter Higgs of the University of Edinburgh, one of the physicists who first proposed this mechanism—provide a testable hypothesis for the origin of mass in elementary particles. In popular culture, the Higgs particle is often called the "God Particle," after the title of Nobel physicist Leon Lederman’s The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? (1993), which contained the author’s assertion that the discovery of the particle is crucial to a final understanding of the structure of matter.

Godfather:

A man who sponsors a person at baptism.

One that has a relationship to another person or to something that is the equivalent of being a baptismal sponsor.

Slang: the leader of an organized crime family.

Godspeed:

An expression of good wishes to a person starting a journey.

Godwin’s Law:

Godwin's Law (or Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies) is an Internet adage asserting that "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1" - that is, if an online discussion (regardless of topic or scope) goes on long enough, sooner or later someone will compare someone or something to Hitler or Nazism. Despite being described as universal regarding the subject of the discussion, Godwin's Law is more likely to be applicable to social topics (including politics, law, religion, etc.).

Godspeed:

An expression of one's good wishes for a person's success and safety.

Götterdämmerung:

German mythology: a myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil.

GOFAI:

In the philosophy of artificial intelligence, GOFAI ("Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence") is classical symbolic AI, as opposed to other approaches, such as neural networks, situated robotics, narrow symbolic AI or neuro-symbolic AI. The term was coined by philosopher John Haugeland in his 1985 book Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea.

Gofer:

An employee who runs errands in addition to performing regular duties.

Going Breivik:

But as nationalist movements in the United States and Europe have become more and more fearful of Muslim immigration, Anders Behring Breivik has acquired iconic status on the far right. Among anti-immigrant extremists who routinely feast on torrents of misinformation about migrant mobs and “no-go zones,” Breivik’s manifesto is seen as prophetic. For a relatively small number of extremely fervent supporters, he is known as “Commander Breivik” or “Saint Breivik.” Some describe a full commitment to the cause as “Going Breivik” or “going full Breivik.”

Going Commando:

Going Commando is the practice of not wearing underwear under one's outer clothing. The term is theorised to be related to the much earlier term "going regimental", which refers to wearing the kilt military style, that is, without underwear.

Going Concern:

An assumption made by an accountant when preparing a company's books that the company is going to continue in business for the foreseeable future. If this assumption were not made the company assets would have to be valued at the (low) price that they would realize in a forced sale.

Going Out of Book:

When players Go Out of Book, they enter territory where they must think on their own and respond to and engage their opponents independently, strategically, intuitively, decisively. They no longer simply algorithmically follow what has been done before. They have to create and improvise, and this is what makes chess such a gripping human enterprise.

Going to the Matresses:

(Idiomatic): to go to war; to use ruthless tactics; to act without restraint.

Gold Card:

A credit card or charge card with a number of special privileges (such as a higher credit limit) that are not granted to the holders of ungilded cards.

Gold Clause:

A clause in a loan agreement that relates the borrower's repayment to the value of a fixed volume of gold. Such clauses appear in times of high inflation and when the price of gold is stable.

Gold Digger:

A miner who digs or pans for gold in a gold field.

Woman who seeks money and expensive gifts from men.

Gold Fixing:

A twice-daily agreement among the biggest dealers in the gold market as to what the market price of the precious metal should be. This was an important event when governments pegged their currencies to a fixed amount of gold (the days of the so-called gold standard). It is not so any more.

Gold Standard:

A Gold Standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. Three types may be distinguished: specie, exchange, and bullion.

Test: in medicine and statistics, Gold Standard test refers to a diagnostic test or benchmark that is the best available under reasonable conditions. It does not have to be necessarily the best possible test for the condition in absolute terms. For example, in medicine, dealing with conditions that require an autopsy to have a perfect diagnosis, the Gold Standard test is less accurate than the autopsy.

Other times, Gold Standard is used to refer to the most accurate test possible without restrictions. The word is therefore ambiguous and its meaning should be deduced from the context in which it appears.

A model of excellence; a paragon.

Golden Age:

A time period when some activity or skill was at its peak.

Any period (sometimes imaginary) of great peace and prosperity and happiness.

Classical mythology: the first and best age of the world, a time of ideal happiness, prosperity, and innocence; by extension, any flourishing and outstanding period.

Golden Boy:

A man who is unusually successful at an early age.

Golden Calf:

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Golden Calf was an idol (a cult image) made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai.

Golden Chain:

Golden chain is the common name for the genus Laburnum, and related species of small trees with decorative yellow flowers.

Golden Goal:

The Golden Goal is a method used in association football to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time.

Golden Goose:

Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend: a goose in folklore that laid a golden egg a day until its greedy owner killed it in an attempt to get all the gold at once.

Golden Handcuffs:

The terms of an employment contract designed to deter a key employee from leaving. A stock option which is forfeited (or which has to be realized when the employee leaves) is one form of golden handcuff.

Golden Handshake:

A generous upfront payment designed to persuade a person to leave their current employment and to join the organization offering the payment.

Golden Hour (photography):

In photography, the Golden Hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.

Golden Mean:

See: golden section.

Golden Parachute:

A clause written into the contract of senior employees guaranteeing them a generous payment if they should lose their job for any reason, or be downgraded. Golden Parachutes provide protection to senior executives in the case of a takeover. They also discourage new owners from laying off the existing management and replacing them with their own employees.

Golden Rule:

The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. It is sometimes called an ethics of reciprocity, meaning that you should reciprocate to others how you would like them to treat you (not necessarily how they actually treat you). Various expressions of this rule can be found in the tenets of most religions and creeds through the ages.

The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself.

See also: King James Bible chapter 7, verse 12.

Golden Section:

Latin: sectio aurea. A ratio, observed especially in the fine arts, between the two dimensions of a plane figure or the two divisions of a line such that the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two, a ratio of roughly three to five.

Visit also: golden ratio - Wikipedia.

Golden Share:

A share which gives the holder special rights, in particular the right of veto when there is a takeover bid for the company. Governments often like to retain such shares when privatizing sensitive industries, such as telecoms or defense.

Golden Shower:

A Golden Shower is slang for the practice of urinating on another person for sexual pleasure, as part of urolagnia.

Goldilock Zone:

(Astronomy): the zone around a star where a planet could experience temperatures like those on Earth, allowing for the possible existence of liquid water and of life.

Goldilocks Principle:

The Goldilocks Principle is named by analogy to the children's story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, in which a little girl named Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge, and she finds that she prefers porridge which is neither too hot nor too cold, but has just the right temperature. Since the children's story is well known across cultures, the concept of "just the right amount" is easily understood and is easily applied to a wide range of disciplines, including developmental psychology, biology, astronomy, economics and engineering.

Goldwynism:

Any of a number of often-repeated malapropisms originally uttered by US film producer Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974) or a malapropism reminiscent of Goldwyn's utterances.

Golem:

A Golem is an artificial animated being in medieval and Jewish folklore.

A clay figure brought to life by magic. An automaton or robot.

Goliath:

In the Bible, a giant Philistine warrior who was slain by David with a stone and sling.

A person or thing of colossal power or achievement.

Gonzo Journalism:

Gonzo Journalism is a style of journalism which is written subjectively, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first person narrative. The style tends to blend factual and fictional elements to emphasize an underlying message and engage the reader.

Good Cop / Bad Cop Routine:

Good Cop / Bad Cop Routine, known in British military circles as Mutt and Jeff (from an American newspaper comic strip of that name) and also called joint questioning and friend and foe, is a psychological tactic used for interrogation.

The basis of the technique is for two cops to interrogate a suspect; one cop is aggressive and tries to intimidate the suspect. The other cop is "good" and tries to befriend the suspect, telling him that the "bad" cop will make things very difficult for him, that the bad cop is notorious in the station and so on. The hope is that the good cop will be trusted and the suspect will confess or give information.

Good Faith:

The principle of acting reasonably and honestly. In many countries there is a legal duty for all parties to agreements to act in good faith.

Good Governance:

Good Governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)". The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance or to the interactions between other sectors of society.

Good Samaritan:

A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus and is mentioned in only one of the Canonical gospels. According to the Gospel of Luke 10:25-37 a Jewish traveler is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured Jew. Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to a question regarding the identity of the "neighbour" which Leviticus 19:18 says should be loved.

Good Standing:

As applied to a member of an organization, it usually means that he or she has paid the necessary dues and conformed to the other requirements.

As applied to a corporation, that it has made all necessary periodic filings with the state authorities (e.g., secretary of state).

As applied to a licensed professional, that he or she has paid the necessary fees, and there are no suspensions or other restrictions on the practice.

See also: bad standing.

Goods:

Movable property manufactured for the purpose of being sold to customers.

A Good is contrasted with a service. In this sense, a Good is defined as a physical (tangible) product, capable of being delivered to a purchaser and involves the transfer of ownership from seller to customer.

See also: Veblen good.

Goodwill:

An attitude of kindness or friendliness; benevolence; cheerful acquiescence or willingness.

A good relationship, as of a business with its customers or a nation with other nations.

An accounting term for the difference between the amount that a company pays for another company and the market value of the other company's assets. Goodwill is thus an intangible asset representing things like the value of the company's brand names and the skills of its employees.

Goody Bag:

A bag containing gifts and promotional material handed out at a conference, exhibition or similar event.

Google (verb):

The verb to Google (also spelled to Google) refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web. A neologism arising from the popularity and dominance of the eponymous search engine, the American Dialect Society chose it as the "most useful word of 2002." It was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006, and to the eleventh edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in July 2006. The first recorded usage of google used as a verb was on July 8, 1998, by Larry Page himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep Googling!"

Google Attributes:

Throughout 2020, Google made numerous changes to Google My Business (GMB) listings to help businesses navigate the changes COVID-19 brought. One major addition is the use of Google Attributes.

To break it down, attributes are features of GMB listings that provide detailed information about a business. So, if a Google searcher is looking to find out if a business has available parking at their location or which payment options they offer, attributes are what provide them with this information.

With the changes that 2020 brought, GMB attributes have grown significantly. For example, GMB listings now provide consumers with information into whether a business offers online care, appointments, classes, etc.

Googol:

A Googol is the large number 10¹⁰⁰. In decimal notation, it is written as the digit 1 followed by one hundred 0s:

10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000.

The term was coined in 1920 by 9-year-old Milton Sirotta (1911–1981), nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. Kasner popularized the concept in his 1940 book Mathematics and the Imagination. Other names for Googol include ten duotrigintillion on the short scale, ten thousand sexdecillion on the long scale, or ten sexdecilliard on the Peletier long scale.

Widespread sounding of the word occurs through the name of the company Google, with the name "Google" being an accidental misspelling of "Googol" by the company's founders, which was picked to signify that the search engine was intended to provide large quantities of information. In 2004, family members of Kasner, who had inherited the right to his book, were considering suing Google for their use of the term googol; however, no suit was ever filed.

Goomah:

(Italian-American slang): a mistress; the mistress of a Mafioso. Popularised by American television drama The Sopranos (1999).

Goombah:

Goombah (also spelled as Goomba, Goombah, Gumba, Gumbah) is a slang term referring to people of Italian descent, mainly in the US.

Goose Pimple:

Automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus.

Gooseflesh:

A peculiar roughness of the skin produced by cold or fear, in which the hair follicles become erect and form bumps on the skin; - called also goose skin, goose pimples, goose bumps.

GOP:

The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP (abbreviation for Grand Old Party), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival the Democratic Party.

Gordian Knot:

An exceedingly complicated problem or deadlock.

An intricate knot tied by King Gordius of Phrygia and cut by Alexander the Great with his sword after hearing an oracle promise that whoever could undo it would be the next ruler of Asia.

Gordon Bennett:

(UK): expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, frustration.

Gore-Tex:

Gore-Tex is a waterproof / breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W.L. Gore & Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore (1912-1986), Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore for use in space. Robert Gore was granted U.S. Patent 3,953,566 on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a micro-structure characterized by nodes interconnected by fibrils. Robert Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Samuel Allen were granted U.S. Patent 4,194,041 on March 18, 1980 for a "waterproof laminate." For its invention, Robert W. Gore was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Gospel:

The proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles, which is the central content of Christian revelation.

A teaching or doctrine of a religious teacher.

Something, such as an idea or principle, accepted as unquestionably true.

Music: gospel music.

Gossip:

Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing (unproven) facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted. The term also carries implications that the news so transmitted (usually) has a personal or trivial nature, as opposed to normal conversation.

The term is sometimes used to specifically refer to the spreading of dirt and misinformation, as (for example) through excited discussion of scandals. Some newspapers carry "Gossip columns" which detail the social and personal lives of celebrities or of élite members of certain communities.

Gotcha Question:

The Gotcha Questions - the Republican candidates define that term very loosely to include challenges on experience, policy positions and the ability to do elementary (but not Common Core) arithmetic - are in the mind of the beholder. More accurately, they are often in the excuses of the unprepared or poorly performing candidate.

Gotham City:

Gotham City, a fictional city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman and all the villains. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 (Winter 1940).

Gothic:

Of or relating to the Middle Ages; medieval. Gothic art or architecture.

Of or relating to a style of fiction that emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate.

Gothic Novel:

Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance.

Gouache:

Gouache, also spelled guache, is a type of paint consisting of pigment, a binding agent (usually gum arabic), and sometimes added inert material, designed to be used in an opaque method. It also refers to paintings that use this opaque method.

Gourmand:

A Gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure in food. The word has different connotations from the similar word gourmet, which emphasises an individual with a highly refined discerning palate, but in practice the two terms are closely linked, as both imply the enjoyment of good food.

An older usage of the word is to describe a person given to excess in the consumption of food and drink, synonymous with "glutton".

Gourmet:

An expert on good food and drink.

See also: gourmand.

Gourmet Food:

Gourmet Food is food skillfully prepared and served meals that are as pleasing to the palate as to the eye.

Goût Rothschild:

Le Goût Rothschild (English: the Rothschild taste) describes a detailled, elaborate style of interior decoration and living which had its origin in France, Britain, and Germany during the nineteenth century, when the rich, famous, and powerful Rothschild dynasty was at its height.

The decorative interior elements of the "Goût Rothschild" include lavish use of extravagant heavy textile fabrics (like damask, brocade, and velvet) and much gilding, elaborate stucco ceilings, and precious (and often antique) wooden panelling and parquet flooring. This heavy abundance is combined with eighteenth-century, mostly French, furniture. For the Rothschilds, furniture and works of art often were of royal provenance. The family bought only the best which was on the market at that time, with preference for the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. And not so long ago after the French Revolution in 1789, there were some excellent pieces to buy, including many from the Château de Versailles. In architecture, the Rothschilds preferred styles of the Renaissance. The fusion of these uses of materials and styles, "the Rothschild style", combines a sense of Victorian horror vacui beside masterworks of art, sculpture, and armour.

Gov 2.0:

Gov(ernment) 2.0 is neologism for attempts to apply the social networking and integration advantages of Web 2.0 to the practice of government. William (Bill) Eggers claims to have coined the term in his 2005 book, Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy. Government 2.0 is an attempt to provide more effective processes for government service delivery to individuals and businesses. Integration of tools such as wikis, development of government-specific social networking sites and the use of blogs, RSS feeds and Google Maps are all helping governments provide information to people in a manner that is more immediately useful to the people concerned.

Governance:

The form and style in which a company is governed, by the law, by its own statutes and by custom. This can vary greatly from country to country. The roles of the state in France, of banks in Germany and of shareholders in the United States in the governance of corporations are uniquely powerful.

Government:

The system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed.

Government Trifecta:

A Government Trifecta is a political situation in which the same political party controls the executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch in countries that have a bicameral legislature and an executive that is not fused. The term is primarily used in the United States, where the term originated—being borrowed from horse race betting.

Goy:

Goy is a Hebrew biblical term for "nation". By Roman times it had also acquired the meaning of "gentile". The latter is also its meaning in Yiddish.

GPOA:

Short for: General Power of Attorney.

GPRS:

Short for: General Packet Radio Service. GPRS is a packet oriented mobile data service available to users of the 2G cellular communication systems global system for mobile communications (GSM), as well as in the 3G systems. In the 2G systems, GPRS provides data rates of 56-114 kbit/s.

GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user actually is using the capacity or is in an idle state. GPRS is a best-effort packet switched service, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain quality of service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection for non-mobile users.

GPS:

Short for: Global Positioning System. GPS is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. It is the only fully functional GNSS in the world, can be used freely, and is often used by civilians for navigation purposes. It uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, which allow GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity. Its official name is NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it.

Since it became fully operational in 1993, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, and hobbies such as geocaching. Also, the precise time reference is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes. GPS is also a required key synchronization resource of cellular networks, such as the Qualcomm CDMA air interface used by many wireless carriers in a multitude of countries. Also see geographic coordinate system.

Grace:

Christian theology: a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence.

Elegance and beauty of movement, form, expression, or proportion; a pleasing or charming quality.

Goodwill or favour; the granting of a favour or the manifestation of goodwill, especially by a superior.

Christianity / Ecclesiastical terms: a short prayer recited before or after a meal to invoke a blessing upon the food or give thanks for it.

Grace and Favour:

A Grace and Favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch by virtue of his or her position as head of state and leased rent-free to persons as part of an employment package or in gratitude for past services rendered. Some are owned by UK charitable trusts.

Government, Politics & Diplomacy (modifier) Brit: (of a house, flat, etc.) owned by the sovereign and granted free of rent to a person to whom the sovereign wishes to express gratitude.

Grace Period:

The time between the granting of a loan and the first repayment. It is also the amount of time allowed by a loan or insurance contract between an overdue payment and cancellation of the contract.

Graft:

Unscrupulous use of one's position to derive profit or advantages; extortion.

Money or an advantage gained or yielded by unscrupulous means.

Graffiti:

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art and other times regarded as unsightly damage or unwanted.

Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with Graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes Graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and b-boying creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public. Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. The controversies that surround Graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials / law enforcement and Graffitists looking to display their work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of Graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

Grammar:

The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.

The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history.

Grand:

Large and impressive in size, scope, or extent; magnificent.

Grand Finale:

A climactic finale (as of an opera).

Grand Jury:

A jury of 12 to 23 persons convened in private session to evaluate accusations against persons charged with crime and to determine whether the evidence warrants a bill of indictment.

Grand Old Man:

A venerated practitioner or former practitioner of an art, profession, or sport.

Grand Prix:

Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course.

Grand Remonstrance:

The Grand Remonstrance was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on 1 December 1641, but passed by the House of Commons on 22 November 1641, during the Long Parliament; it was one of the chief events which were to precipitate the English Civil War.

Grand Slam:

The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games.

Sports: the winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit.

Grand Tour:

An extended cultural tour of Europe taken by wealthy young Englishmen (especially in the 18th century) as part of their education.

Grande Horizontale:

Late 19th century: French, literally 'great horizontal': a prostitute.

Grandee:

A nobleman of the highest rank in Spain or Portugal; used as the title for such a nobleman.

A person of eminence or high rank.

Grandfather Clause:

A clause in an agreement (especially in the GATT) which allows the parties to the agreement to exempt certain things that were in existence in their own laws before the agreement was reached.

Grandiose:

Large and impressive, in size, scope or extent; pompous or pretentious.

Grandma's Nightgown:

Old saying: "it covers everything".

Grandstand:

A stand at a racecourse or stadium consisting of tiers with rows of individual seats that are under a protective roof.

Grandstanding:

To perform ostentatiously in order to impress the audience and with an eye to the applause.

Grant:

Money provided for a business project from outside normal commercial sources. For example, a government Grant that is given to encourage a company to build a new factory in a particular place.

Law: a transfer of property by deed.

Grapevine:

The informal transmission of information, gossip, or rumor from person to person.

A usually unrevealed source of confidential information.

Graphene:

Graphene is a substance composed of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern similar to graphite, but in a one-atom thick sheet. It is very light, with a 1-square-meter sheet weighing only 0.77 milligrams.

Graphology:

The study of handwriting, especially when employed as a means of analyzing character.

GRAS (acronym):

Short for: Generally Recognized As Safe.

Grassroots:

People or society at a local level rather than at the center of major political activity.

The groundwork or source of something.

Gratin:

Upper crust; the highest social class or group.

Gratitude Journal:

A Gratitude Journal is a diary of things for which one is grateful. Gratitude journals are used by individuals who wish to focus their attention on the positive things in their lives.

Gratuity:

A favor or gift, usually in the form of money, given in return for service.

Gravitas:

Substance; weightiness; seriousness, solemnity, or importance.

A serious or dignified demeanor.

Gravity:

The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body.

Gray (unit):

The Gray (symbol: Gy) is the SI unit of absorbed radiation dose of ionizing radiation (for example, X-rays), and is defined as the absorption of one joule of ionizing radiation by one kilogram of matter (usually human tissue). Named after the British physicist Louis Harold Gray in 1975.

The Gray measures the deposited energy of radiation. The biological effects vary by the type and energy of the radiation and the organism and tissues involved. The sievert attempts to account for these variations.

Graymail (email):

Graymail is solicited bulk email messages that don't fit the definition of email spam (e.g., the recipient "opted into" receiving them). Recipient interest in this type of mailing tends to diminish over time, increasing the likelihood that recipients will report Graymail as spam. In some cases, Graymail can account for up to 82 percent of the average user's email inbox.

Great American Novel:

The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing.

Books that are considered to deserve to be called "the Great American Novel" include Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Gone with the Wind and The Grapes of Wrath.

Great Fear:

The Great Fear (French: la Grande Peur) was a general panic that took place between 17 July and 3 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring, and, fueled by rumors of an aristocrats' "famine plot" to starve or burn out the population, both peasants and townspeople mobilized in many regions.

In response to these rumors, fearful peasants armed themselves in self-defense and, in some areas, attacked manor houses. The content of the rumors differed from region to region—in some areas it was believed that a foreign force was burning the crops in the fields, while in other areas it was believed that robbers were burning buildings. Fear of the peasant revolt was a determining factor in the decision to abolish feudalism.

Great Hall:

The principal hall in a castle or mansion; can be used for dining or entertainment.

Great Man Theory:

The Great Man Theory is a 19th-century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes; highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect. The theory was popularized in the 1840s by Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle, later published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History.

Great Power:

One of the nations having great political, social, and economic influence in international affairs.

Great White Way:

"The Great White Way" is a nickname for a section of Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, specifically the portion that encompasses the Theater District, between 42nd and 53rd Streets, and encompassing Times Square.

Greats:

Literae Humaniores is a name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics (Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Latin, ancient Greek and philosophy) at the University of Oxford and some other universities. In its early days, it encompassed mathematics and natural sciences as well. It is now an archetypal Humanities course and is colloquially called Greats.

Greek Chorus:

A Greek Chorus is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action.

Greek Fire:

Greek Fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire that was first developed c. 672. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect, as it could continue burning while floating on water. It provided a technological advantage and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories, most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges, thus securing the Empire's survival.

Greek Tragedy:

A Greek Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods. The tragic hero's powerful wish to achieve some goal inevitably encounters limits, usually those of human frailty (flaws in reason, hubris, society), the gods (through oracles, prophets, fate), or nature. Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw and/or make some mistake (hamartia). The hero need not die at the end, but he / she must undergo a change in fortune. In addition, the tragic hero may achieve some revelation or recognition (anagnorisis--"knowing again" or "knowing back" or "knowing throughout" ) about human fate, destiny, and the will of the gods. Aristotle quite nicely terms this sort of recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate."

Green Card:

An official document issued by the U.S. government to aliens, allowing them to work legally in the United States.

Green Landing:

Visit: green landings save fuel and more.

Green Monday:

Green Monday is an online retail industry term similar to Cyber Monday. The term was coined by eBay to describe its best sales day in December, usually the second Monday of December. Green Monday is defined more specifically by business research organization comScore as the Monday with at least 10 days prior to Christmas.

Green Room:

In show business, the Green Room is the space in a theatre, or similar venue which functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before and after a performance, and during the show when they are not engaged on stage.

Green Screen:

Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual effects / post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues (chroma range). The technique has been used heavily in many fields to remove a background from the subject of a photo or video – particularly the newscasting, motion picture and videogame industries. A color range in the foreground footage is made transparent, allowing separately filmed background footage or a static image to be inserted into the scene. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production. This technique is also referred to as color keying, colour-separation overlay (CSO; primarily by the BBC), or by various terms for specific color-related variants such as Green Screen, and blue screen – chroma keying can be done with backgrounds of any color that are uniform and distinct, but green and blue backgrounds are more commonly used because they differ most distinctly in hue from most human skin colors. No part of the subject being filmed or photographed may duplicate the color used as the backing.

Green Swan:

A Green Swan is an unexpected event connected with climate change, which has serious financial consequences for economies across the world.

Green Thumb:

(US, idiomatic): a natural skill for gardening; a person with this skill.

Greener Pastures:

(Idiomatic): any place or condition that is more favorable or beneficial.

Greenfield Site:

A previously agricultural site outside an urban area on which a company builds a factory or office.

Greenhouse Gas:

Greenhouse Gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main Greenhouse Gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In our solar system, the atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects. Greenhouse Gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth's surface would be on average about 33°C (59°F) colder than at present.

Greenmail:

A company buying back its own shares for more than the going market price to avoid a threatened hostile takeover.

Greenscreen:

See: chroma key.

Greenshoe:

Greenshoe option is a special provision in an IPO prospectus, which allows underwriters to sell investors more shares than originally planned by the issuer. This would normally be done if the demand for a security issue proves higher than expected. Legally referred to as an over-allotment option. A Greenshoe option (sometimes green shoe or "green-shoe", but must legally be called an "over-allotment option" in a prospectus) allows underwriters to short sell shares in a registered securities offering at the offering price. The Greenshoe can vary in size and is customarily not more than 15% of the original number of shares offered.

Greenwash:

Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term used to describe the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly, such as by presenting cost cuts as reductions in use of resources.

Greenwashing:

Greenwashing (a compound word modelled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of marketing spin in which green PR, green values or green marketing are deceptively used to persude the public an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly.

Gregorian Calendar:

The Gregorian Calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter gravissimas.

See also: Julian calendar and Roman calendar.

Gremlin:

A Gremlin is a creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more modern.

Greta Thunberg Effect:

Greta Thunberg has inspired a number of other schoolgirl climate warriors in what has been described as the 'Greta Thunberg effect'. In response to her outspoken stance, various politicians have also acknowledged the need to focus on climate change. Britain's secretary for the environment, Michael Gove, said: “When I listened to you, I felt great admiration, but also responsibility and guilt. I am of your parents’ generation, and I recognise that we haven’t done nearly enough to address climate change and the broader environmental crisis that we helped to create.” Labour politician, Ed Miliband, who was responsible for introducing the UK Climate Act, said: “You have woken us up. We thank you. All the young people who have gone on strike have held up a mirror to our society ... you have taught us all a really important lesson. You have stood out from the crowd.”

"Stop buying clothes, stop shopping, stop consuming, stop flying, stop, stop, stop ..."

Read also: H&M CEO Sees ‘Terrible’ Fallout as Consumer Shaming Spreads - "The chief executive officer of fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz AB says a growing movement that shames consumers represents a very real social threat."

Grexit:

The Greek withdrawal from the eurozone is the potential exit of Greece from the eurozone monetary union, primarily for the country to deal with its increasingly unmanageable public debt. The controversial and much discussed possible exit is often referred to in financial circles as "Grexit" or "grexit", a portmanteau combining the words "Greek exit" introduced by Citigroup's Chief Analysts Willem H. Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari on 6 February 2012.

Grey Area:

A concept or topic that is unclear.

Grey Divorce:

Grey Divorce or Silver Splitter or Diamond Divorcees is a term referring to the demographic trend of an increasing divorce rate for older ("grey-haired") couples in long-lasting marriages. Former American vice-presidential couple Tipper and Al Gore's decision to separate after over 40 years of marriage is an example of this trend as is the former married research and writing duo Masters and Johnson and music duo Captain and Tennille, whose own divorce came in 2014 after 39 years of marriage.

Read also: The 'Gray Divorce' trend: As the Gates split shows, more older couples are getting divorced. Here's why - "After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates have Tweeted out their decision to divorce. Why would two people in a long-standing marriage - a union that has seen the couple through the making of billions, and the establishment of one of the world's largest foundations - decide to part ways?"

Grey Lady:

A nickname for The New York Times.

Grey Market:

A market for trading in shares not yet issued; before a new issue has been allocated to investors the shares are traded on a basis of "when issued", denoted by the letters WI.

Grey Nomad:

(Australia): a retired person who travels independently and for an extended period within their own country, particularly in a caravan or motor home.

Grid:

A framework of crisscrossed or parallel bars; a grating or mesh.

Something resembling a framework of crisscrossed parallel bars, as in rigidity or organization.

A pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines forming squares on a map, a chart, an aerial photograph, or an optical device, used as a reference for locating points.

Electricity: an interconnected system for the distribution of electricity or electromagnetic signals over a wide area, especially a network of high-tension cables and power stations.

Grief Brag:

Using the injury/death/loss of somebody you barely know in order to gain attention and/or sympathy from your social circle. Generally through social media.

Grief Tourism:

Travel to areas affected by natural disasters, places where people were murdered, etc.

Griffin:

The Griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the Griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The Griffin was also thought of as king of all creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.

Grill:

A cooking surface of parallel metal bars; a gridiron.

A series of marks grilled or embossed on a surface.

Informal: to question relentlessly; cross-examine.

Grills:

In hip hop culture, a Grill (also front or golds) is a type of jewelry worn over the teeth. Grills are made of metal and are generally removable.

Grimm's Law:

Grimm's Law (also known as the First Germanic Sound Shift) is a set of statements named after Jacob Grimm and Rasmus Rask describing the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stop consonants as they developed in Proto-Germanic (the common ancestor of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family) in the 1st millennium BC. It establishes a set of regular correspondences between early Germanic stops, fricatives and the stop consonants of certain other centum Indo-European languages (Grimm used mostly Latin and Greek for illustration).

Gringo:

Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.

Grisaille:

A Grisaille is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture.

Groggy:

Stunned or confused and slow to react (as from blows or drunkenness or exhaustion).

Grooming:

Activity leading to skilled behavior.

To care for the appearance of; to make neat and trim.

To prepare, as for a specific position or purpose.

The act of luring another with gifts, favors, promises, praise, or bbq ribs with the intent of gaining sexual favors. The perpetrator of "Grooming" must have a significant advantage of emotional intelligence, financial independence, intelligence quotient or simply perpetrating against a minor.

Groove:

Slang: a settled routine; a situation or an activity that one enjoys or to which one is especially well suited; a very pleasurable experience.

Grosgrain:

Grosgrain, also gros-grain and, rarely, gros grain, is a type of fabric characterized by its ribbed appearance. In Grosgrain, the weft is heavier than the warp, creating prominent transverse ribs. It is called a "corded" fabric since the weft resembles a fine cord. Grosgrain is a plain weave corded fabric, with heavier cords than in poplin but lighter than in faille. Grosgrain has a very dull appearance with little luster but is very strong. It is a firm, close-woven, fine-corded fabric. While grosgrain fabric is generally black, it can be many different colors, and grosgrain ribbon comes in a large variety of colors and patterns.

Gross:

The total amount of something - gross sales, gross profit, and so on - before taking into account a number of costs, such as tax or depreciation.

Ground and Pound:

Ground and Pound in MMA is a strategy where a competitor takes his opponent to the ground and unleashes a flurry of punches and elbows to try to finish a fight.

Ground Rule:

A basic rule of procedure or behavior. Often used in the plural.

Sports: a rule governing the playing of a game on a particular field, course, or court.

Ground Zero:

The point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs.

The center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change.

The very beginning. See also: square one.

Groundwork:

Preliminary work as a foundation or basis.

Group:

An assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation.

A number of individuals or things considered together because of similarities.

A number of companies which are owned by each other or by a common holding company. Most Groups consist of a parent company and several subsidiaries.

Group Accounts:

The accounts of a group in which all transactions between members of the group are netted out. So the group's sales, for example, are less than the sum of the sales of the individual companies within the group, assuming that at least one of them has sold something to one of the others.

Groupie:

A Groupie is a person who seeks sexual and/or emotional intimacy with a celebrity or other authority figure. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but now has more general application.

Groupthink:

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences.

Groupthink requires individuals to avoid raising controversial issues or alternative solutions, and there is loss of individual creativity, uniqueness and independent thinking. The dysfunctional group dynamics of the "ingroup" produces an "illusion of invulnerability" (an inflated certainty that the right decision has been made). Thus the "ingroup" significantly overrates its own abilities in decision-making and significantly underrates the abilities of its opponents (the "outgroup"). Furthermore, Groupthink can produce dehumanizing actions against the "outgroup".

Groupware:

A software program which links people with a common interest and enables them to communicate rapidly and easily with each other.

Groutfit:

An outfit made completely of gray; a gray top and gray bottoms.

Groutier:

Meaning "more surly".

Growth:

An increase in some measure or other of a company's performance between one accounting period and another, most often the increase in the value of either its sales or its profit. A country's economic growth rate is the percentage by which its GDP changes over a given period, usually a year.

GRT:

Short for: Gross Register Tonnage. Gross register tonnage (GRT, grt, g.r.t.) represents the total internal volume of a vessel, with some exemptions for non-productive spaces. A register ton is equal to a volume of 100 cubic feet. Gross register tonnage is not a measure of the ship's weight or displacement and should not be confused with terms such as gross tonnage, deadweight tonnage, net tonnage, or displacement.

Grub Street:

Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street. Famous for its concentration of impoverished "hack writers", aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers, Grub Street existed on the margins of London's journalistic and literary scene. It was pierced along its length with narrow entrances to alleys and courts, many of which retained the names of early signboards. Its bohemian society was set amidst the impoverished neighbourhood's low-rent dosshouses, brothels and coffeehouses.

According to Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, the term was "originally the name of a street... much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet". Johnson himself had lived and worked on Grub Street early in his career.

Grunge:

US: US dirt or rubbish.

(Music, other): a style of rock music originating in the US in the late 1980s, featuring a distorted guitar sound.

(Clothing & Fashion): a deliberately untidy and uncoordinated fashion style.

G-SIFI | Global-Systemically Important Financial Institution:

A Global-SIFI | Systemically Important Financial Institution is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis.

See also: too big to fail.

GSM:

Short for: Global System for Mobile Communications. GSM is the digital transmission technique widely adopted in Europe and supported in North America for PCS. GSM uses 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in Europe. In North America, GSM uses the 1900 MHz.

See also: SMS and MMS.

GSP:

Short for: Generalized System of Preferences, and agreement among developed countries that they will give preferential treatment to certain imports from developing countries. The GSP allows countries to break the no favoritism rules of the GATT.

GT:

Short for: Gran Turismo. A car GT is usually a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement.

The term derives from the Italian phrase Gran Turismo, homage to the tradition of the "Grand Tour", used to represent automobiles regarded as grand tourers abilities to make long-distance, high-speed journeys in both comfort and style. The English translation is "Grand Touring", the French "Grand Tourisme".

GTD | Getting Things Done:

Getting Things Done is a time-management method, described in a book of the same title by productivity consultant David Allen. It is often referred to as GTD.

The GTD method rests on the idea of moving planned tasks and projects out of the mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items. This allows one to focus attention on taking action on tasks, instead of on recalling them.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity - Amazon.com.

Guano:

Guano (from Spanish Guano, from Quechua: wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds and bats. As a manure, Guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium: nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials.

Guanxi:

Guanxi describes the rudimentary dynamic in personalized social networks of influence (which can be best described as the relationships individuals cultivate with other individuals) and is a central idea in Chinese society.

Guarantee:

An undertaking by someone that they will be responsible for an obligation (a debt or a promise of good behavior) if the person who is bound by the obligation fails to fulfill it. To be binding in court, a Guarantee needs to be made in writing.

Guarantees are often given by manufacturers, promising consumers that their goods will meet certain standards for a certain length of time. These days, however, such promises often provide little more protection to consumer than the ordinary law of the land.

Guardian:

Law: one who is legally responsible for the care and management of the person or property of an incompetent or a minor.

Guardian Angel:

An angel believed to have special affection for a particular individual.

Guerilla:

A member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment.

Guerilla Dining:

Eating experience in which chefs and restauranteurs create temporary and exclusive dining opportunities in various untraditional locations; usually housed in makeshift structures and situated off every beaten track, with top chefs but a deliberately limited lifespan. For those drawn to restaurants with three-month waiting lists and secret phone numbers for the privileged few, this is the next step - a restaurant so exclusive that there's no advertising, it's very hard to find, and that if you're not in the loop it will have vanished by the time you even discover it.

Visit also: underground restaurant - Wikipedia.

Guestbook:

A Guestbook is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge their visitation to a site, physical or web-based, and leave their name, postal or electronic address (if desired), and a comment or note, if desired.

Guide:

One who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising.

One who serves as a model for others, as in a course of conduct.

Something, such as a pamphlet, that offers basic information or instruction.

Guided Democracy:

Guided Democracy, also called managed democracy, is a term for a democratic government with increased autocracy. Governments are legitimated by elections that, while free and fair, are used by the government to continue their same policies and goals.

Guideline:

A statement or other indication of policy or procedure by which to determine a course of action.

Guiding Star:

Ambition, aspiration, basis, calling, cause, goal, ground, ideal, inspiration, vocation.

Guild:

A formal association of people with similar interests.

Guilloché:

Guilloché (or Guilloche) is a decorative engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically engraved into an underlying material with fine detail. Specifically, it involves a technique of engine turning, called Guilloché in French after the French engineer "Guillot", who invented a machine "that could scratch fine patterns and designs on metallic surfaces". The machine, called a rose engine, improved upon the more time-consuming practice of making similar designs by hand, allowing for greater delicacy, precision, and closeness of the line, as well as greater speed.

Guilt:

Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that violation. It is closely related to the concept of remorse.

Guilt by Association:

The attribution of guilt (without proof) to individuals because the people they associate with are guilty.

Guilty Pleasure:

A Guilty Pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, such as campy styles of entertainment. Fashion, video games, music, films, and junk food can be examples of Guilty Pleasures.

Guinea:

A former British gold coin worth 21 shillings.

Guinea Pig:

Any of various small, short-eared domesticated rodents of the genus Cavia, having variously colored hair and no visible tail. They are widely kept as pets and often used as experimental animals.

A person who is used as a subject for experimentation or research.

Gulag:

The Gulag was the government agency that administered the penal labour camps of the Soviet Union. Gulag is the Russian acronym for The Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps and Colonies of the NKVD. Eventually, by metonymy, the usage of "Gulag" began generally denoting the entire penal labor system in the USSR, then any such penal system.

Visit also: gulag - Wikipedia.

Gum Shoe:

Slang: an investigator, especially a detective.

Gunboat Diplomacy:

In international politics, Gunboat Diplomacy (or "Big Stick ideology" in U.S. history) refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power—implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force.

Gung-Ho:

Gung-Ho is a term in American English used to mean "enthusiastic" or "overzealous".

Gunmetal:

Gunmetal, also known as red brass in the United States, is a type of bronze – an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc. Originally used chiefly for making guns, Gunmetal was superseded by steel.

James Bond carried his cigarettes in a trademarked monogrammed Gunmetal cigarette case.

Gunslinger's Gait:

New cause of unilaterally reduced arm swing.

Objective: to postulate new possible cause of a unilaterally reduced arm swing in addition to the known medical conditions such as shoulder pathology, Erb’s palsy, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease by analysis of YouTube videos depicting the gait of highly ranked Russian officials.

Conclusions: the research, published in the British medical journal The BMJ, was written by a team of neurologists in Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands: "We found a similar walking pattern in President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and three other highly ranked Russian officials, all presenting with a consistently reduced right arm swing in the absence of other overt neurological abnormalities. We propose that this new gait pattern, which we term “Gunslinger’s Gait,” may result from a behavioural adaptation, possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weapons training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe. This should be included in the differential diagnosis of a unilaterally reduced arm swing."

Guppie:

A gay/homosexual yuppie (young urban professional).

Guru:

A personal spiritual teacher.

A business academic or a management consultant who is known for his or her expertise in a particular business area. Gurus are much in demand in the media.

Gut Feeling:

An instinct or intuition; an immediate or basic feeling or reaction without a logical rationale.

Gymkhana:

Gymkhana is an Indian term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held. "Gymkhana" is an Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the Persian word "Jamat-khana". Most Gymkhanas have a Gymkhana Club associated with them, a term coined during British Raj for gentlemen's club.

Gynecocracy:

rule by women; a political system governed by a woman.

Gypsy:

A member of a people that arrived in Europe in migrations from northern India around the 14th century, now also living in North America and Australia. Many Gypsy groups have preserved elements of their traditional culture, including an itinerant existence and the Romany language.

One inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life.

Gyro Stabilization:

Gyros consist of a gyroscope with two perpendicular spinning wheels and a battery pack. The gyro attaches to your tripod socket and acts like an "invisible tripod".

Unlike optically stabilized lenses which are limited to the same manufacturer (Canon's IS or Nikon's VR series), Gyroscopic Stabilizers can be used with any camera or binocular (stabilized or otherwise) to ensure sharper pictures and smoother pans. Just hook up a gryo, and the entire mass of your camera and lens will be stabilized. Mass stabilization allows slower shutter speeds for special effects; a crisp car zooming along a blurred road for example.

Gyroscope:

A device consisting of a spinning mass, typically a disk or wheel, mounted on a base so that its axis can turn freely in one or more directions and thereby maintain its orientation regardless of any movement of the base.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu):

H1N1 (Swine Influenza - also Swine Flu) refers to influenza caused by any virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, that is endemic to pig (swine) populations. Strains endemic in swine are called swine influenza virus (SIV), and all known strains of SIV are classified as Influenzavirus A (common) or Influenzavirus C (rare). Influenzavirus B has not been reported in swine. All three clades, Influenzavirus A, B, and C, are endemic in humans.

People who work with poultry and swine, especially people with intense exposures, are at risk of infection from these animals if the animals carry a strain that is also able to infect humans. SIV can mutate into a form that allows it to pass from human to human. The strain responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak is believed to have undergone this mutation.

In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general.

To learn more abouth the current 2009 Swine Flu outbreak, visit: Wikipedia.

Habeas Corpus:

Habeas Corpus is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system. Of English origin, the writ of Habeas Corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

Haberdasher:

A merchant who sells men's clothing.

Habilitation:

Habilitation (from Latin habilis "fit, proper, skillful") is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in many countries in Europe, Central Asia, Egypt and the Caucasus. Earned usually after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, Habilitation requires that the candidate write a professorial thesis (or Habilitation thesis) based on independent scholarship, reviewed by and defended before an academic committee in a process similar to that of the doctoral dissertation. However, the level of scholarship has to be considerably higher than that required for a research doctoral (PhD) thesis in terms of quality and quantity, and must be accomplished independently, in contrast with a PhD dissertation typically directed or guided by a faculty supervisor.

Habit:

An established custom.

Habit Stacking:

Habit Stacking involves taking advantage of connected behaviors by choosing an existing current habit and “stacking” a new behavior on top of it.

Productivity author S. J. Scott first outlined this concept in his 2017 book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less. Then, James Clear, author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits, referred to habit stacking as a form of implementation intention. This involves making an intentional plan to fit a particular behavior into your daily routine instead of waiting for motivation or a mindset shift to make it happen, making you more likely to actually implement the habit.

If you want to get more exercise, making the decision to work out for an hour a day likely isn’t realistic if you currently never make time for it. Your routine doesn’t have space for that time, and when you’re tired from work, you keep putting it off. But if you already have a habit of making a cup of coffee as part of your morning routine, you can stack an exercise habit on top of it by doing 10 push-ups while you wait for it to brew. It’s not the same as an hour at the gym, but it’s a small - and more realistic - step toward reaching your goal.

Habitat:

Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology: the area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.

Sociology: the place in which a person, group, class, etc., is normally found.

Habitus (sociology):

Habitus refers to lifestyle, the values, the dispositions and expectation of particular social groups that are acquired through the activities and experiences of everyday life. Perhaps in more basic terms, the habitus could be understood as a structure of the mind characterized by a set of acquired schemata, sensibilities, dispositions and taste. The particular contents of the Habitus are the result of the objectification of social structure at the level of individual subjectivity. The Habitus can be seen as counterpoint to the notions of rationality that is prevalent within other disciplines of social science research. It is perhaps best understood in relation to the notion of the 'Habitus' and 'field', which describes the relationship between individual agents and the contextual environment.

Hack:

To gain unauthorised access into somebody's computer system from a computer outside it.

One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling; a writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing.

Hackathon:

A Hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest or codefest) is an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers and project managers, collaborate intensively on software projects. Occasionally, there is a hardware component as well. Hackathons typically last between a day and a week. Some Hackathons are intended simply for educational or social purposes, although in many cases the goal is to create usable software. Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the programming language used, the operating system, an application, an API, or the subject and the demographic group of the programmers. In other cases, there is no restriction on the type of software being created.

Hacker:

A person, often young, who is skilled at gaining unauthorised access into other people's computer systems.

Hackney Carriage:

A Hackney or Hackney Carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or automobile for hire. A livery carriage superior to the Hackney was called a remise.

In the United Kingdom, the name Hackney Carriage today refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office in Greater London or by the local authority (non-metropolitan district councils or unitary authorities) in other parts of Great Britain, or by the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland.

In the United States, the police department of the city of Boston has a Hackney Carriage Unit, analogous to taxicab regulators in other cities, that issues Hackney Carriage medallions to its taxi operators.

Hadith:

Hadith in Muslim religious use is often translated as prophetic 'traditions', meaning the corpus of the reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Hadith literature was compiled from oral reports that were in circulation in society around the time of their compilation long after the death of Muhammad. Bukhari's collection is considered the most reliable by many traditional religious scholars who are Sunnis. The Shi'as believe in an entirely separate body of Hadith.

Haggis:

Haggis is a kind of savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.

The Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, considered the national dish of Scotland as a result of Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis of 1787.

Hagiography:

Hagiography refers to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders.

Christian Hagiographies focus on the lives, and notably the miracles of men and women canonized by the Roman Catholic church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Church of the East. Other religions such as Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism also create and maintain Hagiographical texts (such as the Sikh Janamsakhis) concerning saints, gurus and other individuals believed to be imbued with sacred power.

The term “Hagiography” has also been used as a pejorative reference to the works of biographers and historians perceived to be uncritical or “reverential” to their subject, and is arguably the more common usage in a non-specialist context. Nonetheless, Hagiographic works, particularly those of the Middle Ages, can often incorporate a valuable record of institutional and local history, and evidence of popular cults, customs, and traditions.

Haiku:

A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons.

Hail Mary:

A prayer based on the greetings of Gabriel and Saint Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary. Also called Ave Maria.

Hair Extension:

Hair Extension or Integration are methods of adding commercial hair to natural hair. These methods are used to conceal thinning or hair loss in concentrated areas.

Invisible Hair Weave is a new method of extension that uses no braids or glue to attach the commercial hair to the natural hair.

Hair-Splitting:

(Idiomatic): the act of finding exceedingly small differences which are probably neither important nor noticeable to most people.

Haircut (finance):

The difference between prices at which a market maker can buy and sell a security. The term Haircut comes from the fact that market makers can trade at such a thin spread.

The percentage by which an asset's market value is reduced for the purpose of calculating capital requirement, margin and collateral levels. When they are used as collateral, securities will generally be devalued since a cushion is required by the lending parties in case the market value falls.

Hairspring:

A balance spring, or Hairspring, is a part used in mechanical timepieces. Attached to the balance wheel, it controls the speed at which the wheels of the timepiece turn, and thus the rate of movement of the hands. A regulator lever on the spring is used to adjust the speed so the timepiece keeps accurate time.

Hajj:

The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah (God). The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year. In 2007, the Hajj was from December 17–21; in 2008 from December 6–10, and in 2009 will be November 25–29. Ihram is the name given to the special state in which Muslims live whilst on the pilgrimage.

The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Ibrahim (Abraham). Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times about the Ka'bah, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer; kisses the Black Stone in the corner of the Ka'bah; runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah; drinks from the Zamzam Well; goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil; and throws stones in a ritual Stoning of the Devil. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid al-Adha.

Halal:

The word 'halal' literally means permissible - and in translation it is usually used as lawful.

The Halal Food Authority rules for halal are based on Islamic Shari'ah. Opposite to Halal is haram, which means unlawful or forbidden.

It is well known in the meat trade that Muslims consume Halal meat. However, at times questions are asked, what is Halal? In Arabic it simply means permissible or allowed. Opposite to it is haram, which means forbidden or not allowed. Arabic is the language of Qur`an, a scripture revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam by the Almighty Allah to be followed in its entirety by the Muslims.

Halali:

A person who is modest and respects themselves, so doesn't do anything that disrespects islam and does not flaunt themselves.

Hale & Hearty:

(Idiomatic): in a state of robust good health.

Half Nelson:

The Half Nelson is referred to by most coaches as being the easiest, but most effective move in Folkstyle wrestling. The Half Nelson is done using only one hand, by passing it under the arm of the opponent and locking the hand at the opponent's neck.

Half-Time:

Sport: a rest period between the two halves of a game.

Half Your Age Plus Seven Rule:

It is generally socially acceptable for one to be romantically involved with someone who's age is at least half your age plus seven years.

The rule to define the youngest that a romantic interest can be before the relationship is indecent. "Half, plus seven" is the age-old dating rule for dudes. It justifies the dating of younger women, within reason. The formula begins with each dude's age (for example, 22). That age is halved (22/2 =11), and 7 is tacked on to the divided result. Therefore, a 22 year old male may legitimately date an 18 year old female, a 25 male may date a female of 19.5, and a 30 male may date a female of 22. While there is no technical ceiling on this social anthropological formula, there is a point at which common sense takes over, and it just becomes disgusting. For instance, this formula should not be used to justify a 60 year old man dating a 37 year old female.

Read also: One Half Plus Seven & Who Is Too Young or Too Old for You to Date? - Psychology Today.

Halfway House:

A rehabilitation center where people who have left an institution, such as a hospital or prison, are helped to readjust to the outside world.

Hall:

A corridor or passageway in a building.

A large entrance room or vestibule in a building; a lobby.

A building for public gatherings or entertainments.

A building belonging to a school, college, or university that provides classroom, dormitory, or dining facilities.

The main house on a landed estate.

The castle or house of a medieval monarch or noble.

Hall of Fame:

A Hall of Fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.

Hall of Shame:

The collection of the worst or most dishonored entries in a specific subject, media form, field, etc.

Hallelujah:

Hallelujah is a Hebrew word meaning "Praise Yahweh". It is an exclamation used chiefly in songs of praise or thanksgiving to God, and as an expression of gratitude or adoration.

Hallmark:

A mark indicating quality or excellence. The use of Hallmarks, at first, on silver has a long history dating back to the 4th century AD and represents the oldest known form of consumer protection.

A conspicuous feature or characteristic.

Halloween:

Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of the 1840s.

The day is often associated with orange and black, and is strongly associated with symbols like the jack-o'-lantern. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, reading scary stories, and watching horror films.

Hallucination:

Perception of visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory experiences without an external stimulus and with a compelling sense of their reality, usually resulting from a mental disorder or as a response to a drug.

A false or mistaken idea; a delusion.

Halo:

A circular band of colored light around a light source, as around the sun or moon, caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice particles suspended in the intervening atmosphere.

A luminous ring or disk of light surrounding the heads or bodies of sacred figures, such as saints, in religious paintings; a nimbus.

The aura of majesty or glory surrounding a person or thing that is regarded with reverence, awe, or sentiment.

Halo Effect:

Halo Effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, brand or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings in other areas. It is a type of cognitive bias and is the opposite of the horn effect.

A simplified example of the Halo Effect is when an individual noticing that the person in the photograph is attractive, well groomed, and properly attired, assumes, using a mental heuristic, that the person in the photograph is a good person based upon the rules of that individual's social concept. This constant error in judgment is reflective of the individual's preferences, prejudices, ideology, aspirations, and social perception.

The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias in which an observer's overall impression of a person, company, brand, or product influences the observer's feelings and thoughts about that entity's character or properties. It was named by psychologist Edward Thorndike in reference to a person being perceived as having a halo. Subsequent researchers have studied it in relation to attractiveness and its bearing on the judicial and educational systems. The Halo Effect is a specific type of confirmation bias, wherein positive feelings in one area cause ambiguous or neutral traits to be viewed positively. Edward Thorndike originally coined the term referring only to people; however, its use has been greatly expanded especially in the area of brand marketing.

Hamam:

A Turkish bath (Turkish: Hamam) is the Turkish variant of a steambath, sauna or Russian bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam.

Hamartia:

The term Hamartia derives from Greek and means "to miss the mark" or "to err". It is most often associated with Greek tragedy, although it is also used in Christian theology. Hamartia as it pertains to dramatic literature was first used by Aristotle in his Poetics. In tragedy, Hamartia is commonly understood to refer to the protagonist’s error or flaw that leads to a chain of plot actions culminating in a reversal from their good fortune to bad. What qualifies as the error or flaw can include an error resulting from ignorance, an error of judgement, a flaw in character, or sin. The spectrum of meanings has invited debate among critics and scholars, and different interpretations among dramatists.

Hamper:

A large basket, usually with a cover.

Hampster Wheel:

Hamster Wheels or running wheel are exercise devices used primarily by hamsters and other rodents, but also by other cursorial animals when given the opportunity. Most of these devices consist of a runged or ridged wheel held on a stand by a single or pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined.

HAN:

Short for: Home Area Network.

See also: home network.

Hanbok:

A Hanbok (South Korean) or Joseon-ot (North Korean) is a traditional Korean dress for semi-formal or formal attire during traditional occasions such as festivals, celebrations, and ceremonies. It is characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets.

Hand Baggage:

See: carry-on baggage.

Hand in Glove:

In extremely close relationship or agreement; in close cooperation.

Hand of God:

See: act of God.

Hand Over Fist:

If you make or lose money Hand Over Fist, you make or lose large amounts of it very quickly.

Handbags:

Birkin Bag: aka "the Holy Grail of purses". Read more here.

Clutch Bag: a woman's purse that is strapless and carried in the hand.

Drawstring Bag: it means a bag of gatherable closure with drawstring. The earlist one is Louis Vuitton’s Noé in 1932. You can not image that it is firstly designed to carry champagne for the convenience of nobility’s travelling. Now, the drawstring become an ornamental item, other than an functional one.

Duffel Bag: Duffel is the name of a thick material. It’s traceable from an Belgian town where produced this kind of material primitively. Duffel today often means a good-sized travelling bag.
Representative: Louis Vuitton's Keepall (the former kind of Speedy).

Hobo: definition of it are clear relatively. Generally speaking, its handle and bag body form a round shape, with which gives a comfortable feeling to people. The name can be origined from Hermes Trim in 1958.

Kelly Bag: named after Grace Kelly in 1956, originally created as Sac à Dépêches in 1935. Read more here.

Satchel: a Satchel is a transverse and quadrate bag.

Shoulder Bag: properly, a Shoulder Bag is carried on shoulder. Compared with Satchel, a shoulder bag has longer shoulder straps. What's more, it can be north/south.

Tote: a tote usually means a hand-hold bag having great capacity and short handles. The open-top one are named to Shopper.

Weekender: a Weekender bag is just a life style. It has no special pattern, as long as can contain clothes for travelling and some storybook to kill the time.

Handicap:

Sports & Games: a race or contest in which contestants are given advantages or compensations to equalize the chances of winning.

A physical or mental disability.

A hindrance.

Handle:

The part of a utensil, drawer, etc., designed to be held in order to move, use, or pick up the object.

Slang: a person's name or title.

An opportunity, reason, or excuse for doing something.

Clothing, Personal Arts & Crafts / Textiles: the quality, as of textiles, perceived by touching or feeling.

Informal: to become suddenly extremely angry.

Handmade:

Made or prepared by hand rather than by machine.

Handshake Protocol:

A Handshake Protocol can create steady connections between unique devices, systems, or networks and is commonly utilized by organizations and people to establish a connection between a server and a consumer.

In addition, a Handshake Protocol is used to ensure that the communication channel established between the server and the customer is steady and reliable. This results in a number of control mechanisms that prevent users who aren’t authorized to access the network, making the connection even more secure.

Read more here: Handshake Protocol - an overview - ScienceDirect Topics.

Handyman:

A man who does odd jobs or various small tasks.

See also: factotum.

Hanger-On:

A sycophant; a parasite.

One who hangs on, or sticks to, a person, place, or service; a dependent; one who adheres to others’ society longer than he is wanted.

Hangry:

Bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger.

Hanlon's Razor:

Hanlon's Razor is an aphorism expressed in various ways, including:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
It recommends a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for a phenomenon (a philosophical razor). And as an eponymous law, it may have been named after Robert J. Hanlon. There are also earlier sayings that convey the same idea dating back at least as far as Goethe in 1774.

Hanukkah:

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

Haole:

Haole is a Hawaiian term for individuals who are not Native Hawaiian or Polynesian, usually white people. In Hawaii, it may mean any foreigner or anything else introduced to the Hawaiian islands of foreign origin.

Happening:

Something that takes place.

An improvised, often spontaneous spectacle or performance, especially one involving audience participation.

Happiness Gap:

The Happiness Gap suggests that happiness has a limit or peak, much like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, where self-actualization sits at the pinnacle.

Happy Ending:

A Happy Ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which most everything turns out for the best for the hero or heroine, their sidekicks, and just about everyone but the villains.

Orgasm as part of erotic massage.

Happy Hour:

Happy Hour is a marketing term for a period of time, usually in late afternoon and early evening, during which a bar or lounge features drinks at reduced prices.

Happy Shooting:

Celebrating by shooting your firearm in the air; especially popular in the Arab world.

Click here for YouTube clip of Sultan Qaboos of Oman shooting in the air Saddam Hussein style.

Happy Slapping:

Happy Slapping is a fad in which someone assaults an unsuspecting victim while an accomplice records the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). Most Happy-Slappers are teenagers or young adults. Several incidents are extremely violent, and some victims of "Happy-Slapping" have even been killed. Though the name will usually refer to minor acts of violence such as hitting (slapping) or jumping on the victim, more serious crimes such as rape and sexual assaults have been "classified as Happy Slapping" by the media.

Filming attacks seems to be common in modern bullying, and not unique to Happy Slapping. The core defining feature of Happy Slapping is an effort by the attacker to make the assault seem like a comical surprise at the victim's expense. When the "Happy Slapping" craze first started, it was seen amongst youngsters as harmless fun. Despite the increased level of violence, this perception sometimes persists. Often those found performing such activities will say they were just "Happy Slapping", asserting their belief that no significant harm was caused to the victim (often contradicting the obvious) with the only result being humorous entertainment.

Haptic:

Of or relating to the sense of touch.

Digital Technology: of or relating to tactile sensations and the sense of touch as a method of interacting with computers and electronic devices: smartphones that incorporate Haptic feedback.

Haptic Communication:

Haptic Communication is a branch of nonverbal communication that refers to the ways in which people and animals communicate and interact via the sense of touch. Touch is the most sophisticated and intimate of the six senses. Touch or haptics, from the ancient Greek word haptikos is extremely important for communication; it is vital for survival.

Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus. The development of an infant's haptic senses and how it relates to the development of the other senses such as vision has been the target of much research. Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing. Infants who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, tend to fare much better.

Harakiri:

Ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society.

Haram:

Haram or Haraam is an Arabic term meaning sinful. In Islamic jurisprudence, Haram is used to refer to any act that is forbidden by Allah, and is one of five Islamic commandments (al-ahkam al-khamsah)) that define the morality of human action. Acts that are Haram are typically prohibited in the religious texts of the Quran and the Sunnah. The category of Haram is the highest status of prohibition. Islam teaches that a Haram (sinful) act is recorded by an angel on the person's left shoulder. If something is considered Haram, it remains prohibited no matter how good the intention is or how honorable the purpose is. A Haram is converted into a gravitational force on the day of judgment and placed on mizan (weighing scales). Views of different madhabs can vary significantly regarding what is or is not Haram.

Hard Copy:

A printed copy, especially of the output of a computer or word processor.

Hard Currency:

A currency that does not normally depreciate (that is, lose its value) against other currencies over time. For this reason Hard Currencies - the US dollar, the D-mark and the Swiss franc - are favoured for denominating international trade. The Euro is widely expected to become a Hard Currency to rival the dollar.

Hard Disk Drive:

A Hard Disk Drive (often shortened as Hard Disk, hard drive, or HDD) is a non-volatile storage device that stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. Strictly speaking, "drive" refers to the motorized mechanical aspect that is distinct from its medium, such as a tape drive and its tape, or a floppy disk drive and its floppy disk. Early HDDs had removable media; however, an HDD today is typically a sealed unit (except for a filtered vent hole to equalize air pressure) with fixed media. Hard drives have a reputation for the potential of catastrophic "crashing" with such failure leading to a total data loss, however they continue to be a popular component of computers because they are much cheaper than solid state "drives".

Hard Sell:

An exceptionally forceful attempt by a salesman to sell goods or services to a consumer. A Hard Sell can backfire it is intimidates the consumer to such an extent that it puts him off making a purchase. The opposite of a soft sell.

Hardcore:

Intensely loyal; die-hard.

Stubbornly resistant to improvement or change.

Extremely graphic or explicit.

Hardfork:

A Hardfork is a change to the bitcoin protocol that makes previously invalid blocks/transactions valid, and therefore requires all users to upgrade.

Hardware:

The bits and pieces of any computer system that can be kicked, that is, they take up physical space. The opposite of software.

Harem:

A house or a section of a house reserved for women members of a Muslim household; the wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying such a place.

A group of women sexual partners for one man.

Harlem Shake:

The Harlem Shake, originally called the albee in Harlem, is a dance that started in 1981. The dance became mainstream in 2001 when G-Dep featured the Harlem Shake in his music video Let's Get It. It has its history from an North-East African or Ethiopian (Abyssinian) dance called "Eskista" and was allegedly started in Harlem by a man named Al B. It's ancient form "Eskista" is still used in Ethiopia today.

The Harlem Shake is a dance that originally began in Harlem, New York. Since its beginnings it has spread to other urban areas and became popular in music videos. The announcers at the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic at Rucker Park will tell you that the modern day Harlem Shake was started by a man by the name of "Al B" (nickname Sisqo or Cisco). Al B was an alcoholic that would do the dance upon request. Because of its founder, the dance was originally called the "albee" in Rucker and Harlem, but then later became known as the Harlem Shake. Al B is quoted saying that the dance is "a drunken shake anyway, its an alcoholic shake, but its fantastic, everybody appreciates it." He said it comes from the ancient Egyptians and describes it as what the mummies used to do. Because they were all wrapped up they couldn’t really move, all they could do was shake. Harlem Shake is based on an Ethiopian dance called the Eskista. Al B states that he has been doing the Harlem Shake since 1981. The dance first caught on at the Entertainer's Basketball Classic or EBC and spread from there to other areas. Though starting in 1981, the Harlem Shake became mainstream in 2001 when G-Dep featured the dance in his music video "Lets Get It". The phenomenon sweeping white neighborhoods and Italian nightclubs across the country was born… the Harlem Shake. The Harlem Shake went viral in 2013, with the release of the song "Harlem Shake" by American producer Baauer and numerous YouTube videos uploaded featuring the dance to his song.

See: 17 Amazing 'Harlem Shake' Videos You Can't Possibly Live Without.

Harlequin:

Harlequin is the best-known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630.

Harley Street:

Harley Street is a road in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is noted for its large number of private dentists, surgeons, and doctors. Its name is synonymous with private medical care in the United Kingdom.

Harmony:

Agreement in feeling or opinion; accord.

A combination of sounds considered pleasing to the ear.

Harum-Scarum:

A person who is impetuous or rash; reckless; disorganized.

Hashing:

Hashing is the transformation of a string of characters into a usually shorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string. Hashing is used to index and retrieve items in a database because it is faster to find the item using the shorter hashed key than to find it using the original value. It is also used in many encryption algorithms.

Hashtag:

Hashtags are words or phrases prefixed with the symbol #, a form of metadata tag. Also, short messages on microblogging social networking services such as Twitter or Google+ may be tagged by including one or more with multiple words concatenated, e.g.: #Wikipedia is an #encyclopedia. Searching for the string #Wikipedia will cause this word to appear in the search engine results. Such tags are case-insensitive, with CamelCase often used for readability.

For those of you not yet acquainted with this social search tool, the Hashtag was first introduced on Twitter as a means for users to quickly and easily follow topics or conversations. A word or phrase following a Hashtag, such as #socialrecruiting or #jobsearch, becomes a searchable, trackable signal to anyone else looking for status updates containing these terms.

Hat-Trick:

A Hat-Trick or Hat Trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times or more during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he was presented with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term was used in print for the first time in 1878.

Hatching:

Hatching (hachure in French) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines.

Hate Follow:

When you can't help but follow someone on social media, despite how much you despise them and/or what they stand for.

Read more here: The Weird Psychology Behind Why We Hate Follow People On Instagram & Hate-Following People Actually Has Legit Benefits, According To Experts - "Learn to transform bad virtual vibes into positives for your offline life."

Hate Speech:

Hate Speech is, outside the law, communication that vilifies a person or a group based on discrimination against that person or group.

In law, Hate Speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. The law may identify a protected individual or a protected group by certain characteristics. In some countries, a victim of Hate Speech may seek redress under civil law, criminal law, or both. A website that uses Hate Speech is called a hate site. Most of these sites contain Internet forums and news briefs that emphasize a particular viewpoint. There has been debate over how freedom of speech applies to the Internet.

Critics have argued that the term "Hate Speech" is a contemporary example of Newspeak, used to silence critics of social policies that have been poorly implemented in a rush to appear politically correct.

Hats off...:

Fig.: let us salute or honor someone or something; I admire you; to respect, admire, or congratulate; something that you say when you want to express your admiration for someone.

Haute Couture:

Haute Couture (French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking"; pronounced refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute Couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques.

It originally referred to Englishman Charles Frederick Worth's work, produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century. In modern France, Haute Couture is a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that meet certain well-defined standards. However, the term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing, whether it is produced in Paris or in other fashion capitals such as Milan, London, Rome, New York and Tokyo.

Haute Cuisine:

Haute Cuisine (French: literally "High Cooking") or grande cuisine refers to the cooking of the grand restaurants and hotels of the Western world. Created by Marie-Antoine (Antonin) Carême, it is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations; large meals of small, often quite rich courses; extensive wine cellars; and large, hierarchical and efficiently run service staffs. Aaron Macias, his first sous chef, also played an extensive part in his rise to the hierarchical presentations. The cuisine was defined by the French phrase cuisine classique until the 1970s, when cuisine classique was supplanted by nouvelle cuisine. Nowadays, Haute Cuisine is not defined by any particular style – there are Haute Cuisine restaurants serving fusion cuisine, regional cuisine and postmodern cuisine – but are defined rather by careful preparations, elaborate service, critical acclaim, and, most importantly, obsessive attention to detail - not to mention high price. Culinary guides such as the Michelin Guide and Gault Millau have helped to define modern Haute Cuisine.

Hauteur:

Haughtiness in bearing and attitude; pride; arrogance.

Havana Syndrome:

Havana Syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms reported by United States and Canadian embassy staff in Cuba dating back to late 2016 as well as subsequently in some other countries, including the United States.

In 2017, President Donald Trump accused Cuba of perpetrating unspecified attacks causing these symptoms. The U.S. reduced staff at their embassy to a minimum in response. In 2018, U.S. diplomats in China reported problems similar to those reported in Cuba, as well as undercover CIA agents operating in other countries who were negotiating with those countries on ways to counter Russia?s covert operations around the world.

Subsequent studies of the affected diplomats in Cuba, published in the journal JAMA in 2018, found evidence that the diplomats experienced some form of brain injury, but did not determine the cause of the injuries. While there is no expert consensus on the cause of the symptoms, a co-author of the JAMA study considered microwave weapons to be "a main suspect" for the phenomenon. A U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine expert committee concluded in December 2020 that microwave energy (specifically, directed pulsed RF energy) "appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered" but that "each possible cause remains speculative." In May 2021, anonymous U.S. officials said they did not know the cause of the incident or whether there was an attack, but that Russian military intelligence was an area of "active inquiry."

Read also: US investigates second suspected case of mystery 'syndrome' near White House - "Two White House officials were struck by a mysterious illness late last year -- including one who was passing through a gate onto the property -- newly revealed details that come as investigators are still struggling to determine who or what is behind these strange incidents."

Hawala Banking:

Hawala (also known as hundi) is an informal value transfer system based on the performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, which are primarily located in the Middle East, North and Northeast Africa, and South Asia.

An informal value transfer system (IVTS) refers to any system, mechanism, or network of people that receives money for the purpose of making the funds or an equivalent value payable to a third party in another geographic location, whether or not in the same form. Informal value transfers generally take place outside of the conventional banking system through non-bank financial institutions or other business entities whose primary business activity may not be the transmission of money. The IVTS transactions occasionally interconnect with formal banking systems, for example, through the use of bank accounts held by the IVTS operator.

See also: Islamic banking.

Hawthorne Effect:

Hawthorne Effect (also referred to as the observer effect) refers to a phenomenon whereby workers improve or modify an aspect of their behavior in response to the fact of change in their environment, rather than in response to the nature of the change itself.

Hazmat Suit:

A Hazmat SuitHazmat Suit (hazardous materials suit), also known as decontamination suit, is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to ensure a supply of breathable air. Hazmat suits are used by firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, researchers, personnel responding to toxic spills, specialists cleaning up contaminated facilities, and workers in toxic environments.

H-Dropping:

H-Dropping or aitch-dropping is the deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "H sound". The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a purely historical development or as a contemporary difference between dialects. Although common in most regions of England and in some other English-speaking countries, H-dropping is often stigmatized and perceived as a sign of careless or uneducated speech.

The reverse phenomenon, H-insertion or H-adding, is found in certain situations, sometimes as a hypercorrection by H-Dropping speakers, and sometimes as a spelling pronunciation or out of perceived etymological correctness. A particular example of this is the spread of 'haitch' for 'aitch'.

HD:

Short for: High Definition.

See: high definition video.

HDMI:

Short for: High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

Visit: HDMI.

HDTV:

Short for: High-Definition TeleVision. HDTV (1080i) is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition TV, or SDTV). HDTV is digitally broadcast; the earliest implementations used analog broadcasting, but today digital television (DTV) signals are used, requiring less bandwidth due to digital video compression.

He Who Pays The Piper:

Prov.: If you are paying for someone's services, you can dictate exactly what you want that person to do.

Head of State:

Head of State (German: Staatsoberhaupt), or Chief of State (French: Chef d'État), is a term used in constitutional law, international law, political science, and diplomatic protocol when referring to the official who holds the highest ranked position in a sovereign state and has the vested or implied powers to act as the chief public representative of a state. Heads of State in most countries are natural persons holding an office; however, in four United Nations member states the Head of State position is held by a body of persons: the Federal Council of Switzerland, the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Co-Princes of Andorra and the Captains Regent of San Marino.

Headhunter:

A person or firm employed by a company to help recruit someone to fill a senior post, usually by persuading skilled employees elsewhere to change jobs. Headhunters are more pompously known as executive search consultant.

Heads or Tails:

Heads or Tails is a coin-tossing game. Most coins have a side where the imprint of a person's head, such as a current or former head of state, is impressed - this side is called the "Heads" side. The other side is called the "Tails" side, irrespective of its design. Technically, the heads and tails sides are known as the obverse and reverse, respectively.

Headquarter(s):

The place where a company's senior executives have their offices and where its board holds its meetings. It may or may not be the officially registered address of the company.

The offices of a commander, as of a military unit, from which orders are issued; a center of operations or administration.

Healing:

The natural process by which the body repairs itself.

To restore to health or soundness; cure; to restore (a person) to spiritual wholeness.

Health:

The overall condition of an organism at a given time; soundness, especially of body or mind; freedom from disease or abnormality.

A condition of optimal well-being.

Hearsay:

Unverified information heard or received from another; rumor.

Law: evidence based on the reports of others rather than the personal knowledge of a witness and therefore generally not admissible as testimony.

Hearts and Minds:

Hearts and Minds was a euphemism for a campaign by the United States military during the Vietnam War, intended to win the popular support of the Vietnamese people by protecting civilians and helping them (re)build schools and infrastructure in order to pry their allegiance away from the incumbent regime or local allegiances.

Heavy Industry:

An industry which produces heavy goods and uses heavy equipment to do it. Examples are the steel, automobile and shipbuilding industries, which are both labour intensive and capital intensive. The opposite of light industry.

Hebephilia:

Hebephilia is the strong, persistent sexual interest by adults in pubescent (early adolescent) children (especially those showing Tanner stages 2-3 of development), which is typically ages 11–14. It differs from pedophilia (the primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children), and from ephebophilia (the primary sexual interest in later adolescents, typically ages 15–19).

Hecatomb:

In Ancient Greece, a Hecatomb was a sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle (hekaton = one hundred, bous = bull). In practice, as few as 12 could make up a Hecatomb. Hecatombs were offered to Greek gods Hera, Athena, and Apollo, during special religious ceremonies. At the end of the Olympic Games, a Hecatomb was also offered to Zeus at Olympia.

Hectopascal:

Hectopascal, in meteorology, for atmospheric pressure, the modern equivalent of the traditional millibar. See millibar.

HEDA:

Short for: High-End Digital Asset.

Hedge:

A means of reducing the risk of loss from future good Hedge against the reduction in the value of money that occurs at a time of inflation. International businesses seek to Hedge against the risk from movements in foreign-exchange markets. Those that do not have on occasions lost out badly.

Hedge Fund:

A flexible investment fund for a limited number of large investors (the minimum investment is typically US$1 million). Hedge Funds use almost all investment techniques, including those forbidden to mutual funds, such as short-selling and heavy leveraging.

Hedging:

Taking two positions whose gains and losses will offset each other if prices change, in order to limit financial risk.

Hedonic Treadmill Theory:

The Hedonic Treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. According to this theory, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness. Brickman and Campbell coined the term in their essay "Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society" (1971). During the late 1990s, the concept was modified by Michael Eysenck, a British psychologist, to become the current "Hedonic Treadmill Theory" which compares the pursuit of happiness to a person on a treadmill, who has to keep walking just to stay in the same place. The concept dates back centuries, to such writers as St. Augustine, cited in Robert Burton's 1621 Anatomy of Melancholy: "A true saying it is, Desire hath no rest, is infinite in itself, endless, and as one calls it, a perpetual rack, or horse-mill."

Hedonism:

Hedonism is a type of philosophy for that the pleasure is an ultimate importance and the most important pursuit for the man.

Hedonist:

Someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures.

Heebie-Jeebies (idiom):

Heebie-Jeebies or Heebie Jeebies is an American English idiom used to describe a particular type of anxiety usually related to a certain person or place. For example, "He gives me the Heebie Jeebies," or in other words "He makes me uncomfortably nervous." It can also refer to a particular form of intense apprehension, verging on horror. The phrase is often used to indicate that the speaker cannot determine what exactly is making him or her apprehensive, only that something is.

Hegemony:

The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.

Heimlich Maneuver:

It is important to be able to recognize when someone is choking. A choking victim usually coughs and then instinctively places his hands at his throat. If the victim can cough, encourage him to cough out the blockage. If the victim cannot make a sound, his airway is blocked. Use your fingers to clear away material in his mouth and proceed.

Assuming the choking victim is still conscious, stand behind him, with arms under his. Make one hand into a fist and press its thumb inwards above the navel and below the bone. Put your other hand around the fist and pull sharply up and towards yourself, four times. Check to see if the blockage is removed. If this didn't work, give 4 sharp blows to the back between the shoulder blades (to help dislodge material) and then repeat the maneuver. Don't stop!

For a pregnant woman, put your fist against the breastbone.

You can give yourself a Heimlich Maneuver by pushing against a blunt object (e.g. a chair back).

Heir:

A person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another.

A person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office.

Heir and a Spare:

Aristocratic wives were once told they needed to provide an "Heir and a Spare" at least - and the same has always been true for the royals. When in Royalty the crown goes to (usually) the oldest child. That's the heir. The spare is the next child that would ascend the throne should something happen to the heir. British Royalty, when Charles becomes King = William is the heir, Harry is the spare.

Heiress:

A woman who is an heir, especially to great wealth.

Heirloom:

Law: any property that is considered by law or custom as inseparable from an inheritance is inherited with that inheritance.

Something that has been in a family for generations.

Helicopter Money:

Helicopter Money has been proposed as an alternative to Quantitative Easing (QE) when interest rates are close to zero and the economy remains weak or enters recession. Economists have used the term 'Helicopter Money' to refer to two very different policies. The first set of policies emphasizes the 'permanent' monetization of budget deficits. The second set of policies involves the central bank making direct transfers to the private sector financed with base money, without the direct involvement of fiscal authorities. This has also been called a citizens' dividend or a distribution of future seigniorage. The idea was made popular by the American economist Milton Friedman in 1969.

Read also: Donald Trump's wild idea about dealing with debt may be here sooner than you'd think - The Telegraph.

Helicopter Parent:

A Helicopter Parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter) is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter Parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover overhead, overseeing their child's life.

Read also: When helping hurts & The Anti-Helicopter Parent’s Plea: Let Kids Play! & How to know whether you're a 'helicopter parent' and why it matters.

Hell Freezes Over:

Traditionally, hell is believed to be an extremely hot, fiery place. So, it follows that nothing would ever freeze in this place. Something that will happen when Hell Freezes Over will infact, never happen.

The phrase, "when pigs fly" has a very similar meaning. Pigs cannot fly. The phrase is used to say that something will, infact, never happen.

Hell Hath No Fury (Like a Woman Scorned):

The interpretation is that there is no force as powerful as an angry woman. Something that you say which means a woman will make someone suffer if they treat her badly.

Helots:

The Helots were a subjugated population group that formed the main population of Laconia and Messenia, the territory controlled by Sparta.

Helvetica Fontface:

Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger.

Hemicycle:

The Theatre of Dionysus, which hosted the Athenian Ecclesia, around 4th century BCE French Assembly in 1877; it entrenched the left-right political spectrum of its chamber in modern politics The European Parliament in 2006, began operating in a hemicycle from its foundation in 1958, based on European traditions Graphical representation of the left-right spread of members in the European Parliament In legislatures, a Hemicycle is a semicircular, or horseshoe-shaped, debating chamber (plenary chamber), where deputies (members) sit to discuss and pass legislation. Although originally of Ancient Greek roots, the term and modern design derive from French politics and practice.

Hemingway Code Hero:

The Hemingway Code Hero, sometimes more simply referred to as the Hemingway hero, is a stock character created by Ernest Hemingway. The character is easily identified by its strong masculinity, enthusiasm for life and often excessive indulgence in its pleasures. The code hero was embraced by readers in the 1920s as a kind of literary antidote to the increasingly sensitive, emasculated American male.

Hemisphere:

Half of the terrestrial globe.

He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune:

The person paying for something is the one who gets to say how it should be done.

Hen Night:

A party for women only, especially held for a woman shortly before she is married.

See also: stag night.

Hen Party:

(Britain): a bachelorette party; a party held for a woman who is about to be married.

Henley:

A Henley shirt is a collarless men's casualwear pullover shirt, characterized by a 4-6" long slit beneath the round neckline, usually having 2-5 buttons. It essentially resembles a collarless polo shirt. The sleeves may be either short or long sleeve, and it can be made in almost any fabric, although cotton and cotton-polyester blends are by far the most popular. Henley shirts are generally regarded as menswear, although women sometimes wear them, too.

Hentai:

Hentai is a word of Japanese origin which is short for a perverse sexual desire.

Herald:

A person who carries or proclaims important news; a messenger.

One that gives a sign or indication of something to come; a harbinger.

An official formerly charged with making royal proclamations and bearing messages of state between sovereigns; an official who formerly made proclamations and conveyed challenges at a tournament.

Heraldry:

The profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms, tracing genealogies, and determining and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms.

A branch of knowledge dealing with the history and description in proper terms of armorial bearings and their accessories.

Armorial ensigns or similar insignia.

Pomp and ceremony, especially attended with armorial trappings; pageantry.

Herb:

A plant whose stem does not produce woody, persistent tissue and generally dies back at the end of each growing season.

Any of various often aromatic plants used especially in medicine or as seasoning.

Slang: marijuana.

Herbarium:

A Herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The term can also refer to the building or room where the specimens are housed, or to the scientific institute that not only stores but uses them for research.

Herbivorous:

Feeding on plants; plant-eating.

Herd Immunity:

Herd Immunity (also called herd effect, community immunity, population immunity, or social immunity) is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through previous infections or vaccination, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune. In a population in which a large proportion of individuals possess immunity, such people being unlikely to contribute to disease transmission, chains of infection are more likely to be disrupted, which either stops or slows the spread of disease. The greater the proportion of immune individuals in a community, the smaller the probability that non-immune individuals will come into contact with an infectious individual, helping to shield non-immune individuals from infection.

Read also: CORONAVIRUS: WHAT IS HERD IMMUNITY AND IS IT A POSSIBILITY FOR THE UK? - "When enough people are immune to a disease, this can reduce the likelihood of it spreading, resulting in herd immunity."

Hereditary:

Law: descending from an ancestor to a legal heir; passing down by inheritance; having title or possession through inheritance.

Appearing in or characteristic of successive generations.

Here's Looking at You:

The famous line, "Here's Looking at You, kid", spoken four times throughout the film Casablanca.

Heresy:

Any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position.

Hermaphroditic:

An animal or plant exhibiting Hermaphroditism.

Something that is a combination of disparate or contradictory elements.

Hermeneutics:

Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts.

Hermeneutic Circle:

The Hermeneutic Circle (German: hermeneutischer Zirkel) describes the process of understanding a text hermeneutically. It refers to the idea that one's understanding of the text as a whole is established by reference to the individual parts and one's understanding of each individual part by reference to the whole. Neither the whole text nor any individual part can be understood without reference to one another, and hence, it is a circle. However, this circular character of interpretation does not make it impossible to interpret a text; rather, it stresses that the meaning of a text must be found within its cultural, historical, and literary context.

Hermitage:

The habitation of a hermit; a secluded residence or private retreat.

Heroin Chic

Heroin Chic was a style popularized in early-1990s fashion and characterized by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes, emaciated features, androgyny and stringy hair—all traits associated with abuse of heroin or other drugs. American supermodel Gia Carangi is remembered for being the originator of the trend. Heroin Chic was partly a reaction against the "healthy" and vibrant look of leading 1980s models such as Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson, and Claudia Schiffer. A 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times stated that the fashion industry had "a nihilistic vision of beauty" that was reflective of drug addiction.

Read also: The damaging resurgence of Heroin Chic - "As the Kardashians ditch their BBLs and curves for a ‘skinnier look’, recent changes in body image trends seem to be reverting back to the 2000s love of the slim physique and heroin chic."

Herring Pond:

The Atlantic Ocean.

Hetaira:

Hetairai were a type of prostitute in ancient Greece.

Heterodoxy:

Heterodoxy in a religious sense means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, Heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, while the adjective "Heterodox" could be applied to a dissident.

Heuristic:

Heuristic refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Where the exhaustive search is impractical, Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution; mental short cuts to ease the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, or common sense.

Heyday:

The period of greatest popularity, success, or power; prime.

HGTV:

HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel that is owned by Discovery, Inc. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, approximately 95,628,000 American households (82.2% of households with television) receive HGTV. In 2016, HGTV overtook CNN as the third most-watched cable channel in the United States, behind Fox News and ESPN.

Read also: We’re a Nation of HGTV Addicts. But Is Quarantine Changing the Way We Think About Home? - "The desire to surround ourselves with beauty, however we define it, is universal. What we don’t all possess are the funds to satisfy it."

Hickey:

A reddish mark on the skin caused by amorous kissing, biting, or sucking.

Hidalgo:

A member of the minor nobility in Spain.

Hide (unit):

The Hide was an English unit of land measurement originally intended to represent the amount of land sufficient to support a household. It was traditionally taken to be 120 acres (49 hectares), but was in fact a measure of value and tax assessment, including obligations for food-rent (feorm), maintenance and repair of bridges and fortifications, manpower for the army (fyrd), and (eventually) the geld land tax. The Hide's method of calculation is now obscure: different properties with the same hidage could vary greatly in extent even in the same county. Following the Norman Conquest of England, the hidage assessments were recorded in the Domesday Book and there was a tendency for land producing £1 of income per year to be assessed at 1 hide. The Norman kings continued to use the unit for their tax assessments until the end of the 12th century.

Hiding in Plain Sight:

Be unnoticeable, by staying visible in a setting that masks presence.

Hidden Agenda:

The undisclosed objectives that a person has, usually when participating in a meeting.

Hidden City Ticketing:

According to Business Insider, Hidden City Ticketing is a sneaky way to save money. Say you want to travel to New York from Orlando. The direct flight costs $350, but a flight to Boston with a stopover at JFK only costs $200. By booking the flight to Boston and simply getting off at New York, you can save significant cash. There’s even an entire travel site called Skiplagged dedicated to finding customers cheap flights this way. But while it can benefit flyers, it’s a problem for airlines, and some have started to crack down on it.

Hidden City Ticketing is a violation of most airlines’ contract of carriage, which means they're allowed to punish you if they catch you doing it. These penalties can include forcing you to pay the full price of the trip, confiscating your frequent flyer miles, or preventing you from boarding the plane in the first place.

Hidden Reserves:

The reserves of a company that are not disclosed in its balance sheet. These may arise from an under-evaluation of its assets or from hidden bank accounts (abroad).

Hierarchy:

A Hierarchy (Greek: Hierarchia, from Hierarches, "leader of sacred rites") is an arrangement of items (object, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another and with only one "neighbor" above and below each level. These classifications are made with regard to rank, importance, seniority, power status or authority. A Hierarchy of power is called a power structure. Abstractly, a Hierarchy is simply an ordered set or an acyclic graph.

A Hierarchy can link entity either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally. The only direct links in a Hierarchy, insofar as they are Hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely Hierarchical can also incorporate other organizational patterns. Indirect Hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the Hierarchy which are not linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked through a path by traveling up the Hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two co-workers or colleagues; each reports to a common superior, but they have the same relative amount of authority.

Hierophant:

A Hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy.

High:

Of more than normal height; extending upward a (specified) distance; situated far above the ground or some other level.

Slang: drunk; intoxicated; under the influence of a drug.

High-Class:

Of superior quality; first-class.

High-Definition Video:

High-Definition Video or HD Video refers to any video of higher resolution than standard-definition (SD) video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1280×720 pixels (720p) or 1920×1080 pixels (1080i/1080p).

High-End:

Sophisticated and discerning.

High Fashion:

The latest in trendsetting fashion or design, usually intended for or adopted by an exclusive clientele.

See also: haute couture.

High Five:

A gesture of greeting, elation, or victory in which one person slaps an upraised palm against that of another person.

High-Frequency Trading | HFT:

High-Frequency Trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic trading, specifically the use of sophisticated technological tools and computer algorithms to rapidly trade securities. HFT uses proprietary trading strategies carried out by computers to move in and out of positions in seconds or fractions of a second. Firms such as British-based Algorates, one of the first to employ HFT, rely on advanced computer systems and the processing speed of their trades to record high earnings in the market.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a training protocol alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods until the point of exhaustion. HIIT involves exercises performed in repeated quick bursts at maximum or near maximal effort with periods of rest or low activity between bouts. The very high level of intensity, the interval duration, and number of bouts distinguish it from aerobic (cardiovascular) activity, because the body significantly recruits anaerobic energy systems (although not completely to the exclusion of aerobic pathways). The method thereby relies on "the anaerobic energy releasing system almost maximally".

High Living:

A feeding upon rich, pampering food.

High Net Worth Individual:

See: HNWI.

High Office:

Key position, leading position, top job.

High Priest:

A preeminent authority or major proponent of a movement or doctrine.

High Profile:

An intentionally conspicuous, well-publicized presence or stance.

High Roller:

One who spends freely and extravagantly, as for luxuries or entertainment.

One who gambles rashly or for high stakes.

An organization, such as a large corporation, that spends or invests liberally or rashly.

High School:

A secondary school that usually includes grades 9 or 10 through 12.

High Society:

High Society is a category of people deemed to have greater social status or prestige, and their related affiliations, social events and practices which together define a group variously referred to as "Society" or High Society.

The upper class is a concept in sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class often have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.

The phrase "upper class" has had a complex range of meanings and usages. In many traditional societies, membership of the upper class was hard or even impossible to acquire by any means other than being born into it.

See also: socialite.

High Status:

A position of superior status.

High Table:

At Oxford and Cambridge colleges - and other, similarly traditional, academic institutions - the High Table is a table for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests. The table is normally on a raised platform and at the end of the dining hall, although not always. On more formal evening occasions, dinner jackets are worn. It is also normal to wear academic gowns.

High Tea:

High Tea (also known as meat tea is an early evening meal, typically eaten between 5pm and 6pm in the evening. It would be eaten as a substitute for both afternoon tea and the evening meal. It is now largely replaced by a later evening meal.

It would usually consist of cold meats, eggs or fish, cakes and sandwiches. In a family, it tends to be less formal and is an informal snack (featuring sandwiches, biscuits, pastry, fruit and the like) or else it is the main evening meal.

See also: afternoon tea.

High Tech:

Short for: High Technology. Modern advances in science that have found industrial and commercial uses. Often associated with developments in information technology.

Highball:

Highball is the name for a family of mixed alcoholic drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer.

Highly Confidential Source:

FBI's internal term for covert listening devices.

Hijack:

To seize control of (a moving vehicle) by use of force, especially in order to reach an alternate destination.

Hikikomori:

Hikikomori, literally "pulling inward, being confined", i.e., "acute social withdrawal") is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term Hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general as well as to people belonging to this societal group. Hikikomori have been described as recluses, loners, or "modern-day hermits."

Hillary Clinton Derangement Syndrome (HDS):

There's something infecting right-wing circles, and it's showing no sign of letting up: a fixation on Hillary Clinton that I'm calling "Hillary Clinton Derangement Syndrome," or "HDS" for short. The symptoms of this persistent ailment include an unhealthy obsession with the former secretary of state - from spreading lies about her past actions to blaming her for events with which she has no connection - combined with an insatiable longing to see her run for president again in 2024.

Himbo:

A male bimbo, male who uses his good lucks but is superficial and unintelligent.

Hina Dolls:

Hina Dolls, dolls used in Japan during Hinamatsuri.

Hindsight Bias:

Hindsight Bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along effect or creeping determinism, is the inclination, after an event has occurred, to see the event as having been predictable, despite there having been little or no objective basis for predicting it. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that can affect different stages of designs, processes, contexts, and situations. Hindsight Bias may cause memory distortion, where the recollection and reconstruction of content can lead to false theoretical outcomes. It has been suggested that the effect can cause extreme methodological problems while trying to analyze, understand, and interpret results in experimental studies. A basic example of the Hindsight Bias is when, after viewing the outcome of a potentially unforeseeable event, a person believes he or she "knew it all along". Such examples are present in the writings of historians describing outcomes of battles, physicians recalling clinical trials, and in judicial systems trying to attribute responsibility and predictability of accidents.

Hinterland:

The land directly adjacent to and inland from a coast.

A region situated beyond metropolitan centers of culture.

Hip:

Usually used to begin a cheer.

Slang: keenly aware of or knowledgeable about the latest trends or developments; very fashionable or stylish.

Hippie (Hippy):

A person who opposes and rejects many of the conventional standards and customs of society, especially one who advocates extreme liberalism in sociopolitical attitudes and lifestyles.

HIPPO:

Acronym used to mention at once five of the major threats to biodiversity (Habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, population growth, and overharvesting/overhunting) first used by E.O. Wilson in 2005. For more information, read his book Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life.

Hippocratic Oath:

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by High Technologyphysicians and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically and honestly. It is widely believed to have been written either by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine, or by one of his students. The oath is written in Ionic Greek (late 5th century BC), and is usually included in the Hippocratic Corpus. Classical scholar Ludwig Edelstein proposed that the oath was written by Pythagoreans, a theory that has been questioned due to the lack of evidence for a school of Pythagorean medicine. Of historic and traditional value, the oath is considered a rite of passage for practitioners of medicine in many countries, although nowadays the modernized version of the text varies among them.

Hipster:

The Hipster subculture typically consists of white millennials living in urban areas. The subculture has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior" and is broadly associated with indie and alternative music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility (including vintage and thrift store-bought clothes), generally progressive political views, organic and artisanal foods, and alternative lifestyles. Hipsters are typically described as affluent or middle class young Bohemians who reside in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Read also: Why You Should Love Hipster Entrepreneurs.

Hiryuzu:

Japanese cuisine: deep-fried tofu mixed with thinly sliced vegetables.

Historic Cost:

The cost of an asset on the day that it was purchased; its original cost. Contrast with replacement cost. In the United States it is known as historical cost.

Hit:

An action on the web site, such as when a user views a page or downloads a file.

A match of data in a search string against data that one is searching.

A successful or popular venture.

A collision or impact.

A murder planned and carried out usually by a member of an underworld syndicate.

Hit & Run:

Being or involving the driver of a motor vehicle who leaves the scene of an accident, especially one in which a pedestrian or another vehicle has been struck.

Involving or designed for swift specific action or effect.

Hit Man:

A man hired by a crime syndicate as a professional killer.

Hit Parade:

A ranked group or listing of the currently most popular songs.

A collection or listing of the most popular or excellent items or people of a certain kind.

HMMWV:

Short for: The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by the M151 1/4 ton MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV, and other light trucks with the United States military, as well as being used by a number of other countries and organizations.

HNWI:

Short for: High Net Worth Individual. A HNWI is someone who has more than US$1 million in financial assets, excluding their primary residence.

See also: millionaire, ultra-high net worth individual and World Wealth Report 2013.

Hoax:

An act intended to deceive or trick.

Something that has been established or accepted by fraudulent means.

Hobby:

An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.

Hobo:

One who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or a means of livelihood; a disreputable vagrant.

Hobson's Choice:

A Hobson's Choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered. As a person may refuse to take that option, the choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it". The phrase is said to originate with Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses, he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.

Hoc Genus:

Latin: this kind.

Hockey Stick Effect:

The Hockey Stick Effect is characterized by a sharp rise or fall of data points after a long flat period. It is illustrated using the graphical shape of a line chart that resembles a hockey stick. The hockey stick chart formation illustrates that urgent action may be required to understand a phenomenon or find a solution for the drastic shift in data points.

In business, a hockey stick chart is used to show significant growth in revenues, EBITDA, and EBITDA margins. It is also used to show dramatic shifts in sales, poverty statistics, global temperatures, etc.

Hocus Pocus:

Nonsense words or phrases used as a formula by quack conjurers.

A trick performed by a magician or juggler; sleight-of-hand.

To play tricks on; deceive.

Hörensagen:

German for: Hearsay.

Hoi Polloi:

Hoi Polloi is an expression from Greek that means the many or, in the strictest sense, the majority. In English, it means the working class, commoners, the masses or common people in a derogatory sense.

Holding Company:

A company whose activity is limited to holding and managing investments or property but not having ordinary commercial or trading activities. The requirements to achieve Holding Company status vary in different countries (in particular Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Nauru and the Netherlands).

Holiday:

A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observation is warranted.

Holism:

Holism (from holos, a Greek word meaning all, entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.

The general principle of Holism was concisely summarized by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts".

Hollow Leg:

Capacity to eat large quantities.

Ability or tendency to drink large quantities of alcohol.

Hollywood Accounting:

Hollywood Accounting (also known as Hollywood bookkeeping) refers to the opaque accounting methods used by the film, video and television industry to budget and record profits for film projects. Expenditures can be inflated to reduce or eliminate the reported profit of the project thereby reducing the amount which the corporation must pay in royalties or other profit-sharing agreements, as these are based on the net profit.

Holocaust:

The Holocaust (from the Greek: holos, "whole" and kaustos, "burnt"), also known as Shoah, Latinized ha'shoah; Latinized churben or hurban) is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, and its collaborators. Some scholars maintain that the definition of the Holocaust should also include the Nazis' systematic murder of millions of people in other groups, including ethnic Poles, the Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, gay men, and political and religious opponents, which would bring the total number of Holocaust victims to between 11 million and 17 million people.

Holocaust Pornography:

Holocaust Pornography, also known as Stalag porn, is a type of pornography mostly made by and for people living in Israel and makes pornography out of real or fantasy events concerning The Holocaust.

It came about following the 1955 publication of the The House of Dolls. The terror of the Holocaust is re-enacted in staged photographs and in films. The images and tapes, although grainy and black-and-white are clearly contemporary.

Holography:

Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that it appears as if the object is in the same position relative to the recording medium as it was when recorded. The image changes as the position and orientation of the viewing system changes in exactly the same way as if the object were still present, thus making the recorded image (hologram) appear three dimensional.

Holy Grail:

A cup or plate that, according to medieval legend, was used by Jesus at the Last Supper and that later became the law object of many chivalrous quests.

The object of a prolonged endeavor.

Holy See:

Every see is considered holy. In Greek, the adjective "holy" or "sacred" (???? transliterated as hiera) is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. In the West, the adjective is not commonly added, but it does form part of an official title of two sees: besides the Diocese of Rome ("the Holy See"), the Bishopric of Mainz (the former Archbishopric of Mainz, which was also of electoral and primatial rank) bears the title of "the Holy See of Mainz". The word "see" comes from the Latin word "sedes", meaning "seat", which refers to the Episcopal throne (cathedra).

Homage:

Ceremonial acknowledgment by a vassal of allegiance to his lord under feudal law.

Special honor or respect shown or expressed publicly.

Home and Hearth:

Family and home; home life.

Home Network:

A Home Network or home area network (HAN) is a residential local area network. It is used for communication between digital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices. An important function is the sharing of Internet access, often a broadband service through a cable tv or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) provider.

Home Page:

The main page of a web site. The home page provides visitors with an overview and links to the rest of the site. It often contains or links to a Table of Contents for the site.

Home Page URL:

The local path or Internet URL to the default page of the web site.

Home Run:

Baseball: a hit that allows the batter to make a complete circuit of the diamond and score a run.

An impressive success

Home Worker:

A person who works from home using some basic sort of equipment, for example, a computer, a telephone or a knitting machine.

Homeland:

One's native land.

A state, region, or territory that is closely identified with a particular people or ethnic group.

Homeopathy:

Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that treats patients with heavily diluted preparations that are thought to cause effects similar to the symptoms presented, first expounded by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking ("succussing") after each step under the assumption that this increases the effect of the treatment. This dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.

Homo Homini Lupus:

Homo Homini Lupus, or in its unabridged form Homo homini lupus est, is a Latin proverb meaning "A man is a wolf to another man," or more tersely "Man is wolf to man." It has meaning in reference to situations where people are known to have behaved in a way comparably in nature to a wolf. The wolf as a creature is thought, in this example, to have qualities of being predatory, cruel, inhuman i.e. more like an animal than civilized.

Home Sacer:

Homo Sacer (Latin for "the sacred man" or "the accursed man") is a figure of Roman law: a person who is banned and may be killed by anybody, but may not be sacrificed in a religious ritual.

Homologue:

Agreeing, of one mind.

Homonym:

In linguistics, a Homonym is one of a group of words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings, whether spelled the same or not. A more restrictive definition sees Homonyms as words that are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling) – that is to say they have same pronunciation and spelling, but different meanings.

Homophily:

Homophily from Ancient Greek (homou, "together") and Greek (philia, "friendship") is the tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar others, as in the proverb "birds of a feather flock together". The presence of Homophily has been discovered in a vast array of network studies. More than 100 studies have observed Homophily in some form or another and they establish that similarity breeds connection. These include age, gender, class, and organizational role.

Individuals in homophilic relationships share common characteristics (beliefs, values, education, etc.) that make communication and relationship formation easier. The opposite of Homophily is heterophily or intermingling.

Homophone:

A Homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, and may differ in spelling. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms. Homophones that are spelled differently are also called heterographs. The term "homophone" may also apply to units longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters or groups of letters that are pronounced the same as another phrase, letter or group of letters.

Homunculus:

A Homunculus (Latin for "little person") is a representation of a small human being. Popularized in sixteenth-century alchemy and nineteenth-century fiction, it has historically referred to the creation of a miniature, fully formed human.

Honcho:

One who is in charge; a manager or leader.

Honeymoon:

A holiday or trip taken by a newly married couple.

An early harmonious period in a relationship.

Honeypot (computing):

In computer terminology, a Honeypot is a computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems. Generally, a Honeypot consists of data (for example, in a network site) that appears to be a legitimate part of the site but is actually isolated and monitored, and that seems to contain information or a resource of value to attackers, which are then blocked. This is similar to the police baiting a criminal and then conducting undercover surveillance, and finally punishing the criminal.

Honeytrap:

A scheme in which a victim is lured into a compromising sexual situation to provide an opportunity for blackmail.

Hongbao:

See: red envelope.

Hongi:

A traditional Maori greeting in which people press their noses together.

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense:

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense is an Anglo-Norman phrase, loosely meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks ill of it", though more specifically "Evil unto him who thinks evil of it".

Honor:

High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem.

Glory or recognition; distinction.

A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction.

The dignity accorded to position.

Special recognition for unusual academic achievement.

Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for certain officials, such as judges and mayors.

Honor Among Thieves:

Proverb: dishonest people may have certain standards of behavior which they will respect.

Honor Killing:

An ancient tradition still sometimes observed; a male member of the family kills a female relative for tarnishing the family image.

Honorable:

Abbr. Hon. Used as a courtesy title.

Hoodie:

A Hoodie (or Hoody), short for "hooded sweatshirt", is a heavy upper-body garment with a hood. The characteristic design includes large frontal pockets, a hood, and (usually) a drawstring to adjust the hood opening.

Hook:

Slang: a means of attracting interest or attention; an enticement.

Sports: a short swinging blow in boxing delivered with a crooked arm.

Hook, Line, and Sinker:

Without reservation; completely.

See also: Lock, Stock, & Barrel.

Hooligan:

A tough and aggressive or violent youth.

Hooray Henry:

In British English slang, Hooray Henry or Hoorah Henry is a pejorative term, comparable to "toff", for an upper class British male who exudes loud-mouthed arrogance and an air of superiority, often flaunting his public school upbringing. It is cited as the male equivalent of a "Sloane Ranger", although the female equivalent of a Hooray Henry is sometimes referred to as a Hooray Henrietta.

Hoover Blue:

Slang for the FBI dress code.

Hope Chest:

A chest used by a young woman for clothing and household goods, such as linens and silver, in anticipation of marriage.

Horizontal Integration:

The integration of companies that are in more or less the same line of business. Daimler-Benz merging with Chrysler is a case of Horizontal Integration; Daimler-Benz getting into the defense industry is not.

Horizon:

The apparent intersection of the earth and sky as seen by an observer.

Astronomy: the sensible horizon; the celestial horizon.

The range of one's knowledge, experience, or interest.

Hornet's Nest:

A situation or place in which there are many dangers; an angry reaction.

Horology:

Horology is the art or science of measuring time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, clepsydras, timers, time recorders and marine chronometers are all examples of instruments used to measure time.

Horror Vacui:

In visual art, Horror Vacui (from Latin "fear of empty space", which might be represented by white spots; also cenophobia, from Greek "fear of the empty") is the filling of the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail.

Hors Concours:

Literary: unrivalled; unequalled. In the manner of one that does not compete. Engaged in a contest but not competing for a prize.

Hors d'Œuvre:

Hors d'Œuvre (literally "apart from the [main] work") or the first course, are food items served before the main courses of a meal. There are several related terms, such as a one-bite appetizer, an amuse-bouche.

If there is an extended period between when guests arrive and when the meal is eaten (for example during a cocktail hour), these might also serve the purpose of sustaining guests during the wait, in the same way that apéritifs are served as a drink before meals. Hors d'Œuvre are sometimes served with no meal afterward. This is the case with many reception and cocktail party events.

Hors de Combat:

Hors de Combat, literally meaning "outside the fight," is a French term used in diplomacy and international law to refer to combatants who are incapable of performing their ability to wage war.

Horse Power (HP):

Horsepower (hp or HP or Hp) is several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The Horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other machinery. Different regions adopted different definitions of the unit. Most countries now use the SI unit watt for measurement of power.

Hosanna:

Used to express praise or adoration to God.

Hospice:

A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute, especially one maintained by a monastic order.

A program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient facility or at the patient's home.

Hospitality:

Cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests.

Hostel:

Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, sometimes a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available. Hostels are generally cheaper for both the operator and the occupants; many hostels employ their long-term residents as desk clerks or housekeeping staff in exchange for free accommodation.

Hostess:

A woman who receives or entertains guests in a social or official capacity.

A woman who is the emcee or interviewer on a radio or television program.

A woman who is employed to greet and assist patrons, as in a restaurant.

Hostess With the Mostess:

A most dedicated hostess willing to please everyone.

Hostile Takeover:

A takeover in which the company being taken over does not wish to be bought. A company subject to such an offer sets about resisting it or finding an alternative.

Hostile Witness:

A Hostile Witness, otherwise known as an adverse witness or an unfavorable witness, is a witness at trial whose testimony on direct examination is either openly antagonistic or appears to be contrary to the legal position of the party who called the witness.

During direct examination, if the examining attorney who called the witness finds that their testimony is antagonistic or contrary to the legal position of their client, the attorney may request that the judge declare the Witness Hostile. If the request is granted, the attorney may proceed to ask the witness leading questions. Leading questions either suggest the answer ("You saw my client sign the contract, correct?") or challenge (impeach) the witness' testimony. As a rule, leading questions are generally only allowed during cross-examination, but a Hostile Witness is an exception to this rule.

In cross-examination conducted by the opposing party's attorney, a witness is presumed to be hostile and the examining attorney is not required to seek the judge's permission before asking leading questions. Attorneys can influence a Hostile Witness' responses by using Gestalt psychology to influence the way the witness perceives the situation, and utility theory to understand his likely responses. The attorney will integrate a Hostile Witness' expected responses into the larger case strategy through pretrial planning and through adapting as necessary during the course of the trial.

Hot Desking:

Hot Desking (sometimes called "non-reservation-based hoteling") is a work office organization system where each space is available for any worker, rather than reserved for a specific worker, so different workers may use the same spot along the day or week. The "desk" in the name refers to a table or other work space being shared by multiple workers on different shifts as opposed to every staff member having their own personal desk. A primary motivation for hot-desking is cost reduction through space savings—up to 30% in some cases. Hot Desking is especially valuable in cities where real estate prices are high.

Hot Dog Legs:

Internet meme where users take carefully angled photos of two sausages so they look like slim, tanned legs.

Hot Money:

Capital with no allegiance to any particular market. It flows rapidly and frequently across borders in search of nothing more than the highest shortterm return. Hot money may also be moving rapidly because it is being chased by tax inspectors or fraud investigators.

Hot Potato:

A problem that is so controversial or sensitive that those handling it risk unpleasant consequences.

An awkward or delicate matter; a situation or issue that is difficult, unpleasant, or risky to deal with.

Hot Swapping:

Hot Swapping and hot plugging are terms used to separately describe the functions of replacing system components without shutting down the system. Hot swapping describes changing components without significant interruption to the system, while hot plugging describes changing or adding components which interact with the operating system. Both terms describe the ability to remove and replace components of a machine, usually a computer, while it is operating.

Hot Tub:

A very large Tub made of ceramic, acrylic, wood, or another substance and filled with hot water in which one or more bathers may soak.

Hotel:

An establishment that provides lodging and usually meals and other services for travelers and other paying guests.

Hotel Chain:

A hotel chain is a group of hotels managed together under a business arrangement known as franchising.

Hotel Group:

A large public company which owns a chain of hotels.

Hôtel Particulier:

In French contexts an Hôtel Particulier is an urban "private house" of a grand sort. Whereas an ordinary maison was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an Hôtel Particulier was often free-standing, and by the eighteenth century it would always be located entre cour et jardin, between the entrance court, the cour d'honneur, and the garden behind.

Hotel Suite:

A suite in a hotel or other public accommodation, denotes a class of luxury accommodations, the key feature of which is multiple rooms. Many properties have one or more "honeymoon suites", and sometimes the best accommodation is called the "presidential suite".

Suites offer multiple rooms, with more space and furniture than a standard hotel room. In addition to one or more beds and bedroom fixtures, a suite will include a living or sitting room, usually with a couch that converts into a bed. Dining, office and kitchen facilities are also added in many suites. Some properties now offer only suites. In addition to the luxurious suites mentioned in the first paragraph, regular suites are particularly marketed to business travelers who would both appreciate additional space and may use it to host small meetings or entertain clients.

Hotelier:

A manager or owner of a hotel.

Hotline:

A direct and immediate telephone linkup, especially between heads of government, as for use in a crisis.

A telephone line that gives quick and direct access to a source of information or help.

Hotlink:

Inline linking (also known as Hotlinking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking, offsite image grabs and bandwidth theft) is the use of a linked object, often an image, from one site into a web page belonging to a second site. The second site is said to have an inline link to the site where the object is located.

Hotshot:

A person of impressive skill and daring, especially one who is highly successful and self-assured.

Hotspot:

A Hotspot is a venue that offers Internet access over a wireless LAN through the use of a shared internet connection and a single router. Hotspots can typically be found in coffee shops and various other public establishments throughout much of North America and Europe.

A place of political unrest and potential violence; a point of relatively intense heat or radiation.

A lively entertainment spot.

Hottie:

Slang: a physically or sexually attractive person.

Houndstooth:

Houndstooth, hounds tooth check or hound's tooth (and similar spellings), also known as dogstooth, dogtooth, dog's tooth, or pied-de-poule, is a duotone textile pattern characterized by broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes, often in black and white, although other colours are used.

Hourglass Economy:

Hourglass Economy is an economy that produces more upper and lower classes, causing a decline in the middle class. An example would be during the Industrial Revolution when the introduction of efficient machinery created stratification of the classes with more lower paying unskilled jobs. This can be seen when the peak of a particular business model is growing and the antapex is growing drawing the middle in tighter and tighter.

In the United States of America the American middle class is being forced to either make it bigger or lose it all due to policy passed within the business model of capitalism as the United States knows it. Less borrowing to relatively risky businesses, less availability of making large capital gains as well as rising inflation. Commodities are at record levels, keeping the large companies maintaining record profits, while the middle class are paying more for all this, as the primary consumers of goods, and falling into the bottom of the hourglass, at least on paper.

Citigroup calls the phenomenon the “Consumer Hourglass Theory” and since 2009 has urged investors to focus on companies best positioned to cater to the highest-income and lowest-income consumers. It created an index of 25 companies, including Estée Lauder Co. and Saks at the top of the hourglass and Family Dollar Stores Inc. and Kellogg Co. at the bottom. The index posted a 56.5% return for investors from its inception on Dec. 10, 2009, through Sept. 1, 2011. Over the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 11%.

Houri:

One of the beautiful maidens that in Muslim belief live with the blessed in paradise.

A voluptuously beautiful young woman.

House Sitter:

A person who lives in and cares for a house while the regular occupant is away.

Household:

A domestic unit consisting of the members of a family who live together along with nonrelatives such as servants; the living spaces and possessions belonging to such a unit.

A person or group of people occupying a single dwelling.

Household Name:

A person or thing that is very well known.

Housewarming:

A celebration of the occupancy of a new home.

Houyhnhnm:

Houyhnhnms are a race of intelligent horses described in the last part of Jonathan Swift's satirical Gulliver's Travels.

How the Other Half Lives:

Something people say when they see or hear about the lives of people who are richer than them.

How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (1890) was an early publication of photojournalism by Danish American social reformer Jacob Riis, documenting squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. It served as a basis for future "muckraking" journalism by exposing the slums to New York City’s upper and middle classes.

For an in-depth insight, read the book: How the Other Half Lives: A Jacob Riis Classic (Including Photography)

Howitzer:

A Howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles over relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent.

HQ:

Short for: HeadQuarters.

HTML:

Short for: Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is used to write documents for the World Wide Web to specify hypertext links between related objects and documents.

HTTP:

Short for: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is a standard method of transferring data between a Web server and a Web browser.

HTTPS:

HTTPS stands for: HyperText Transfer Protocol over SSL (Secure Socket Layer). It is a TCP/IP protocol used by Web servers to transfer and display Web content securely. The data transferred is encrypted so that it cannot be read by anyone except the recipient.

Hub:

A place or thing that forms the effective center of an activity, region, or network.

An airport used as transfer point.

A center of interest, importance, or activity; a focal point.

The center part of a wheel, fan, or propeller.

Hubby:

An informal word for husband.

Hubris:

Hubris is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening pride, haughtiness, or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution or nemesis.

Hue and Cry:

(Historical): the public pursuit of a criminal, accompanied by shouts to warn others to give chase.

(By extension): a loud and persistent public clamour, especially one associated with protest or the making of some demand.

Human Condition:

The Human Condition is "the characteristics, key events, and situations which compose the essentials of human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality". This is a very broad topic which has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed from many perspectives, including those of religion, philosophy, history, art, literature, anthropology, psychology, and biology.

As a literary term, "the Human Condition" is typically used in the context of ambiguous subjects such as the meaning of life or moral concerns.

Human Resources:

The people who make up the workforce of an organization with their various strengths and weaknesses. Human Resource management is concerned with getting the best out of these resources for the benefit of the organization.

Human Waldo:

See: Waldo.

Humangous:

(Slang): extraordinarily large.

Humanitarian:

One who is devoted to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of social reforms; a philanthropist.

Humble-Bragging:

Make an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement with the actual intention of drawing attention to something of which one is proud.

Humbug:

Something intended to deceive; a hoax or fraud.

A person who claims to be other than what he or she is; an impostor.

Nonsense; rubbish.

Humor:

The quality of being funny.

Also called sense of humor the ability to appreciate or express that which is Humorous.

Situations, speech, or writings that are thought to be Humorous.

Humvee:

See: HMMWV.

Hundred Days:

The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815 (a period of 111 days). This period saw the War of the Seventh Coalition, and includes the Waterloo Campaign and the Neapolitan War. The phrase les Cent Jours was first used by the prefect of Paris, Gaspard, comte de Chabrol, in his speech welcoming the King.

See also: first hundred days.

Hunk:

A sexually attractive man with a well-developed physique.

Hunky-Dory:

(Informal): satisfactory, fine.

Hurdle:

An obstacle or difficulty to be overcome.

Sports: a light portable barrier over which competitors must leap in certain races.

Hurdle Rate:

The rate of return that has to be achieved by an investment for it to be considered a success. This may be its cost of funds, or it may be the return on equity (roe) achieved by other firms in the same industry.

Hurkle-Durkle:

Hurkle-Durkle means to lounge in bed past the point when it's time to get up. Originating in Scotland, the earliest reference is from an 1808 version of An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. While Hurkle means “to draw the body together,” the origins of Durkle and their combined use are less clear. Despite recent social media mentions, the term is not common in everyday speech.

Read more here: Do you Hurkle-Durkle? What the Scottish word taking over social media means and where it came from - "If you’re active on social media, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen this Scots word floating around."

Hustler:

To misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.

To sell or get by questionable or aggressive means.

To misrepresent one's skill in (a game or activity) in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.

Hybrid:

The offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock, especially the offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties, species, or races.

Something of mixed origin or composition, such as a word whose elements are derived from different languages.

Hybristophilia:

Hybristophilia "is a paraphilia in which sexual arousal, facilitation, and attainment of orgasm are responsive to and contingent upon being with a partner known to have committed an outrage, cheating, lying, known infidelities or crime, such as rape, murder, or armed robbery." In popular culture, this phenomenon is also known as "Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome".

Hygge:

A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).

Hymie:

Offensive Slang: used as a disparaging term for a Jew.

Hymn:

A song of praise or thanksgiving to God or a deity.

A song of praise or joy; a paean.

To praise, glorify, or worship in or as if in a Hymn.

Hype:

Media circus describes a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype. The term is meant to critique the media by comparing it to a circus and, as such, is an idiom and not an objective observation. Media hype, orgy and frenzy are similar terms used in reference to a critique of news and entertainment media.

Hype Cycle-:

The Hype Cycle is a branded graphical presentation developed and used by the American research, advisory and information technology firm Gartner to represent the maturity, adoption, and social application of specific technologies. The Hype Cycle claims to provide a graphical and conceptual presentation of the maturity of emerging technologies through five phases: 1) Technology Trigger; 2) Peak of Inflated Expectations; 3) Trough of Disillusionment; 4) Slope of Enlightenment; 5) Plateau of Productivity.

Read more here: 5 Trends Appear on the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2019 - "The Gartner Hype Cycle highlights the 29 emerging technologies CIOs should experiment with over the next year."

Hypebeast:

Hypebeast generally refers to a person who is devoted to acquiring fashionable items, especially clothing and shoes.

Hyper-:

A prefix that means excessive or excessively; over; above; beyond; existing in more than three dimensions (hyperspace); linked or arranged nonsequentially (hypertext).

Hyperbolically:

In an exaggerated manner.

Hyperinflation:

A level of inflation that is so extraordinarily high that paper money becomes worthless almost overnight. Under such conditions, with no recognizable store of value, it is virtually impossible to do business in conventional ways.

Hyperlink:

In computing, a Hyperlink (or link) is a reference to a document that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically.

Hypertext:

Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the underlying concept defining the structure of the World Wide Web, making it an easy-to-use and flexible format to share information over the Internet.

Hypnosis:

The words 'Hypnosis' and 'Hypnotism' both derive from the term "neuro-Hypnotism" (nervous sleep) coined by the Scottish physician and surgeon James Braid around 1841.

Hypnosis is a mental state (state theory) or set of attitudes (non-state theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a Hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a Hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be self-administered ("self-suggestion" or "autosuggestion").

Hypochondria:

The persistent conviction that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving symptoms when illness is neither present nor likely, and persisting despite reassurance and medical evidence to the contrary.

Hypocrisy:

The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Hypothesis:

A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.

Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption.

The antecedent of a conditional statement.

Hysteria:

State of violent mental agitation.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- I -

I Ching

The I Ching, or Classic of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics. Possessing a history of more than two and a half millennia of commentary and interpretation, the I Ching is an influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, psychoanalysis, business, literature, and art.

"I Walk the Walk, and Talk the Talk!"

Visit: Psalm 15:2.

"I Would Prefer Not To"

See: Bartleby, the Scrivener.

Iamb:

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long syllable, as in delay.

IATA or IATAN:

Short for: International Air Transport Association or International Airlines Travel Agency Network.

IBAN:

Short for: International Bank Account Number. IBAN is an international standard for identifying bank accounts across national borders.

See also: SWIFT.

IBC:

Short for: International Business Corporation.

In addition to its everyday usage, this term has a special meaning in the legislation of Antigua, Bahamas (highly recommended!), Barbados, Grenada and St. Vincent and refers to companies registered in a foreign country that can conduct business anywhere in the world, except for the country it is registered in.

An IBC also requires a minimum of only one Director instead of multiple director requirements. The Director may also serve as the Shareholder. (A Bahamian IBC only requires ONE Shareholder!).

Ibid.:

Ibid. (Latin, short for ibidem, meaning "in the same place") is the term used to provide an endnote or footnote citation or reference for a source that was cited in the preceding endnote or footnote. This is similar in meaning to idem (meaning something that has been mentioned previously; the same), abbreviated Id., which is commonly used in legal citation. To find the Ibid. source, one must look at the reference preceding it. Ibid. may also be used in the Harvard (name-date) system for in-text references where there has been a close previous citation from the same source material. The previous reference should be immediately visible, e.g. within the same paragraph or page. Many academic publishers now prefer that "Ibid." should not be given in italics, as it is a commonly found term.

IBIT:

Short for: International Business and Investment Trust.

Ibsenism:

The dramatic practice or purpose characteristic of the writings of Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Norwegian poet and dramatist, whose best-known plays deal with conventional hypocrisies, the story in each play thus developing a definite moral problem.

IC Codes:

IC Codes are shorthand terms used by the British police in radio communications to describe the apparent ethnicity of a suspect. The codes are based on a police officer's perceived view of an individual's ethnicity, as opposed to that individual's self-definition.

In most circumstances where an individual's ethnicity is recorded after spoken contact with police (such as a "Stop and Search" or arrest), police are required to use a different set of codes called SDE (Self Defined Ethnicity), or "16 + 1".

The IC codes are: IC1 – White European; IC2 – Dark European; IC3 – Afro-Caribbean; IC4 – Asian (in the British sense - ie. Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani); IC5 – Oriental; IC6 – Arab/North African; IC7 - unknown ethnicity; IC0 – Unknown ethnicity.

ICC:

Short for: International Chamber of Commerce, a Paris-based organization that acts as the international forum for national chambers of commerce. The ICC also acts as an arbitrator in many international trade disputes.

ICC Card:

Short for: Integrated Circuit Card.

See: smart card.

Iceberg House:

An Iceberg House is a house with a multi-story basement - primarily in Britain's wealthiest areas, such as the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea.

Iceberg Theory:

The Iceberg Theory (sometimes known as the "theory of omission") is a style of writing (turned colloquialism) coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway. As a young journalist, Hemingway had to focus his newspaper reports on immediate events, with very little context or interpretation. When he became a writer of short stories, he retained this minimalistic style, focusing on surface elements without explicitly discussing underlying themes. Hemingway believed the deeper meaning of a story should not be evident on the surface, but should shine through implicitly. Critics such as Jackson Benson claim that the Iceberg Theory, along with Hemingway's distinctive clarity of style, functioned to distance himself from the characters he created.

ICE Train:

Short for: InterCityExpress, a high-speed train.

Icing on the Cake:

An additional benefit to something already good; an extra enhancement.

Icon:

An image; a representation.

A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated in the Eastern Church.

An important and enduring symbol: "Voyager will take its place ... alongside such Icons of airborne adventure as The Spirit of St. Louis,

One who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol: "He is ... a pop Icon designed and manufactured for the video generation".

Computer Science: a picture on a screen that represents a specific file, directory, window, option, or program.

Iconoclast:

One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions.

One who destroys sacred religious images.

ICYMI:

Short for: In Case You Missed It. It's what people say - or type, rather - when they want to point you in the direction of something interesting or enlightening that's available for your perusal online - In Case You Missed It.

ID:

Short for: Identification Document. An identity document (also called a piece of identification or ID) is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card (IC). In some countries the possession of a government-produced identity card is compulsory while in others it may be voluntary. In countries which do not have formal identity documents, informal ones may in some circumstances be required.

IDA:

Short for: Irish Development Authority.

Idea:

Something, such as a thought or conception, that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity.

A plan, scheme, or method; a notion; a fancy; an opinion, conviction, or principle.

Ideal:

A conception of something in its absolute perfection.

An honorable or worthy principle or aim.

Idealist:

One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations.

Idée Fixe (psychology):

An Idée Fixe is a preoccupation of mind believed to be firmly resistant to any attempt to modify it, a fixation.

Idem:

Id. (masculine and neuter) and ead. (feminine) (Latin, short for idem and eadem, "the same") denote the previously cited source (compare ibid.). Id. is particularly used in legal citations. They are also used in academic citations replacing the name of a repeated author.

Idem Velle Atque Idem Nolle:

Latin: The same likings and the same aversions.

Identification (information):

The function of Identification is to map a known quantity to an unknown entity so as to make it known. The known quantity is called the identifier (or Id) and the unknown entity is what needs identification. A basic requirement for identification is that the Id be unique. Ids may be scoped, that is, they are unique only within a particular scope. Ids may also be built out of a collection of quantities such that they are unique on the collective.

Identity:

The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known.

The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group.

The quality or condition of being the same as something else.

The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting ; individuality.

Information, such as an identification number, used to establish or prove a person's individuality, as in providing access to a credit account.

Identity Politics:

Identity Politics is a political approach and analysis based on people prioritizing the concerns most relevant to their particular racial, religious, ethnic, sexual, social, cultural or other identity, and forming exclusive political alliances with others of this group, instead of engaging in more traditional, broad-based party politics. Those who prioritize their particular type of Identity Politics may promote their group's interests without regard for the interests of larger, more diverse political groups.

Identity Theft:

The co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge.

Law: the crime of setting up and using bank accounts and credit facilities fraudulently in another person's name without his or her knowledge.

Ideogram:

An Ideogram or Ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. Some Ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms.

Ideolect:

Idiolect is an individual's distinctive and unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Idiolect is the variety of language unique to an individual. This differs from a dialect, a common set of linguistic characteristics shared among some group of people.

Ideology:

The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture.

A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.

Ides of March:

The Ides of March was a day in the Roman calendar that corresponds to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable for the Romans as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.

iDevice:

iDevice is an unofficial term broadly used for mobile or portable devices manufactured by Apple Inc. The device name starts with the "i" and uses the iOS operating system.

Idiom:

An Idiom (Latin: Idioma, "special property", from Greek: Idioma, "special phrasing", from Greek: Idios, "one’s own") is an expression, word, or phrase that has figurative meaning - its implication comprehended only through common use; whereas the literal definition of the Idiom, itself, does not communicate its meaning as a figurative usage.

Idiom Blend:

Example: It’s not rocket science + It’s not brain surgery = It’s not rocket surgery.

Idiopathic:

Of, relating to, or designating a disease or condition having no known cause.

Idiosyncrasy:

An Idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses). It also means odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity.

Idiot Card:

A large card that shows people on television what to say.

Idle Capacity:

Industrial Capacity that is lying idle for some reason, such as a shortage of Raw Materials or , or a lack of orders.

Idol:

An image used as an object of worship; a false god.

One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.

Idyl:

A short poem or prose piece depicting a rural or pastoral scene, usually in idealized terms; a narrative poem treating an epic or romantic theme.

A scene or event of a simple and tranquil nature.

A carefree episode or experience; a romantic interlude.

i.e.:

Abbr. Latin: id est (that is).

IED:

Short for: Improvised Explosive Device. An IED is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. One may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery round, attached to a detonating mechanism.

IEEE 802.11:

IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards carrying out wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands.

If I Tell You, I'll Have to Kill You:

A sarcastic business phrase used in the industry, it's meant to be funny. Basically, it means that someone knows something of a proprietary nature (about a new product or business plan, for example) that is so secret, they can't tell anyone.

Original variation: "But that's another story for another time." A cool, fancy way of saying, "I could tell you about this, but I won't because it's not really that related to what I'm telling you about now." Used quite often in the book, "The Neverending Story", and also in the movies based off of it and the cartoon series based off of the movies. It's basically one of those phrases that everyone yearns to find a good opportunity to say, like "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you", or "I'll be back...WITH WEAPONS!"

Another variation: "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." A mob-like expression for the phrase "You will die if you hear my secret".

I could tell you but I'd have to kill you - YouTube.

Acronym: IITYWIMIWHTKY.

If It Ain't Broke ...:

If there is no evidence of a real problem, and fixing the "problem" would not effectively improve Wikipedia, then don't waste time and energy (yours or anybody else's) trying to fix it.

If The Mountain Won't Come to Muhammad (Proverb):

If The Mountain Won't Come to Muhammad - meaning: If one cannot get one's own way, one must bow to the inevitable.

If You Can't Stand the Heat, Get Out of the Kitchen:

(Saying): used as a way to ?tell someone that they should either ?stop ?complaining about a ?difficult or ?unpleasant ?activity, or ?stop doing it.

If You Know, You Know (IYKYK):

The abbreviation IYKYK stands for the phrase If You Know, You Know. It is used after a statement or some form of content as a way of indicating that it is an inside joke or a reference to something only a select group of people know and understand.

It may be used alongside inside jokes, innuendos, obscure references, memes, seemingly innocent photos, and many other types of content that are directed at people who understand the joke or reference being made.

IFC:

Short for: International Finance Company.

IFTTT:

IFTTT is a web-based service that allows users to create chains of simple conditional statements, called "recipes", which are triggered based on changes to other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and Craigslist. IFTTT is an abbreviation of "If This Then That" (pronounced like "gift" without the "g").

Igloo:

An Inuit or Eskimo dwelling, especially a dome-shaped winter dwelling built of blocks of packed snow.

A dome-shaped structure or building.

Ignoramus:

An ignorant person; fool.

IGO:

Short for: InterGovernmental Organizations, also known as international governmental organizations (IGOs): the type of organization most closely associated with the term 'international organization', these are organizations that are made up primarily of sovereign states (referred to as member states).

IHC:

Short for: Intelligent Home Control. IHC is a building automation system using a star configured topology with wires to each device.

IJBOL:

What Is IJBOL? - A Korean word? A new boy band? This new acronym is replacing LOL and ROFL on social media.

Though it may sound like a Korean word or the name of a new boy band, IJBOL (pronounced “eej-bowl”) actually stands for “I Just Burst Out Laughing.”

Il Capo dei Tutti Capi:

Il Capo dei Tutti Capi or capo dei capi, often referred to as the Godfather in English, is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization.

Il Dolce Far Niente:

Italian saying meaning: the pleasure of doing nothing.

Il Punto di Fuga:

Italian for: vanishing point; perspective.

Illusion:

An erroneous perception of reality; an erroneous concept or belief.

Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.

Illusory Truth Effect:

The Illusory Truth Effect (also known as the validity effect, truth effect or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe information to be correct after repeated exposure. This phenomenon was first identified in a 1977 study at Villanova University and Temple University. When truth is assessed, people rely on whether the information is in line with their understanding or if it feels familiar. The first condition is logical as people compare new information with what they already know to be true. Repetition makes statements easier to process relative to new, unrepeated, statements, leading people believe that the repeated conclusion is more truthful. The Illusory Truth Effect has also been linked to "hindsight bias", in which the recollection of confidence is skewed after the truth has been received.

The Illusory Truth Effect plays a significant role in such fields as election campaigns, advertising, news media, and political propaganda.

IM:

Short for: instant messaging.

Image:

An Image (from Latin: imago) is an artifact that depicts or records visual perception, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject–usually a physical object or a person, thus providing a depiction of it.

A physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.

The character projected to the public, as by a person or institution, especially as interpreted by the mass media.

Image Macro:

In Internet culture, an Image Macro is an image superimposed with text for humorous effect.

Computer Science: an exact replica of the contents of a storage device, such as a hard disk, stored on a second storage device, such as a network server.

Image Stitching:

Image Stitching or photo stitching is the process of combining multiple photographic images with overlapping fields of view to produce a segmented panorama or high-resolution image. Commonly performed through the use of computer software, most approaches to image stitching require nearly exact overlaps between images and identical exposures to produce seamless results.

Imaginary Number:

An Imaginary Number is a number that can be written as a real number multiplied by the imaginary unit i.

IMEI:

The International Mobile Station Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify 3GPP (i.e., GSM, UMTS and LTE) and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone, but can also be displayed on-screen on most phones by entering *#06# on the dialpad, or alongside other system information in the settings menu on smartphone operating systems.

The IMEI number is used by a GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore can be used for stopping a stolen phone from accessing that network. For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network provider and instruct them to "blacklist" the phone using its IMEI number. This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks too, whether or not the phone's SIM is changed.

The IMEI is only used for identifying the device and has no permanent or semi-permanent relation to the subscriber. Instead, the subscriber is identified by transmission of an IMSI number, which is stored on a SIM card that can (in theory) be transferred to any handset. However, many network and security features are enabled by knowing the current device being used by a subscriber.

IMF:

Short for: International Monetary Fund.

An International Monetary Fund aims to promote international monetary cooperation and currency stabilization and expansion of international trade. The IMF was designed to enable to enable member countries to borrow from each other in order to iron out irregularities in their exchange rates and reserves. Countries are required to meet strict economic and financial conditions if they want to become borrowers.

IMing:

Instant Messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text. The text is conveyed via devices connected over a network such as the Internet.

Imitate:

To use or follow as a model.

To copy exactly; reproduce; to appear like; resemble.

Imitation:

Something derived or copied from an original.

Immaterial:

Of no importance or relevance; inconsequential or irrelevant.

Having no material body or form.

Immigration:

Immigration is people or animals moving and settling in a country or region to which they are not native. Immigration is made for many reasons, including temperature, breeding, economic, political, family re-unification, natural disaster, poverty or the wish to change one's surroundings voluntarily.

Immolation:

Killing or offering as a sacrifice.

To kill (oneself) by fire.

See also: suttee.

Immune:

Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.

Not affected by a given influence; unresponsive.

Immune System:

An Immune System is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. Detection is complicated as pathogens can evolve rapidly, producing adaptations that avoid the Immune System and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts.

Immunity:

Exemption from legal prosecution, often granted a witness in exchange for self-incriminating testimony.

Impact Factor:

The Impact Factor is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher Impact Factors deemed to be more important than those with lower ones. The Impact Factor was devised by Eugene Garfield, the founder of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), now part of Thomson Reuters.

Impact Investing:

Impact Investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return." Impact Investments provide capital to address social and/or environmental issues. They can be made in either emerging or developed markets, and depending on the goals of the investors, can "target a range of returns from below-market to above-market rates". Impact Investors actively seek to place capital in businesses, nonprofits, and funds in industries such as renewable energy, basic services including housing, healthcare, and education, micro-finance, and sustainable agriculture. Impact Investing occurs across asset classes; for example, private equity/venture capital, debt, and fixed income.

Impact Partner:

Impact Partnerships are a specific type of multi-sector partnership, designed to create clear and meaningful impact towards a social or environmental goal. The partnerships set clear outcomes, have a transparent division of labour, they have a mechanism for taking stock, adapting and learning.

Impasse:

A road or passage having no exit; a cul-de-sac.

A situation that is so difficult that no progress can be made; a deadlock or a stalemate.

Impeach:

To make an accusation against.

To charge (a public official) with improper conduct in office before a proper tribunal.

Impeachment:

When an irate citizen demands that a disfavored public official be impeached, the citizen clearly intends for the official to be removed from office. This popular use of impeach as a synonym of "throw out" (even if by due process) does not accord with the legal meaning of the word.

Impetus:

A force that moves something along.

Imports:

Goods or services that are bought by someone or some organization in a country other than the one in which they are produced.

Impostor Syndrome:

Impostor Syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a concept describing individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud". The term was coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Despite external evidence of their competence, those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they really are. While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, Impostor Syndrome has been found to affect both men and women, in roughly equal numbers.

Read also: 'How I deal with having impostor syndrome' - "Michelle Obama's remarks about Impostor Syndrome - a term used to describe feelings of insecurity or self-doubt, despite there being no evidence to support such a belief - have inspired others to share their experiences."

Impresario:

One who sponsors or produces entertainment, especially the director of an opera company.

A manager; a producer.

Impression:

An effect, feeling, or image retained as a consequence of experience.

A vague notion, remembrance, or belief.

Imprimatur:

Official approval or license to print or publish, especially under conditions of censorship.

Imprint:

An Imprint of a publisher is a trade name under which a work is published. A single publishing company may have multiple imprints, with the different imprints often used by the publisher to market works to different demographic consumer segments.

Impromptu:

Prompted by the occasion rather than being planned in advance; spoken, performed, done, or composed with little or no preparation; extemporaneous.

Improvisation:

Improvisation is the practice of acting, dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, talking, creating artworks, problem solving, or reacting in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or new ways to act. This invention cycle occurs most effectively when the practitioner has a thorough intuitive and technical understanding of the necessary skills and concerns within the improvised domain. Improvisation can be thought of as an "on the spot" or "off the cuff" spontaneous activity.

Improvise:

To invent, compose, or perform with little or no preparation.

To play or sing (music) extemporaneously, especially by inventing variations on a melody or creating new melodies in accordance with a set progression of chords.

To make or provide from available materials.

Impulse Buying:

The purchase of goods on impulse; buying something because it has been seen in a shop window rather than because of a predetermined need for it. We buy chocolates on impulse; but rarely diamonds.

IMSI-Catcher:

An IMSI Catcher (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) is a telephony eavesdropping device used for intercepting mobile phone traffic and tracking movement of mobile phone users. Essentially a "fake" mobile tower acting between the target mobile phone(s) and the service provider's real towers, it is considered a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, and is usually undetectable for the users of mobile phones. IMSI catchers are used in some countries by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but based upon civil liberty and privacy concerns, their use is illegal in others. Some countries do not even have encrypted phone data traffic (or very weak encryption) rendering an IMSI Catcher unnecessary.

In Absentia:

While absent; although absent; "he was sentenced In Absentia."

In Effigie:

In (the form of) an image.

In Extenso:

(Latin): at full length.

In Extremis:

Literary & Literary Critical Terms: in extremity; in dire straits; at the point of death.

In Flagrante Delicto:

Medieval Latin: "while the crime is blazing".

In the very act of committing a misdeed; red-handed.

In the midst of sexual activity.

In for a Penny, In for a Pound:

Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound (pound sterling, UK currency) as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity.

Proverb: having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; means that when gambling or taking a chance, you might as well go the whole way and take all the risks, not just some.

In-House:

Within the company or organization. Doing something In-House means that it is being done by somebody on the company's payroll rather than by an outsider. The opposite of outsourcing.

In Lieu of:

Translation: In place of; instead of.

In Like Flynn:

"In Like Flynn" is a slang phrase meaning "having quickly or easily achieved a goal or gained access as desired". In addition to its general use, the phrase is sometimes used to describe success in sexual seduction, and its folk etymology often asserts the phrase has sexual origins.

In Memoriam:

In memory of; as a memorial to. Used especially in epitaphs.

In Mente:

To have in mind.

In Mint Condition:

In perfect condition; as if new.

In Play:

An expression used to refer to a quoted company that is known to be vulnerable to a contested takeover.

In Propria Persona:

In his or her own person.

In Sensu Eminentiori:

In a more emphatic sense.

In Specie:

(Of money) in coin; in kind.

Law: in the actual form specified.

In Toto:

From Latin: ompletely; on the whole.

In Vino Veritas:

A well-known Latin phrase. It means "in wine [there is the] truth". The author of the Latin phrase is Pliny the Elder.

In Vitro:

Studies that are In Vitro (Latin: in glass; often not italicized in English) are performed with cells or biological molecules studied outside their normal biological context; for example proteins are examined in solution, or cells in artificial culture medium. Colloquially called "test tube experiments", these studies in biology and its sub-disciplines are traditionally done in test-tubes, flasks, petri dishes etc.

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF):

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass").

Inamorata:

A person's female lover.

Incarnation:

Christianity: the doctrine that the Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary and that Jesus is true God and true man.

One who is believed to personify a given abstract quality or idea.

A period of time passed in a given bodily form or condition.

Incel:

Incel aka "involuntarily celibate", a person (usually male) who has a horrible personality and treats women like sexual objects and thinks his lack of a sex life comes from being "ugly" when its really just his blatant sexism and terrible attitude.

Read also: The Incel (Involuntary Celibacy) Problem - Psychology Today.

Incentive:

A promised reward that motivates an employee to work harder and be more productive. An incentive bonus is a payment made for production that is in excess of an agreed amount.

Incognito:

With one's identity disguised or concealed.

Income:

The monetary reward that comes from the productive use of land, labor and / or capital.

Income Statement:

Called the profit and loss account in the UK, this is the US term for the accounting statement that shows an organization's revenue and its costs over a period (usually the organizations's financial year), and its resulting profit or loss.

Income Tax:

A tax imposed on individuals or businesses and calculated as a proportion of their income. For most governments it is the largest revenue-earner of all taxes.

Incommunicado:

Without the means or right to communicate.

Incorporation Haven:

An Incorporation Haven is a country, such as Liberia and Marshall Islands, which has no infrastructure of local attorneys or accountants. It is simply in the business of registering corporations and ships. There are no other services offered and the tax haven clientele never goes there. The registration of new companies is carried out by represenative offices in New York, Zurich, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rotterdam and Piraeus, in the case of Liberia and Marshall Islands.

Incorporator:

An Incorporator is the person who signs the articles of incorporation. Incorporators may have personal liability for false statements contained in the articles of incorporation.

Incorporation:

The process of obtaining the approval of the authorities to organize and run a corporation. In the United States an organization that is incorporated must include the letters Inc after its name.

Incubation:

Medicine: the development of an infection from the time the pathogen enters the body until signs or symptoms first appear.

Incubus:

An Incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to engage in sexual activity with them. Its female counterpart is the succubus. Superstitious folk have for many centuries told salacious tales of Incubi and succubi, and Genesis 6 is a passage used to support the credibility of such stories. These terms remain current among heavy metal bands and occult groups today. Some traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with an Incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, or even death. Yet, "the existence of Incubi and succubi cannot be claimed as part of sound Christian tradition".

Indecent Luxury:

"Art Deco and its time line of 1910-1939 appealed to a generation filled with nostalgia for the perceived opulence and abondon of their parents' or grandparents' lives. It was a period that, during the austere rule of modernism, had been treated with utmost disdain and viewed in pejorative terms as 'Indecent Luxury'. Nowhere was the art deco revival more popular than among the Paris fashion crowd, who yearned for nothing more than that their lived be characterised by just such Indecent Luxury. The '60s rock'n'roll era was replaced by a kind of nostalgia for the cream interior of a Rolls-Royce'." - excerpt from the book by Alicia Drake The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris, page 90 - Amazon.com.

Indemnity:

Indemnity means to reimburse or compensate. Many corporate directors and officers will require that they be reimbursed for all cost, expenses, and liability which they incur while acting on behalf of the corporation.

Index:

Something that serves to guide, point out, or otherwise facilitate reference.

A way of comparing disparate things (often their prices) related to an earlier base period, which is often given the value of 100. The things may be consumer goods (as in the consumer price index) or stocks and shares (as in the stockmarket index).

Indexation:

The process of linking the cost or price of something to an index. Wages that move in line with the consumer price index (to enable them to take account of generally rising prices, that is, inflation) are said to be indexed.

India Syndrome:

India Syndrome is defined as the delusional behaviour which “hits people from developed Western countries who are looking for a cultural space that is pure and exotic, where real values have been preserved”. This syndrome was first defined and described by a staff psychiatrist of the French Consulate in Mumbai, Regis Airault who even wrote a book about his own experience with this syndrome. The book was named Fous de l'Inde, which translates to “Crazy About India”. Unlike other conditions and syndrome, a person affected by the India Syndrome feels delusional and starts believing that he/she has been reincarnated by a saint or has been blessed with some superhuman powers. It does not just end here and some people affected by this syndrome have also claimed that they are able to recollect their past lives and have activated their third eye.

Read also: India Syndrome: A Country’s Culture That Deranges The Visitor - "Read along to know that how a India’s rich culture deranges the visitors and all about the India Syndrome."

See also: Jerusalem syndrome, Paris syndrome & Stendhal syndrome.

Indian Summer:

Earth Sciences / Physical Geography: a period of mild weather occurring in late autumn.

A pleasant, tranquil, or flourishing period occurring near the end of something; a period of ease and tranquillity or of renewed productivity towards the end of a person's life or of an epoch.

Indicator Value:

Indicator Value is a term that has been used in ecology for two different indices. The older usage of the term refers to Ellenberg's indicator values, which are based on a simple ordinal classification of plants according to the position of their realized ecological niche along an environmental gradient. More recently, the term has also been used to refer to Dufrêne & Legendre's indicator value, which is a quantitative index that measures the statistical alliance of a species to any one of the classes in a classification of sites.

Indictment:

Law: a written statement charging a party with the commission of a crime or other offense, drawn up by a prosecuting attorney and found and presented by a grand jury.

Indie:

Short for: Independent.

One, such as a studio or producer, that is unaffiliated with a larger or more commercial organization.

An artistic work produced by an independent company or group.

Indirect Cost:

The costs involved in manufacturing or in providing a service which cannot be attributed to a particular product or service. The cost of the electricity required to heat a company's headquarters, or the premiums paid to insure factories against fire damage, are both examples of indirect costs. An indirect cost is also known as an overhead.

Indirect Taxation:

A tax that is not imposed directly on an individual or organization. For example, VAT in Europe or sales tax in the US, which are levied on the turnover of a product. Also customs duty, which is an ad valorem tax on imported goods.

Individual:

A single human considered apart from a society or community.

A human regarded as a unique personality.

A member of a collection or set; a specimen.

Indochina:

A peninsula of southeast Asia comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and the mainland territory of Malaysia. The area was influenced in early times by India (particularly the Hindu culture) and China.

Indoctrination:

Teaching someone to accept doctrines uncritically.

Indra's Net:

Indra's Net is an infinitely large net of cords owned by the Vedic deva Indra, which hangs over his palace on Mount Meru, the axis mundi of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. In this metaphor, Indra's Net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in all of the other jewels.

Douglas Hofstadter uses Indra's Net as a metaphor for the complex interconnected networks formed by relationships between objects in a system - including social networks, the interactions of particles, and the "symbols" that stand for ideas in a brain or intelligent computer.

Induction:

A formalised way of introducing someone to a new place of work. An Induction course can include lectures about the history of the company, a guided tour of its premises and visits to customers.

Inductive Coupling:

In electrical engineering, two conductors are referred to as mutual-inductively coupled or magnetically coupled when they are configured such that change in current flow through one wire induces a voltage across the ends of the other wire through electromagnetic induction.

Indulgence:

Roman Catholic Church: Indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved.

Industrial Espionage:

Industrial Espionage or corporate espionage is espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of national security purposes.

Industrial Relations:

The relations between employers, employees, trade unions and government.

Industrial Robot:

An Industrial Robot is officially defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes.

Industrialization:

The process of becoming an economy that is based on industry: one with a large number of factories involved in manufacturing goods.

Industry:

A sector of the business world, such as manufacturing Industry or the steel Industry. Also all these sectors taken together.

The people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise.

Inertia:

The tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force.

Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.

Infante or Infanta:

Infante (masculine) or Infanta (feminine), also anglicised as infant, was the title and rank given in the European kingdoms of Spain (includings the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre and León) and Portugal to a son or daughter of the king, or to a grandson or granddaughter in the male line of a reigning monarch (and also to a princess's children if she was the heir apparent to the throne). Female consorts of princes of the blood when married automatically gained the title Infanta, while male consorts did not have an inherent right to the title, style and rank of Infante upon marriage to a princess of the blood.

Infantry Square:

Historically an Infantry Square, also known as a hollow square, is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order usually when threatened with cavalry attack. With the development of modern firearms and the demise of cavalry this formation is now considered obsolete.

Infection:

Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.

Moral contamination or corruption; ready communication of an emotion or attitude by contact or example.

Computers: to become transmitted to and copied on (a hard drive, for example). Used of a virus or other harmful software.

Inferno:

Any place of pain and turmoil.

Christianity: the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment.

Infinity Pool:

An Infinity Edge Pool (also named negative edge, zero edge, disappearing edge or vanishing edge pool) is a swimming or reflecting pool which produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon, vanishing, or extending to "infinity".

Infix:

An Infix is an affix inserted inside a stem (an existing word). It contrasts with adfix, a rare term for an affix attached to the end of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.

Inflation:

An increase over time in the prices of goods and services. Inflation is usually measured by the consumer price index, a basket of the goods and services bought by the average householder.

Inflation Accounting:

A way of coping with inflation when preparing a company's accounts; a way of addressing the fact that the dollar that bought something at the beginning of the year is not worth the same as the dollar that it was sold for at the end of the year. On paper it could look as if there was no loss on the purchase and sale, but that would be misleading.

Influence:

A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort.

Power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position.

Influencer:

Individuals who have the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of their (real or perceived) authority, knowledge, position, social media or relationship. In consumer spending, members of a peer group or reference group act as Influencers. In business to business (organizational) buying, internal employees (engineers, managers, purchasers) or external consultants act as Influencers.

Infodemic:

Infodemic is an excessive amount of information about a problem, which is sometimes incorrect and can have a negative effect on finding a solution.

Infomercial:

A relatively long commercial in the format of a television program.

Informal:

Not formal or ceremonious; casual.

Not being in accord with prescribed regulations or forms; unofficial.

Suited for everyday wear or use.

Information:

Knowledge derived from study, experience, or instruction.

A collection of facts or data.

Information Overload:

Information Overload (also known as infobesity or infoxication) refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information. The term is popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock.

Information Technology:

The technologies that enables the rapid and widespread dissemination of information, essentially the technology of the computer and the telephone, and the interplay between them. Frequently abbreviated to IT.

Infotainment:

Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers." The term can also refer to the hardware/software products and systems which are built into, or can be added to vehicles in order to enhance driver and/or passenger experience. It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of information and entertainment. According to many dictionaries Infotainment is always television, and the term is "mainly disapproving." However, many self-described Infotainment websites exist, which provide a variety of functions and services, many of which include the several increasingly popular social media websites and applications being used daily by billions of users world wide.

Infrastructure:

The basic plant and services underpinning the operation of business or of a country.

Ingénue:

A naive, innocent girl or young woman.

INGO:

Short for: International Nongovernmental Organization. An INGO is a voluntary association of organizations or individuals for worldwide or regional action.

See also: NGO.

Inheritance:

Hereditary succession to a title or an office or property.

That which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner.

Initial:

Of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.

The first letter of a proper name.

To mark or sign with Initials, especially for purposes of authorization or approval.

Initialism:

An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a signphrase (e.g., IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for TriNitroToluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for ExtraSensory Perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.

Initiate:

To set going by taking the first step; begin.

To introduce to a new field, interest, skill, or activity.

To admit into membership, as with ceremonies or ritual.

Injunction:

A legal measure to restrain someone from doing something on the grounds that it may, for example, cause injury or inequity.

Inn:

A public lodging house serving food and drink to travelers; a hotel; a tavern or restaurant.

Chiefly British: formerly, a residence hall for students, especially law students, in London.

Inner Ring:

It describes our common desire to be accepted within the “Inner Ring” of whatever group matters to us at the time. To feel “excluded” or “out of it” is miserable. Yet the desire to be “in” can make you say things you would not otherwise say or not say things you should say. This desire to be on the inside of whatever group you aspire to join can affect your relationships at work, in the community, and in the church or elite clubs - exclusive groups holding real power and influence.

Read also: Why We Crave Joining Exclusive Groups & Exclusion and Inclusion: The Inner Ring.

Inning:

Baseball: one of nine divisions or periods of a regulation game, in which each team has a turn at bat as limited by three outs.

Cricket: the division or period of a cricket game during which one team is at bat.

Innovation:

The addition of new elements to products and services, or to the methods of producing and marketing them. Innovation is a continuous process of adding improvements at the margin. It is not the same invention, which involves an element of sudden and dramatic discovery.

Innovator:

To begin or introduce (something new) for or as if for the first time.

Innuendo:

An Innuendo is an insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or a derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion. In the latter sense the intention is often to insult or accuse someone in such a way that one's words, taken literally, are innocent.

Input:

Something put into a system or expended in its operation to achieve output or a result.

Contribution of information or a comment or viewpoint.

INR:

Short for: The State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (U.S.A.).

I.N.R.I.:

An acronym of the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM (Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), which translates to English as "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

Inside Information:

Information which is received because the recipient is in a privileged position. Thus an investment banker working on a takeover will know about it before the general public, and so will the directors of the company doing the taking over. They would all be deemed to be in possession of Inside Information.

Inside Track:

An advantageous position, as in a competition.

Insider:

An accepted member of a group.

A person who is in possession of inside information.

Insider Dealing:

Dealing in stocks and shares on the basis of inside information. In many developed countries this is illegal. Although hard to prove, a few people have served time in prison for it.

Insider Information:

Important facts about the conditions or plans of a corporation that have not been released to the general public.

Insight:

The capacity to discern the true nature of a situation; penetration.

The act or outcome of grasping the inward or hidden nature of things or of perceiving in an intuitive manner.

Insignia:

A badge of office, rank, membership, or nationality; an emblem.

A distinguishing sign.

Insolvency:

The state of a company that is unable to pay its debts on time. If the company can manage to reschedule its debts before any of its debtors press their claims through the courts, it may avoid going into liquidation.

Inspiration:

Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.

An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention.

Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.

Installation Art:

Art that is created for a specific site, often incorporating materials or physical features of the site.

Installment Credit:

A loan provided for the purchase of consumer goods which is repaid in a number of regular equal instalments over an agreed period of time.

Instant Messaging:

Instant Messaging (IM) is a form of real-time direct text-based communication between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet. More advanced Instant Messaging software clients also allow enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice or video calling.

IM falls under the umbrella term online chat, as it is a real-time text-based networked communication system, but is distinct in that it is based on clients that facilitate connections between specified known users (often using "Buddy List", "Friend List" or "Contact List"), whereas online 'chat' also includes web-based applications that allow communication between (often anonymous) users in a multi-user environment.

Instant Messaging services: AIM, eBuddy, Facebook, ICQ, Skype, Tencent QQ, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger.

Instinct:

An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli.

A powerful motivation or impulse.

Institute:

An organization founded to promote a cause.

To establish, organize, and set in operation.

An educational institution, especially one for the instruction of technical subjects; the building or buildings housing such an institution.

Institution:

A custom, practice, relationship, or behavioral pattern of importance in the life of a community or society.

Informal: one long associated with a specified place, position, or function.

An established organization or foundation, especially one dedicated to education, public service, or culture.

The building or buildings housing such an organization.

A place for the care of persons who are destitute, disabled, or mentally ill.

Institutional Investors:

Any organization that trades securities in large volumes over a long period of time; for example, pension funds, insurance companies and investment banks. The market behaviour of institutional investors is very different from that of retail investors.

Instruction:

A message describing how something is to be done.

Computing: a part of a program consisting of a coded command to the computer to perform a specified function.

Instrument:

A means by which something is done; an agency.

A legal document, such as a deed, will, mortgage, or insurance policy.

A device that requires skill for proper use.

Insurance:

A contract between one party (the insurer) and another (the insured) in which the insurer agrees to reimburse the insured for defined losses over a defined period of time. This is called casualty insurance to differentiate it from life assurance.

Insurance Premium:

A payment made to obtain insurance.

Intangible Asset:

A business asset which cannot be kicket, such as goodwill, a brand name, or the inventiveness of a company's R&D department. Intangibles obviously have considerable value, but it is hard for an accountant to put a number on it.

Integer:

Mathematics: a member of the set of positive whole numbers {1, 2, 3, . . . }, negative whole numbers {-1, -2, -3, . . . }, and zero {0}; a complete unit or entity.

Integration:

The bringing of people of different racial or ethnic groups into unrestricted and equal association, as in society or an organization; desegregation.

The act of combining or adding parts to make a unified whole.

Integrity:

Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

Intellect:

The ability to learn and reason; the capacity for knowledge and understanding; The ability to think abstractly or profoundly.

A person of great intellectual ability.

Intellectual:

A person of superior intellect.

A person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher.

Intellectual Property:

Ownership conferring right to possess, use or dispose of products created by human ingenuity, including patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Visit IPR for examples of confidentiality and intellectual property rights agreements.

Intelligence:

The ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience.

News.

Secret information, especially about an actual or potential enemy.

Intelligent Design:

Intelligent Design is the assertion that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a modern form of the traditional teleological argument for the existence of God that avoids specifying the nature or identity of the designer.

Intelligentsia:

The intellectual elite of a society.

Inter Alia:

Latin for: among other things.

Inter Alios:

(Law): among other people.

Inter-Company Pricing:

Tax havens may be used for the purpose of Inter-Company Pricing in a number of ways. In the first place, a manufactoring company located in a high tax jurisdiction could effect sales to a related company in a tax haven jurisdiction at cost or at prices involving a very small profit margin; the tax haven company could then in turn sell the goods to one or more related marketing companies in high tax jurisdictions at high prices which would produce a low profit in the hands of the latter company or companies. A variation of this technique would involve selling to unrelated marketing companies at arm’s length prices, the primary object of the exercise still being achieved since the manufacturing company would have avoided taxation on the real profits that would otherwise have accrued to it.

Secondly, raw materials or goods or components manufactured at a very low cost abroad, could be purchased by a company and then sold to a related company in a high tax jurisdiction at high prices which would give the latter company a substantially lower profit than if purchases had been effected directly.

Often Inter-Company Pricing takes place by companies merely passing invoices without the subject matter of the sale actually being transferred to or by the intermediary company.

Inter Vivos:

Inter Vivos (Latin, between the living) is a legal term referring to a transfer or gift made during one's lifetime, as opposed to a testamentary transfer (a gift that takes effect on death) under the subject of trust.

Interactive:

Any means of communication between two parties in which both parties can communicate simultaneously with each other. So the telephone is interactive, but the television is not (yet)

Interbank Market:

The Interbank Market is the top-level foreign exchange market where banks exchange different currencies. The banks can either deal with one another directly, or through electronic brokering platforms. The Electronic Brokering Services (EBS) and Reuters Dealing 3000 Matching are the two competitors in the electronic brokering platform business and together connect over 1000 banks. The currencies of most developed countries have floating exchange rates. These currencies do not have fixed values but, rather, values that fluctuate relative to other currencies.

Interbank Rate:

The rate of interest that banks charge each other for borrowing and lending money among themselves.

Intercom:

An electronic intercommunication system, as between two rooms.

Interest:

A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to something.

The cost of borrowing money.

Interest Cover:

The number of times a company can cover (out of profits) the cost of the interest payments it has to make on loans. In other words, profit over the year (before interest and tax) divided by the amount of interest paid out over the same period. The lower the interest cover, the lower is the likelihood that a company will be able to pay its shareholders a dividend.

Interest In Possession Trust | IIP:

An Interest In Possession Trust is a form of legal arrangement which gives a person a "present right to the present enjoyment of something". At least one of the beneficiaries of this type of trust will have the right to receive the income generated by the trust (if trust funds are invested) or the right to enjoy the trust assets for the present time in another way, for example by living in a property owned by the trustees. The beneficiary with the right to enjoy the trust property for the time being is said to have an interest in possession and is colloquially described (though not always strictly accurately) as an income beneficiary.

Interest Rate:

The amount charged for borrowing money for a year, expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed.

Interest Rate Swap:

An agreement involving exchange of interest coupons at a fixed rate for coupons at a floating rate. Both parties' liabilities under the swap are in the same currency and for an equal amount. Thus, there is no exchange of principal. Interest Swap transactions are arranged between entities, one of which wishes to reduce the cost of its floating rate obligation and/or to obtain other benefits and the other wishes to borrow fixed rate funds without recourse to the bond market.

Interface:

The hardware and software that lie between two computers and that allow them to communicate with each other. From this specialist meaning the word has come to be used for any bridge that connects things, people or ideas.

Interim:

An interval of time between one event, process, or period and another.

Interim Accounts:

Accounts produced somewhere between the beginning and the end of a company's financial year. Some stock exchanges demand that quoted companies produce interim accounts six months after their full-year accounts. Banks may demand that companies produce interim accounts to support a request for a loan.

Interim Dividend:

Part of a company's annual dividend that is paid in stages (usually six-monthly or three-monthly) during the year.

Interim Manager:

A manager who is employed by a company at a senior level for only a short period of time. An interim manager's job usually focuses on sorting out a particular problem or seeing through a particular strategy or course of action.

Interlude:

An intervening episode, feature, or period of time.

A short farcical entertainment performed between the acts of a medieval mystery or morality play; a 16th-century genre of comedy derived from this; an entertainment between the acts of a play.

Music: a short piece inserted between the parts of a longer composition.

Intermediary:

Any organization or individual that acts as a go-between.

Intermediate Goods:

Goods which lie somewhere on the production line between raw materials and finished products. Rolls of steel, for example, are intermediate goods in the manufacture of cars. Iron ore is the raw material; the car is the finished product.

Intermediate Technology:

Technology which is appropriate to the state of development of a country or an industry, particularly used with reference to developing countries that are not at the frontier of technical knowledge. For example, encouraging the use of handicraft skills and tools for the manufacture of furniture in central Africa, rather than investing in high-tech factories full of robots.

Intermediation:

The addition of new intermediaries into a business process.

Intermodal:

The use of several different modes of transport (road, rail, sea or air) to ship goods from one place to another.

Intern:

A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training.

Internal Funds:

Funds which a company generates from its own efforts. These are available to be paid out as dividends to shareholders or for investment. Compare with external funds.

Internal Rate of Return:

The rate at which a future cash flow has to be discounted to give an amount exactly equal to the investment in the project. If the internal rate of return (IRR) is higher than the interest that could be earned from leaving the money in a bank, than the project would appear to be a reasonable one.

International:

Anything that is carried on between two or more different nations.

International Financial Centers:

The term "International Financial Center" which is occasionally used - incorrectly - as a synonym for "tax havens", refers more correctly to centers such as London, Luxembourg, Paris, Singapore and Zurich. One of the important requirements of a successful International Financial Center is that international financial business transacted there should not be subject to inconvenient controls or withholding taxes.

International Man:

A person who extends traditional and national boundaries and customs.

International Tax Planning:

The object of International Tax Planning is to determine, from the tax point of view, whether or not to embark on a project; and, if it is embarked upon or has already been commenced, then to minimize or defer the imposition of the tax burden falling on taxable persons and events and to do so lawfully, in the attainment of the desired business and other objectives, while taking into consideration all relevant tax factors with particular regard to the danger of double taxation and the advantages which may be derived from the inter-relationship of two or more tax systems, and in the light of the material non-tax factors.

The role of tax havens in International Tax Planning lies in the possibility of situating a taxable person or a taxable event in a tax haven with a view to displacing the connecting factor with a high tax jurisdiction and thus permitting a modification in the incidence of tax.

Internet:

A worldwide network of interlinked computers "created" by Sir Tim Berners-Lee on March 13, 1989 that can be accessed by anybody with a personal computer and a modem. The Internet is used to disseminate information (via the World Wide Web messages (by e-mail), and to enable groups with common interests to communicate.

Internet Addiction Disorder:

Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), or, more broadly, Internet overuse, problematic computer use or pathological computer use, is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life.

Internet Bot:

Internet Bots, also known as web robots, WWW robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.

Internet Bubble:

The Internet Bubble of the late-1990s (peaking on March 10, 2000 with the NASDAQ peaking at 5132.52 in intraday trading before closing at 5048.62) is often considered a benchmark case of investors abandoning fundamentals in their search for the next big thing. As consumers flocked to the Internet, investors were afraid that not becoming involved would be a huge missed opportunity. Venture capital companies and speculators poured money into internet startups during the 1990s in the hope that those companies would one day become profitable.

Internet Marketing:

Online advertising, also called Internet advertising, uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing, social media marketing, many types of display advertising (including web banner advertising), and mobile advertising. Like other advertising media, online advertising frequently involves both a publisher, who integrates advertisements into its online content, and an advertiser, who provides the advertisements to be displayed on the publisher’s content. Other potential participants include advertising agencies who help generate and place the ad copy, an ad server who technologically delivers the ad and tracks statistics, and advertising affiliates who do independent promotional work for the advertiser.

Internet Meme:

The term Internet Meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of Memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.

Internet of Things | IoT:

The Internet of Things (or IoT for short) is the inclusion of electronics and software in any device not usually considered computerized in nature, to enable it to achieve greater value and service by giving it an ability to network and communicate with other devices. Each item is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing device but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure.

Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and applications. The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a Smart Grid.

Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters, automobiles with built-in sensors, or field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. Current market examples include smart thermostat systems and washer/dryers that utilize Wi-Fi for remote monitoring.

Besides the plethora of new application areas for Internet connected automation to expand into, IoT is also expected to generate large amounts of data from diverse locations that is aggregated at a very high-velocity, thereby increasing the need to better index, store and process such data.

Internet Shill:

See: cyber shill.

Internet Troll:

In Internet slang, a Troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion, often for their own amusement.

This sense of the word "Troll" and its associated verb trolling are associated with Internet discourse, but have been used more widely. Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. For example, mass media has used troll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families." In addition, depictions of trolling have been included in popular fictional works such as the HBO television program The Newsroom, in which a main character encounters harassing individuals online and tries to infiltrate their circles by posting negative sexual comments himself.

Interoception:

Interoception is contemporarily defined as the sense of the internal state of the body. This can be both conscious and non-conscious. It encompasses the brain's process of integrating signals relayed from the body into specific subregions - like the brainstem, thalamus, insula, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex - allowing for a nuanced representation of the physiological state of the body. This is important for maintaining homeostatic conditions in the body and, potentially, facilitating self-awareness.

Interpret:

To explain the meaning of.

To translate orally.

Intersex:

An Intersex human or other animal is one possessing any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". Such variations may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female.

Interval:

A space between two objects, points, or units.

A definite length of time marked off by two instants.

Intervention:

Any interference in the affairs of others, especially by one state in the affairs of another.

Law: to enter into a suit as a third party for one's own interests.

Interview:

A formal meeting in person, especially one arranged for the assessment of the qualifications of an applicant.

A conversation, such as one conducted by a reporter, in which facts or statements are elicited from another.

Intestate:

Without a valid will indicating whom to leave one's estate to after death.

Not devised or bequeathed; not disposed of by will.

Intra Muros:

Within the walls, as of a city.

Intranet:

A network of computer links set up within an organization to enable the members of that organization to communicate (exclusively) with each other. An Intranet may also have a link to the internet and the outside world.

Intrigue:

A secret or underhand scheme; a plot.

A clandestine love affair.

Introduction:

The act or process of introducing or the state of being introduced.

A means, such as a personal letter, of presenting one person to another.

Something spoken, written, or otherwise presented in beginning or introducing something, especially: a preface, as to a book; Music: a short preliminary passage in a larger movement or work.

Intuition:

The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight.

A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

Invasion:

The act of invading, especially the entrance of an armed force into a territory to conquer.

Investigative Journalism:

Investigative Journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing.

Investment:

The purchase of a capital asset with the intention of gaining an income from it or of making a capital gain. Buying stocks and shares is Investment, so too is buying property for rent or a company for its profits. By and large, buying jewellery is not an Investment.

Investment Appraisal:

The process of determining the likely rate of return of an investments.

Investment Bank:

A financial institution that arranges the initial issuance of stocks and bonds and offers companies about acquisitions and divestitures.

Investment Currency Premium:

Premium payable to persons resident in the Scheduled Territories for exchange control purposes in order to purchase investment currency, namely foreign currency from a limited pool of such currency designated as eligible for use for certain investments and payments abroad (in particular for portfolio or property investment and direct investment which cannot be shown to provide benefits over a short period to the balance of payments of countries in the Scheduled Territories).

Investment Grade:

The rating that a security needs to obtain from credit-rating agencies if institutional investors are to be allowed (by their statutes) to buy it.

Investment Grant:

A grant given for the purpose of investment.

Investment Holding Company:

A company organized in a tax haven country by an investor which purchses and subsequently handles for him his personal investment portfolio through the anonymity of a nominee company. Consideration for the purchase is the establishment on the investment company’s books of a debt to the investor equivalent to the value of the investments transferred whereby the income generated from the Investment Holding Company’s assets are not taxable.

Investment Incentive:

Investment Incentives are incentives of various linds which are granted in order to attract local or foreign investment capital to certain activities (e.g. exports, technological development) or particular areas (e.g. backward regions or designated areas as part of a decentralization policy). Such incentives may be of various types, e.g. grants, interest-free loans, factory sites, exemption from exchange restrictions, and are frequently granted as a package together with tax incentives.

Inventory:

The inputs a company holds that are necessary for its production processes plus the unsold finished goods that it holds in its warehouse or wherever. In the UK the term used is stock.

Inverted Pyramid (journalism):

The Inverted Pyramid is a metaphor used by journalists and other writers to illustrate how information should be prioritized and structured in a text (e.g., a news report). It is a common method for writing news stories (and has adaptability to other kinds of texts, e.g., blogs and editorial columns). This is a way to communicate the basics about a news report in the initial sentences. It is widely taught to mass communication and journalism students, and is systematically used in Anglophone media.

The "inverted" or upside-down "pyramid" can be thought of as a simple triangle with one side drawn horizontally at the top and the body pointing down. The widest part at the top represents the most substantial, interesting, and important information the writer means to convey, illustrating that this kind of material should head the article, while the tapering lower portion illustrates that other material should follow in order of diminishing importance.

Investigative Journalism:

Investigative Journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing.

Investiture:

The act or formal ceremony of conferring the authority and symbols of a high office.

Investor:

An organization or an individual who makes an investment.

Investor Relations:

That part of a company's activity designed to maintain good relations with its shareholders.

Invisible Hand:

In economics, The Invisible Hand of the market is a metaphor conceived by Adam Smith to describe the self-regulating behavior of the forces of a free market.

The exact phrase is used just three times in Smith's writings, but has come to capture his important claim that individuals' efforts to maximize their own gains in a free market benefits society, even if the ambitious have no benevolent intentions. Smith came up with the two meanings of the phrase from Richard Cantillon who developed both economic applications in his model of the isolated estate.

He first introduced the concept in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, written in 1759. In this work, however, the idea of the market is not discussed, and the word "capitalism" is never used. By the time he wrote The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Smith had studied the economic models of the French Physiocrats for many years, and in this work The Invisible Hand is more directly linked to the concept of the market: specifically that it is competition between buyers and sellers that channels the profit motive of individuals on both sides of the transaction such that improved products are produced and at lower costs.

Invisibles:

Traded items that never see the inside of a container, such as banking services, tourism and software design.

Invitation:

A request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something.

Invoice:

A document prepared by a seller of goods and sent to the buyer demanding payment.

Invoice Discounting:

The selling of a company's invoices to a financial firm at a discount to their face value. Companies do this to improve their cash flow.

Involuntary Memory:

Involuntary Memory, also known as involuntary explicit memory, involuntary conscious memory, involuntary aware memory, and most commonly, involuntary autobiographical memory, is a subcomponent of memory that occurs when cues encountered in everyday life evoke recollections of the past without conscious effort. Voluntary memory, its binary opposite, is characterized by a deliberate effort to recall the past.

See also: Madeleine moment.

Iota:

The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.

A very small amount; a bit.

IOU:

Short for: I Owe You.

Signed document bearing these letters followed by specified sum, constituting formal acknowledgement of debt.

IP Address:

Short for: Internet Protocol address identifying a computer connected to the Internet.

An Internet Protocol (IP) Address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. An IP address serves two principal functions in networking: host identification and location addressing. The role of the IP address has also been characterized as follows: "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how to get there."

IP Code:

The IP Code (or International Protection Rating, sometimes also interpreted as Ingress Protection Rating) consists of the letters IP followed by two digits and an optional letter. As defined in international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures. The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as "waterproof".

Visit: IP Code - Wikipedia.

IPO:

Short for: Initial Public Offering.

Ipso Facto:

Ipso Facto is a Latin phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself", which means that a certain phenomenon is a direct consequence, a resultant effect, of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a previous action. It is a term of art used in philosophy, law, and science. An example in law is money laundering: the act is not Ipso Facto illegal because it is an exchange but is done as a cover for something else, so the act puts the actions of an individual in question. A common English idiom with a similar meaning is "in and of itself". Compare also "by itself" and "per se".

IQ:

Short for: Intelligence Quotient. IQ is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests attempting to measure intelligence. The term "IQ," from the German Intelligenz-Quotient, was coined by the German psychologist William Stern in 1912 as a proposed method of scoring early modern children's intelligence tests such as those developed by Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon in the early 20th Century. Although the term "IQ" is still in common use, the scoring of modern IQ tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is now based on a projection of the subject's measured rank on the Gaussian bell curve with a center value (average IQ) of 100, and a standard deviation of 15, although different tests may have different standard deviations.

To check your IQ visit: Free IQ Test.

Also visit: Mensa International.

IRC:

Short for: Inland Revenue Commissioners (United Kingdom tax authority).

Iron Curtain:

The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the military, political, and ideological barrier established between the Soviet bloc and western Europe from 1945 to 1990.

A barrier that prevents free exchange of ideas and information.

See also: bamboo curtain

Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove:

Something that you say when you are describing someone who seems to be gentle but is in fact severe and firm.

Iron Maiden:

An Iron Maiden is a presumed torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet with a hinged front and spike-covered interior, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. It is believed to be fictional, although examples have been created for display.

Irony:

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.

A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect.

See also: sarcasm and wit.

Irrational Exuberance:

"Irrational Exuberance" is the phrase used by the then-Federal Reserve Board chairman, Alan Greenspan, in a speech given at the American Enterprise Institute during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. The phrase was interpreted as a warning that the stock market might be overvalued.

Irregular:

Contrary to rule, accepted order, or general practice.

Not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention.

Falling below the manufacturer's standard or usual specifications; imperfect.

Irrelevant:

Unrelated to the matter being considered; lack of importance.

IRS:

Short for: Internal Revenue Service (United States tax authority).

ISBN:

Short for: International Standard Book Number. The International ISBN Agency.

ISDN:

Short for: Integrated Services Digital Network, a telecommunications technology that promises to revolutionize the way in which voice and data communications are transmitted.

-ish:

Of, relating to, or being; characteristic of; having the usually undesirable qualities of.

Approximately; somewhat; tending toward; preoccupied with.

iSheep:

iSheep is a term used in tech sites and forums to describe a person who is an Apple Inc. products fan.

ISIN:

Short for: International Securities Identifying Number. Click here to visit the: ISIN Codes Search Engine..

Islam:

A monotheistic religion characterized by the acceptance of the doctrine of submission to God and to Muhammad as the chief and last prophet of God.

Islamic Banking:

System of banking consistent with principles of Islamic law and Islamic economics. Islamic law prohibits the collection of interest, commonly called riba, although revenue-sharing arrangements are generally permitted.

See also: Hawala banking.

-ism:

A distinctive doctrine, system, or theory.

ISO:

Short for: International Standards Organization, an association of almost 100 countries that tries to standardize technical and industrial processes. It publishes a series of International Standards which recommend a minimum quality and/or performance for manufactured goods.

ISP:

Short for: Internet Service Provider. An ISP is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem, wireless or dedicated high-speed interconnects.

ISPs may provide Internet e-mail accounts to users which allow them to communicate with one another by sending and receiving electronic messages through their ISPs' servers. (As part of their e-mail service, ISPs usually offer the user an e-mail client software package, developed either internally or through an outside contract arrangement.) ISPs may provide other services such as remotely storing data files on behalf of their customers, as well as other services unique to each particular ISP.

-issimo:

The suffix -issimo, from Latin -issimus, means "utmost, to the highest grade", e.g. generalissimo.

ISSN:

Short for: International Standard Serial Number. ISSN, the international identifier for serials and other continuing resources, in the electronic and print world.

Issue:

The act of circulating, distributing, or publishing by an office or official group.

Offspring; progeny.

A point or matter of discussion, debate, or dispute.

A large block of securities that are sold all together at one go.

Isthmus:

A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land.

IT:

Short for: Internet technology. IT is the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store and transmit information.

It Ain't Over Till the Fat Lady Sings:

It Ain't Over Till (or until) the Fat Lady Sings is a colloquialism which is often used as a proverb. It means that one should not presume to know the outcome of an event which is still in progress. More specifically, the phrase is used when a situation is (or appears to be) nearing its conclusion. It cautions against assuming that the current state of an event is irreversible and clearly determines how or when the event will end. The phrase is most commonly used in association with organized competitions, particularly sports.

It Girl:

An It Girl or It-Girl is a charming, sexy young woman who receives intense media coverage unrelated or disproportional to personal achievements. The reign of an "It Girl" is usually temporary; some of the rising It Girls will either become fully-fledged celebrities or their popularity will fade.

IT Platform:

The operating system (i.e. Windows 98, Windows 7, etc.) used by a visitor to a web site.

It Takes Two To Tango (idiom):

It Takes Two To Tango is a common idiomatic expression which suggests something in which more than one person or other entity are paired in an inextricably-related and active manner, occasionally with negative connotations.

The tango is a dance which requires two partners moving in relation to each other, sometimes in tandem, sometimes in opposition. The meaning of this expression has been extended to include any situation in which the two partners are by definition understood to be essential - as in, a marriage with only one partner ceases to be a marriage.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night:

"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" is an often-mocked and parodied phrase considered to represent "the archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style of fiction writing", also known as purple prose.

Ita Fiat:

Latin: So be it.

Item:

A single article or unit in a collection, enumeration, or series.

A clause of a document, such as a bill or charter.

An entry in an account.

A romantically involved couple.

Itemized Billing:

Invoices for things like telephone calls that are broken down item-by-item. Computerized analysis allows customers to receive details of each call to which the invoice relates.

Itinerary:

Day by day plan.

ITL:

Acronym for "invited to leave"; that is, firing someone.

It's not Brain Surgery:

Meaning: not that difficult.

It's not Rocket Science:

Meaning: not that difficult.

Ivy League:

An association of eight universities and colleges in the northeast United States, comprising Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. Visit: U.S. universities.

The term also has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.

Also known as a Princeton. A very clean-cut style named for its popularity among men attending the "Ivy League" universities (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, et. al). Generally, the hair is cut very short all over, gradually getting slightly longer in front. Enough hair is left to part and comb neatly. This haircut conforms to the shape of the head and the emphasis is on neatness. Jerry Lewis wore an Ivy League haircut in "Nutty Professor."

Izakaya:

Japanese-style pub.

-ize:

To cause to become or become like something specified : to become or become like (something specified); to treat like something specified; to talk or write about someone or something in a specified way.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- J -

J'Accuse:

J'Accuse ("I accuse") was an open letter published on January 13, 1898, in the newspaper L'Aurore by the influential writer Émile Zola.

A malicious speech meant to blame someone for an error or wrongdoing; any strong denunciation.

Jack and the Beanstalk:

Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairy tale. The earliest known appearance in print is Benjamin Tabart's moralised version of 1807. "Felix Summerly" (Henry Cole) popularised it in The Home Treasury (1842), and Joseph Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales (1890). Jacobs' version is most commonly reprinted today and it is believed to be closer to the oral versions than Tabart's because it lacks the moralising.

Jack of all Trades:

"Jack of all Trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one.

Jackpot:

The accumulated stakes in a kind of poker that requires one to hold a pair of jacks or better in order to open the betting.

A cumulative pool in a competition, lottery, or various other games.

A top prize or reward.

Jacob's Ladder:

Jacob's Ladder is the colloquial name for a connection between the earth and heaven that the biblical Patriarch Jacob dreams about during his flight from his brother Esau, as described in the Book of Genesis. The significance of the dream has been somewhat debated, but most interpretations agree that it identified Jacob with the obligations and inheritance of the ethnic people chosen by God, as understood in the Judeo-Christian-Islam panoply. It has since been used as a symbolic reference in various other contexts.

Jacquard:

The Jacquard process and the necessary loom attachment are named after their inventor, Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752–1834). This mechanism is probably one of the most important weaving inventions as Jacquard shedding made possible the automatic production of unlimited varieties of pattern weaving. The term "Jacquard" is not specific or limited to any particular loom, but rather refers to the added control mechanism that automates the patterning. The process can also be used for patterned knitwear and machine-knitted textiles, such as jerseys.

Jacques de Molay You Are Revenged:

A popular but apocryphal legend associated with the execution states that as soon as the guillotine fell, an anonymous Freemason leaped on the scaffolding, plunged his hand into the blood, splashed drips of it onto the crown, and shouted, "Jacques de Molay, tu es vengé!" (usually translated as, "Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged"). De Molay (died 1314), the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, had reportedly cursed Louis' ancestor Philip the Fair, after the latter had sentenced him to burn at the stake based on false confessions. The story spread widely and the phrase remains in use today to indicate the triumph of reason and logic over "religious superstition".

JAG:

Short for: Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of a military concerned with military justice and military law. Officers serving in a JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates.

Jam:

To activate or apply (a brake) suddenly.

Electronics: to interfere with or prevent the clear reception of (broadcast signals) by electronic means.

Jam Session:

An informal gathering of musicians to play improvised or unrehearsed music.

Informal: an impromptu discussion.

Jamboree:

A noisy celebration.

A large assembly, often international.

Janissaries:

The Janissaries (Turkish: meaning "new soldier") were elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops, bodyguards and the first modern standing army in Europe.

Janus:

In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus (Latin: Ianus) is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past.

Jargon:

Nonsensical, incoherent, or meaningless talk.

A hybrid language or dialect; a pidgin.

The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group.

Je Ne Sais Quoi:

A quality or attribute that is difficult to describe or express; an indefinable quality, especially of personality; something indescribable.

Jealous:

Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.

Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious.

Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic.

Jeans:

Jeans are pants, or trousers, made from denim. Mainly designed for work, they became popular among teenagers starting in the 1950s. Historic brands include Levi's and Wrangler.

Jeans are now a very popular form of casual dress around the world. They come in many styles and colors, however "blue Jeans" are particularly identified with American culture, especially the American Old West. Americans spent more than $14 billion on Jeans in 2004.

See also: denim.

Jericho Walk:

A way of praying modeled after Joshua 6, in which God instructs the Israelites to circle the walls of Jericho seven times and promises that he will deliver the city into their hands. During a Jericho Walk (sometimes called a Jericho March), modern Christians walk circles around a particular area, “claim it” in the name of Jesus, and pray for spiritual breakthrough.

Jeroboam:

A wine bottle holding 4/5 of a gallon (3.03 liters; approximately 104 ounces; also called double-magnum).

Jersey:

Clothing: a machine-knitted slightly elastic cloth of wool, silk, nylon, etc.

A football shirt.

Jersey Devil:

In Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia folklore, the Jersey Devil (also known as the Leeds Devil) is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a goat- or horse-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream".

Jerusalem Syndrome:

The Jerusalem Syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected Jews, Christians and Muslims of many different backgrounds.

The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of the Jerusalem Syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area. The religious focus of the Jerusalem Syndrome distinguishes it from other phenomena, such as the Stendhal syndrome (Florence syndrome), which is reported in Florence, Italy, or the Paris syndrome, which has been reported predominantly in Japanese individuals.

Jester:

A Jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically by a European monarch.

Jet Lag:

The physical condition resulting from long distance travel and changes in time zones, the symptoms include insomnia, lack of appetite, and a short temper.

Jet Set:

In the late 1950s the term "Jet Set" began to take the place of "café society", but "café society" may still be used informally in some countries to describe people who habitually visit coffeehouses and give their parties in restaurants rather than at home.

"Jet Set" is a journalistic term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, organizing and participating in social activities all around the world that are unreachable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society", came from the lifestyle of traveling from one stylish or exotic place to another via jet airplanes.

The term Jet Set is attributed to Igor Cassini, a reporter for the Journal-American who wrote under the pen name "Cholly Knickerbocker".

Jet Setter:

A member of the "Jet Set", a rich person who travels for pleasure.

Jetleisure:

A luxury clothing category comprised of items that are worn on holiday and make an impact on Instagram. These items share unique features such as bold colours and patterns, sculptural shapes or slogans. (Lyst.)

Lyst's editor, Charlotte Austin, explains: "When it comes to holidays people are no longer packing for practicality but to look good in their Instagram photos, standing out against those pale beaches or cobbled streets and playing to those likes. The result is a rapid rise in searches for these niche luxury holiday brands that are meeting the demand."

Read more here: Jetleisure: This Season's Fashion Buzzword.

Jeu d'Esprit:

A witticism; a witty comment or composition.

Jeunesse Doräe:

French term for gilded youth. Young people who are dazzlingly rich, elegant, etc.; the youthful part of fashionable society.

Jewellery:

An adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems.

Jihad:

Jihad, an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word Jihad is a noun meaning "struggle." Jihad appears frequently in the Qur'an and common usage as the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of Allah (al-Jihad fi sabil Allah)". A person engaged in Jihad is called a mujahid, the plural is mujahideen.

Jim-Facing:

Is a sideways glance in reaction to events taking place. It is named after the character Jim Halpert on "the Office" (played by John Krasinski) as he often reacts with a smug sideways glance suggesting calm disbelief, or a much deeper understanding of the situation unfolding than the other people do.

Jingle:

A catchy, often musical advertising slogan.

Jingoism:

Jingoism is patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. Jingoism also refers to a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force, as against peaceful relations, either economic or political, with other countries, in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests. Colloquially, it refers to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others—an extreme type of nationalism.

Jinn:

Jinn, also Romanized as djinn or Anglicized as genies (with the more broad meaning of spirits or demons, depending on source), are supernatural creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology.

JIT:

The acronym for Just In Time, a Japanese management system based on the principle that no stock should arrive for processing until the minute that it is actually required. JIT saves large sums of money by eliminating unnecessary inventory, but it requires highly sophisticated logistics systems to operate properly.

Jive:

Jazz or swing music; the jargon of jazz musicians and enthusiasts.

Slang: deceptive, nonsensical, or glib talk.

Jobbing:

A system of production used when the quantity of goods to be manufactured is too small to justify the cost of setting up a system of mass production.

Job Description:

A formal written description of a job, laying down all that is expected of the person who is employed to do that job.

Job Evaluation:

A regular, systematic process in which employees' performances in their jobs are assessed by senior managers. The assessment includes recommendations about training and individual development.

Job Lot:

A collection of miscellaneous goods of uncertain value. The goods may, for example, have been soiled in a fire or be past their sell-by date.

Job Security:

The extent to which there is a risk of redundancy attached to a particular job, or the extent to which an employee believes that there is such a risk.

Job Sharing:

The division of one job between two or more part-time employees. Job Sharing particularly suits jobs which involve serving a list of clients, such as home nursing.

Job Specification:

A detailed description of the qualifications, skills and experience required to do a particular job.

Jody:

In the Marines, a "Jody" is a generalized term meaning: any man who stays home while everyone else goes to war. He gets to enjoy all the things the Marines are missing, more specifically the Marine's girlfriend back at home while the Marine is away on active duty. The reason that they're called Jody specifically dates back to black soldiers in World War II. They took a character from old blues songs named Joe the Grinder (or Joe D. Grinder) who would steal the ladies of inmates and soldiers, and clipped his name to Jody.

That's why they say, "Jody's back home, fucking your girlfriend.."

Joe:

Informal: brewed coffee. Named after Josephus Daniels.

Slang: (US and Canadian) a man or fellow; a GI; soldier.

Jogging:

Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.

The definition of jogging as compared with running is not standard. Dr. George Sheehan, a running expert, is quoted to have said "the difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank". Others are usually more specific, defining jogging as running slower than 6 mph (10 minute per mile pace, 10 km/h, 6 min/km).

See also: power walking.

John:

John the Baptist. John the Apostle.

Slang: a toilet; a man who is a prostitute's customer.

John Birch Society:

The John Birch Society is a far right anti-communist political advocacy group that supports limited government and what it considers to be personal freedom. It has been also described by various sources as an "ultraconservative", "radical right", and "extremist" institution.

John Bull:

John Bull is a national personification of Great Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.

John Doe:

The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name for a male party in a legal action, case or discussion whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown.

See also: Doe names.

John Gesture:

One of Leonardo da Vinci’s trademarks: in his paintings he often depicts certain people as raising their right index finger skywards. This is very pronounced in da Vinci’s painting of John the Baptist, but even in the Last Supper, one figure makes the "John Gesture". The John Gesture should be read as a concealed reference to John the Baptist, in which the sign says "remember John the Baptist".

John Wayne Syndrome:

A state of mind of new gun owners which the individual perceives that they are the roughest, toughest, badass that walked the streets. Though in reality, they are just lonely people that have low self-esteems. Because without the gun they are nothing, nor have anything else to offer to society. In other words, they're just a pussy with a gun. Typically intelligent individuals will grow out of it within a few months to maybe a few years. However, the less intelligent tend to remain in that state of mind for almost their whole lives. This is more common in the older population than the younger.

Joie de Vivre:

Hearty or carefree enjoyment of life.

Joint and Several Liability:

A liability which is the responsibility of a group of people and for which the people can be sued either jointly or individually.

Joint Liability:

A type of liability which is the responsibility of a whole group of people (a guarantee of a bank loan to a company that has been signed by all the company's directors, for example). Anyone wishing to take legal action for the liability must sue the group as a whole.

Joint Stock Company:

A company that is owned jointly by its stockholders, that is, its shareholders.

Joint Venture:

A type of business partnership involving joint management and the sharing of risks and profits as between two or more enterprises based in different countries. When the capital of the partnership is known as a Joint Venture.

Joke:

Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line.

A mischievous trick; a prank.

An amusing or ludicrous incident or situation.

Jolie Laide:

French: good-looking ugly woman. A woman who is attractive though not conventionally pretty.

Jolly Roger:

The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones (probably femurs) set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by several pirates, including Captains Edward England and John Taylor.

JOMO:

Short for: Joy of Missing Out. You’re enjoying what you’re doing in the here and now and not on social media broadcasting or seeing what everybody else is doing. Opposite of FOMO or the fear of missing out.

Jonas:

A Minor Prophet who, for his impiety, was thrown overboard from his ship and swallowed by a large fish, remaining in its belly for three days before being cast up onto the shore unharmed.

A book of the Bible bearing his name.

Any person or thing regarded as bringing bad luck.

Joule:

The International System unit of electrical, mechanical, and thermal energy.

Journal:

A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary.

An official record of daily proceedings, as of a legislative body.

A newspaper.

A periodical presenting articles on a particular subject.

Journalism:

The collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts.

Material written for publication in a newspaper or magazine or for broadcast.

Journeyman:

One who has fully served an apprenticeship in a trade or craft and is a qualified worker in another's employ.

A worker hired on a daily wage.

Joystick:

A Joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks are often used to control video games, and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer. A popular variation of the Joystick used on modern video game consoles is the analog stick.

The Joystick has been the principal flight control in the cockpit of many aircraft, particularly military fast jets, where centre stick or side-stick location may be employed.

Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks, underwater unmanned vehicles and zero turning radius lawn mowers. Miniature finger-operated joysticks have been adopted as input devices for smaller electronic equipment such as mobile phones.

JPEG:

The name "JPEG" stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the committee that created the standard.

In computing, JPEG is a commonly used method of compression for photographic images. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality.

JPEG compression is used in a number of image file formats. JPEG/Exif is the most common image format used by digital cameras and other photographic image capture devices; along with JPEG/JFIF, it is the most common format for storing and transmitting photographic images on the World Wide Web. These format variations are often not distinguished, and are simply called JPEG.

Judas:

One who betrays another under the guise of friendship.

Judas Hole:

A peephole or secret opening for spying.

Judas Kiss:

See: Kiss of Judas.

Juggernaut:

Something, such as a belief or institution, that elicits blind and destructive devotion or to which people are ruthlessly sacrificed.

An overwhelming, advancing force that crushes or seems to crush everything in its path.

Used as a title for the Hindu deity Krishna.

Juice:

A fluid naturally contained in plant or animal tissue.

The interest payment on a loan paid back to the creditor by a certain percent.

Slang: vigorous life; vitality; political power or influence; clout; electric current; fuel for an engine; funds; money; alcoholic drink; liquor; racy or scandalous gossip.

Juice Jacking:

Juice Jacking is a term used to describe a cyber attack wherein malware might be installed on to, or data surreptitiously copied from, a smart phone, tablet or other computer device using a charging port that doubles as a data connection, typically over USB.

Juju:

Juju or Ju-Ju is a spiritual belief system incorporating objects, such as amulets, and spells used in religious practice, as part of witchcraft in West Africa. The term has been applied to traditional West African religions.

Julian Calendar:

The Julian Calendar began in 45 BC (709 AUC) as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. The Julian Calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months with a leap day added to February every four years. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long.

See also: Gregorian Calendar and Roman calendar.

Jump Start:

The act, process, or an instance of starting a motor vehicle by using a booster cable or suddenly releasing the clutch while the vehicle is being pushed.

The act or an instance of starting or setting in motion a stalled or sluggish system or process.

Jumping The Shark:

Jumping The Shark is the moment when something that was once popular that no longer warrants the attention it previously received makes an attempt at publicity, which only serves to highlight its irrelevance. This is especially applicable to television series or other entertainment outlets.

The idiom "Jumping The Shark" is pejorative, most commonly used in reference to unsuccessful gimmicks for promoting something. It is similar to "past its peak" but more specifically suggests an unwillingness to acknowledge the fact. Originally, the phrase was used to describe an episode of a television comedy with a gimmick or unlikely occurrence desperately attempting to keep viewers' interest. Moments labeled as "Jumping The Shark" are considered indications that writers have exhausted their focus; that the show has strayed irretrievably from an older and better formula; or that the series as a whole is declining in quality.

Popularized by Jon Hein, a radio personality from the Howard Stern Show, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the phrase derives from a scene in a Season 5 episode of the 1970s sitcom Happy Days in which the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water-skis. This gimmick strayed absurdly outside the original storyline of the sitcom.

The usage of "Jump The Shark" has subsequently broadened beyond television, indicating the moment when a brand, design, franchise, or creative effort's evolution declines, or when it changes notably in style into something unwelcome.

Jumpsuit:

A parachutist's uniform; a one-piece garment fashioned after a parachutist's uniform consisting of a blouse or shirt with attached slacks or shorts.

Jungle Drum:

See: grapevine.

Junior:

Lower in rank or length of service; subordinate.

Junior Partner:

A partner within the context of a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position.

Junk Bonds:

Are bonds issued by companies with low credit ratings. They typically pay relatively high interest rates because of fear of default.

Junk Food:

A high-calorie food that is low in nutritional value.

Junk Mail:

Unsolicited promotional and advertising material that is delivered by mail. Increasingly, the expression embraces such mail delivered electronically, as well as by the postman.

Junker:

Junkers were the members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. They were a dominant factor in Prussian and, after 1871, German military, political and diplomatic leadership. The most famous Junker was Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. They were expelled by the Soviets after 1944 and their lands confiscated.

Junket:

A party, banquet, or outing.

A trip or tour, especially: one taken by an official at public expense; one taken by a person who is the guest of a business or agency seeking favor or patronage.

Junkie:

A narcotics addict, especially one using heroin.

One who has an insatiable interest or devotion.

Junta:

A group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power.

A council or small legislative body in a government, especially in Central or South America.

Jura Regalia:

Jura Regalia is a medieval legal term which denoted rights that belonged exclusively to the king, either as essential to his sovereignty (jura majora, jura essentialia), such as royal authority; or accidental (jura minora, jura accidentalia), such as hunting, fishing and mining rights. Many sovereigns in the Middle Ages and in later times claimed the right to seize the revenues of vacant episcopal sees or abbeys, claiming a Regalian right.

Jure Uxoris:

Jure Uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of (his) wife". Jure is the ablative case of jus, meaning a legal right. It is most commonly used to refer to a title of nobility held by a man because his wife holds it suo jure ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could become the legal possessor of her lands jure uxoris, "by right of [his] wife", as in England where, until the Married Women's Property Act 1882, married women were legally incapable of owning real estate.

Jurisdiction:

The right and power to interpret and apply the law.

The territorial range of authority or control.

Jurisprudence:

The philosophy or science of law.

Jury:

Law: a body of persons sworn to judge and give a verdict on a given matter, especially a body of persons summoned by law and sworn to hear and hand down a verdict upon a case presented in court.

A committee, usually of experts, that judges contestants or applicants, as in a competition or exhibition; a panel of judges.

Jus Primae Noctis:

(Latin: "law of the first night"), a feudal right said to have existed in medieval Europe giving the lord to whom it belonged the right to sleep the first night with the bride of any one of his vassals.

See also: droit du seigneur.

Jus Soli:

Jus Soli, meaning "right of the soil", commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. As an unconditional basis for citizenship, it is the predominant rule in the Americas, but is rare elsewhere.

Just Cause:

Just Cause means a legally sufficient reason. Just Cause is sometimes referred to as good cause, lawful cause or sufficient cause. A litigant must often prove to a court that just cause exists and therefore the requested action or ruling should be granted.

Just-in-Time Manufacturing:

Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing, also known as just-in-time production or the Toyota production system (TPS), is a methodology aimed primarily at reducing flow times within production as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. Following its origin and development in Japan, largely in the 1960s and 1970s and particularly at Toyota, JIT migrated to Western industry in the 1980s, where its features were put into effect in many manufacturing companies—as is attested to in several books and compendia of case studies and articles from the 1980s.

Just War Theory:

Just War Theory (Latin: jus bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics studied by theologians, ethicists, policy makers, and military leaders. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. The criteria are split into two groups: "right to go to war" (jus ad bellum) and "right conduct in war" (jus in bello). The first concerns the morality of going to war, and the second the moral conduct within war. Recently there have been calls for the inclusion of a third category of Just War theory - jus post bellum - dealing with the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction.

Juste Milieu:

Juste Milieu (meaning "middle way" or "happy medium") is a term that has been used to describe centrist political philosophies that try to find a balance between extremes, and artistic forms that try to find a middle ground between the traditional and the modern. In the political sense it is most associated with the French July Monarchy (1830–1848), which ostensibly tried to strike a balance between autocracy and anarchy. The term has been used in both a positive and negative sense.

Justice:

The principle of moral rightness; equity; conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.

Law: the administration and procedure of law.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- K -

K2:

K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. With a peak elevation of 8,611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is part of the Karakoram Range, and is located on the border between the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China, and Gilgit, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan.

K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of ascent and the 2nd highest fatality rate among the "eight thousanders" for those who climb it. For every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. Unlike Annapurna, the mountain with the highest fatality rate, K2 has never been climbed in winter.

Kabuki:

Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.

Ka-Ching:

Used to represent the sound of a cash register, especially with reference to making money.

Kachina:

A Kachina is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo people, Native American cultures located in the southwestern part of the United States.

Kaddish:

Kaddish is a hymn of praises to God found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service.

Kafala System:

The Kafala System (also spelled "kefala system", meaning "sponsorship system") is a system used to monitor migrant laborers, working primarily in the construction and domestic sectors, in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The system requires all unskilled laborers to have an in-country sponsor, usually their employer, who is responsible for their visa and legal status. This practice has been criticised by human rights organizations for creating easy opportunities for the exploitation of workers, as many employers take away passports and abuse their workers with little chance of legal repercussions.

Kafkaesque:

"Kafkaesque" is an eponym used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of the Austro-Hungarian writer Franz Kafka, particularly his novels The Trial and The Castle, and the novella The Metamorphosis.

Marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger.

Kahuna:

Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in Pukui & Elbert (1986) as a "priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession".

Kaiseki:

Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals, and is analogous to Western haute cuisine.

Kaizen:

A Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc.

Kaizen, Japanese for "good change". It has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, Kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. By improving standardized activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (see lean manufacturing). Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses after the Second World War, influenced in part by American business and quality management teachers who visited the country. It has since spread throughout the world and is now being implemented in environments outside of business and productivity.

Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key To Japan's Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized worldwide as an important pillar of an organization’s long-term competitive strategy. Kaizen is continuous improvement that is based on certain guiding principles: Good processes bring good results; Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation; Speak with data, manage by facts; Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems; Work as a team; Kaizen is everybody’s business; And much more!

Kakistocracy:

A Kakistocracy is a system of government which is run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.

Kaleidoscope:

A Kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose colored beads, pebbles, or other small coloured objects.

Kama Muta:

Kama Muta is an emotion described as 'being moved', 'heart-warming', 'stirring', or 'being emotionally touched'. It is a primarily positive emotion which is experienced as a feeling of buoyancy, security and warmth in the chest, and may be accompanied with goosebumps or tears. Kama Muta is felt when one observes or engages in events which cause a deepened sense of equivalence or oneness with others, and motivates devotion to those relationships. Kama Muta is considered to have the evolutionary function of facilitating the devotion, commitment and connection necessary for human social union.

Kamikaze:

A Japanese pilot trained in World War II to make a suicidal crash attack, especially upon a ship.

An extremely reckless person who seems to court death.

Kanban:

Kanban (literally signboard or billboard) is a scheduling system for lean and just-in-time (JIT) production. According to its creator, Taiichi Ohno, Kanban is one means through which JIT is achieved.

Kanban is not an inventory control system; it is a scheduling system that helps determine what to produce, when to produce it, and how much to produce.

The need to maintain a high rate of improvement led Toyota to devise the Kanban system. Kanban became an effective tool to support the running of the production system as a whole. In addition, it proved to be an excellent way for promoting improvements because reducing the number of Kanban in circulation highlighted problem areas.

Kangaroo Court:

A mock Court set up in violation of established legal procedure.

Kaput:

Incapacitated or destroyed.

Karaganov Doctrine:

Karaganov is known as the progenitor of the Karaganov Doctrine, which states that Moscow should pose as the defender of human rights of ethnic Russians living in the 'near abroad' for the purpose of gaining political influence in these regions. After Karaganov published an article advocating this stance in 1992, Russia's foreign policy position linked Russian troop withdrawals from the Baltics with the end of 'systemic discrimination' against Russians in these countries.

In addition to his Doctrine, Karaganov has advocated for a united Sino-Russian strategy to unify a Eurasian bloc. He argues that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China's One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR), will work together to promote economic integration throughout the region. Many experts disagree with this judgement, claiming that China, as a far more powerful economy, will simply dominate this Eurasian bloc. This would counter Russian ambitions to regain their foothold as a global power.

Karaoke:

A music entertainment system providing prerecorded accompaniment to popular songs that a performer sings live, usually by following the words on a video screen. Invented by Inoue Daisuke in 1971.

Karen (slang):

Karen is a pejorative slang term that is used to typify a person perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. One of the most common Karen stereotypes is that of a white, American, middle-aged woman who displays aggressive behavior when she is obstructed from getting her way; such women are often depicted as demanding to "speak to the manager."

Karezza:

Coitus reservatus (coitus, "sexual intercourse, union" + reservatus, "reserved, saved"), also known as sexual continence, is commonly thought of as a form of sexual intercourse in which the penetrative partner does not attempt to ejaculate within the receptive partner, but instead attempts to remain at the plateau phase of intercourse for as long as possible avoiding the seminal emission. Another term used for this kind of relationship is the word Karezza.

Karma:

Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives.

Karma Yoga:

You shall do your work as perfectly as you possibly can with no thoughts of rewards, and only that way can you be a really happy person.

Karma Yoga, or the "discipline of action" is a form of Kanbanyoga based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the four paths to realization, Karma Yoga is the process of achieving perfection in action. Karma Yoga is derived from the spiritual life. Karma Yoga is said to be the most authentic way to progress in the spiritual life. Found in the Bhagavad Gita Karma Yoga is a part of nature.

Karōshi:

Karōshi, which can be translated literally as "overwork death" in Japanese, is occupational sudden mortality. The major medical causes of Karōshi deaths are heart attack and stroke due to stress and a starvation diet.

Katsa:

A Katsa is a field intelligence officer of the Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel. A katsa collects information and runs agents, similar to a case officer of the CIA.

Kawaii:

Kawaii ("lovable", "cute", or "adorable") is the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese culture.

Kebab:

Kebab (also occasionally transliterated as kebap, kabab, kebob, kabob, kibob, kebhav, kephav) refers to a variety of meat dishes in Mediterranean, Central Asian, South Asian and some of the African cuisines, consisting of grilled or broiled meats on a skewer or stick.

The most common Kebabs include lamb and beef, although others use goat, chicken, fish, or shellfish. Observant Muslims and Jews do not use pork for Kebabs because of religious and cultural prohibition, but pork Kebabs can be found in Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and India, especially in the state of Goa. Like other ethnic foods brought by immigrants and travelers, the Kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in multicultural countries around the globe.

Keep the Wolf from the Door:

(Idiomatic): To ward off poverty or hunger; to maintain oneself at a minimal level; to keep from starving, freezing, etc.

Keeping Up With the Joneses:

"Keeping Up With the Joneses" is an idiom in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one's neighbor as a benchmark for social class or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to "Keep Up With the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority.

Keepsake Box:

A Keepsake Box or memory box, typically made from wood, is used for storing mementos of a special time, event or person. They are often created or purchased to mark life's major events like a christening, wedding, birthday, or First Holy Communion. They may also be given for sad occasions of bereavement, such as the stillbirth of a child, when a keepsake/memory box helps with the grieving process. This sort of a Keepsake Box may be personalised with a person's name, design or picture.

Keiretsu:

A type of corporate structure found in Japan in which a large number of companies own small stakes in each other. These companies work together in a vertically integrated chain that provides everything from the raw materials to the consumer credit that enables the final consumer to buy the keiretsu's finished products. The keiretsu model has aroused much interest in the West.

Kelly Bag:

Kelly Bag: named after Grace Kelly in 1956, originally created as Sac à Dépêches in 1935. Read more here.

See also: the Birkin bag.

Kelly Criterion:

In probability theory and intertemporal portfolio choice, the Kelly Criterion, Kelly strategy, Kelly formula, or Kelly bet, is a formula used to determine the optimal size of a series of bets. In most gambling scenarios, and some investing scenarios under some simplifying assumptions, the Kelly strategy will do better than any essentially different strategy in the long run (that is, over a span of time in which the observed fraction of bets that are successful equals the probability that any given bet will be successful). It was described by J. L. Kelly, Jr in 1956.

Kennel:

A shelter for a dog; an establishment where dogs are bred, trained, or boarded.

A pack of dogs, especially hounds.

Kennedy Plea:

An Alford Plea (also called a Kennedy Plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea and the Alford doctrine), in United States law, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence. In entering an Alford plea, the defendant admits that the evidence presented by the prosecution would be likely to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Alford Plea is not used in Michigan, Indiana and New Jersey.

List of people who entered an Alford plea.

Kernel (computing):

In computing, the Kernel is the central component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level.

Ketchup Effect:

A wrong way to describe giving a handjob... will result in your dick getting slapped right on the head... causing you to cry.

Keurig:

Keurig is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. It is manufactured by the American company Keurig Green Mountain, which is headquartered in Waterbury, Vermont. The main Keurig products are: K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; and the proprietary machines that brew the beverages in these pods.

Kevlar:

Visit: Kevlar.

Key:

A Key is a symbol of all forces that open and close, bind and release. It stands for liberation and incarceration. A Key is always tied to the concept of locking or unlocking.

Key Money:

Money that has to be paid in advance as a deposit to secure a rented property.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

A performance indicator or Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it engages. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.

Key Person:

A senior executive in a company whose life and/or health is insured by the company. If the person should die or be ill within a certain period the company receives compensation from the insurer.

Key to the City:

The Key to the City is an honor bestowed by a city upon esteemed residents and visitors.

Keyboard (computing):

In computing, a Keyboard is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter Keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A Keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol.

Keycard:

A Keycard, while not actually considered a key, is a plastic card which stores a digital signature that is used with electronic access control locks. It is normally a flat, rectangular piece of plastic and may also serve as an ID card.

Keychest:

Disney's Keychest Technology: the technology, code-named Keychest, could contribute to a shift in what it means for a consumer to own a movie or a TV show, by redefining ownership as access rights, not physical possession.

The technology would allow consumers to pay a single price for permanent access to a movie or TV show across multiple digital platforms and devices - from the Web, to mobile gadgets like iPhones and cable services that allow on-demand viewing. It could also facilitate other services such as online movie subscriptions.

Keylogger:

A Keylogger is a type of surveillance software (considered to be either software or spyware) that has the capability to record every keystroke you make to a log file, usually encrypted.

Keynote:

The tonic of a musical key.

A prime underlying element or theme; a central or determining principle in a speech, literary work, etc.

Keyser Söze:

Keyser Söze is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects, written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. According to petty con artist Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), Söze is a crime lord whose ruthlessness and influence have acquired a legendary, even mythical, status among police and criminals alike. Further events in the story make these accounts unreliable, and, in a twist ending, a police sketch identifies Kint's face as Söze. The character was inspired by real life murderer John List and the spy thriller No Way Out, which featured a shadowy KGB mole.

Since the release of the film, the name "Keyser Söze" has become synonymous with a feared, elusive person nobody has met. Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer used the character's name as part of a slang phrase that means to "definitively manipulate, outmaneuver". In June 2001, Time referred to Osama bin Laden as "a geopolitical Keyser Söze, an omnipresent menace whose very name invokes perils far beyond his capability".

In his 1999 review of Fight Club, which was generally negative, film critic Roger Ebert commented, "A lot of recent films seem unsatisfied unless they can add final scenes that redefine the reality of everything that has gone before; call it the Keyser Söze syndrome."

Forbes used the character in a study of what it takes to succeed in business. After positing different hypothetical situations, writer Russ Alan Prince concludes that a number of the "self-made super-rich" would respond to these situations in the same manner as Söze.

Keystone Cops:

The Keystone Cops were incompetent fictional policemen, featured in silent film comedies in the early 20th century. The movies were produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.

Keystroke Dynamics:

Keystroke Dynamics, keystroke biometrics or typing dynamics, is the detailed timing information that describes exactly when each key was pressed and when it was released as a person is typing at a computer keyboard.

Keyword:

A significant or descriptive word.

The words, or sequence of symbols, that are fed into the search engine of an electronic database to extract specific information. The care given to selecting keywords determines the relevance of the information retrieved.

Keyword Modifier:

A Modifier is a word that in combination with your core Keyword creates your long tail strategy. Most often a thematic Modifier can be: a word of a general meaning (e.g. "guide", "best", etc); a word related to your niche (e.g. "quote" for the finance niche or a related brand); a geo-specific word (e.g. "Las Vegas", "Nevada", etc).

KGOY:

Short for: Kids Grow Older Younger. Visit: The Thinking Mother.

Khat:

An evergreen shrub (Catha edulis) native to tropical East Africa, having dark green opposite leaves that are chewed fresh for their stimulating effects.

Khlysts:

Khlysts or Khlysty was an underground sect from late 17th to early 20th century that split off the Russian Orthodox Church and belonged to the Spiritual Christians tendency.

KIA:

Short for: Killed in Action.

Kibitz:

To make small talk or idle chatter.

Kibitzer:

Kibitzer is a Yiddish term for a spectator, usually one who offers (often unwanted) advice or commentary. The term can be applied to any activity, but is most commonly used to describe spectators in games such as contract bridge, chess and Schafkopf.

Kibosh:

A check, end, or stop.

Kick:

Slang: power; force; a feeling of pleasurable stimulation.

Kick Off:

A vigorous blow with the foot.

Sports: the act or an instance of kicking a ball; the motion of the legs that propels the body in swimming.

Slang: a complaint; a protest; power; force; a feeling of pleasurable stimulation; temporary, often obsessive interest; a sudden, striking surprise; a twist.

Kick Start:

To start (a motor, motorcycle, etc.) by means of a lever attached to a pedal that one pushes sharply downward with the foot.

Informal: to start, energize, revive, etc.

Kick the Can Down the Road:

If you kick the can down the road, you delay a decision in hopes that the problem or issue will go away or somebody else will make the decision later.

Kick the Tires:

(Idiomatic, colloquial): to inspect something to ensure it meets expected standards or has favored characteristics, typically before committing to purchasing or otherwise selecting it.

(Obsolete): to inspect a vehicle's tires by kicking them to check for defects or poor quality.

Kickback:

A payment made to an individual who is responsible for awarding a contract (or for making a purchase) to persuade them to award it in favor of the payer of the Kickback. In most circumstances Kickbacks are illegal.

Kid Gloves:

(Idiomatic expression): in the English language, using or wearing kid gloves speaks of a delicate situation or hard-to-handle person or group requiring discernment and special treatment – such as one would have to wear "Kid Gloves" (or white gloves) to authenticate that not even their hands and fingers were leaving smudges behind as they handled a precious object.

Kidon:

Kidon is the department within Israel's Mossad that is allegedly responsible for the assassination of opponents. Kidon is suspected of being behind a number of successful assassination campaigns.

Kill Switch:

A "Kill Switch" is an emergency stop or a safety means that can disable a device in an urgent situation when the device cannot be blocked in any other way. The smart phone "Kill Switch" is an anti-theft voluntary commitment that makes it possible to remotely disable smart phones and wipe data. The system is supposed to become a standard requirement on all smartphones by July 2015. Therefore, all newly released smartphones in 2015 are to be fitted with such a "Kill Switch" function. Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft, along with the five biggest cellular carriers in the United States, are among those that have signed on to a voluntary program announced Tuesday, April 15, 2014 by the industry's largest trade group.

There have been increasing calls for Kill Switches to be enabled on smart phones, especially in light of increases of violent crimes, tied specifically to the theft of the devices, which are easy and profitable to resell. Proponents of the switches argue that installing a Kill Switch would almost wipe out the industry that has sprung up around reselling stolen phones. Industry experts caution that by enabling such a switch they might unintentionally create a situation where the switch could be hacked thus empowering criminals to disable police authorities or potential victims. Critics contend that such a possibility could be planned for and prevented. Smart phone crime is one of the fastest growing segments of crime in many cities. Proponents note if a Kill Switch were enabled, users could remotely disable the phone making it worthless for most resale purposes, except as parts. They also posit that the phone industry has been reluctant to do so because wireless carriers reap sizable profits from users buying phone insurance, as well as replacement phones to uninsured customers whose phones are stolen or lost.

Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg(s):

Proverb: to destroy something that is profitable to you; to destroy something that makes a lot of money.

Killer Application:

In marketing terminology, a Killer Application (commonly shortened to Killer App) is any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, gaming console, software, a programming language, software platform, or an operating system. In other words, consumers would buy the (usually expensive) hardware just to run that application. A Killer App can substantially increase sales of the platform on which it runs.

One of the first examples of a Killer Application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform. The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers on the strength of this program. Another is WordStar, the most popular word processor during much of the 1980s. The next example is another spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. Sales of IBM's PC had been slow until 1-2-3 was made public, and then increased rapidly a few months after Lotus 1-2-3's release. The definition of "Killer App" came up during Bill Gates's questioning in the United States v. Microsoft antitrust suit. Bill Gates had written an email in which he described Internet Explorer as a Killer App. In the questioning, he said that the term meant "a popular application", and did not connote an application that would fuel sales of a larger product or one that would supplant its competition, as the Microsoft Computer Dictionary defined it.

Killer Instinct:

A ruthless determination to succeed or win.

Killing Baby Hitler:

The philosophical problem of Killing Baby Hitler, explained: "Assume that going back in time merely eliminates Hitler, and that the sole effect of that is that the Nazi Party lacks a charismatic leader and never takes power in Germany, and World War II and the Holocaust are averted, and nothing worse than World War II transpires in this alternate reality, and there are no unintended negative consequences of time travel. Then the question is reduced to, 'Is it ethical to kill one person to save 40-plus million people?' That's pretty easy. You don't have to be a die-hard utilitarian to think one baby is an acceptable price to pay to save tens of millions of lives."

Read also: The Ethics of Killing Baby Hitler - "A moral dilemma is better understood as a historical one."

Kilobit:

A Kilobit is an expression of grouped bits meaning 1,000 bits.

The term 'Kilobit' is most commonly used in the expression of data rates (digital communication speeds) in the abbreviated form "kbps", "kb/s", or "kbit/s", meaning "kilobits per second".

Kilobyte:

The Kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix "kilo-", meaning 1,000) is a unit of digital information storage equal to either 1,000 bytes or 1,024 bytes, depending on context.

It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte.

Kilometre Zero:

In many countries, Kilometre Zero (also written km 0) or similar terms in other languages (also known as zero mile marker, control stations or control points) is a particular location (usually in the nation's capital city) from which distances are traditionally measured. Historically, they were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow the directions in early guide books.

One such marker is the Milliarium Aureum ("Golden Milestone") of the Roman Empire, believed to be the literal origin for the maxim that "Kilometre Zeroall roads lead to Rome".

Kilt:

The Kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century.

Kim's Game:

Kim's Game is a game or exercise played by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, and other children's groups. The game develops a person's capacity to observe and remember details. The name is derived from Rudyard Kipling's 1901 novel Kim, in which the hero, Kim, plays the game during his training as a spy.

Read also: How Military Snipers Work.

Kimono:

A long, wide-sleeved Japanese robe worn with an obi and often elaborately decorated.

Kinder Egg:

Kinder Surprise, also known as a Kinder Egg or Kinder Joy or, in the original Italian, Kinder Sorpresa ("Kinder" is the German word for "children"), is a candy manufactured by Italian company Ferrero. Originally intended for children, it is also popular with adult collectors and has the form of a chocolate egg containing a small toy, often requiring assembly.

Kinetic:

Of, relating to, or produced by motion.

Kinetic Energy:

The Kinetic Energy of an object is the extra energy which it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its current velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes. Negative work of the same magnitude would be required to return the body to a state of rest from that velocity.

King Kong Complex:

When a big (big being tall or large) guy is into short girls.

King Ludwig Syndrome:

King Ludwig Syndrome was coined to describe the psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden for the Bavarian royal family who drowned with his patient King Ludwig II on a boat trip on June 13, 1886. After years of treating the mad king, he is said to have become just like his patient.

Today, you are likely to see King Ludwig Syndrome anywhere where money has been made quickly and - on the surface, at least - painlessly. If the man sharing your office is worth $1bn, it's easy to start believing that you are too. Modern celebrities often invite their staff into their inner world, where, pretty soon, they also come to feel that they are entitled to the private jet. After all, their boss can hardly get out of bed before noon. The cure is good old-fashioned boundaries and / or separate offices. Never letting a PA near the bank statements and credit cards also helps. In the days when you called the boss 'sir' and saw him once a year at the Christmas party, no-one had a problem.

King of Diamonds:

Playing card: the King of Diamonds (along with The Jack of Spades and the Jack of Hearts) are drawn in profile, while the rest of the courts are shown in full face; these cards are commonly called "one-eyed". The axe held by the King of Diamonds is behind his head with the blade facing toward him. This leads to the nickname "suicide kings".

King of the Hill:

A game in which each player attempts to climb to the top of some point, as a mound of earth, and to prevent all others from pushing or pulling him or her off the top.

An undisputed leader or champion.

King's Gambit:

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1): e4 e5, 2): f4.

White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit pawn with central domination. The alternative plan is to play Nf3 and Bc4 followed by 0-0, when the semi-open f-file allows White to barrel down onto the weakest point in Black's position, the pawn on f7. Theory has shown that in order for Black to maintain the gambit pawn, they may well be forced to weaken their kingside, with moves such as ...g5 or odd piece placement (e.g. ...Nf6–h5). A downside to the King's Gambit is that White weakens their own king's position, exposing it to the latent threat of ...Qh4+ (or ...Be7–h4+). With a black pawn on f4, White cannot usually respond to the check with g3, but if the king is forced to move then it also loses the right to castle.

The King's Gambit is one of the oldest documented openings.

King's Ransom:

A very large treasure; accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.

Kingmaker:

One who has the political power to influence the selection of a candidate for high public office.

Kingpin:

Sports: The innermost or central pin in an arrangement of bowling pins.

The most important person or element in an enterprise or system.

Kinkeeping:

Kinkeeping is the act of maintaining and strengthening familial ties. It is a form of emotional labor done both out of a sense of obligation and because of emotional attachment. Sociologist Carolyn Rosenthal defined the term in her 1985 article, "Kinkeeping in the Familial Division of Labor".

Read more here: What is Kinkeeping? The Constant Work to Keep a Family Connected Has a Name - "'Kinkeeping' plays a crucial role in a family’s health and well-being, and it’s still predominantly done by women.".

Kinky:

Showing or appealing to bizarre or deviant tastes, especially of a sexual or erotic nature.

Kippah:

A Kippah, or yarmulke is a thin, slightly-rounded skullcap traditionally worn at all times by observant Jewish men, and sometimes by both men and women in Conservative and Reform communities.

Kismet:

A power that is believed to control what happens in the future; means "fate or destiny" in a number of languages.

(Islam): the will of Allah.

Kiss-and-Tell:

(Idiom): to Kiss-and-Tell is defined as to share your romantic exploits, especially those of a sexual nature, with others.

(Informal): revealing personal or confidential information, as about a well-known person, gained from the author's close relationship with that person: a Kiss-and-Tell memoir.

Kiss of Judas:

A Judas Kiss refers to an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is in fact harmful to the recipient.

Kiss-Off:

Slang: a dismissal, as from a job.

KISS Principle:

KISS is an acronym coined by Kelly Johnson for the design principle "Keep It Simple, Stupid!". Other variations include "Keep It Short and Simple", "Keep It Simple AND Stupid", "Keep It Simple or be Stupid" or "Keep It Simple and Straightforward".

The KISS Principle states that simplicity should be a key goal in design, and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.

Kitchen Sink:

A sink in a kitchen for washing dishes, vegetables, etc.

(Theatre) (modifier): denoting a type of drama or painting of the 1950s depicting the sordid aspects of domestic reality.

(Art Movements) (modifier): denoting a type of drama or painting of the 1950s depicting the sordid aspects of domestic reality.

Kitchen Sink Option:

Everything that can be conceived of.

Kitchenalia:

Cookery: cooking equipment and other items found in a kitchen.

Kith and Kin:

Literally, albeit archaically, friends (“kith”) and family (“kin”).

Kitsch:

Art, decorative objects and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively garish or sentimental art; usually considered in bad taste.

Kleptocracy:

Kleptocracy is a government with corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) that use their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political power. Typically this system involves embezzlement of funds at the expense of the wider population.

Klondike Gold Rush:

The Klondike Gold Rush, sometimes referred to as the Yukon Gold Rush, was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and for gold prospecting, along the Klondike River near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada after gold was discovered there in 1896 and ended the following year. In total, about 12.5 million ounces of gold (about 390 tonnes) have been taken from the Klondike area in the century since its discovery.

Knickerbocker:

Knickerbocker was a term for Manhattan's aristocracy "in the early days" and became a general term, now obsolete, for a New Yorker.

Knock-Knock Joke:

The Knock-Knock Joke is a type of joke, probably the best-known format of the pun, and is a time-honored "call and answer" exercise. It is a role-play exercise, with a punster and a recipient of wit. The standard format has five lines:
1. The punster: Knock knock!
2. The recipient: Who's there?
3. The punster: a variable response, sometimes involving a name (Doctor).
4. The recipient: a repetition of the response followed by who?
5. The punster: the punch line, which typically involves a pun-based misusage of the word set up during the response (How did you know?!)

Knock on Wood:

Knocking on Wood, or to touch wood, refers to the apotropaic tradition in western folklore of literally touching/knocking on wood, or merely stating that you are doing or intend same, in order to avoid "tempting fate" after making a favourable observation, a boast, or declaration concerning one's own death.

Knock-Out Tournament:

A Knock-Out Tournament is divided into successive rounds; each competitor plays in at least one fixture per round. The top-ranked competitors in each fixture progress to the next round. As rounds progress, the number of competitors and fixtures decreases. The final round, usually known as the final or cup final, consists of just one fixture; the winner of which is the overall champion.

See also: round-robin tournament.

Knock Yourself Out:

To go ahead; to do as one pleases; to grant permission for or to give endorsement of a suggestion or proposal, especially when the speaker is not interested in its outcome.

Know-How:

A special technique or skill which a company has developed and which has a value to that company, either because it gives it a competitive advantage over its rivals, or because it can sell the skill or technique to others.

Know Someone in the Biblical Sense:

Knowing or to Know Someone in the Biblical Sense refers to have had sex with someone.

Know Your Customer (KYC):

In an increasingly global economy, financial institutions are more vulnerable to illicit criminal activities. Know Your Customer (KYC) standards are designed to protect financial institutions against fraud, corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.

Knowledge:

The state or fact of knowing.

Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study.

The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned.

Knowledge Management:

The process of managing the knowledge that a company owns, either collectively, through such things as its patents and know-how, or individually in the minds of its employees. More and more companies are appointing Knowledge-Management officers to be in charge of this function.

Knowledge Spillover:

Knowledge Spillover is an exchange of ideas among individuals. In knowledge management economics, Knowledge Spillovers are non-rival knowledge market costs incurred by a party not agreeing to assume the costs that has a spillover effect of stimulating technological improvements in a neighbor through one's own innovation. Such innovations often come from specialization within an industry.

Knowledge Worker:

Knowledge Workers in today's workforce are individuals who are valued for their ability to interpret information within a specific subject area. They will often advance the overall understanding of that subject through focused analysis, design and/or development. They use research skills to define problems and to identify alternatives. Fueled by their expertise and insight, they work to solve those problems, in an effort to influence company decisions, priorities and strategies.

Kōan:

A Kōan is a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen-practice to provoke the "great doubt", and test a student's progress in Zen practice.

Kobayashi Maru:

The Kobayashi Maru is a training exercise in the fictional Star Trek universe designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and also appears in the 2009 film Star Trek.

Business theory commentators have used the Kobayashi Maru as an example of the need to redefine the foundation upon which a business competes—changing the rules rather than playing within a rigged game—as an example of successful business strategy.

Kodak Moment:

The term "Kodak Moment" came about from an ad campaign from the Kodak Company during the 1970's and has become an expression of slang in modern times.

Informal: a sentimental or charming moment worthy of capturing in a photograph.

Informal: the situation in which a business fails to foresee changes within its industry and drops from a market-dominant position to being a minor player or declares bankruptcy.

A failure of management imagination.

Kokusaika:

The Japanese word for internationalization, something that is interpreted as the rest of the world rather than the spread of the rest of the world's corporations around Japan.

Kompromat:

Kompromat is the Russian term for compromising materials about a politician or other public figure. Such materials can be used to create negative publicity, for blackmail, or for ensuring loyalty. Kompromat can be acquired from various security services, or outright forged, and then publicized by paying off a journalist. Widespread use of Kompromat has been one of the characteristic features of politics in Russia and other post-Soviet states.

KonMari Method:

Marie Kondo has developed the KonMari Method that consists of gathering together all of one's belongings, one category at a time, and then keeping only those things that "spark joy" and choosing a place for everything from then on.

For more in-depth knowledge read: What Is the KonMari Method?.

Kosher:

Judaism: conforming to dietary laws; ritually pure.

Slang: legitimate; permissible.

Kowtow:

Kowtow, which is borrowed from kau tau in Cantonese (koutou in Mandarin Chinese), is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground.

Kremlinology:

Kremlinology is the study and analysis of the politics and policies of Russia, while the term Sovietology means the study of politics and policies of the Soviet Union and former communist states more generally. These two terms were synonymous until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In popular culture, the term is sometimes used to mean any attempt to understand a secretive organization or process, such as plans for upcoming products or events, by interpreting indirect clues.

Krewe:

A Krewe is an organization that puts on a parade and/or a ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Kriegspiel (chess):

A chess variant of imperfect information. Kriegspiel (German for war game) is a chess variant invented by Henry Michael Temple in 1899 and based upon the original Kriegsspiel developed by Georg von Rassewitz in 1812. In this game each player can see their own pieces, but not those of their opponent. For this reason, it is necessary to have a third person (or computer) act as a referee, with full information about the progress of the game. When it is a player's turn he will attempt a move, which the referee will declare to be 'legal' or 'illegal'. If the move is illegal, the player tries again; if it is legal, that move stands. Each player is given information about checks and captures. They may also ask the referee if there are any legal captures with a pawn. Since the position of the opponent's pieces is unknown, Kriegspiel is not a game with perfect information. Chess Kriegspiel derives from a war game which was used in 19th century Germany to train military officers.

Kris:

A Malayan dagger with a wavy double-edged blade.

Kryptonite:

Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos — the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate natural weakness of Superman and most other Kryptonians, and the word Kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel — the one weakness of an otherwise invulnerable hero.

K-Selection:

In stable or predictable environments, K-Selection predominates as the ability to compete successfully for limited resources is crucial and populations of K-Selected organisms typically are very constant and close to the maximum that the environment can bear (unlike r-selected populations, where population sizes can change much more rapidly).

K Street:

"K Street" is the common and often negative metonym for Washington's lobbying industry. Many of the major Washington lobbying firms were located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of downtown D.C., although the strip has grown less popular for lobbyists in recent years. The major lobbying firms that remain on K Street, as of 2017, include CGCN Group, K&L Gates and Wiley Rein.

Kudos:

From Greek: an expression of approval and commendation; acclaim or praise for exceptional achievement; acclaim, glory, or prestige.

Kübler-Ross Model:

The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying (Scribner Classics).

Included in the book was a model, The Model of Coping with Dying, which she based on research and interviews with more than 500 dying patients. It describes, in five discrete stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression & acceptance), a process by which people cope and deal with grief and tragedy, especially when diagnosed with a terminal illness or experience a catastrophic loss. In addition to this, her book brought mainstream awareness to the sensitivity required for better treatment of individuals who are dealing with a fatal disease or illness.

Visit also: The Kübler-Ross grief cycle.

Kumpel:

Miner; buddy, pal, friend.

Kundalini:

Kundalini is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism. It is one of the components of an esoteric description of man's 'subtle body', which consists of nadis (energy channels), chakras (psychic centres), prana (subtle energy), and bindu (drops of essence).

Through meditation, and various esoteric practices, such as Kundalini yoga, laya-yoga, and kriya yoga, the Kundalini is awakened producing an extremely profound mystical experience.

Kurashi:

What is Kurashi? Kurashi roughly translates to “way of life” or “the ideal way of spending our time,” but like many words lost in translation, it means much more than that. If you haven't tidied using the KonMari Method, focusing on your Kurashi will motivate you to start.

Kushiage:

Japanese cuisine: fried vegetables and meat on a skewer.

Kuznets Curve:

In economics, a Kuznets Curve graphs the hypothesis that as an economy develops, market forces first increase and then decrease economic inequality. The hypothesis was first advanced by economist Simon Kuznets in the 1950s and '60s.

One explanation of such a progression suggests that early in development investment opportunities for those who have money multiply, while an influx of cheap rural labor to the cities holds down wages. Whereas in mature economies, human capital accrual (an estimate of cost that has been incurred but not yet paid) takes the place of physical capital accrual as the main source of growth; and inequality slows growth by lowering education levels because poorer, disadvantaged people lack finance for their education in imperfect credit-markets.

Read also: Environmental Kuznets curve.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- L -

L2:

A person's second language or L2, is a language that is not the native language of the speaker, but that is used in the locale of that person. In contrast, a foreign language is a language that is learned in an area where that language is not generally spoken. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas.

L & L:

Short for: (a discerning) luxury lifestyle.

Created by Kim Weiss on January 24, 2013 as slogan for his website Luxury Man.

L'Amour Fou:

Uncontrollable or obsessive passion.

L'Esprit de l'Escalier:

L'Esprit de l'Escalier or L'Esprit d'Escalier (literally, staircase wit) is a French term used in English that describes the predicament of thinking of the right comeback too late.

L'Heure Bleue:

See: blue hour.

La Belle Époque:

See: Belle Époque.

La Bise:

La Bise or Le Bisou means kiss: French family and friends exchange kisses on alternating cheeks upon meeting and separating. Two people introduced by a mutual friend may also faire La Bise, particularly kids and young adults.

La-La Land:

A place renowned for its frivolous activity.

A state of mind characterized by unrealistic expectations or a lack of seriousness.

A nickname for Los Angeles.

La Serenissima:

The Republic of Venice, or traditionally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia), was a state originating from the lagoon communities in the area of Venice, now northeastern Italy. It existed from the late 7th century AD until 1797. Although it had a long history of war and conquest, the Republic's modern reputation is chiefly based on its status as an economic and trading power.

It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the "Most Serene Republics".

Label:

An item used to identify something or someone, as a small piece of paper or cloth attached to an article to designate its origin, owner, contents, use, or destination.

A distinctive name or trademark identifying a product or manufacturer, especially a recording company.

Labor:

Human effort: one of the three factors of production at the root of all studies of economics. The other two are land and capital.

Labor Day:

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September.

Labor Intensive:

A description of products or services that require a high input of labor compared with the amount of land and capital. Postal services and catering are labor intensive; flying planes and making steel (these days) are not.

Labor Mobility:

The willingness of workers to move from one place to another in pursuit of new job.

Labyrinth:

An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.

Greek Mythology: the maze in which the Minotaur was confined.

Lacanianism:

Lacanianism is the study of, and development of, the ideas and theories of the dissident French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Beginning as a commentary on the writings of Freud, Lacanianism developed into a new psychoanalytic theory of humankind, and spawned a world-wide movement of its own.

Lacrimae Rerum:

Lacrimae Rerum is the Latin phrase for "tears of things."

Lady:

A well-mannered and considerate woman with high standards of proper behavior.

Chiefly British: a general feminine title of nobility and other rank, specifically: used as the title for the wife or widow of a knight or baronet.

Slang: Cocaine.

Lady in Waiting:

A woman who is a servant to a Lady. Similar to a valet for a gentleman.

Lady Killer:

A man who takes advantage of women.

Ladyboy:

Informal: a transvestite or transsexual, especially one from the Far East.

Ladylike:

Characteristic of a Lady; well-bred.

Refined and fastidious.

Lackey:

A liveried male servant; a footman.

A servile follower; a toady.

Laffer Curve:

In economics, the Laffer Curve (sometimes referred to as the Laffer-Khaldun Curve) is a hypothetical representation of the relationship between government revenue raised by taxation and all possible rates of taxation. It is used to illustrate the concept of taxable income elasticity – that taxable income will change in response to changes in the rate of taxation. The Laffer Curve postulates that no tax revenue will be raised at the extreme tax rates of 0% and 100%. If both a 0% and 100% rate of taxation generate no revenue, but some intermediate tax rate generates some tax revenue, it follows that there must exist at least one rate where tax revenue would be a non-zero maximum. The Laffer Curve is typically represented as a graph which starts at 0% tax with zero revenue, rises to a maximum rate of revenue at an intermediate rate of taxation, and then falls again to zero revenue at a 100% tax rate. The actual existence and shape of the curve is uncertain and disputed.

See also: voodoo economics.

Lagom

Lagom is a Swedish word meaning "just the right amount" or "not too much, not too little".

The word can be variously translated as "in moderation", "in balance", "perfect-simple", "just enough", "ideal" and "suitable" (in matter of amounts). Whereas words like sufficient and average suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lagom carries the connotation of appropriateness, although not necessarily perfection. The archetypical Swedish proverb "Lagom är bäst", literally "The right amount is best", is also translated as "Enough is as good as a feast", or as "There is virtue in moderation".

Laid-Back:

Having a relaxed or casual atmosphere or character; easygoing.

Laissez-Faire:

French for: "Let It Happen", an expression used to refer to a particular sort of free-market economics in which government interference with pure market forces is kept to a minimum.

Laissez-Passer:

A pass, especially one used in lieu of a passport.

La-La Land:

A euphemism for a state of unconsciousness.

Lame Duck:

(Etymology): 18th century - a person who had defaulted in the London Stock Exchange was said to waddle out of Exchange Alley like a Lame Duck.

(Colloquial): a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled.

(US, politics): an elected official who has lost the recent election or is not eligible for reelection and is marking time until leaving office. Congressman Jones was a Lame Duck and did not vote on many issues that were important to his constituents.

(Finance, slang, dated): a person who can not fulfil his contracts.

Lampoon:

A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution.

A light, good-humored satire.

LAN:

The acronym for Local Area Network, a computer network that embraces a number of computers whose workers have a common interest: for example, they all work in one particular building, or they all work at one particular function (accounting, say).

Lanai:

A Lanai or Lānai is a type of roofed, open-sided veranda, patio or porch originating in Hawaii.

Land:

The solid ground of the earth.

A nation; a country.

Public or private landed property; real estate.

Land Grabbing:

Land Grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions; the buying or leasing of large pieces of land in developing countries, by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals.

Land Line:

A telecommunications wire or cable laid over land.

Land of Lotus Eaters:

Informal: a place or state of languid contentment.

Landed:

A term used to refer to a shipment of goods at the time and place when and where they are delivered.

Landed Gentry:

The gentry who own land (considered as a class).

Landing Page:

In online marketing a Landing Page, sometimes known as a lead capture page, is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on an advertisement.

Landlord:

A company or an individual who receives income from tenants making use of land and property over which the company or individual has the rights.

Landmark:

Originally, a Landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area.

In modern usage, a Landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation, such as giving directions. This is done in American English as well.

An event marking an important stage of development or a turning point in history.

Landslide Victory:

A Landslide Victory is an electoral victory in a political system, when one candidate or party receives an overwhelming majority of the votes or seats in the elected body, thus all but utterly eliminating the opponents. The winning party has reached more voters than usual, and a Landslide Victory is often seen in hindsight as a turning point in people's views on political matters.

Language:

A system of signs, symbols, gestures, or rules used in communicating.

Computer Science: a system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers.

Lanyard:

A Lanyard is a cord or strap worn around the neck, shoulder, or wrist to carry such items as keys or identification cards. In the military, Lanyards were used to fire an artillery piece or arm the fuze mechanism on an air-dropped bomb by pulling out a cotter pin (thereby starting the arming delay) when it leaves the aircraft. Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure or lower objects.

Lap:

One complete round or circuit, especially of a racetrack; one complete length of a straight course, as of a swimming pool.

Lap Dance:

An erotic dance that a stripper performs while straddling a customer's lap.

Lap Dog:

A small dog kept as a pet.

Informal: one eager to do another's bidding, especially in order to maintain a position of privilege or favor.

Lapidarium:

Collection of stone monuments.

Lapis Lazuli:

An opaque to translucent blue, violet-blue, or greenish-blue semiprecious gemstone composed mainly of lazurite and calcite.

Laptop Computer:

A Laptop is a personal computer designed for mobile use and small enough to sit on one's lap. A Laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and / or a pointing stick), speakers, and often including a battery, into a single small and light unit. The rechargeable battery (if present) is charged from an AC adapter and typically stores enough energy to run the Laptop for two to three hours in its initial state, depending on the configuration and power management of the computer.

See also: netbook, notebook, PC, tablet PC and ultrabook.

Lapsus:

A Lapsus (lapse, slip, error) is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking, something long studied in philology.

Largesse:

Generosity of spirit or attitude.

Lassie Effect:

Researchers commonly use the term the "Lassie Effect" to describe the wide-ranging health benefits of walking a dog. The name refers to the television collie that nobly saved Timmy’s and so many other people’s lives week after week on her popular show.

The health impacts of this exercise can be considerable. Recent studies have found that people who own and walk a dog are much more likely than other people to meet the standard recommendation of 150 minutes of exercise per week. Dog walkers also have lower risks for high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, arthritis and other common medical conditions.

Last Straw:

The last of a succession of irritations, incidents, remarks, etc., that leads to a loss of patience, a disaster.

Last Supper:

Jesus's Supper with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion, at which he instituted the Eucharist.

LAT:

Short for: Living Apart Together.

Living Apart Together is a term for couples who, while committed to each other, decide to have separate homes rather than one shared residence. Research in 2007 suggested that there were as many LAT relationships in the United Kingdom as there were cohabiting relationships.

There are three approaches LAT couples can take, concerning decision to keep separate domestic residences. The majority are the "gladly apart", along with the "regretfully apart" (due to work commitments, family responsibilities, legal or residency requirements, or other reasons) and the "undecidedly apart" (committed but not especially moving towards cohabitation at the time).

Latakia:

Latakia tobacco is a specially prepared tobacco originally produced in Syria and named after the port city of Latakia. Now the tobacco is mainly produced in Cyprus. It is cured over a stone pine or oak wood fire, which gives it an intense smokey-peppery taste and smell. Too strong for most people's tastes to smoke straight, it is used as a "condiment" or "blender" (a basic tobacco mixed with other tobaccos to create a blend), especially in English, Balkan, and some American Classic blends.

Latent:

Potentially existing but not presently evident or realized.

Lateral Flow Test (LFT):

Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs), also known as lateral flow immunochromatographic assays or rapid tests, are simple devices intended to detect the presence of a target substance in a liquid sample without the need for specialized and costly equipment. These tests are widely used in medical diagnostics for home testing, point of care testing, or laboratory use. For instance, the home pregnancy test is an LFT that detects a specific hormone. These tests are simple, economic and generally show results in around five to 30 minutes. Many lab-based applications increase the sensitivity of simple LFTs by employing additional dedicated equipment.

Lateral Thinking:

Lateral Thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

Lateral Thinking is different from our normal perceptions regarding creativity and innovation, and it is an alternative to pure vertical logic/scientism and pure horizontal imagination/spirituality: Purely horizontal thinking is known as daydreaming. Fantasy. Mysticism. The purely horizontal thinker has a thousand ideas but puts none of them into action. He or she sees the big picture and all its possibilities but has little interest in linear, step-by-step implementation. Purely vertical thinking leads to compliance, conformity, and a false sense of knowledge. (False because it’s often just memorization in disguise. The student knows what to do without understanding why.) The purely vertical thinker is a nit-picker, a legalist, a tight-ass.

Latex (clothing):

Latex rubber is used in many types of clothing. Rubber has traditionally been used in protective clothing, including gas masks and Wellington boots. Rubber is now generally being replaced in these application by plastics. Mackintoshes have traditionally been made from rubberized cloth.

Latex rubber as a clothing material is common in fetish fashion and among BDSM practitioners, and is often seen worn at fetish clubs. Latex is sometimes also used by couturiers for its dramatic appearance. Worn on the body it tends to be skin-tight, producing a "second skin" effect. There are several magazines dedicated to the use and wearing of it.

Latin:

Latin is the Indo-European language of the ancient Latins and Romans and the most important cultural language of western Europe until the end of the 17th century. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and many schools and universities continue to teach it. Latin is still used in the process of new word production in modern languages of many different families, including English.

See also: dog latin.

Latitude:

The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian, as on a map or globe.

Freedom from normal restraints, limitations, or regulations.

See also: longitude.

Latte:

A Latte (from the Italian caffèlatte, meaning "coffee (and) milk") is a type of coffee drink made with hot milk. Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as chai, mate or matcha. The word is also sometimes spelled Latté or Lattè - the incorrect diacritical mark being added as a hypercorrection. It is one of the most pretentious drinks in the world.

In Italian Latte means milk. What in English-speaking countries is now called a Latte is shorthand for "caffelatte" or "caffellatte" ("caffè e latte"). The Italian form means "coffee and milk", similar to the French café au lait, the Spanish café con leche and the Portuguese café com leite. Caffè Latte is today part of the defined international coffee menu, which also includes cappuccino and espresso.

Ordering a "Latte" (a term used in many English-speaking countries for a coffee with milk) in Italy will get a glass of hot or cold milk.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term caffè Latte was first used in English in 1847 (as caffe latto), and in 1867 as caffè Latte by William Dean Howells in his essay "Italian Journeys". However, in Kenneth Davids' Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying it is said that "At least until recently, ordering a "Latte" in Italy got you a puzzled look and a hot glass of milk. The American-style caffe Latte did not exist in Italian caffes, except perhaps in a few places dominated by American tourists ... Obviously breakfast drinks of this kind have existed in Europe for generations, but the caffe version of this drink is an American invention ..."

Laugh All the Way to the Bank:

(Intransitive, idiomatic): to be happy due to the receipt of money; to be very happy about money that has been earned by doing something that other people might think is unfair or that they criticized; to be pleased about the profit earned from doing something; if someone is laughing all the way to the bank, they have made a lot of money very easily, often because someone else has been stupid; to be unashamedly pleased at making a lot of money.

Laugh Track:

Recorded laughter added to a soundtrack, as of a television or radio show.

Launch:

The introduction of a new product or service into a market. This usually involves a co-ordinated advertising campaign and intensive distribution.

Launder:

To pass "dirty" money through "clean" places, such as reputable financial centres, so that the money appears to have been acquired legitimately, or to have had any tax due on it paid in full.

Laundry Symbol:

See: care label.

Laurels:

A wreath of Laurel conferred as a mark of honor in ancient times upon poets, heroes, and victors in athletic contests. Often used in the plural.

Lavalier:

A Lavalier is an item of jewelry, consisting of a pendant, sometimes with one stone, suspended from a necklace.

Lavender Marriage:

A Lavender Marriage is a type of male-female marriage of convenience in which the couple are not both heterosexual, to conceal the homosexual or bisexual orientation of one or both spouses. In gay slang, the spouse whose presence conceals the other's sexual orientation is referred to as a "beard".

Law:

A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority.

A set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of a legal system.

A piece of enacted legislation.

Law of Association:

The principle Laws of Association are contiguity, repetition, attention, pleasure-pain, and similarity. The basic laws were formulated by Aristotle in approximately 300 B.C. and by John Locke in the seventeenth century. Both philosophers taught that the mind at birth is a blank slate and that all knowledge has to be acquired by learning. The laws they taught still make up the backbone of modern learning theory.

Law of Attraction:

The Law of Attraction is essentially a belief or theory, that "like attracts like", and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results.

Law of Diminishing Returns:

The economic principle that, after a certain level of production, the same input produces a diminishing amount of output. This can be because of diseconomies of scale: as things get bigger they may require more management input to produce the same output.

Law of Excluded Middle:

In logic, the Law of Excluded Middle (or the principle of excluded middle) states that for any proposition, either that proposition is true or its negation is true. It is one of the so called three laws of thought, along with the law of noncontradiction, and the law of identity. The Law of Excluded Middle is logically equivalent to the law of noncontradiction by De Morgan's laws; however, no system of logic is built on just these laws, and none of these laws provide inference rules, such as modus ponens or De Morgan's laws.

Law of Large Numbers:

A principle of probability and statistics which states that as a sample size grows, its mean will get closer and closer to the average of the whole population. The Law of Large Numbers in the financial context has a different connotation, which is that a large entity which is growing rapidly cannot maintain that growth pace forever. The biggest of the blue chips, with market values in the hundreds of billions, are frequently cited as examples of this phenomenon.

In probability theory, the Law of Large Numbers (LLN) is a theorem that describes the result of performing the same experiment a large number of times. According to the law, the average of the results obtained from a large number of trials should be close to the expected value, and will tend to become closer as more trials are performed.

The LLN is important because it "guarantees" stable long-term results for the averages of some random events. For example, while a casino may lose money in a single spin of the roulette wheel, its earnings will tend towards a predictable percentage over a large number of spins. Any winning streak by a player will eventually be overcome by the parameters of the game. It is important to remember that the LLN only applies (as the name indicates) when a large number of observations are considered. There is no principle that a small number of observations will coincide with the expected value or that a streak of one value will immediately be "balanced" by the others (see the gambler's fallacy).

Law of Supply and Demand:

Common sense principle which defines the generally observed relationship between demand, supply, and prices: as demand increases the price goes up which attracts new suppliers who increase the supply bringing the price back to normal. However, in the marketing, of high price (prestige) goods, such as perfumes, jewelry, watches, cars, liquor, a low price may be associated with low quality, and may reduce demand.

Lawsuit:

An action or a suit brought before a court, as to recover a right or redress a grievance.

Lawyer:

One whose profession is to give legal advice and assistance to clients and represent them in court or in other legal matters.

Lawyer's Letter:

The initial shot in a potential legal battle. A letter, for instance, sent by a lawyer to an intransignent debtor demanding payment within a certain time.

Lay An Egg:

To fail, especially in a public performance.

Lay Off:

To end somebody's employment, either temporarily or permanently, because of cuts by the employing organization. A temporary slowdown in demand for cars, for instance, might lead a car manufacturer to lay off some of its production workers for a few months, until demand picks up again.

Layaway:

A payment plan in which a buyer reserves an article of merchandise by placing a deposit with the retailer until the balance is paid in full.

Layering (finance):

Layering is a strategy in high-frequency trading where a brokerage firm makes and then cancels orders that they never intended to carry out. The trader initially places an order to sell above the market bid price. Subsequently, he places successively increasing bids for that same share. Once the initial requested bid price is reached and the owned shares are sold, the bids are all cancelled before being carried out. Therefore, the price falls back to its original equilibrium. This allows traders to sell above the market bid price in less than a second. It is considered a form of stock market manipulation.

Layman:

Someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person.

Layout:

An arrangement or a plan, especially the schematic arrangement of parts or areas.

Lazzarone:

One of the poorer classes of Neapolitans; beggars.

Playboy, someone who does not work and devotes himself to a life without commitments or responsibilities.

LBO:

Short for: Leveraged Buy-Out, a takeover of a company in which most of the purchase price is paid with borrowed money, which (usually) then becomes a liability of the company that has been purchased.

LCD:

Short for: Liquid Crystal Display. A LCD is an electronically-modulated optical device shaped into a thin, flat panel made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels filled with liquid crystals and arrayed in front of a light source (backlight) or reflector. It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power.

LCD TV:

Short for: Lowest Common Denominator Television. Televion program(s) showing the most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people.

Le Mot Juste:

The right word; the exactly right word or phrasing (in French). Coined by 19th-century novelist Gustave Flaubert, who often spent weeks looking for the right word to use.

Le Vice Anglais:

A French phrase meaning 'the English vice'. It sometimes refers to sadomasochism (= gaining sexual pleasure by beating or whipping people), thought to be characteristic of the English, but is often used to mean any typically English fault or weakness.

Lead:

The first or foremost position.

The margin by which one holds a position of advantage or superiority.

Information pointing toward a possible solution; a clue; an indication of potential opportunity; a tip.

Lead Time:

The amount of time between the placing of an order and the actual receipt of the goods that have been ordered. Lead times are an important variable in the planning of production processes.

Leader:

One that leads or guides.

One who is in charge or in command of others.

One who heads a political party or organization; one who has influence or power, especially of a political nature.

Chiefly British: the main editorial in a newspaper.

Leadership:

A human quality that makes people prepared to follow one person but not another. Some maintain that people are born with Leadership; others maintain that it can be learnt.

League:

An association of states, organizations, or individuals for common action; an alliance.

A class or level of competition.

Sports: an association of teams or clubs that compete chiefly among themselves.

A class or level of competition.

Unit: a League is a unit of length (or, in various regions, area). It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The word originally meant the distance a person could walk in an hour. Since the Middle Ages, many values have been specified in several countries.

Leak:

Informal: to disclose without authorization or official sanction.

Lean Production:

A term used to refer to a particular method of production devised by Japanese manufacturer in their efforts in the 1960s and 1970s to catch up with their western counterparts. It involved minimizing production costs as much as possible, and wherever possible.

Leap Day:

February 29, known as a Leap Day in the Gregorian calendar, is a date that occurs in most years that are evenly divisible by 4.

Leap Second:

A Leap Second is a one-second adjustment that is occasionally applied to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in order to keep its time of day close to the mean solar time, or UT1. Without such a correction, time reckoned by Earth's rotation drifts away from atomic time because of irregularities in the Earth's rate of rotation. Since this system of correction was implemented in 1972, 25 such Leap Seconds have been inserted. The most recent one happened on June 30, 2012 at 23:59:60 UTC. A Leap Second, the 26th, will again be inserted at the end of June 30, 2015 at 23:59:60 UTC.

Leap Year:

A Leap Year (or intercalary or bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day (or, in the case of lunisolar calendars, a month) in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.

Learning by Teaching:

In the field of pedagogy, Learning by Teaching (German: Lernen durch Lehren, short LdL) is a method of teaching in which students are made to learn material and prepare lessons to teach it to the other students. There is a strong emphasis on acquisition of life skills along with the subject matter.

Learning Organization:

The type of organization that makes a systematic attempt to retain and redistribute in an optimum way the information and knowledge that it gathers in it day-to-day business.

Lease:

A contract granting the right to the use of property for a given period of time and for a given payment (or series of payments). If the property is land or buildings, the payment is called rent.

Lease Back:

An arrangement under which an organization which owns land or buildings sells them to a financial intermediary and immediately leases them back from the intermediary. This can have a dramatic effect on the organization's balance sheet.

Leasing:

The hiring (by a manufacturer) or large capital assets (such as machinery) from a financial intermediary. Leasing enables the lessee to exchange what would have been a single large capital payment for a series of installments that can be considered as an expense paid out of income. This can produce tax benefits for both the lessor and the lessee.

Leavism:

Leavisism is a form of literary studies named after F. R. Leavis. Leavis was greatly influenced by Matthew Arnold and they share the notion that culture is the high point in civilization and concern of an educated minority. Leavis argues that prior to industrial revolution England had an authentic culture of the educated elite.

Lebensraum:

Additional territory deemed necessary to a nation, especially Nazi Germany, for its continued existence or economic well-being.

Adequate space in which to live, develop, or function.

Lebowski Achiever:

Since its original release in 1998, The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic. Ardent fans of the film call themselves "Achievers".

An annual festival, Lebowski Fest, began in Louisville, Kentucky, United States in 2002 with 150 fans showing up, and has since expanded to several other cities. The festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including costume, trivia, hardest- and farthest-traveled contests.

Dudeism, an online religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the film's main character was founded in 2005. Also known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude, the organization has ordained over 220,000 "Dudeist Priests" all over the world via its website.

Lecture:

An exposition of a given subject delivered before an audience or a class, as for the purpose of instruction.

An earnest admonition or reproof; a reprimand.

LED:

Short for: Light Emitting Diode. LED is any Light Emitting Diode whose emissive electroluminescent layer is composed of a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. The resulting matrix of pixels can emit light of different colors.

Such systems can be used in television screens, computer displays, small, portable system screens such as cell phones and PDAs, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

A significant benefit of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCD) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. Because there is no need for a backlight, an OLED display can be much thinner than an LCD panel. Degradation of OLED materials has limited their use.

Lederhosen:

Lederhosen (German for leather breeches; singular in German usage: Lederhose) are breeches made of leather; they may be either short or knee-length. There is a widespread misconception that Lederhosen are a traditional national costume (Tracht) in German-speaking countries. They should rather be considered to be workwear or leisurewear for working-class men.

See also: dirndl.

Ledger:

A book in which an organization's accounts are formally recorded.

Le Tout Paris:

Le Tout-Paris ("everyone in Paris") is a French expression referring to the fashionable and affluent elite of the city, who frequent fashionable events and places, and establish trends in upper class culture. It is equivalent to the "jet set" elsewhere, such as "New York society".

Left Wing:

The liberal or radical faction of a group.

Leg:

A limb or an appendage of an animal, used for locomotion or support; one of the lower or hind limbs in humans and primates.

The part of a garment, especially of a pair of trousers, that covers the Leg.

Mathematics: either side of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.

A stage of a journey or course.

Sports: one stretch of a relay race.

Legacy:

Law: money or property bequeathed to another by will.

Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past

Legal:

Meeting the requirements under law.

Legal Tender:

Any sort of money which is a legally acceptable form for paying a debt. Notes and coins are legal tender. Checks and credit cards are not, since a vendor or a lender is not obliged to accept them as payment.

Legato:

In music performance and notation, Legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note with no intervening silence. Legato technique is required for slurred performance, but unlike slurring (as that term is interpreted for some instruments), Legato does not forbid rearticulation. Standard notation indicates Legato either with the word Legato, or by a slur (a curved line) under notes that form one Legato group. Legato, like staccato, is a kind of articulation.

Legend:

An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.

A romanticized or popularized myth of modern times.

One that inspires Legends or achieves legendary fame.

Legerdemain:

Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation ("quick fingers") or Léger de Main, is the set of techniques used by a magician (or card sharp) to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly.

Sleight of hand is not a separate branch of magic, but rather one of the means used by a magician to produce an effect. It can be contrasted with the flourish, where the magician intentionally displays skills, such as the ability to cut cards one-handed, which is akin to juggling. Advanced sleight of hand requires months or years of practice before it can be performed proficiently in front of spectators. Sleight of hand is mostly employed in close-up magic, but it can also be used in stage magic. There are hundreds of different sleights at the performer's disposal, but they can generally be classified into groups such as switches, changes, and others.

See also: Sleight of Hand - John Scarne "Exposé of Sleight of Hand": YouTube 8:57.

Leghorn:

Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 159,431 residents in February 2015. It has traditionally been known in English as Leghorn.

Legislation:

Law: the act or process of making laws; enactment.

Legitimate:

Being in compliance with the law; lawful.

Being in accordance with established or accepted patterns and standards.

Legum Doctor:

Legum Doctor (LL.D.; Doctor of Laws in English) is a doctorate-level academic degree in law, or an honorary doctorate, depending on the jurisdiction. The double L in the abbreviation refers to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both Canon Law and Civil Law, the double L indicating the plural, Doctor of both laws. This contrasts with the practice of the University of Oxford where the degree that survived from the Middle Ages is the DCL or Doctor of Civil Law (only).

Lei (garland):

Lei is a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a Lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. The most popular concept of a Lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection. This concept was popularized through tourism between the Hawaiian Islands and the continental United States in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Leisure:

Freedom from time-consuming duties, responsibilities, or activities.

Leitmotif:

A Leitmotif is a musical term referring to a 'short, constantly recurring musical phrase' (theme), associated with a particular person, place, or idea.

Lemming:

Any of various small, thickset rodents, especially of the genus Lemmus, inhabiting northern regions and known for periodic mass migrations that sometimes end in drowning.

Doomed conformist: a member of a large group of people who blindly follow one another on a course of action that will lead to destruction for all of them.

Lemonade Stroke:

An intentionally amateurish stroke to disguise one's ability to play.

Lent:

The 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter.

Les Lanciers:

Les Lanciers is a Square, or a Quadrille, which is the pan-European term for a set dance performed by four couples. It is a composite dance made up of five figures or tours, each performed four times so that all couples will dance the lead part. We find Les Lanciers or The Lancers in many variants in several countries. One in particular, with its own distinctive music and choreography, is danced only in Denmark.

In Denmark, Les Lanciers is danced at the Danish Court, at any University and School Gaudy, and at countless private functions. Les Lanciers is also taught in most of the high schools in Denmark.

The five tours of the Danish dance are: La Dorset, La Victoria, Les Moulinets, Les Visites, Les Lancers.

The Danish music for each part can be found here.

Lèse Majesté:

Lèse Majesté (French law, from the Latin Laesa Maiestas, "injured majesty"; in English, also Lese Majesty or Leze Majesty) is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.

L'Esprit de l'Escalier:

L'Esprit de l'Escalier or l'esprit d'escalier (lit. "the staircase wit") is a French term used in English for the predicament of thinking of the perfect reply too late.

English speakers sometimes call this "escalator wit", or "staircase wit". English speakers sometimes call this "escalator wit", or "staircase wit". The Yiddish trepverter ("staircase words") and the German loan translation Treppenwitz (when used in an English language context) express the same idea as L'Esprit de l'Escalier.

Lessee:

An individual or organization to whom a lease is granted.

Less is more:

A Ludwig Mies van der Rohe quote.

Lessor:

An individual or organization who grants a lease to another individual or organization.

Let One's Hair Down:

Lit.: to undo one's hair and let it fall freely.

Fig.: to tell everything; to tell one's innermost feelings and secrets; to relax and enjoy yourself without worrying what other people will think.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie:

Idiomatic: to leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.

Prov.: do not instigate trouble; leave something alone if it might cause trouble; to not talk about things which have caused problems in the past, or to not try to change a situation because you might cause problems.

Let the Chips Fall Where They May:

Que sera sera: meaning being willing to accept the consequences of a particular course of action - a quote from the 1999 movie Fight Club.

Let Them Eat Cake:

"Let Them Eat Cake" is the traditional translation of the French phrase "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", supposedly spoken by "a great princess" upon learning that the peasants had no bread. Since brioche was made from dough enriched with butter and eggs, making it more expensive than bread, the quote supposedly would reflect the princess's obliviousness as to the condition of the people.

While it is commonly attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette, there is no record of this phrase ever having been uttered by her. It appears in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, his autobiography (whose first six books were written in 1765, when Marie Antoinette was nine years of age, and published in 1782). The context of Rousseau's account was his desire to have some bread to accompany some wine he had stolen; however, in feeling he was too elegantly dressed to go into an ordinary bakery, he thus recollected the words of a "great princess".

Let's Go, Brandon:

"Let's Go Brandon" is a political slogan and internet meme used as a euphemism for "Fuck Joe Biden" in reference to Joe Biden during his first year as the President of the United States.

Chants of "Fuck Joe Biden" were heard at sporting events in early September 2021. "Let's Go, Brandon" came into use after an NBC Sports reporter identified a chant of "Fuck Joe Biden" by spectators at a NASCAR race as "Let's Go, Brandon" while interviewing driver Brandon Brown. The saying has become well known through use by Republican supporters, pundits, and leaders.

Letter Box Company:

A corporation set up in a tax haven with nothing more than a mailing address to take advantage of tax provisions. Severely criticized in many quarters as an evasive measure, the company whose existence is little more than a name-plate has been outlawed in Monaco but is allowed to function in many other havens.

Letter of Credit:

An arrangement whereby a bank makes funds available to a customer in a foreign country. The bank debits the customer's account at the same time as it sends a letter to a suitable bank abroad asking it to give the customer credit. A Letter of Credit is useful for the finance of trade as well as of foreign travel. The bank abroad will usually have a continuing agreement with the home bank to provide this service for its customers. Such a bank is called the home bank's correspondent.

A Letter of Credit (LC) is a document issued by your bank that essentially acts as an irrevocable guarantee of payment to a beneficiary.

Letter of Intent:

A letter formally expressing an intention to take a particular course of action. A Letter of Intent is written in a way that makes it clear that it is intended not to be; it merely indicates that something is being contemplated.

Letter of Introduction:

The Letter of Introduction, along with the visiting card, was an important part of polite social interaction in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A letter given by one person to another, as an introduction to a third party.

Letter of Marque:

In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and reprisal was a government license authorizing a person (known as a privateer) to attack and capture enemy vessels and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale. Cruising for prizes with a Letter of Marque was considered an honorable calling combining patriotism and profit, in contrast to unlicensed piracy, which was universally reviled. In addition to the term lettre de marque, the French sometimes used the term lettre de course for their Letters of Marque. "Letter of Marque" was sometimes used to describe the vessel used: a "Letter of Marque" generally refers to a lumbering square-rigged cargo carrier that might pick up a prize if the opportunity arose. A "privateer" was a fast and weatherly fore-and-aft-rigged vessel heavily armed and heavily crewed, intended exclusively for fighting.

A "Letter of Marque and reprisal" would include permission to cross an international border to effect a reprisal (take some action against an attack or injury) authorized by an issuing jurisdiction to conduct reprisal operations outside its borders.

Letters Patent:

Letters Patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government, granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation.

Letterhead:

The heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper, usually consisting of a name and an address.

Stationery imprinted with such a heading.

Letterman:

A Letterman, in U.S. sports, performing arts or academics, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation and/or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or in other performance school-sponsored activities.

The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth "letter", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for the initial award to a given individual.

Letterpress Printing:

Letterpress is a printing method that requires characters being impressed upon the page. The print may be inked or blind but is typically done in a single color. Motifs or designs may be added as many letterpress machines use movable plates that must be hand-set.

Lettre de Cachet:

Lettres de Cachet, lit. "letters of the sign/signet") were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that could not be appealed.

Levee:

An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the levees along the Mississippi; (US) The steep bank of a river, or border of an irrigated field; (US) A pier or other landing place on a river.

(Obsolete) The act of rising; getting up, especially in the morning after rest; a reception of visitors held after getting up; a ormal reception, especially one given by royalty or other leaders.

Level:

A position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality.

A relative degree, as of achievement, intensity, or concentration.

Level of Incompetence:

See: The Peter Principle.

Leverage:

The extent to which a purchase was paid for with borrowed money. Amplifies the potential gain or loss for the purchaser.

Leviathan:

Leviathan is a sea monster referred to in the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament). The word Leviathan has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature. In modern literature (such as the novel Moby-Dick) it refers to great whales, and in Modern Hebrew, it means simply "whale."

A thing that is very large or powerful, especially an organization or vehicle.

Lex Krupp:

The Lex Krupp was a document signed into federal law on November 12, 1943 by Adolf Hitler that made the Krupp company a personal company with specially regulated rules of succession, in order to ensure that the Krupp family enterprise remain intact.

Lex Talionis:

Law: the principle or law of retaliation that a punishment inflicted should correspond in degree and kind to the offense of the wrongdoer, as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; retributive justice.

Lexicon:

A dictionary; a vocabulary.

A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style.

Ley Line:

Ley Lines are supposed alignments of a number of places of geographical and historical interest, such as ancient monuments and megaliths, natural ridge-tops and water-fords. The phrase was coined in 1921 by the amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins, in his books Early British Trackways and The Old Straight Track. He sought to identify ancient trackways in the British landscape. Watkins later developed theories that these alignments were created for ease of overland trekking by line-of-sight navigation during neolithic times, and had persisted in the landscape over millennia.

LGBT:

Short for: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender.

Visit: LGBT rights by country or territory - Wikipedia.

LHC:

Short for Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator - aka "The Doomsday Machine."

Visit: The LHC Homepage - CERN.

L'Heure Bleue:

The blue hour (from French L'Heure Bleue) is a period of twilight in the morning and in the evening, during the civil and nautical twilight phases, when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and when the residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade. On a clear day, blue hour can be a colorful spectacle, with the indirect sunlight tinting the sky yellow, orange, red, and blue. This effect is caused by the relative diffusibility of short blue wavelengths of light versus the longer red wavelengths. During the blue "hour" (typically a period about 20 minutes in length), red light passes straight into space, while blue light is scattered in the atmosphere, so reaches Earth's surface. Many artists treasure this period because of the quality of the light. Although the blue hour does not have an official definition, the blue color spectrum is most prominent when the sun is between 4 and 8° below the horizon.

Liability:

An amount of money that is owed.

An obligation to do something in the future.

The legal responsibility for damages for breach of contract or some other civil wrong.

Liaison:

An instance or a means of communication between different groups or units of an organization, especially in the armed forces.

One that maintains communication.

A close relationship, connection, or link.

An adulterous relationship; an affair.

Libel:

A false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person.

Libel Tourism:

Libel Tourism is a term first coined by Geoffrey Robertson QC to describe a form of forum shopping in which plaintiffs choose to file libel suits in jurisdiction thought more likely to give a favourable result.

Liberal:

A person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties.

Liberum Veto:

The Liberum Veto (Latin for "free veto") was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current session and to nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting, Sisto activitatem! (Latin: "I stop the activity!") or Nie pozwalam! (Polish: "I do not allow!"). The rule was in place from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century in the Sejm's parliamentary deliberations. It was based on the premise that since all Polish noblemen were equal, every measure that came before the Sejm had to be passed unanimously.

Libestod:

"Liebestod" (German for "love death") is the title of the final, dramatic music from the 1859 opera Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner. When used as a literary term, Liebestod (from German Liebe, love and Tod, death) refers to the theme of erotic death or "love death" meaning the two lovers' consummation of their love in death or after death.

Libertine:

One who acts without moral restraint; a dissolute person.

One who defies established religious precepts; a freethinker.

Libido:

A Freudian term for sexual urge or desire.

Libretto:

The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera.

License:

A right granted by one organization to another to use a process, trademark, patent, and so on, belonging to the first organization in return for a fee, or for the payment of a royalty.

Licensee:

An individual or organization to whom a license is granted.

Licensing:

Technology which can be the subject-matter of licensing covers all forms of industrial enterprise. It embraces industrial property which may be protected by patents, trade marks, etc. As well as technology which cannot be patented. Industrial enterprises frequently exploit their technology by transferring it to Licensing companies in tax havens so that royalties and other sums may be received by the Licensing company from related companies or third parties thus reducing the total tax burden. The anti-avoidance provisions of most developed countries have limited the use of tax havens for this purpose.

Licensor:

An individual or organization who grants a license to somebody else.

Lidar:

A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed laser light reflected from their surfaces.

Lido:

In British English, a Lido is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the Lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities.

Lido, an Italian word for "beach", forms part of the place names of several Italian seaside towns known for their beaches, such as Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Venetian Lagoon. The term may have found its way into English via English visitors returning from the Lido di Venezia, where sea-bathing took place from the late-19th century.

Lie Dectector:

See: polygraph.

Lie in State:

French: "Étre couché sur un lit de parade." A dead body displayed to the general public.

Lieber Code:

The Lieber Code of April 24, 1863, also known as Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order No. 100, or Lieber Instructions, was an instruction signed by US President Abraham Lincoln to the Union Forces of the United States during the American Civil War that dictated how soldiers should conduct themselves in wartime. Its name reflects its author, the German-American legal scholar and political philosopher Franz Lieber.

Liege:

A lord or sovereign to whom allegiance and service are due according to feudal law.

Loyal; faithful.

Lien:

In law, a Lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation.

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA):

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA, also known as life-cycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis) is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling. Designers use this process to help critique their products. LCAs can help avoid a narrow outlook on environmental concerns by:
•Compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases;
•Evaluating the potential impacts associated with identified inputs and releases;
•Interpreting the results to help make a more informed decision.

Life Support:

of or pertaining to equipment or methods used to sustain life.

Life Hack:

Life Hack (or life hacking) is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. The term was primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a playful curiosity in the ways they can accelerate their workflow in ways other than programming.

The terms hack, hacking, and hacker have a long history of ambiguity in the computing and geek communities, particularly within the free and open source software crowds.

Lifelong Learning:

Lifelong Learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it not only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development, but also competitiveness and employability.

The term recognizes that learning is not confined to childhood or the classroom but takes place throughout life and in a range of situations. During the last fifty years, constant scientific and technological innovation and change has had a profound effect on learning needs and styles. Learning can no longer be divided into a place and time to acquire knowledge (school) and a place and time to apply the knowledge acquired (the workplace). Instead, learning can be seen as something that takes place on an on-going basis from our daily interactions with others and with the world around us.

Lifestyle:

Lifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929. The current broader sense of the word dates from 1961.

In sociology, a Lifestyle is the way a person lives. A Lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. The behaviors and practices within Lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned actions. A Lifestyle typically also reflects an individual's attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a Lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not all aspects of a Lifestyle are entirely voluntaristic. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the Lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she/he is able to project to others and the self.

The lines between personal identity and the everyday doings that signal a particular Lifestyle become blurred in modern society. For example, "green Lifestyle" means holding beliefs and engaging in activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a smaller carbon footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these beliefs and engaging in these activities. Some commentators argue that, in Modernity, the cornerstone of Lifestyle construction is consumption behavior, which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with different products or services that signal different ways of life.

Lifetime Employment:

The practice of working for the same employer from the moment that a person enters the workforce to the day that they retire. Lifetime employment is increasingly rare, but immediately after the second world war it was commonplace.

LIFO:

The acronym for: Last In First Out, an accounting principle whereby (for valuation purposes) the last stock-in-trade that was purchased is considered to be the first to be consumed in the production process.

Lightning in a Bottle:

(Idiomatic): a difficult or challenging feat, particularly to attempt such a feat.

Ligne Claire:

Ligne Claire (French for "clear line") is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian creator of The Adventures of Tintin. It uses clear strong lines of uniform importance. Artists working in it do not use hatching, while contrast is downplayed as well. Cast shadows are often illuminated while a uniformity of line is used throughout, paying equal attention to every element depicted. Additionally, the style often features strong colours and a combination of cartoonish characters against a realistic background. All these elements together can result in giving strips drawn this way a flat aspect.

Like a Headless Chicken:

If you do something Like a Headless Chicken, you do it very quickly and without thinking carefully about what you are doing (usually in continuous tenses).

Like Father, Like Son:

This idiom is used when different generations of a family behave in the same way or have the same talents or defects; in the same manner from generation to generation.

See also: chip off the old block.

Likejacking:

Likejacking is a clickjacking scam perpetrated through Facebook by exploiting the Facebook "Like" button. In Likejacking, scammers share a compelling video, image or discount deal by clicking "Like." This posts the deal on all of the user's friends' Facebook feeds, thus spreading the scam. The more people "Like" the post, the more it spreads.

Lilliputian:

From the name of a fictional island called Lilliput in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Lilotes:

In rhetoric, LitotesLitotesLitotesLitotes (also known classically as antenantiosis or moderatour) is a figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect.

Limbo:

A region or condition of oblivion or neglect; a state or place of confinement; an intermediate place or state.

Performing Arts / Dancing: a Caribbean dance in which dancers pass, while leaning backwards, under a bar.

Limelight:

a focus of public attention.

Limey:

A man of English descent.

Limerick:

A form of comic verse consisting of five anapaestic lines of which the first, second, and fifth have three metrical feet and rhyme together and the third and fourth have two metrical feet and rhyme together.

Limited Edition:

An edition that is restricted to a specific number of copies.

Limited Liability:

The fundamental principle of incorporation whereby a so-called limited company is limited in its obligations to the amount of equity that is raised by its shareholders. A creditor of a limited liability company does not have legal recourse to the directors or the individual shareholders per se for payment of the company's debts.

Limited Partnership:

A form of partnership in which one or more of the partners run the partnership (and have unlimited liability) and a number of other partners contribute only capital to the partnership (and have their liability limited to the amount of capital that they invest). The partners with unlimited liability are called general partners; those with limited liability are called limited partners. The limited partners have no right to participate in the running of the business.

Limousine:

Any of various large passenger vehicles, especially a luxurious automobile usually driven by a chauffeur and sometimes having a partition separating the passenger compartment from the driver's seat.

Line:

Mathematics: a geometric figure formed by a point moving along a fixed direction and the reverse direction.

Merchandise or services of a similar or related nature.

Ancestry or lineage.

Line Extension:

A marketing term for the increase in a product line brought about by adding variations of an existing brand; for example, by adding to a brand of chocolate bars like Mars a brand of Mars ice cream.

Line in the Sand (phrase):

A Line in the Sand is a metaphor with two similar meanings:
The first meaning is of a point (physical, decisional, etc.) beyond which one will proceed no further. An example would be a person who might agree to visit a bar with his friends, but will go no further (i.e., not partake in drinking alcohol).

The second meaning is that of a point beyond which, once the decision to go beyond it is made, the decision and its resulting consequences are permanently decided and irreversible. An example would be to commit funds to completing a project (as opposed to deferral or cancellation); once committed, the funds cannot be spent on another activity, and the project will either succeed or fail.

Line Management:

The managers responsible for the actual production of an organization's goods and services. The expression comes from the military where line duties are those involved directly in the line of fighting, whereas staff duties are associated with the headquarters and support functions.

Line of Beauty:

Line of Beauty is a term and a theory in art or aesthetics used to describe an S-shaped curved line (a serpentine line) appearing within an object, as the boundary line of an object, or as a virtual boundary line formed by the composition of several objects. This theory originated with William Hogarth (18th-century English painter, satirist, and writer), and is an essential part of Hogarth's theory of aesthetics as described in his Analysis of Beauty (1753). According to this theory, S-shaped curved lines signify liveliness and activity and excite the attention of the viewer as contrasted with straight lines, parallel lines, or right-angled intersecting lines, which signify stasis, death, or inanimate objects.

Line Producer:

A Line Producer is a key member of the production team for a motion picture. Typically, a line producer manages the budget of a motion picture. Alternatively, or in addition, they may manage the day to day physical aspects of the film production, serving a role similar to the unit production manager.

Line Up:

To arrange in or form a line.

To organize and make ready.

Linear Perspective :

(Art): a form of geometric perspective in which parallel lines are represented as converging in order to give the illusion of depth and distance.

Lingerie:

Lingerie is a term for fashionable and notionally alluring women's undergarments. It derives from the French word linge, "washables" — as in faire le linge, "do the laundry" — and ultimately from lin for washable linen, the fabric from which European undergarments were made before the general introduction of cotton from Egypt and then from India.

Lingo:

The specialized vocabulary of a particular field or discipline.

Lingua Franca:

A Lingua Franca (or working language, bridge language, vehicular language) is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues. Lingua Francas have arisen around the globe throughout human history, sometimes for commercial reasons (so-called "trade languages") but also for diplomatic and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities.

Linguistics:

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields: the study of language form, of language meaning, and of language in context.

Link:

One of the rings or loops forming a chain.

A unit in a connected series of units.

An association; a relationship.

Computer Science: a segment of text or a graphical item that serves as a cross-reference between parts of a hypertext document or between files or hypertext documents. Also called: hotlink, hyperlink.

Link Farm:

On the World Wide Web, a Link Farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other site in the group. In graph theoretic terms, a Link Farm is a clique. Although some Link Farms can be created by hand, most are created through automated programs and services. A Link Farm is a form of spamming the index of a search engine (sometimes called spamdexing or spamexing). Other link exchange systems are designed to allow individual websites to selectively exchange links with other relevant websites and are not considered a form of spamdexing.

Search engines require ways to confirm page relevancy. A known method is to examine for one-way links coming directly from relevant websites. The process of building links should not be confused with being listed on Link Farms, as the latter requires reciprocal return links, which often renders the overall backlink advantage useless. This is due to oscillation, causing confusion over which is the vendor site and which is the promoting site.

Link Juice:

Jargon that refers to the quality of a web site's link authority and power.

The Link Juice expression was coined by SEO consultant Greg Boser.

Lion's Share:

All, or nearly all; the best or largest part.

Lipizzan (or Lipizzaner):

The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner is a breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria where the finest representatives demonstrate the haute ecole or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the "airs above the ground." The Lipizzan breed dates back to the 16th century, when it was developed with the support of the Habsburg nobility. The breed takes its name from one of the earliest stud farms established, located near the Kras village of Lipica (spelled "Lipizza" in Italian), in modern-day Slovenia.

Lipstick Index:

The Lipstick Index is a term coined by Leonard Lauder, chairman of the board of Estee Lauder, used to describe increased sales of cosmetics during the early 2000s recession. Lauder made the claim that lipstick sales could be an economic indicator, in that purchases of cosmetics - lipstick in particular - tend to be inversely correlated to economic health. The speculation was that women substitute lipstick for more expensive purchases like dresses and shoes in times of economic distress.

Liquefaction:

In materials science, Liquefaction is a process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or that generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in accordance with fluid dynamics. It occurs both naturally and artificially. As an example of the latter, a "major commercial application of liquefaction is the Liquefaction of air to allow separation of the constituents, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and the noble gases." Another is the conversion of solid coal into a liquid form usable as a substitute for liquid fuels.

Liquid:

A substance that is Liquid at room temperature and pressure.

Readily convertible into cash.

Liquidation:

The process of redistributing a company's assets after it has ceased trading. The company may have ceased trading of its own volition, in which case the process is called voluntary Liquidation, or it may have ceased trading on the instructions of a court because it has failed to meet its obligations on time.

Liquidity:

A measure of how quickly a company (or a market) can turn its assets into cash. A bank is highly liquid compared with a hotel company, for instance. Financial institutions like banks have to maintain a certain level of liquidity (imposed by their regulators) so that they can pay out their depositors' money easily should there be a (temporary) loss of confidence in the institution.

List:

A series of names, words, or other items written, printed, or imagined one after the other.

A considerable number; a long series.

List Price:

The formal price of goods and services as recorded on a list produced by the manufacturer or service provider. This may not be the price that customers are actually asked to pay.

Listicle:

In journalism and blogging, a Listicle is a short-form of writing that uses a list as its thematic structure, but is fleshed out with sufficient copy to be published as an article.

Listing:

The adding of a company's securities to the list of those that are traded on a recognized stock exchange.

Listing Requirements:

The things that a company is obliged to do before its securities can obtain a listing on a stock exchange. These usually include:

Being in business for a minimum length of time.

Making a profit for a certain period.

Producing accounts prepared according to the stock exchange's own requirements, which may demand disclosure well beyond what is required by the law of the land.

Lit de Parade:

See: lie in state.

Literati:

The literary intelligentsia.

Literature:

Literature is the art of written work and can, in some circumstances, refer exclusively to published sources. The word Literature literally means "things made from letters" and the pars pro toto term "letters" is sometimes used to signify "Literature," as in the figures of speech "arts and letters" and "man of letters." Literature is commonly classified as having two major forms—fiction & non-fiction—and two major techniques—poetry and prose.

Lithography:

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface. Lithography originally used oil or fat. However, in modern times, the image is now made of polymer applied to anodized aluminium plates.

Litigant:

A party engaged in a lawsuit.

Little Black Book:

An address book, especially one in which the details of one's lovers are recorded.

Litmus Test:

A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper.

A test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision.

LITS:

Short for: Life Is Too Short.

Little Black Book:

A personal telephone directory listing girlfriends, or, less often, boyfriends.

Little Black Dress:

A Little Black Dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the Little Black Dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel and Jean Patou intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral colour. Its ubiquity is such that it is often simply referred to as the "LBD".

Liturgy:

A prescribed form or set of forms for public religious worship.

Live Streaming:

Streaming media are multimedia that are constantly received by, and normally presented to, an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider (the term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback). The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner.

Living Apart Together (LAT):

Couples Living Apart Together (LAT) have an intimate relationship but live at separate addresses. LAT couples account for around 10% of adults in Britain, a figure which equates to over a quarter of all those not married or cohabiting. Similar figures are recorded for other countries in northern Europe, including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Research suggests similar or even higher rates in southern Europe, although here LAT couples often remain in parental households. In Australia, Canada and the US representative surveys indicate that between 6% and 9% of the adult population has a partner who lives elsewhere. LAT is also increasingly understood and accepted publicly, is seen by most as good enough for partnering, and subject to the same expectations about commitment and fidelity as marriage or cohabitation.

Read also: Have couples who live apart discovered the secret to a happy relationship? - "More and more partners are choosing to commit but not cohabit. What can we learn from them?" & Happy Relationships at Home, Work and Play - Amazon.com.

Living Will:

A legal document expressing the desires of the author with regard to medical decisions, invoked in the event that the author is incapacitated and unable to act on their own behalf.

LIX:

LIX is a readability measure indicating the difficulty of reading a text. It is computed as follows: LIX = A/B + (C × 100)/A, where A = Number of words, B = Number of periods (defined by period, colon or capital first letter) and C = Number of long words (More than 6 letters).

See also: Calculator for LIX and other readability indices.

LLC:

Short for: Limited Liability Company. LLC is a hybrid between the partnership and the corporation (originates from the German GmbH created by law in 1892).

LL.D.:

See: legum doctor.

Lloyd's of London:

Lloyd's of London is a unique London-based insurance market that began in the 18th century in the coffee shop of a man named Edward Lloyd. The market is known particularly for insuring marine risks, but it suffered a series of heavy losses in the 1980s when it went into business with which It was less familiar.

Load:

To put a software program or a quantity of data into a computer.

Load Factor:

The percentage of a carrier's capacity that is occupied. For example, an airline may need, on average, a load factor of 75% - ie to sell more than 75% of its seats in order to be profitable.

Loadstar:

Metaphorically for a guiding principle.

Loafer:

A trademark used for a low leather step-in shoe with an upper resembling a moccasin but with a broad, flat heel.

Loan:

A transaction in which the owner of property (the lender) allows another person (the borrower) to have use of that property, usually for an agreed time and for an agreed price. The property in question, of course, is (more often than not) money.

Loan Stock:

That part of a company's capital which is in the form of long-term loans or bonds.

Lobby:

A hall, foyer, or waiting room at or near the entrance to a building, such as a hotel or theater.

A public room next to the assembly chamber of a legislative body.

A group of persons engaged in trying to influence legislators or other public officials in favor of a specific cause.

Lobbying:

Lobbying is the practice of influencing decisions made by government. It includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents or organized groups.

Lobbyist:

A Lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby. Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying.

Locale:

A place, especially with reference to a particular event.

The scene or setting, as of a novel.

Location:

A site or position; situation.

The act or process of locating or the state of being located, e.g. 42.059370 N, 73.910663 W (See also: latitude and longitude).

Location, Location, Location:

A popular statement that emphasizes the location of a property in determining its value. Often phrased as, "The three most important considerations in real estate are Location, Location, Location."

Lock, Stock, and Barrel:

This is an expression that means everything; if someone buys a company lock, stock and barrel, they buy absolutely everything to do with the company.

See also: Hook, Line, and Sinker.

Lock-Out:

The exclusion from a place of work (an office or a factory) of one group of workers by another. Lock-Outs usually occur as part of an industrial dispute between trade unions and managers.

Lock Up:

A garage or storage place separate from the main premises.

Lockdown:

A Lockdown or clampdown is an emergency protocol that usually prevents people or information from leaving an area. The protocol can usually only be initiated by someone in a position of authority. Lockdowns can also be used to protect people inside a facility or, for example, a computing system, from a threat or other external event. Of buildings, a partial Lockdown usually means that doors leading outside are locked such that no person may enter or exit. A full Lockdown usually means that people must stay where they are and may not enter or exit a building or rooms within said building. If people are in a hallway, they should go to the nearest safe, enclosed room.

Locomotive:

A self-propelled vehicle, usually electric or diesel-powered, for pulling or pushing freight or passenger cars on railroad tracks.

A driving or pulling force; an impetus.

Locum Tenens:

A professional person (such as a doctor or clergyman) who temporarily fulfills the duties of another.

Locus:

The scene of any event or action.

Locust Valley Lockjaw Accent:

Locust Valley Lockjaw (also Long Island Lockjaw) is the colloquial term for a brand of speech, widely recognized as the stereotypical upper class American accent and usually associated with the traditional elite of the New York metropolitan area, particularly those on the North Shore of Long Island. The accent takes its name from the hamlet of Locust Valley in Oyster Bay, whose exclusive country clubs (Piping Rock, Beaver Dam, Seawanhaka, and The Creek) often included speakers of the accent. The accent is typically non-rhotic and involves speaking while keeping the lips tight and jaw clenched and thrust forward.

Lodge:

A cottage or cabin, often rustic, used as a temporary abode or shelter.

Any of various Native American dwellings, such as a hogan, wigwam, or longhouse.

A local chapter of certain fraternal organizations.

Loft:

Floor consisting of a large unpartitioned space over a factory or warehouse or other commercial space; such a floor converted into an apartment or artist's studio.

Log File:

A File created by a web or proxy server which contains all of the access information regarding the activity on that server.

Log On:

To go through the stages required to gain access to the programs and information contained within a computer.

Loge:

A small compartment, especially a box in a theater.

The front rows of the mezzanine in a theater.

Loggia:

An open-sided, roofed or vaulted gallery, either free-standing or along the front or side of a building, often at an upper level.

An open balcony in a theater.

Logic:

Logic, from the Greek logikosis the study of reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activity, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. Logic examines general forms which arguments may take, which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is one kind of critical thinking. In philosophy, the study of Logic falls in the area of epistemology, which asks: "How do we know what we know?" In mathematics, it is the study of valid inferences within some formal language.

As a discipline, Logic dates back to Aristotle, who established its fundamental place in philosophy. The study of Logic is part of the classical trivium.

Logical Disjunction:

In logic and mathematics, or is the truth-functional operator of (inclusive) disjunction, also known as alternation; the or of a set of operands is true if and only if one or more of its operands is true.

Logical Paradox:

Common themes in paradoxes include self-reference, infinite regress, circular definitions, and confusion between different levels of abstraction.

Login:

In computer security, a Login or logon refers to the credentials required to obtain access to a computer system or other restricted area. Logging in or on and signing in or on is the process by which individual access to a computer system is controlled by identifying and authenticating the user through the credentials presented by the user.

Logistics:

A term taken from the military where it referred to the science of supplying and moving troops; hence the science of moving goods, services and people in and out of corporations.

Logistics means having the right thing, at the right place, at the right time.

The procurement, maintenance, distribution, and replacement of personnel and materiel.

Logistics is the science of planning and implementing the acquisition and use of the resources necessary to sustain the operation of a system.

The science of planning, design, and support of business operations of procurement, purchasing, inventory, warehousing, distribution, transportation, customer support, financial and human resources.

Logo:

The design or symbol that uniquely identifies a particular organization or brand.

Logomachy:

Dispute over the meaning of words.

Lohengrin:

Lohengrin is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, is a version of the Knight of the Swan legend known from a variety of medieval sources. Wolfram's story was expanded in two later romances. Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin of 1848 is based upon the legend.

Lolcat:

A Lolcat is an image combining a photograph of a cat with text intended to contribute humour. The text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect, and its use in this way is known as "lolspeak" or "kitty pidgin".

"Lolcat" is a compound word of the acronymic abbreviation for "laugh out loud" (LOL) and the word "cat". A synonym for "Lolcat" is cat macro, since the images are a type of image macro. Lolcats are commonly designed for photo sharing imageboards and other Internet forums. Similar image macros that do not feature cats are often simply referred to as "lols".

Lollapalooza Effect:

Charlie Munger, an American businessman, investor, and partner of the legendary Warren Buffett, coined the term "Lollapalooza Effect" during a 1995 Harvard speech, in which he reviewed numerous causes of human misjudgment. It has since become another piece of investing jargon.

Definition: We humans have many inherent biases and tendencies that can sway our behavior one way or another. When several of them act in concert to drive us toward a particular action, you have a Lollapalooza Effect. The Lollapalooza Effect can create large-scale drivers of human behavior - and often error.

Lone Ranger:

One who acts alone and without consultation or the approval of others.

Lone Wolf:

A Lone Wolf or lone-wolf fighter is someone who commits or prepares for, or is suspected of committing or preparing for, violent acts in support of some group, movement, or ideology, but who does so alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group.

Long:

An investor is said to be long in a stock when his supply of it and his commitments to buy it in the future are in excess of his commitments to sell it.

Long Shot:

An entry, as in a horserace, with only a slight chance of winning.

A bet made at great odds; a venture that offers a great reward if successful but has very little chance of success.

Long Tail:

Long Tail is the name for a long-known feature of some statistical distributions.

Long-Term:

In corporate life, generally a period in excess of ten years. Long-Term planning is planning for the business world of ten years hence. Longs, as the British government's Long-Term bonds used to be called, were securities with an original maturity of 15 years or more.

Longitude:

Angular distance on the earth's surface, measured east or west from the prime meridian at Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England, to the meridian passing through a position, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds.

See also: latitude.

Longtermism:

Longtermism is an ethical stance which gives priority to improving the long-term future. It is an important concept in effective altruism and serves as a primary motivation for efforts to reduce existential risks to humanity.

Read more here: What is longtermism? - BBC Future & The Case for Longtermism - The New York Times.

Longueur:

A long and boring passage in a literary work, drama, musical composition, or the like.

Look:

The feelings expressed on a person's face; physical appearance.

Clothing & Fashion: style; fashion.

See also: New Look.

Look-See:

(Informal): a brief examination, a peek or glance.

Look What the Cat Dragged in:

From the habit of domestic cats of bringing home the remains of killed animals.

(Idiomatic): used as an ironic acknowledgement of someone's arrival, especially to imply that they are unwelcome or disagreeable in some way.

Lookback Window:

A Lookback Window is the period of time after an ad is clicked or viewed within which an install can be attributed, or matched, to the ad. Advertisers and attribution providers use Lookback Windows to determine if a specific click or view led to a user's decision to download an app.

The Lookback Window is not a very complex concept, but it is essential to understand it accurately. It defines a time span which corresponds to the period prior to conversion. This period is usually 30 days, but it may be 60 days, 90 days or a period defined by you. It brings together all the actions carried out by the customer within this period, before conversion. Using this history, you will be able to analyse your marketing channels’ performances.

Read also: Lookback Window - Google Ad Manager Help.

Lookbook:

A Lookbook is a collection of photographs compiled to show off a model, a photographer, a style, or a clothing line.

Looksmaxxing:

Looksmaxxing, or to looksmax, is a practice involving several forms of body care routines, in an effort to improve one's physical appearance. While the practice as a whole can refer to simple hygiene, more extreme methods have become associated with Looksmaxxing, such as "mewing." The practice is affiliated with incel subculture, and originated on "manosphere" message boards. The practice became a TikTok trend, and became popular amongst mostly teenagers in the 2020s.

Loop:

A length of line, thread, ribbon, or other thin material that is curved or doubled over making an opening.

Electricity: a closed circuit.

Computer Science: a sequence of instructions that repeats either a specified number of times or until a particular condition is met.

A flight maneuver in which an aircraft flies a circular path in a vertical plane with the lateral axis of the aircraft remaining horizontal.

A segment of film or magnetic tape whose ends are joined, making a strip that can be continuously replayed.

Loophole:

A way of escaping a difficulty, especially an omission or ambiguity in the wording of a contract or law that provides a means of evading compliance.

A small hole or slit in a wall, especially one through which small arms may be fired.

Lord:

A man of high rank in a feudal society or in one that retains feudal forms and institutions.

A man of renowned power or authority; a man who has mastery in a given field or activity.

Lord of the Manor:

One who has power and authority; a master; a ruler; a governor; a prince; a proprietor, as of a Manor.

Loss:

The condition in which a company's expenses over a given period are greater than its revenue over the same period; or where its income from a particular transaction is less than the cost of the transaction.

Loss Leader:

A Loss Leader (also leader) is a pricing strategy where a product is sold at a price below its market cost to stimulate other sales of more profitable goods or services. With this sales promotion/marketing strategy, a "leader" is any popular article, i.e., sold at a low price to attract customers.

One use of a Loss Leader is to draw customers into a store where they are likely to buy other goods. The vendor expects that the typical customer will purchase other items at the same time as the Loss Leader and that the profit made on these items will be such that an overall profit is generated for the vendor.

Lost Generation:

The "Lost Generation" is a term used to refer to the generation, actually an age cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to Gertrude Stein, who was then his mentor and patron.

Lost in Translation:

When something is translated into another language, and sometimes translated back into the original language, and because of differences of the languages some of the original meaning is lost.

Whenever someone re-does something in a new medium (for instance, a movie based on a book) and, due to differances between the mediums, some details and the original meaning is not present.

Lothario:

Lothario refers to a handsome man who seduces ladies. The name originated from a character in the play The Fair Penitent. In the play, Lothario seduces and betrays Calista.

Lottery:

A contest in which tokens are distributed or sold, the winning token or tokens being secretly predetermined or ultimately selected in a random drawing.

An activity or event regarded as having an outcome depending on fate.

Lotus Eater:

Greek Mythology: one of a people described in the Odyssey who lived in a drugged, indolent state from feeding on the lotus.

A lazy person devoted to pleasure and luxury.

Louche:

Not reputable or decent.

Lounge:

A room, as in a hotel or theater, where guests or patrons may go to relax, socialize, smoke, etc.

A living room.

A lobby.

A cocktail lounge.

Love Addiction:

When one person loves another with compulsive intensity and in ways that are not to the best interest of either person.

Love Contract Policy:

A Love Contract Policy establishes workplace guidelines for dating or romantically involved coworkers. The purpose of the policy is to limit the liability of an organization in the event that the romantic relationship of the dating couple ends.

Love Handle:

A deposit of fat at the waistline.

Love Lock:

A Love Lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts' names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. Since the 2000s, Love Locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are often treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and are costly to remove.

Read also: Section of Paris bridge begins to collapse under weight of thousands of 'love locks' left by tourists - Daily Mail.

Lovers' Lane:

Any secluded place frequented by young couples so as to engage in lovemaking in their parked vehicles.

Low Hanging Fruit:

Low Hanging Fruit can offer positive opportunities for businesses that want to quickly make progress on their goals. To reap the best benefits, it’s important to understand which Low Hanging Fruit offers your business the juiciest opportunities. This article explains Low Hanging Fruit, teaches you how to evaluate Low Hanging Fruit and answers some frequently asked questions about Low Hanging Fruit.

Lower Classes:

The working class (also labouring class and proletariat) are the people employed for wages, especially in manual-labour occupations and in skilled, industrial work. Working-class occupations include blue-collar jobs, some white-collar jobs, and most service-work jobs. The working class only rely upon their earnings from wage labour, thereby, the category includes most of the working population of industrialized economies, of the urban areas (cities, towns, villages) of non-industrialized economies, and of the rural workforce.

Loyalty:

A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection.

The extent to which customers buy the same goods and services again and again. On the whole, a customer's Loyalty decreases as his or her choice gets wider.

Loyalty Card:

The plastic card issued to customers as part of a loyalty program.

Loyalty Program:

A marketing initiative designed to increase customers' loyalty to a particular product or a particular distribution channel. A typical Loyalty Program might include giving customers plastic cards which electronically credit them with points (which can be redeemed for goods) in line with the volume of their purchases.

L.S.D.:

Short for: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.

LTD:

A short version of Limited Liability. An expression added to the end of a company's name to indicate that the company has the protection that limited liability affords. All languages have a similar way of indicating that an organization enjoys the privileges of limited liability.

LTE (telecommunication):

LTE, an initialism of long-term evolution, marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

Luck:

The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; fortune.

Good fortune or prosperity; success.

One's personal fate or lot.

Lucky Number:

In number theory, a Lucky Number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a "sieve" similar to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes.

Luggage:

Trunk, a wooden box, generally much larger than other kinds of luggage. Trunks come in smaller sizes as in the case of footlockers and larger ones called steamers. These days trunks are more commonly used for storage than transportation. Items large enough to require a trunk are now usually shipped in transport cases.

Suitcase, a general term that may refer to wheeled or non-wheeled luggage, as well as soft or hard side luggage.

Portmanteau, a large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments.

Wheeled Upright, a relatively new type of luggage that incorporates an extending handle that allows the traveler to roll it in an upright position.

Gladstone bag, (aka "Professor bag") a small portmanteau suitcase built over a rigid frame which could separate into two equal sections. Unlike a suitcase, a Gladstone bag is "deeper in proportion to its length."

Garment bag, a style of luggage that folds over on itself to allow long garments such as suits or dresses to be packed flat to avoid creasing. Garment bags come in both wheeled and non-wheeled models, and are usually one of the largest pieces in any set of luggage.

Tote, a small bag, usually worn on the shoulder, though wheeled models with extending handles have become popular in recent years.

Duffel bag, a barrel-shaped bag, almost exclusively soft side, is well suited to casual travel, with very little organization inside. A small bag, usually worn on the shoulder, though wheeled models with extending handles have become popular in recent years.

Carpet bag, travel luggage traditionally made from carpets.

Rolling luggage, referring to various types of wheeled luggage either with or without telescoping handles. Typically two fixed wheels on one end with the handle located on the opposite for vertical movement.

Backpack, (also called rucksack, knapsack, packsack, pack, or Bergan) is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions. Light weight types of backpacks are sometimes worn on only one shoulder strap.

Trolley case, some suitcases that include a telescopic handle and wheels are known as trolley cases. Trolley cases typically have two fixed wheels on one end with the handle located on the opposite for vertical movement.

Lumber Room:

The large houses of the wealthy class of Britain commonly had a lot of very old, well-built furniture, more than was to be used in every room at any given time. Every piece was made-to-order, and when not needed it was neither sold nor discarded. At least one out-of-the-way room was selected to store the pieces that were not in use. This was called the Lumber Room.

Lumen (unit):

The Lumen (symbol: lm) is the SI derived unit of luminous flux, a measure of the power of light perceived by the human eye.

Lumpenproletariat:

Lumpenproletariat is a term that was originally coined by Karl Marx to describe the layer of the working class that is unlikely ever to achieve class consciousness and is therefore lost to socially useful production, of no use to the revolutionary struggle, and perhaps even an impediment to the realization of a classless society.

Luopan:

Luopan is a Chinese magnetic compass, also known as a Feng Shui compass. It is used by a Feng Shui consultant to determine the precise direction of a structure or other item.

Lurker:

In Internet culture, a Lurker is typically a member of an online community or PLN who observes, but does not participate. The exact definition depends on context. Lurkers make up a large proportion of all users in online communities. Lurking allows users to learn the conventions of an online community before they participate, improving their socialization when they eventually de-lurk. However, a lack of social contact while Lurking sometimes causes loneliness or apathy among Lurkers.

Luxury:

Something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity.

Lavishness: the quality possessed by something that is excessively expensive.

Wealth as evidenced by sumptuous living.

Luxury Goods:

Expensive goods which no reasonable person would consider to be essential to everyday life, such as precious jewellery, high fashion or specially matured alcoholic drinks. Because of their nature, luxury goods are bought in a different way from consumer goods and need to be marketed differently. They are sometimes taxed differently, too.

See also: Veblen good.

Luxury Yacht Tender (Tender To...):

A Luxury Yacht Tender is used to service and to provide support and entertainment to a private or charter luxury yacht. Known commonly as the 'yacht's tender' a luxury yacht tender will often be a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RIB) which features cushioned inflatable rubber inner tubes around its rigid (usually fiberglass) hull to protect the yacht when in close contact.

Other types of Luxury Yacht Tender include inflatable boats, which are almost completely synthetic rubber or plastic, and also rigid inflatable boats (RIB's) which are usually constructed from materials such as fiberglass, wood, steel or aluminum with inflatable synthetic rubber or plastic sponsons. Tenders are motor powered by outboard motor engines or inboard engines burning either petrol/gasoline or diesel. They use either propellers or more recently impellers as utilized by water jet boats.

Lycanthropy:

Lycanthropy is the mythological ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf.

Lycra:

Spandex, Lycra or elastane, is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is stronger and more durable than rubber, its major non-synthetic competitor.

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M&A:

Short for: Mergers and Acquisition. The business of arranging and financing takeovers (of one corporation by another) and mergers (between corporations).

M-Health:

(Mobile-Health). An umbrella term for wireless devices that are used in health care. It includes mobile monitors worn by patients as well as smartphones that physicians and nurses use to obtain and disseminate information.

M-Pesa:

M-PESA (M for mobile, Pesa is Swahili for money) is the product name of a mobile phone based money transfer service.

Ma'am:

UK: Ma'am is mostly obsolete, with a few exceptions. It must be used when addressing the Queen in place of Your Majesty; after having first addressed her as "Your Majesty", it is correct to address the Queen of the United Kingdom as "Ma'am" (pronounced to rhyme with "ham", not "farm") for the remainder of a conversation.

Macarena:

La Macarena is the traditional and historical name of the area of Seville (Spain) located north of the city center. Nowadays, La Macarena is the name of the neighborhood placed on both sides of the north city wall, but also a much bigger administrative district of Seville.

"Macarena" is a Spanish dance song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1994 album A mí me gusta, it was an international hit between 1995 and 1996, and continues to have a cult following. One of the most iconic of 1990s dance music, it was ranked the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time" by VH1 in 2002. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. The song ranks at #5 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also ranks at #1 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs. It is also Billboard's #1 dance song and one of six foreign language songs to hit #1 since 1955's modern rock era began.

See also: gangnam.

Macaronic:

Macaronic refers to text using a mixture of languages, particularly bilingual puns or situations in which the languages are otherwise used in the same context (rather than simply discrete segments of a text being in different languages). The term can also denote hybrid words, which are effectively "internally Macaronic". A rough equivalent in spoken language is code-switching, a term in linguistics referring to using more than one language or dialect within the same conversation.

MacGuffin:

A MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin) is "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". Coined (c. 1935) by English film director Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (1899-1980).

Mach Speed:

Mach number (Ma or M) is the speed of an object moving through air, or any fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance. It is commonly used to represent an object's (such as an aircraft or missile) speed, when it is travelling at (or at multiples of) the speed of sound.

The Mach number is named after Czech/Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.

Macher:

A person who gets things done.

(Derogatory): an overbearing person.

Machine Tool:

A piece of equipment used for cutting and shaping metal in a manufacturing process.

Machinima:

Machinima is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often video games are used to generate the computer animation. Machinima-based artists, sometimes called machinimists or machinimators, are often fan laborers, by virtue of their re-use of copyrighted materials (see below). Machinima offers to provide an archive of gaming performance and access to the look and feel of software and hardware that may already have become unavailable or even obsolete; for game studies, "Machinima’s gestures grant access to gaming’s historical conditions of possibility and how Machinima offers links to a comparative horizon that informs, changes, and fully participates in videogame culture."

Machismo:

Machismo is a prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism. In many cultures, machismo is acceptable and even expected.

Macho:

Strong or exaggerated masculinity.

Mackintosh:

The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac or mack) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made out of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, though many writers add a letter k (this variant spelling "Mackintosh" is now standard.

Macro (computer science):

A Macro in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to a replacement input sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure. The mapping process that instantiates (transforms) a Macro use into a specific sequence is known as macro expansion. A facility for writing macros may be provided as part of a software application or as a part of a programming language. In the former case, Macros are used to make tasks using the application less repetitive. In the latter case, they are a tool that allows a programmer to enable code reuse or even to design domain-specific languages.

Macros are used to make a sequence of computing instructions available to the programmer as a single program statement, making the programming task less tedious and less error-prone. (Thus, they are called "Macros" because a big block of code can be expanded from a small sequence of characters). Macros often allow positional or keyword parameters that dictate what the conditional assembler program generates and have been used to create entire programs or program suites according to such variables as operating system, platform or other factors. The term derives from "Macro instruction", and such expansions were originally used in generating assembly language code.

MAD:

Short for: Mutual Assured Destruction.

Mad Cow Disease:

A fatal disease of cattle that affects the central nervous system; causes staggering and agitation.

Madam:

Used formerly as a courtesy title before a woman's given name but now used only before a surname or title indicating rank or office.

Used as a salutation in a letter.

Used as a form of polite address for a woman.

The mistress of a household.

A woman who manages a brothel.

Madame:

Madame, Madam, Ma'am (rhymes with ham), or Mme is a title for a woman. It is derived from the French madame, the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and literally signifying "my lady." The plural of madam in this sense is mesdames. The French madame is in turn derived from the Latin mea domina meaning 'my mistress' of the home (domus).

After addressing her as "Your Majesty" once, it is correct to address The Queen of the United Kingdom as "Ma'am" for the remainder of a conversation, with the pronunciation as in "ham" and not as in "chum" or "farm."

See also: Madam & Sir.

Made-to-Order:

Made in accordance with particular instructions or requirements; custom-made.

Madeleine Moment:

In In Search of Lost Time (also known as Remembrance of Things Past), author Marcel Proust uses madeleines to contrast involuntary memory with voluntary memory. The latter designates memories retrieved by "intelligence," that is, memories produced by putting conscious effort into remembering events, people, and places. Proust's narrator laments that such memories are inevitably partial, and do not bear the "essence" of the past. The most famous instance of involuntary memory by Proust is known as the "episode of the madeleine," yet there are at least half a dozen other examples in In Search of Lost Time:

"No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory - this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. ... Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? ... And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea."

Madison Avenue:

The term "Madison Avenue" is often used metonymically for advertising, and Madison Avenue became identified with the advertising industry after the explosive growth in this area in the 1920s.

Madrigal:

A song for two or three unaccompanied voices, developed in Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

A short poem, often about love, suitable for being set to music.

Maelstrom:

A powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides).

A violent or turbulent situation.

Maestro:

An artist of consummate skill.

Maestro means "master" or "teacher" in Italian: a term of respect used particularly in the international music world.

Mafia:

The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra, Camorra and 'Ndrangheta) is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a Mafia (although it is not the first organized criminal society to appear in Italy). It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a "family", "clan" or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets – usually a town or village or a part of a larger city.

See also: the Japanese equivalent: triad.

Magazine:

Magazines, periodicals, glossies, or serials are publications that are printed with ink on paper, and generally published on a regular schedule and containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid Magazine subscriptions, or all three. At its root, the word Magazine refers to a collection or storage location. In the case of written publication, it is a collection of written articles.

Magi:

The biblical Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men, appearing in the Gospel of Matthew and in Christmas imagery.

Magic:

The art that purports to control or forecast natural events, effects, or forces by invoking the supernatural.

A mysterious quality of enchantment.

Magic 8-Ball:

The Magic 8-Ball is a toy used for fortune-telling or seeking advice, developed in the 1950s and manufactured by Mattel. It is often used in fiction, often for humor related to its giving accurate, inaccurate, or otherwise statistically improbable answers.

Magic Circle:

The British association of magicians, traditionally forbidden to reveal any of the secrets of their art.

A Magic Circle is circle or sphere of space marked out by practitioners of many branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be marked physically, drawn in salt or chalk, for example, or merely visualised.

A group of influential people involved in a conspiracy.

Magic Realism:

Magical realism, Magic Realism, or marvelous realism is literature, painting, and film that, while encompassing a range of subtly different concepts, share in common an acceptance of magic in the rational world. It is also sometimes called fabulism, in reference to the conventions of fables, myths, and allegory. Of the four terms, Magical Realism is the most commonly used and refers to literature in particular that portrays magical or unreal elements as a natural part in an otherwise realistic or mundane environment.

Maglev (transport):

Maglev, or MAGnetic LEVitation, is a system of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic levitation from a very large number of magnets for lift and propulsion. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and smoother than wheeled mass transit systems. The power needed for levitation is usually not a particularly large percentage of the overall consumption, most of the power used is needed to overcome air drag, as with any other high speed train.

Magna Carta:

Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum (the Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. It was written in Latin and is known by its Latin name. The usual English translation of Magna Carta is Great Charter.

Magna Carta required King John of England to proclaim certain rights (pertaining to freemen), respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether free or fettered — and implicitly supported what became the writ of habeas corpus, allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment.

Visit: Magna Carta - Wikipedia.

Magnate:

A powerful or influential person, especially in business or industry.

Magnetic Stripe Card:

A Magnetic Stripe Card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called swipe card or magstripe, is read by swiping past a magnetic reading head.

Magnetic recording on steel tape and wire was invented during World War II for recording audio. In the 1950s, magnetic recording of digital computer data on plastic tape coated with iron oxide was invented. In 1960 IBM used the magnetic tape idea to develop a reliable way of securing magnetic stripes to plastic cards, under a contract with the US government for a security system. A number of International Organization for Standardization standards, ISO/IEC 7810, ISO/IEC 7811, ISO/IEC 7812, ISO/IEC 7813, ISO 8583, and ISO/IEC 4909, now define the physical properties of the card, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, magnetic characteristics, and data formats. They also provide the standards for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions.

Magnetometer:

A Magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of a magnetic field either produced in the laboratory or existing in nature. The International System of Units unit of measure for the strength of a magnetic field is the tesla. Magnetometers, which measure magnetic fields, are distinct from metal detectors, which detect hidden metals by their conductivity.

Magnetometers have a very diverse range of applications from locating submarines and Spanish Galleons, positioning weapons systems, detecting unexploded ordenance, locating toxic waste drums, heart beat monitors, sensors in anti-locking brakes, weather prediction (via solar cycles), depths of steel pylons, drill guidance systems, locating hazards for tunnel boring machines, archaeology, Plate Tectonics, finding a wide range of mineral deposits and geological structures, hazards in coal mines, to radio wave propagation and planetary exploration. And there are many more applications.

Magnifico:

A grandee or nobleman of Venice.

Magnum:

A bottle, holding about two fifths of a gallon (1.5 liters), for wine or liquor; the amount of liquid that this bottle can hold.

Magnum Opus:

Magnum Opus, from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, composer or craftsman.

Magpie:

Long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous chattering call.

Someone who collects things that have been discarded by others.

An obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker.

mAh:

Milli ampere-hour, a unit of electric charge.

Mahalo:

"Mahalo" is a Hawaiian word meaning thanks, gratitude, admiration, praise, esteem, regards, or respects.

Mahdi:

The Mahdi is an eschatological redeemer of Islam who will appear and rule for five, seven, nine or nineteen years (according to differing interpretations) before the Day of Judgment and will rid the world of evil.

Mahir:

Mahir is an Arabic given name meaning "skilled" or "expert".

Mahout:

A Mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Usually, a Mahout starts as a boy in the family profession when he is assigned an elephant early in its life. They remain bonded to each other throughout their lives.

Maid of Honor:

An unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding.

Mail Order:

The use of the postal services as a distribution channel for goods. Customers receive a catalogue (a Mail Order catalogue) from which they choose goods that they want to buy. They order and pay for them (by telephone or by post) and are sent the goods within a stated time period.

Mail Shot:

A widespread distribution of printed material by post aimed at persuading the recipients to purchase particular goods or services, to join an organizations, to give money to charity, and so on.

Maildrops and Serviced Offices:

What is a Maildrop? A mail forwarding service - Maildrop - allows a person to use their (the Maildrop's) address to receive mail and then have it forwarded to the address where the person actually wishes to receive mail. Sometimes it's in the same city, other times in another continent. Mail is sent to the Maildrop and is then placed unopened into another envelope and mailed to its final destination. As long as your intentions are legal there is never any problems with authorities. A good, reliable service does not condone fraudulent business activity. You can still use your regular address to receive most of your mail but your confidential mail goes to the mail forwarding service and then to you.

Financial privacy is almost a thing of the past nowadays. With computers, it's eroding rapidly, much quicker than in the past. You might say, "Who needs Privacy? I have nothing to hide!" It seems that whenever you make a simple purchase, they ask for your name and address. Then about a month later you start receiving weekly catalogs, sales literature, promotions, etc. Try giving them a name other than your own with your address. I tried John Doe (!) and sure enough that person started receiving catalogs. Many companies sell our names to others and sooner or later you are getting bombarded with Investment Schemes, Get Rich Quick Letters, Chain Letters, Miracle Health Cures, and other distracting material.

People who use mail forwarding services are a mixed bag of individuals and organizations. Some people have made enemies in life, ex-spouses, business acquaintances and while they may be living in Paris, France, they would like the other party to think they are in London, England, so they use a mail forwarding service.

If you are going to sell a product by mail and have the best product in the world but are located in San Salvador, El Salvador a potential buyer for your product may be hesitant about sending money for your product. If you have a US address, most buyers are not too worried about sending money through the mail.

Many people, maybe they have accumulated great wealth or are celebrities, have to worry about the press, fans and admirers, enemies, kidnappers, robbers, and so on. With a mail drop you can keep distance bewteen you and these people. Companies use mail forwarding services to do thing their competition might find out about if they used their regular address. It's also a good way to check out your competition. You can find out what they are charging the people you are selling to. Another company ran Help Wanted Ads just to see how loyal his employees were to him. Mailing list companies also use mail forwarding services to salt their mailing lists to the people they are renting to, and check to see that the lists are being used on a one time basis.

In using a Maildrop try to find out beforehand how much privacy they give you, some will give information out to anyone calling over the phone - a good one will not as it could be just anyone calling. Try to find out how long they have been in business and if they plan to be in business for awhile. Make sure they don't sell your name to other people's mail order businesses as this can defeat their purpose.

Mail forwarding service combined with serviced business offices: Business centers particularly suit companies setting-up branch office(s) overseas. They prefer to establish themselves before signing a lease, though some companies that arrive intending to use a business center for a few months end up staying with them for years - for the sake of convenience, the comfort of clean modern offices with a prestigious address, without the hassle of maintenance and other problems associated with a lease, becomes too difficult to give up.

Telephone services range from a basic message-taking service to the most up-to-date call diversion system. One business center offers a diversion service called "The London Office". This was designed with the telecommunications company so that your own 0171-telephone number is instantly diverted to a chosen number anywhere in the world, and a programmed announcement saying "This is a call from your London office" pre-warns whoever answers the telephone. Of course you pay for the second leg of the call. The telephone services available from "The London Office" link with another service called "The Virtual Office". This is a package offering clients the flexibility to work from anywhere they choose; local telephone numbers are logged onto a computer system for call diversion. The package includes use of the business center's address, use of meeting rooms and secretarial services.

In most serviced office centers clients can buy services à la carte in order to suit their particular needs. For example, you can rent conference rooms by the hour so as to have an office for, for example in London, when the need arises. The main attraction of the serviced office facility is that the client has the option to walk away when his license expires. Business centers take the operational headaches out of renting office space and of clients having to employ their own staff, which leaves them free to focus their efforts entirely on the success of their business.

Main Street:

Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name (and often the official name) of the primary retail street of a village, town or small city in many parts of the world. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in the central business district, and is most often used in reference to retailing and socializing.

See also: Elm Street

Mainframe:

A large powerful computer, often serving many connected terminals and usually used by large complex organizations.

Mainstream:

The prevailing current of thought, influence, or activity.

Representing the prevalent attitudes, values, and practices of a society or group.

Maintenance:

The cost of keeping plant and machinery in good working order.

Maître d':

The Maître d'(short for Maître d'Hôtel, in the original French, literally "Master of the Hotel") in a suitably staffed restaurant or hotel is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables in the establishment and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. He or she may also be the person who receives and records reservations for dining, as well as dealing with any customer complaints. It is also their duty to make sure that all the servers are completing their tasks in an efficient manner. In small restaurants, the post is also known as the headwaiter or host. This term originated from medieval courts, where the holder was an important courtier, like Olivier de la Marche in 15th century Burgundy.

Maîtresse:

See: mistress.

Maîtresse-en-Titre:

The Maîtresse-en-Titre was the chief mistress of the king of France. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued until the reign of Louis XV.

From the reign of Louis XIV, the term has been applied, both in translation ("official mistress") and in the original French, to refer to the main mistress of any monarch or prominent man when his relationship with her is not clandestine.

Majestic:

Having or showing lofty dignity or nobility; stately.

Majestic Plural:

See also: pluralis maiestatis.

Majesty:

A royal personage.

The greatness and dignity of a sovereign.

The sovereignty and power of God.

Supreme authority or power.

Royal dignity of bearing or aspect; grandeur.

Majlis:

Majlis is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries.

Majorat:

Majorat is a French term for an arrangement giving the right of succession to a specific parcel of property associated with a title of nobility to a single heir, based on male primogeniture. A Majorat (fideicommis) would be inherited by the oldest son, or if there was no son, the nearest relative. This law existed in some European countries and was designed to prevent the distribution of wealthy estates between many members of the family, thus weakening their position.

Majordomo:

The head steward or butler in the household of a sovereign or great noble; a steward or butler; one who makes arrangements or directs affairs for another.

Make America Great Again:

"Make America Great Again" (often abbreviated as MAGA) is a campaign slogan used in American politics that was popularized by Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign. Ronald Reagan used the similar slogan "Let's make America great again" in his successful 1980 presidential campaign. Bill Clinton also used the phrase in speeches during his successful 1992 presidential campaign and again in a radio commercial aired for his wife Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential primary campaign. Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen has called Trump's use of the phrase as "probably the most resonant campaign slogan in recent history," citing large majorities of Americans who believed the country was in decline. The slogan has become a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants in the arts, entertainment, and politics, and used both by those who support and oppose the presidency of Donald Trump. In the Trump era, Voice of America has called the slogan a loaded phrase because it "doesn't just appeal to people who hear it as racist coded language, but also those who have felt a loss of status as other groups have become more empowered."

Make-Believe:

Playful or fanciful pretense; pretense: imaginative intellectual play.

"Make My Day!":

Visit also: The greatest one-liner in movie history.

Make Over:

To redo; renovate.

To change or transfer the ownership of, usually by means of a legal document.

Make Sheep's Eyes:

Shy, amorous, lovesick glances.

Make-Up:

To apply cosmetics.

To alter one's appearance for a role on the stage, as with a costume and cosmetics.

Make-Up Artist:

A Make-up Artist or MUA (the standard abbreviation) is an artist who creates make-up and prosthetics for theatrical, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions including all aspects of the modeling world. In some cases, the title of Make-up Artist can also encompass the responsibilities of hair styling.

Makerspace:

A Makerspace (also known as a hackerspace, hackspace, hacklab, or creative space) is a community operated place where people can work on projects. These projects benefit from sharing tools, space and the cross-fertilization of ideas.

Mal de Mer:

French for seasickness.

Malaise:

Malaise is a feeling of general discomfort or uneasiness, of being "out of sorts", often the first indication of an infection or other disease. Malaise is often defined in medical literature as a "general feeling of being unwell". The word has existed in the French language since at least the 12th century.

The term is also often used figuratively in other contexts; for example, "economic Malaise" refers to an economy that is stagnant or in recession (compare depression). The term is particularly associated with the 1973–75 recession. A speech made by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 is commonly referred to as the "Malaise" speech, even though Carter did not actually use the term in this speech.

Malapropism:

A Malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes." The Malapropism is the use of "electrical" instead of the correct word, "electoral," which is similar in sound.

Male Midlife Makeover (MMM):

Daniel Craig is surfing the wave of a Male Midlife Makeover (MMM). Daniel Craig and the new Male Midlife Makeover. From fashion to food to extreme sports, men are embracing a new way to age. ere’s what 99.9 per cent of people will have said when they saw that picture of Daniel Craig in the giant pumpkin trousers: 'Blimey. Looks like Daniel Craig’s having a midlife crisis.’’

Should we make light of midlife crises? It’s the only way, in my book, and I’m pretty sure Rachel Weisz - who married Craig 13 years ago when he was in his snug 007 Tom Ford suits and baby blue La Perla trunks phase - feels much the same. A pink blazer at a premiere is one thing, but this level of fashion commitment (it’s all courtesy of the designer Loewe, which crowned Craig the face of the brand in July) is something else.

There’s a lot going on with Craig’s new look: a multicoloured, slogan-covered, hand-knitted sweater plus scarf, zeppelin combat pants, undone lug-sole boots, yellow tinted specs - and none of it, as your mother might say, does much for him. Yes, you might argue that the 56-year-old actor looks like an Eighties club promoter who’s a friend of Bono’s - in fact, he’s surfing the wave of a Male Midlife Makeover (MMM).

Malocchino:

The Italian word Malocchio refers to the evil eye.

The evil eye is a malevolent look that many cultures believe able to cause injury or misfortune for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike. Talismans created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called "evil eyes". The term also refers to the power attributed to certain persons of inflicting injury or bad luck by such an envious or ill-wishing look. The evil eye is usually given to others who remain unaware.

Malpractice:

Improper or negligent treatment of a patient, as by a physician, resulting in injury, damage, or loss.

Improper or unethical conduct by the holder of a professional or official position.

Malstrom:

A powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides).

A violent or turbulent situation.

Malware:

Malware, a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses.

Software is considered Malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of several U.S. states, including California and West Virginia.

See also: antivirus software.

Mamba Mentality:

The mentality which is embodied by NBA legend Kobe Bryant and has defined his career and accolades. Kobe on the Mamba Mentality: "'If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear'. Ive always loved that quote. Thats 'Mamba Mentality' we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever ... Mamba Out."

Read also: The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant - Amazon.com.

MAMIL:

Mamil or MAMIL (an acronym standing for "middle-aged man in lycra") is someone who rides an expensive racing bicycle for leisure, wearing professional style body-hugging jerseys and shorts.

Mammal:

Any of various warm-blooded vertebrate animals of the class Mammalia, including humans, characterized by a covering of hair on the skin and, in the female, milk-producing mammary glands for nourishing the young.

Mammon:

Mammon in the New Testament of the Bible, is material wealth or greed, most often personified as a deity, and sometimes included in the seven princes of Hell.

Man About Town:

A worldly, social man who frequents fashionable places.

Man Cave:

A Man Cave or manspace is a male retreat or sanctuary in a home, such as a specially equipped garage, spare bedroom, media room, den, or basement. The term "Man Cave" is a metaphor describing a room inside the house where "guys can do as they please" like a caveman, without fear of upsetting any female sensibility about house decor or design. Paula Aymer of Tufts University calls it the "last bastion of masculinity". The phrase is thought to come from the 1993 publication, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

Man-Hour:

A Man-Hour is the amount of work performed by an average worker in one hour.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack | MITM:

The Man-in-the-Middle Attack (often abbreviated MITM, MitM, MIM, MiM, also known as a bucket brigade attack, or sometimes Janus attack in cryptography and computer security is a form of active eavesdropping in which the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them, making them believe that they are talking directly to each other over a private connection, when in fact the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker. The attacker must be able to intercept all messages going between the two victims and inject new ones, which is straightforward in many circumstances (for example, an attacker within reception range of an unencrypted Wi-Fi wireless access point, can insert himself as a man-in-the-middle).

A man-in-the-Middle Attack can succeed only when the attacker can impersonate each endpoint to the satisfaction of the other — it is an attack on mutual authentication (or lack thereof). Most cryptographic protocols include some form of endpoint authentication specifically to prevent MITM attacks. For example, SSL can authenticate one or both parties using a mutually trusted certification authority.

Man of the Hour:

A man in whose honor a gathering is held.

A man who is currently an object of public attention.

Man of the World:

A sophisticated, worldly man.

Man of the Year:

See: Person of the Year.

Manage:

An age-old word derived from the Italian Manneggiare, to handle (originally horses, now corporations). People who Manage (managers) are generally expected to carry out certain functions; for example, employ staff, motivate and organize them, plan for the future and innovate (both products and processes).

Managed Decline:

Managed Decline is a phrase that refers to the management of the decline (or "sunset") phase at the end of a lifecycle, with the goal of minimizing costs or other forms of losses and harm. The concept originated in business where it referred to the management of companies and industries, but has since spread beyond to be used in other contexts.

Management:

The business of managing an organization.

The people who do the managing.

Management Accounts:

A set of accounts prepared solely for the benefit of the managers of an organization. Such accounts need to be non-technical, prepared regularly (every month or every week, for example) and in a consistent format. They often contain forecasts and estimates that break away from the normal constraints of financial facts.

Management and Control:

In certain legal systems (e.g. Ireland) which follow the former United Kingdom law in this regard, a company is treated as being resident in the country in which its management and control is exercised, and not in the country of its place of registration or incorporation. The criterion of residence may be of relevance in international arrangements in involving tax havens, and can be material from both the fiscal and the exchange control points of view.

Management Company:

See: Administrative Offices.

Management Consultant:

A person or organization who advises managers in a number of business areas, including strategy, information technology, marketing and human resources. Management consultants analyze business situations and offer advice on how to improve them. Many go on to get involved in implementing their own advice.

Manager:

One who handles, controls, or directs.

One who is in charge of the business affairs of an entertainer.

Sports: one who is in charge of the training and performance of an athlete or a team.

Managing Director:

A person who directs the management of an organization; the most senior manager in a business, division or function.

Mandala:

Mandala (Sanskrit 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe. The basic form of most Mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.

Mandarin:

A member of any of the nine ranks of high public officials in the Chinese Empire.

A high government official or bureaucrat.

A member of an elite group, especially a person having influence or high status in intellectual or cultural circles.

The official national standard spoken language of China, which is based on the principal dialect spoken in and around Beijing.

Mandate:

An instruction to carry out a particular course of action. The instruction may be given by a court, a customer, or a manager.

Mandela Effect:

The term "Mandela Effect" began when it was first coined in 2010 by Fiona Broome when she published a website detailing her observance of the phenomenon. The Mandela Effect is the pseudoscientific belief that some differences between one's memories and the real world are caused by changes to past events in the timeline. Many Mandela Effect believers believe it is caused by accidental travel between alternate universes, although some others propose that history has been deliberately altered after the fact by malicious extradimensional beings within the same timeline or by experiements at CERN.

t was named after Nelson Mandela, whom some people erroneously believed to have died in prison in the 1980s. (Instead see Steve Biko who did die in prison and even had a movie made about him starring Denzel Washington.) Another common false memory is thinking the title of the children's book series The Berenstain Bears is spelled as The Berenstein Bears.

Mandingo:

A member of any of various peoples inhabiting a large area of the upper Niger River valley of western Africa; a group of closely related Mande languages including Bambara, Malinke, and Maninka, widely spoken in western Africa.

Manga:

Manga is a Japanese genre consisting of comic books and graphic novels, typically black-and-white and featuring stylized characters with large, round eyes.

Mania:

An excessively intense enthusiasm, interest, or desire; a craze.

A manifestation of bipolar disorder, characterized by profuse and rapidly changing ideas, exaggerated sexuality, gaiety, or irritability, and decreased sleep.

Manichaeism:

Manichaeism was a major religious movement that was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani (Latin: Manichaeus or Manes; c. 216–276 AD) in the Sasanian Empire.

Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Its beliefs were based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements.

Manifest:

A list of cargo or passengers carried on a ship or plane.

Attest: provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes.

Manifestation:

An indication of the existence, reality, or presence of something.

One of the forms in which someone or something, such as a person, a divine being, or an idea, is revealed.

The materialized form of a spirit.

A public demonstration, usually of a political nature.

Manifesting:

The practice of thinking aspirational thoughts with the purpose of making them real.

Read more here: ‘My life completely turned around’: is Manifesting the key to happiness - or wishful thinking? - "The controversial concept of willing your goals into existence has leapt in popularity since Covid began. But how do you do it - and can it help you realise your dreams?" & How to Manifest Anything - "10 Steps (with Pictures)."

Manifesto:

A Manifesto is a public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature.

Manipulate:

To move, arrange, operate, or control by the hands or by mechanical means, especially in a skillful manner.

To influence or manage shrewdly or deviously.

To tamper with or falsify for personal gain.

Medicine: to handle and move in an examination or for therapeutic purposes.

Manna:

Manna, sometimes or archaically spelled Mana, is an edible substance that, according to Abrahamic doctrine, God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert.

Something of value that a person receives unexpectedly.

Mannequin Challenge:

The Mannequin Challenge is a viral Internet video trend where people remain frozen in action like mannequins while a video is recorded, usually with the song "Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd playing in the background. The hashtag #MannequinChallenge was used for popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. It is believed that the phenomenon was started by students in Jacksonville, Florida on October 12, 2016. The initial posting has inspired works by other groups, especially professional athletes and sports teams that have posted increasingly complex and elaborate videos.

Manner:

How something is done or how it happens.

A way of acting; bearing or behavior.

Mano-a-Mano:

Mano-a-Mano is a Spanish and Portuguese construction meaning "hand to hand." It was used originally for bullfights where two matadors alternate competing for the admiration of the audience.

This term has been adopted in English with similar meaning, possibly by Ernest Hemingway. The English adoption can be likened to the phrases "one on one," "head to head," or "single combat" and conveys the idea of intense competition. It is commonly used by English speakers to mean "man to man."

Manor:

A landed estate.

The main house on an estate; a mansion.

The district over which a lord had domain and could exercise certain rights and privileges in medieval western Europe.

Manqué:

Manqué is a term used in reference to a person who has failed to live up to a specific expectation or ambition. It is usually used in combination with a profession: for example, a career civil servant with political prowess who nonetheless never attained political office might be described as a "politician Manqué". It can also be used relative to a specific role model; a second-rate method actor might be referred to as a "Marlon Brando Manqué".

Mansard Roof:

A four-sided roof having a double slope on all sides, with the lower slope much steeper than the upper.

Mansion:

A large stately house; a manor house.

Mansplaining:

Mansplaining is a portmanteau of the words man and explaining, defined as "to explain something to someone, typically a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing." Lily Rothman of The Atlantic defines it as "explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman", and feminist author and essayist Rebecca Solnit ascribes the phenomenon to a combination of "overconfidence and cluelessness".

Due to its gender-specific reference to "man", this term has been referred to by some critics as sexist, and as a way for women to trivialize men's opinions.

Manspreading:

Manspreading, or man-sitting, is a neologism used to describe a man sitting in public transport with legs wide apart, thereby covering more than one seat. Both this posture and usage of the term "Manspreading" have caused some internet criticism, and debates in the USA, UK, Turkey, and Canada.

Mantra:

A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.

A commonly repeated word or phrase.

Manual:

A small reference book, especially one giving instructions.

See also: user guide.

Manufacture:

Originally the making of things by hand - "manu"…"facturing" - but now the making or things by hand or by machine.

Manufacture (d'Horlogerie):

Manufacture d'Horlogerie (meaning "watchmaking manufacturer") is a French horological term of art that is also used in English. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form Manufacture. This term of art is used when describing either a wrist watch movement/watchworks fabricator or its products. The term is specifically reserved for those fabricators which make all or most of the parts required for their products in their own production facilities as opposed to assembling watches using parts purchased from other firms.

The Dictionnaire professionnel illustrée de l'horlogerie (The Illustrated Professional Dictionary of the Watchmaking Industry) defines Manufacture as follows: In the Swiss watch industry the term Manufacture is used of a factory in which watches are manufactured almost completely, as distinct from an atelier de terminage, which is concerned only with assembling, timing, fitting the hands and casing.

The concept of Manufacture in the Swiss watch making industry refers to any firm that at least designs calibres, produces the movements parts thereof called ébauches, and assembles them into watches. For example, a company that does not Manufacture crystals (the watch glass) or hairsprings may still be regarded as a Manufacture.

Manuscript:

A book, document, or other composition written by hand.

A typewritten or handwritten version of a book, an article, a document, or other work, especially the author's own copy, prepared and submitted for publication in print.

Maquette:

A Maquette is a small scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is bozzetto, from the Italian word that means "sketch".

It is used to visualize and test shapes and ideas without incurring the cost and effort of producing a full-scale product. It is the analogue of the painter's cartoon, modello, oil sketch or drawn sketch. For commissioned sculptures, especially monumental public sculptures, a Maquette may be used to show the client how the finished work will fit in the proposed site. The term may also refer to a prototype for a video game, film, or any other type of media. Modello, unlike the other terms, is also used for sketches for two-dimensional works such as paintings. Like oil sketches, these works in progress can be at least as much sought after as completed works by highly regarded artists, showing the process of developing an idea.

Marangoni Effect:

The Marangoni Effect (also called the Gibbs-Marangoni effect) is the mass transfer along an interface between two fluids due to surface tension gradient.

Marathon:

The Marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards) that is usually run as a road race. The event is named after the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The historical accuracy of this legend is in doubt, contradicted by accounts given by Herodotus, in particular.

The Marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 800 marathons are contested throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

See also: ultramarathon.

Marbella's Golden Mile:

Marbella's Golden Mile begins at the western edge of Marbella city and stretches to Puerto Banús. The area is exclusive and home to some of the area's most impressive villas and estates.

March:

To walk steadily and rhythmically forward in step with others.

Mardi Gras:

The terms "Mardi Gras" and "Mardi Gras season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, ending on the day before Ash Wednesday. From the French term "Mardi Gras" (literally "Fat Tuesday"), has come to mean the whole period of activity related to those events, beyond just the single day, often called Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday.

Margin:

In general, the edge. But the word has come to have a number of specialist meanings in business:

The difference between the cost of something and the price at which it is sold, that is, the profit Margin.

In economic theory, the Margin is that level of production at which the cost of producing one more unit is exactly equal to the revenue to be gained from it.

A method of trading in securities which involves initially putting up only a small percentage of the cost of the securities, known as Margin trading.

Margin lending is a form of lending by a bank which enables a customer to buy shares and then use the value of the shares as security for the lending.

Margin Account:

A brokerage account that allows a person to trade securities on credit.

Marginal Cost:

The extra cost of producing one more unit of a product over and above an agreed output. The marginal cost assumes that all the overheads have been absorbed by the previous production.

Marginal Producer:

A manufacturing unit that is only just able to remain profitable at the current price levels of the industry in which it is operating, and at its own current production levels. When the economic environment becomes less favorable for the industry, the marginal producer is the first to go out of business.

Marginal Propensity:

The proportion of any additional unit of income that will be used in a particular way. Thus if a consumer's marginal propensity to save is 0.3, he or she will save 30 cents out of every extra dollar that they gain.

Margin Call:

A Margin Call is a demand for more collateral on a margin account.

Mariage Blanc:

Mariage Blanc (from the French, literally "white marriage") is a marriage which is without consummation. The persons may have married for a variety of reasons, for example, a marriage of convenience is usually entered into in order to aid or rescue one of the principals of the marriage from persecution or harm; or for economic, social or visa advantage. Another example is a lavender marriage, one undertaken to disguise the homosexuality of at least one partner.

Marianne:

Marianne has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.

Marina:

A boat basin that has docks, moorings, supplies, and other facilities for small boats.

Marinade:

A liquid mixture, usually of vinegar or wine and oil with various spices and herbs, in which meat, fowl, fish, or vegetables are soaked before cooking.

Marine One:

Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk". Both were due to be replaced by the VH-71 Kestrel, a derivative of the AgustaWestland EH101 but funding for the project was canceled in April 2009. A Marine Corps aircraft carrying the Vice President has the call sign Marine Two. Marine Corps aircraft carrying the family of the President adds the designator F to have its callsign become Marine One Foxtrot. Those carrying the family of the Vice President use the callsign Marine Two Foxtrot

See also: Air Force One and Car One.

Marionette:

A jointed puppet manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs.

Mark:

A visible trace or impression, such as a line or spot.

A sign, such as a cross, made in lieu of a signature.

A written or printed symbol used for punctuation; a punctuation Mark.

Mark Down:

To reduce the original selling price of a product, perhaps because it has not been selling well. In particular, to lower the quoted price of a company's shares sharply after the announcement of unfavorable news.

Mark Up:

The difference between the cost price of a product (or service) and its selling price.

Marker:

One that marks or serves as a mark, as: a bookmark; a tombstone; a milestone.

Slang: a written, signed promissory note.

Market:

The place where buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods and services and to determine prices. It is a fundamental concept in economics, where buyers represent demand and sellers represent supply. In marketing terms, a Market refers to a group of consumers with identifiable characteristics in common, such as the teenage Market.

Market can also refer to the total sales of a particular product or industry. For example: "It's a $4 billion Market.

Market Capitalization:

The market value of a company's issued shares; that is, the quoted price of each individual share multiplied by the number of shares in issue.

Market Economy:

A market economy is economy based on the power of division of labor in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system set by supply and demand.

Market Force:

The economic factors affecting the price of, demand for, and availability of a commodity.

Market Leader:

The organization which has the largest share of any particular market, and whose tactics are watched most closely by the other participants. A market leader's actions set the trend for the rest of the market.

Market Maker:

A Market Maker is a company, or an individual, that quotes both a buy and a sell price in a financial instrument or commodity held in inventory, hoping to make a profit on the bid-offer spread, or turn.

Market Penetration:

The percentage of a target market that has bought a particular product at least once. Also the extent (usually expressed as a percentage) to which a potential market is reached by an advertising message or a distribution channel.

Market Research:

A process of systematically analyzing the market for a potential new product or service, and/or examining how the market for an existing product or service has changed. Much Market Research is based on surveys of consumers in which they are asked a series of questions about their purchasing habits. It is sometimes called Marketing Research.

Market Share:

The proportion of a market served by one participant. For example: "BMW has an x.y% share of the European car market."

Marketing:

The process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying needs (profitably) by means of the standard tools of Marketing, such as market research, advertising and general promotion.

Marketing Mix:

The weight given to various elements involved in marketing a product or service. The elements are sometimes classified as the four Ps: product, price, place and promotion. In the marketing mix for luxury goods, for instance, price is less important than product.

Markup Language:

A coding system, such as HTML and SGML, used to structure, index, and link text files.

Marlboro Man:

An icon used in the visible and supremely successful tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes, from 1954 to 1999, which projected a rugged and manly cowboy image, conceived as a way to popularise filtered cigarettes, which in 1954 were considered feminine.

The Marlboro Man advertising campaign, created by Leo Burnett Worldwide, is said to be one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time.

Marmite:

Marmite is made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. Other similar products include the Australian Vegemite, which is saltier in taste, the Swiss Cenovis and the German Vitam-R.

The British version of the product is a sticky, dark brown food paste with a distinctive, powerful flavour, which is extremely salty. This distinctive taste is reflected in the British company's marketing slogan: "Love it or hate it." The product's name has entered British English as a metaphor for something that is an acquired taste or tends to polarise opinions.

Marque:

A Marque is a brand name, especially in the automobile industry. For example, Chevrolet and Buick are Marques of their maker, General Motors (GM). A company may have many Marques; GM has used more than a dozen in the North American market alone.

Marquetry:

Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furniture or even seat furniture, to decorative small objects with smooth, veneerable surfaces or to freestanding pictorial panels appreciated in their own right. Parquetry is a technique very similar to Marquetry that utilizes pieces of veneer in simple repeating geometric shapes to form tiled patterns such as would cover a floor (parquet), or forming basketweave or brickwork patterns, trelliswork and the like.

Marrano:

Marranos, now considered an offensive term for which the academic term "crypto-Jews" substitutes, were Jews living in Iberia who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity yet continued to practice Judaism in secret. The term specifically refers to the accusation of Crypto-Judaism, whereas the term converso was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to Catholicism whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from both Judaism or Islam were referred to by the even broader term "New Christians".

Marriage Contract:

A prenuptial agreement or contract.

Marriage of Convenience:

A marriage or joint undertaking arranged for political, economic, or social benefit rather than from personal attachment.

A marriage based on expediency rather than on love.

Martello Tower:

Martello Towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.

They stand up to 40 feet (12 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse, and hence fire over, a complete 360° circle. A few towers had moats or other batteries and works attached for extra defence.

Martial Arts:

Martial Arts or fighting arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Martial Arts all have very similar objectives: to physically defeat other persons and to defend oneself or others from physical threat. In addition, some Martial Arts are linked to beliefs such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism or Shinto while others follow a particular code of honor.

Martial Law:

Temporary rule by military authorities, imposed on a civilian population especially in time of war or when civil authority has broken down.

Martyr:

One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.

Mary Poppins Syndrome:

Mary Poppins Syndrome: "practically perfect in every way".

Read also: The Narcissist and Mary Poppins Syndrome.

Mascot:

A person, animal, or object believed to bring good luck.

Mashup (web application hybrid):

In web development, a Mashup is a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service. The term mashup implies easy, fast integration, frequently using open APIs and data sources to produce results that were not the original reason for producing the raw source data.

Maskirovka:

Russian military deception, sometimes known as Maskirovka, is a military doctrine developed from the start of the twentieth century. The doctrine covers a broad range of measures for military deception, ranging from camouflage to denial and deception.

Deceptive measures include concealment, imitation with decoys and dummies, manoeuvres intended to deceive, denial, and disinformation. The 1944 Soviet Military Encyclopedia refers to "means of securing combat operations and the daily activities of forces; a complexity of measures, directed to mislead the enemy regarding the presence and disposition of forces..." Later versions of the doctrine also include strategic, political, and diplomatic means including manipulation of "the facts", situation and perceptions to affect the media and public/world opinion, so as to achieve or facilitate tactical, strategic, national and international goals.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychological Review. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans.He then decided to create a classification system which reflected the universal needs of society as its base and then proceeding to more acquired emotions. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is used to study how humans partake in behavioral motivation intrinsically. Maslow used the terms "physiological," "safety," "belonging and love," "esteem," and "self-actualization" to describe the pattern through which human motivations generally move. This means that in order for motivation to occur at the next level, each level must be satisfied within the individual themselves. Furthermore, this theory is a key foundation in understanding how drive and motivation are correlated when discussing human behavior. Each of these individual levels contains a certain amount of internal sensation that must be met in order for an individual to complete their hierarchy.The goal of Maslow's Theory is to attain the fifth level or stage: self-actualization.

Masquerade:

A party of guests wearing costumes and masks.

A disguise or false outward show; a pretense; an involved scheme; a charade.

Mass:

Public celebration of the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant churches.

A musical setting of certain parts of the Mass, especially the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.

A unified body of matter with no specific shape.

Mass Market:

A market consisting of almost everybody in the population. The opposite of niche market.

Mass Media:

The Mass Media are diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place varies. Broadcast media such as radio, recorded music, film and television transmit their information electronically. Print media use a physical object such as a newspaper, book, pamphlet or comics, to distribute their information. Outdoor media is a form of mass media that comprises billboards, signs or placards placed inside and outside of commercial buildings, sports stadiums, shops and buses. Other outdoor media include flying billboards (signs in tow of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting. Public speaking and event organising can also be considered as forms of mass media. The digital media comprises both Internet and mobile mass communication. Internet media provides many mass media services, such as email, websites, blogs, and internet based radio and television. Many other mass media outlets have a presence on the web, by such things as having TV ads that link to a website, or distributing a QR Code in print or outdoor media to direct a mobile user to a website. In this way, they can utilise the easy accessibility that the Internet has, and the outreach that Internet affords, as information can easily be broadcast to many different regions of the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently.

Master:

One that has control over another or others.

An artist of consummate skill.

An original creation (i.e., an audio recording) from which copies can be made.

Be or become completely proficient or skilled in.

Master Class:

A Master Class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline - usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts.

The difference between a normal class and a Master Class is typically the setup. In a Master Class, all the students (and often spectators) watch and listen as the master takes one student at a time. The student (typically intermediate or advanced, depending on the status of the master) usually performs a single piece which they have prepared, and the master will give them advice on how to play it, often including anecdotes about the composer, demonstrations of how to play certain passages, and admonitions of common technical errors. The student is then usually expected to play the piece again, in light of the master's comments, and the student may be asked to play a passage repeatedly to attain perfection. Master Classes for musical instruments tend to focus on the finer details of attack, tone, phrasing, and overall shape, and the student is expected to have complete control of more basic elements such as rhythm and pitch. The value of the master class setup is that all students can benefit from the master's comments on each piece.

Many concert performers have given Master Classes, including such greats as Franz Liszt, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Luciano Pavarotti, Jascha Heifetz, and Vladimir Horowitz. Often, a touring performer will give a Master Class the day before, or the day of, their performance in a particular city. Giving a Master Class before a concert provides both artistic stimulation for the performer and a means of obtaining a larger audience.

Master Key:

A key that opens all the locks of a set, the individual keys of which are not interchangeable Also called pass key.

Master of Ceremonies:

A person who acts as host at a formal event, making the welcoming speech and introducing other speakers.

A performer who conducts a program of varied entertainment by introducing other performers to the audience.

Mastermind:

Someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight.

To direct, plan, or supervise (a project or activity).

Board Game: Mastermind or Master Mind is a code-breaking game for two players. The modern game with pegs was invented in 1970 by Mordecai Meirowitz, an Israeli postmaster and telecommunications expert.

Mastermind (role variant): The Mastermind Rational is one of the 16 role variants of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves.

Masterpiece:

The most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman.

Something superlative of its kind.

Masthead:

The listing in a newspaper or periodical of information about its staff, operation, and circulation; the title of a newspaper or periodical as it appears across the first page, front cover, or title page of each issue.

Matador:

A bullfighter who performs the final passes and kills the bull.

Games: one of the highest trumps in certain card games.

Match:

One that is exactly like another; a counterpart.

One that is able to compete equally with another.

A person viewed as a prospective marriage partner.

Matchmaker:

One who arranges or tries to arrange marriages.

One who arranges athletic competitions, especially in professional boxing.

Mater Familias:

A woman who is the head of a household or the mother of a family.

Mater Semper Certa Est, Pater Semper Incertus Est:

Mater Semper Certa Est ("The mother is always certain") is a Roman-law principle which has the power of praesumptio iuris et de iure, meaning that no counter-evidence can be made against this principle (literally: presumption of law and by law). It provides that the mother of the child is conclusively established, from the moment of birth, by the mother’s role in the birth.

The Roman law principle however does not stop at the mother, in fact it continues with Pater Semper Incertus Est ("The father is always uncertain"). This was regulated by the law of pater est, quem nuptiae demonstrant ("the father is he to whom marriage points"). Essentially paternity fraud had originally been a marriage fraud in the civil code due to this principle. Today some married fathers use the modern tools of DNA testing to ensure a certainty on their fatherhood.

Material:

The substance or substances out of which a thing is or can be made.

Something, such as an idea or information, that is to be refined and made or incorporated into a finished effort.

Materialism:

The theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena.

The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life.

A great or excessive regard for worldly concerns.

Materials Handling:

The business of moving the materials involved in a process (raw materials, semi-finished goods, or the final product) so that they are in the right place at the right time. The cost of materials handling can be as high as 40% of the total cost of manufacturing.

Maternity Leave:

The (usually unpaid) time off work given to a pregnant employee by an employer. The employee's job is kept available for her to return to once her baby's dependence has diminished.

Mathematics:

The study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols.

Matinée:

A performance of a play which takes place in the afternoon, as opposed to the evening.

Matriarch:

A woman who rules a family, clan, or tribe; a woman who dominates a group or an activity; a highly respected woman who is a mother.

Matrix:

A situation or surrounding substance within which something else originates, develops, or is contained.

A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations.

Matrix Organization:

A company whose organizational structure is designed along two axes, giving each employee two lines of authority. The two axes are most frequently geographic and functional. Hence the head of an American multinational company's German accounting operation will report to both his functional head (the finance director in the United States) and his regional head (the managing director of the business's German subsidiary).

Matryoshka Dolls:

Matryoshka Dolls, also known as Russian nesting dolls, stacking dolls, or Russian dolls, are the set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name "matryoshka", literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" or "Matriosha".

Mattanza:

Mattanza, literally 'slaughter' or 'killing' in Italian, also known as Almadraba in Spanish and Almadrava in Portuguese, is a traditional tuna fishing technique that uses a series of large nets to trap and exhaust the fish.

Matter:

Physics: something that has mass and exists as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma.

Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses; a physical body, a physical substance, or the universe as a whole.

A subject of concern, feeling, or action.

Mattering:

Mattering involves “more than feeling like you belong in a group,” he explained; it’s also being “missed by people in that group if you weren’t there.” When it comes to self-esteem, you can like yourself and feel capable, Dr. Flett said, but “you still won’t be a happy person if no one notices you when you enter a room.”

Read more here: Want to Believe in Yourself? 'Mattering' Is Key - "This overlooked concept has been linked to better relationships - with oneself and others. Dr. Flett, now a professor at York University and the author of 'The Psychology of Mattering,' is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject. He and other experts agree that a sense of mattering is necessary for human flourishing, and while some factors are out of our control, there are steps, both big and small, that everyone can take to enhance it." The New York Times.

Matthew Process:

The Matthew 18 process, the Matthew Process, and a Matthew 18 process are closely intertwined ideas and practices among some adherents of Christianity, related to a discussion of conflict resolution in Chapter 18 of the Gospel according to Matthew.

Mature Industry:

An industry in which innovative products and processes are rare and in which the market share of individual firms does not change much over time. Such industries include steelmaking, carmaking and innkeeping.

Maturity:

The length of time left until the principal repayment on a bond becomes due. The original Maturity of the bond is its Maturity on the date when it was issued; the residual Maturity is its Maturity now - that is, the length of time from this moment until the repayment becomes due.

Maulstick:

A mahlstick, or Maulstick, is a stick with a soft leather or padded head used by painters to support the hand holding the paintbrush.

Mausolum:

A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs.

A gloomy, usually large room or building.

Maven:

A Maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from Hebrew, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.

Maverick:

One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter.

MAW:

(Informal, derogatory): Model, Actress, Whatever: a young woman without much talent who attains celebrity through physical attractiveness.

Maxim:

A succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct.

See also: axiom.

Maximalism:

In the arts, Maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more".

Maximalism is a term used in the arts, including literature, visual art, music, and multimedia. It is used to explain a movement or trend by encompassing all factors under a multi-purpose umbrella term like expressionism. It describes a quality of excessive redundancy oft exhibited by way of the overt accumulation of appurtenances that reflect current society. In other references the term refers to either the ostentatious displays of the extensive possessions of the super-rich or the obsessive collecting as frequently found in the behavior of garage sale shoppers who accumulate common household goods past reason.

Read also: What Does It Mean to Be Maximalist? Interior Designers Explain - “Maximalism is the art of more-is-more; layered patterning, highly saturated colors, ample accessories and art (likely hung "salon-style"), and a real sense of playfulness and bold gestures,” Keren Richter, interior designer at White Arrow, tells Vogue.

May You Live In Interesting Times:

May you live in interesting times: often referred to as the Chinese curse. It is reported that it was the first of three curses of increasing severity, the other two being: May you come to the attention of those in authority (sometimes rendered May the government be aware of you). This is sometimes quoted as May you come to the attention of powerful people; May you find what you are looking for.

Maya Principle:

Raymond Loewy’s secret was essential to design for the future - but delivering the future gradually. He designed his famous logos, some of the most recognizable cars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, refrigerators, and locomotives for his users’ present needs and skills while pushing the boundaries of design and technology beyond his users’ expectations. He called this approach the MAYA principle. Maya is an abbreviation for "Most Advanced. Yet Acceptable" which means that Loewy sought to give his users the most advanced design, but not more advanced than what they were able to accept and embrace.

Mayday:

Mayday or m'aidez, a distress signal is an international radiotelephone signal word used by aircraft and ships in distress.

Mayhem:

Law: the offense of willfully maiming or crippling a person.

A state of violent disorder or riotous confusion; havoc.

Maze:

Complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost.

Something jumbled or confused.

Mazel Tov:

Used to express congratulations or best wishes, especially at weddings.

The Hebrew way to say "congratulations" or "good luck." After the groom breaks the glass, the guests call out, "Mazel Tov!" - which denotes the end of the solemnity and the beginning of the party.

Mazurka:

A Polish dance resembling the polka, frequently adopted as a ballet form.

A piece of music for such a dance, written in 3/4 or 3/8 time with the second beat heavily accented.

MBA:

Short for: Master's Degree in Business Administration, the main qualification (rapidly becoming indispensable) for managers and people who want to run their own business. The MBA is a postgraduate, post-experience one- or two-year course in which students study strategy, marketing, finance and organizational behavior. MBA courses are particularly popular in the United States; less so in Europe.

MBI:

Short for: Management Buy-In.

MBO:

Short for: Management Buy-Out, the purchasing of an organization by a group of managers. They may already work for the organization, or they may be outsiders who intend to work for it once they have purchased it (in which case the deal is sometimes called a management buy-in). An MBO is often also a leveraged buy-out.

MbS:

Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known as MbS, is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He is currently serving as the country's deputy prime minister (the title of prime minister being held by the king) and is also chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs, and minister of defense - the world's youngest at the time of his appointment. He has been described as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman. He was appointed crown prince in June 2017 following King Salman's decision to remove Muhammad bin Nayef from all positions, making Mohammed bin Salman heir-designate to the throne.

McMindfulness:

What is McMindfulness? It’s the marketing of mindfulness practice as a commodity that is sold like any other commodity in our brand culture. McMindfulness is a stock on the rise. A brand that promises to deliver. It satisfies spiritual yearnings without being a religion. It’s backed by brain scientists at Harvard and MIT. It’s magic without being magic. It even transforms corporate culture and increases market share! Now that’s worth paying for.

Read also: How capitalism captured the mindfulness industry - "The secular technique and its relativist lack of a moral foundation has opened itself up to a host of dubious uses, called out by its critics as McMindfulness."

Me Generation:

The "Me" Generation in the United States is a term referring to the baby boomers generation and the self-involved qualities that some people associate with it. The 1970s were dubbed the "Me" decade by writer Tom Wolfe; Christopher Lasch was another writer who commented on the rise of a culture of narcissism among the younger generation of that era. The phrase caught on with the general public, at a time when "self-realization" and "self-fulfillment" were becoming cultural aspirations to which young people supposedly ascribed higher importance than social responsibility.

Mea Culpa:

An acknowledgment of a personal error or fault.

Measurement:

The act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rule.

Meat-and-Potatoes:

Of fundamental importance.

(Unpretentious, simple): a real meat-and-potatoes guy.

Providing or preferring simple food (such as meat and potatoes).

Mecca:

A city of western Saudi Arabia near the coast of the Red Sea. The birthplace of Muhammad, it is the holiest city of Islam and a pilgrimage site for all devout believers of the faith. Population: 1,290,000.

A place that is regarded as the center of an activity or interest.

Mechanic:

A worker skilled in making, using, or repairing machines, vehicles, and tools.

See also: card sharp.

Mechanophilia:

Mechanophilia (or mechaphilia) is a paraphilia involving a sexual attraction to machines such as bicycles, motor vehicles, helicopters, ships, and aeroplanes.

Mechanophilia is treated as a crime in some nations with perpetrators being placed on a sex-offenders' register after prosecution. Motorcycles are often portrayed as sexualized fetish objects to those who desire them.

Medal:

An award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event.

Media:

The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, (and Internet), that reach or influence people widely.

The vehicles that carry advertising (and other things such as entertainment and news) to an audience.

Media Buyer:

A person in an advertising agency or independent firm who buys space in the media in bulk: time during television programs or pages in newspapers and magazines. Media buyers, sometimes referred to as "gorillas with calculators", then resell the space in smaller quantities to advertisers and advertising agencies.

Median:

Relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values.

Mediate:

To assist two disputants in reaching an agreement, in mediation.

Mediated Reality:

Computer-Mediated Reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smart phone.

Typically, it is the user's visual perception of the environment that is mediated. This is done through the use of some kind of electronic device, such as an EyeTap device or smart phone, which can act as a visual filter between the real world and what the user perceives.

Mediation:

A process of using a third party to resolve a difference of opinion between two other parties. Unlike arbitration, Mediation does not involve the conflicting parties agreeing in advance to accept the third party's decision. The mediator has no legal power to enforce an agreement.

Mediocrity:

Ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding.

Meditate:

To reflect on; contemplate, especially in a calm and deliberate manner.

Buddhism & Hinduism: to train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single object.

Medium:

A means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information.

An intervening substance through which signals can travel as a means for communication.

Medley:

An often jumbled assortment; a mixture.

Music: an arrangement made from a series of melodies, often from various sources.

Medusa:

In Greek mythology Medusa ("guardian, protectress") was a monster, a Gorgon, generally described as having the face of a hideous human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Gazing directly into her eyes would turn onlookers to stone.

Meet and Greet:

A Meet and Greet can be a reception at which a public figure (as a politician or rock star) socializes with press members and other guests.

A social gathering primarily for purposes of networking.

A method of contact between a service provider, such as a hotel collection service, or car hire provider, and the arriving client at an airport or railway station. Usually involving the display of a board with the client's name written on it.

Mega:

Mega (symbol M) is an SI prefix in the SI system of units denoting 1,000,000 (one million).

Mega Yacht:

A 30+ metres (98 feet) (sail or power) yacht.

See also: superyacht, giga yacht & shadow yacht.

Megabit:

A Megabit is an SI-multiple (see prefix mega) of the unit of bit for digital information storage or transmission. The International Electrotechnical Commission's standard IEC 60027 specifies the symbol to be Mbit, but Mb is also in common use.

1 megabit = 1000000 bits.

Megabyte:

Megabyte is a SI-multiple (see prefix mega-) of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission and is equal to 1,000,000 bytes. However, due to historical usage in computer-related fields it is still often used to represent 220 (1024×1024 or 1048576) bytes. In rare cases, it is used to mean 1000×1024 (1,024,000) bytes. It is commonly abbreviated as Mbyte or MB (compare Mb, for the megabit).

1024000 bytes (1000×1024): This is used to describe the formatted capacity of the "1.44 MB" 3.5 inch HD floppy disk, which actually has a capacity of 1474560 bytes.

See also: gigabyte and terabyte.

Megalomania:

A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.

An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.

Megaphone:

A funnel-shaped device used to direct and amplify the voice.

Megxit:

Megxit, also known as the resignation of Prince Harry (Henry Duke of Sussex) and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, occurred on January 8, 2020 when they announced their decision to withdraw from their royal duties as high-ranking members of the British royal family, dividing their time between the United Kingdom and North America, and to be financially independent. The event was quickly called "Megxit" (playing with the term Brexit), and immediately became a trend in social networks and news websites, generating several memes.

Read also: Harry & Meghan seek global trademark for 'Sussex Royal' brand - "Filings suggest plans for items and activities from clothing to ‘emotional support groups’."

Melancholic:

A person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a Melancholic disposition. Often very considerate, Melancholics can be highly creative in activities such as poetry and art - and can become occupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world. A Melancholic is also often a perfectionist. They are often self-reliant and independent.

See also: choleric, phlegmatic and sanguine.

Melanism:

The term Melanism refers to black pigment. Melanism is a development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or its appendages. The opporsite is albinism.

Melodrama:

An extravagant comedy in which action is more salient than characterization.

Meltdown:

Severe overheating of a nuclear reactor core, resulting in melting of the core and escape of radiation.

Informal: an emotional breakdown.

Member:

A distinct part of a whole.

A part or an organ of a human or animal body.

One that belongs to a group or an organization.

Membership:

The state of being a member.

The total number of members in a group.

Meme:

A Meme is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. While genes transmit biological information, Memes are said to transmit ideas and belief information.

Memento:

A reminder of the past; a keepsake; souvenir.

Memento Mori:

Memento Mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality. The phrase has a tradition in art that dates back to antiquity.

Memo:

A Memo is a document typically used for communication within a company.

Memoir:

An account of the personal experiences of an author.

An autobiography.

A biography or biographical sketch.

Memoji:

Memoji are personalised animoji. It's basically Apple's version of Snapchat's Bitmoji or Samsung's AR Emoji.

Memorabilia:

Objects communicationvalued for their connection with historical events, culture, or entertainment.

Memorandum of Association:

See: Articles of Association.

Memorial:

Something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or an event.

A written statement of facts or a petition presented to a legislative body or an executive.

Memorial Day:

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

Memory:

The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience.

All that a person can remember.

Computer Science: a unit of a computer that preserves data for retrieval; capacity for storing information.

Memory Box:

See: keepsake box.

Memory Card:

A Memory Card or flash Memory Card is solid-state electronic flash memory data storage device capable of storing digital contents. These are mainly used with digital cameras, handheld and Mobile computers, mobile phones, music players, digital cinematography cameras, video game consoles, and other electronics.

Memory Lane:

The past, especially the past shared and remembered by a group of people, thought of as a path that can be traveled along to revisit former times.

Memory Stick:

Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick (including the PRO Duo); and the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2). In December 2006 Sony added the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO, to be used for high definition still and video cameras.

See also: USB flash drive.

Men's Clothing Size Conversions:

Visit: Men's Clothing Size Conversions.

Ménage à Trois:

Household for Three; an arrangement where a married couple and a lover of one of them live together while sharing sexual relations.

Menagerie:

A place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition; a varied mixture.

Menefreghista:

Italian: A person with an uncaring or couldn't-care-less attitude.

Menorah (Hanukkah):

The Hanukkah Menorah, also chanukiah or hanukkiah is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, as opposed to the seven-branched Menorah used in the ancient Temple or as a symbol.

Mensa International:

Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised IQ test. Mensa is formally composed of national groups and the umbrella organization Mensa International.

Mensur:

Academic fencing or Mensur is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations (Studentenverbindungen) in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and recently to a minor extent in Latvia and Flanders as well.

Modern academic fencing, the Mensur, is neither a duel nor a sport. It is a traditional way of training and educating character and personality; thus, in a Mensur bout, there is neither winner nor loser. In comparison to sport fencing, the participants stand their ground at a fixed distance.

-ment:

The action or process of doing something; the product or result of an action; the state or condition caused by an action.

Mental Load:

Mental Load typically refers to the behind-the-scenes, cognitive and emotional work needed to manage a household. Examples are meal planning, scheduling and generally meeting the needs of every family member. The mental tasks you take on at work can also add to your total load.

Mentalism:

Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid mathematics. Hypnosis may also be used as a stage tool. Mentalists are sometimes referred to as psychic entertainers.

Mentor:

A person assigned to work with a senior manager for the specific purpose of offering independent advice on the manager's performance in the workplace. Mentors must be in a position where they can express contrary views without damaging their career prospects.

See also: protégé & muse.

Mentorship:

Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person - who can be referred to as a protégé, or apprentice - to develop in a specified capacity.

Menu:

In a restaurant, a Menu is a list of the dishes to be served or available for a meal.

The dishes served or available at a meal.

A list of available options, especially as displayed on a screen.

Mercenary:

Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.

Hired for service in a foreign army.

Merchandise:

Goods and services in a finished state, ready to go to the retailer or already in the hands of the retailer.

Merchandising:

The promotion of merchandise sales, as by coordinating production and marketing and developing advertising, display, and sales strategies.

See also: product placement.

Merchant Bank:

The traditional British term for investment bank. Many Merchant Banks (most of them based in the City of London) grew out of the families (the Rothschilds and Hambros, for instance) who financed the trade of Britain's merchants during the years of the British empire. Hence the name.

Merger:

The amicable coming together of two companies into one.

Merger Accounting:

A particular method of taking mergers into account - that is, of putting together the separate accounts of two merged companies. Merger Accounting avoids creating goodwill. It includes assets in the combined accounts at their existing book values rather than at the price that was actually paid for them.

Merger/Consolidation:

A Merger or Consolidation occurs when two corporations combine their assets and operations into one corporation. In merger situations, one of the corporations will survive the merger, and it is referred to as the survivor. The other corporation is referred to as the disappearing corporation. The survivor assumes all of the assets and liabilities of the disappearing corporation.

Meridian:

A Meridian (or line of longitude) is an imaginary arc on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations running along it with a given longitude. The position of a point on the Meridian is given by the latitude. Each Meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude at the intersection points. Each is also the same size, being half of a great circle on the Earth's surface and therefore measuring 20,003.93 km.

Merism:

In rhetoric, a Merism is a figure of speech by which a single thing is referred to by a conventional phrase that enumerates several of its parts, or which lists several synonyms for the same thing.

Merit:

Any admirable quality or attribute.

Meritocracy:

A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.

Merkeln:

(Slang): to do nothing, to refrain from taking decisions.

Youth word of the Year 2015 named after German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mésalliance:

A Mésalliance is a marriage with a person of inferior social position.

Message:

A usually short communication transmitted by words, signals, or other means from one person, station, or group to another.

The substance of such a communication; the point or points conveyed.

A statement made or read before a gathering.

A basic thesis or lesson; a moral.

Messi Effect:

The Messi Effect - "How One Player Changed the Game of Football."

Messiah:

The anticipated savior of the Jews.

Christianity: Jesus.

One who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or liberator.

Messrs:

An abbreviation of the French word messieurs, used as the plural of Mr.

Meta:

Meta: Greek: beside, after; later in time; at a later stage of development; situated behind.

Metadata:

Metadata is loosely defined as data about data. Metadata is a concept that applies mainly to electronically archived data and is used to describe the definition, structure and administration of data files with all contents in context to ease the use of the captured and archived data for further use. Web pages often include Metadata in the form of meta tags.

Metallurgy:

The science and technology of metals.

Metaphor:

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

Metaphysics:

Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, Metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms: 1. What is there? 2. What is it like?

Metaverse:

The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet. The word "Metaverse" is made up of the prefix "meta" (meaning beyond) and the stem "verse" (a backformation from "universe"); the term is typically used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe.

Metcalfe's Law:

Metcalfe's Law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n²). First formulated in this form by George Gilder in 1993, and attributed to Robert Metcalfe in regard to Ethernet, Metcalfe's Law was originally presented, c. 1980, not in terms of users, but rather of "compatible communicating devices" (for example, fax machines, telephones, etc.). Only later with the globalization of the Internet did this law carry over to users and networks as its original intent was to describe Ethernet purchases and connections. The law is also very much related to economics and business management, especially with competitive companies looking to merge with one another.

Metempsychosis:

After death the soul begins a new cycle of existence in another human body; reincarnation.

Meteor:

Astronomy: any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere.

Meteoric:

Similar to a meteor in speed, brilliance, or brevity.

Meteorology:

The science that deals with the phenomena of the atmosphere, especially weather and weather conditions.

Method:

A means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something.

Method Acting:

Method Acting is a technique in which actors try to engender in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters in an effort to create lifelike performances. It can be contrasted with more classical forms of acting, in which actors simulate thoughts and emotions through external means, such as vocal intonation or facial expression. Though not all Method actors use the same approach, the "method" in Method Acting usually refers to the practice by which actors draw upon their own emotions and memories in their portrayals, aided by a set of exercises and practices including sense memory and affective memory.

Methodology:

The system of methods and principles used in a particular discipline.

Philosophy: the branch of philosophy concerned with the science of method and procedure.

Métier:

An occupation, a trade, or a profession; work or activity for which a person is particularly suited; one's specialty.

Metonymy:

Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept. For instance, "London," as the capital of the United Kingdom, could be used as a Metonym for its government.

#MeToo:

"Me Too" (or "#MeToo", with local alternatives in other languages) spread virally as a two-word hashtag used on social media in October 2017 to denounce sexual assault and harassment, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The phrase, long used in this sense by social activist Tarana Burke, was popularized by actress Alyssa Milano, who encouraged women to tweet it to publicize experiences to demonstrate the widespread nature of misogynistic behavior. Since then, millions of people have used the hashtag to come forward with their experiences, including many celebrities.

See also: #TimesUp.

Metro Man:

A heterosexual man whose masculinity goes beyond the stereotyped masculine, thus, he is not confined to a normative definition of masculinity, defining and expressing his sexuality creatively. They are secure in their sexuality, and their sensitivity, intuition and penchant for grooming, style and fashion doesn't make them feel any less masculine or any less heterosexual. A Metro Man is the image of a modern man.

Metropolis:

A major city, especially the chief city of a country or region.

The mother city or country of an overseas colony, especially in ancient Greece.

Mewing:

The practice of Mewing claims to have many health benefits, as well as improving your facial structure. The mewing technique is to do with tongue posture, and how your tongue rests in your mouth.

According to the theory, coined by Dr Mike Mew, having the correct tongue, jaw and neck posture can help improve jaw problems, mouth muscle pains, and sleep apnea - a disorder characterised by pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep.

Some fans of the technique claim that it can also help define your jawline, as well as gently align your upper and lower teeth, especially if they're crooked.

Read more here: 'Mewing', the new health craze taking over Instagram and YouTube & Mewing: what is the YouTube craze that claims to reshape your face? & watch Tongue Chewing By Dr Mike Mew at YouTube.

Mews:

A group of buildings originally containing private stables, often converted into residential apartments.

A secret place; a hideaway.

Mexican Standoff:

A Mexican Standoff is most precisely a confrontation among three opponents armed with guns. The tactics for such a confrontation are substantially different from those for a duel, where the first to shoot has the advantage. In a confrontation among three mutually hostile participants, the first to shoot is at a tactical disadvantage. If opponent A shoots opponent B, then while so occupied, opponent C can shoot A, thus winning the conflict. Since it is the second opponent to shoot that has the advantage, no one wants to go first.

Mezuzah:

A Mezuzah is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah.

Mezzanine:

Intermediate floor just above the ground floor.

Mezzanine Finance:

Any type of finance that falls somewhere between equity and debt in the priority of its claim in the case of a liquidation. If equity is the first floor and debt the ground floor, the mezzanine stands somewhere in between.

MFi:

Short for: Made For iPhone.

MFN:

Short for: Most Favored Nation, a status granted by one country to another whereby the first country agrees to apply its lowest tariffs to the second country's exports will get better treatment.

MIA:

Short for: Missing In Action. Used for saying that a member of the armed forces has not returned from fighting in a war but is not known for certain to be dead.

Miasma:

Miasma (Greek mythology), a contagious power that has an independent life of its own.

Michelin Guide Star & Rating System:

Three stars mean: "Exceptional cuisine and worth the journey"; two stars: "Excellent cooking and worth a detour"; one star: "A very good restaurant in its category"; the Bib Gourmand label: "Awarded to restaurants serving three-course meals at an excellent value for money." Restaurants awarded the Rising Star means that they may be in line for a MICHELIN star, or an upgrade from one to two, or from two to three stars.

Mick:

An ethnic slur for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent.

The origin of the word is disputed. Some beliefs are that "Mick" comes from the common "Mc" in many Irish names. McSorley, McNeil, McFlannagan, etc.

Mickey Finn:

Slang: term for knockout drops.

See also: Rohypnol.

Mickey Mouse:

Slang: unimportant; trivial; iritatingly petty; intellectually unchallenging; simple.

Of music: melodramatic or sentimental.

Micro-Blogging:

Micro Blogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, digital audio or the web.

The content of a micro-blog differs from a traditional blog in that it is typically smaller in actual size and aggregate file size. A single entry could consist of a single sentence or fragment or an image or a brief, ten second video. But, still, its purpose is similar to that of a traditional blog. Users micro-blog about particular topics that can range from the simple, such as "what one is doing at a given moment," to the thematic, such as "sports cars," to business topics, such as particular products. Many micro-blogs provide short commentary on a person-to-person level, share news about a company's products and services, or provide logs of the events of one's life.

Most popular microblog website: Twitter.

Microchip:

A small piece of semiconductor material carrying many integrated circuits.

Microcosm:

A miniature model of something.

Microcredit:

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of a wider range of financial services to the very poor.

Microcredit is a financial innovation that is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. In that country, it has successfully enabled extremely impoverished people to engage in self-employment projects that allow them to generate an income and, in many cases, begin to build wealth and exit poverty. Due to the success of microcredit, many in the traditional banking industry have begun to realize that these microcredit borrowers should more correctly be categorized as pre-bankable; thus, microcredit is increasingly gaining credibility in the mainstream finance industry, and many traditional large finance organizations are contemplating microcredit projects as a source of future growth, even though almost everyone in larger development organizations discounted the likelihood of success of microcredit when it was begun. The United Nations declared 2005 the International Year of Microcredit.

Microdosing:

Microdosing, or micro-dosing, is a technique for studying the behaviour of drugs in humans through the administration of doses so low ("sub-therapeutic") they are unlikely to produce whole-body effects, but high enough to allow the cellular response to be studied. This is called a "Phase 0 study" and is usually conducted before clinical Phase I to predict whether a drug is viable for the next phase of testing. Human Microdosing aims to reduce the resources spent on non-viable drugs and the amount of testing done on animals.

Microfiche:

A sheet of microfilm, 6in × 4in, holding several hundred reduced images of document pages; read using a Microfiche reader or microfilm reader.

Micromanagement:

In business management, Micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes or controls the work of subordinates or employees. Micromanagement generally has a negative connotation.

Micron:

A Micrometre or Micron (American spelling: micrometer; symbol µm) is one millionth of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre. It is also commonly known as a micron. It can be written in scientific notation as 1×10-6 m, meaning 1/1 000 000 m.

A strand of human hair is about 100 µm wide. Red blood cells are 7 µm in diameter.

Micropayment:

Micropayments are a means for transferring very small amounts of money, in situations where collecting such small amounts of money with the usual payment systems is impractical, or very expensive, in terms of the amount of money being collected. "Micropayment" originally meant 1/1000th of a US dollar, meaning a payment system that could efficiently handle payments at least as small as a mill, but now is often defined to mean payments too small to be affordably processed by credit card or other electronic transaction processing mechanism. The use of micropayments may be called Microcommerce.

Microtargeting:

Microtargeting, often used by political parties and election campaigns includes direct marketing datamining techniques that involve predictive market segmentation (aka cluster analysis). It is used by the United States Republican and the Democratic political parties, as well as candidates to track individual voters and identify potential supporters.

They use various means of communication such as direct mail, phone calls, home visits, television, radio, web advertising, email, and text messaging, among others,to communicate with voters, crafting messages to build support for fundraising, campaign events, volunteering, and eventually to turn them out to the polls on the election day. Microtargeting's tactics rely on transmitting a tailored message to a subgroup of the electorate on the basis of unique information about that subgroup.

Midas:

The fabled king of Phrygia to whom Dionysus gave the power of turning to gold all that he touched.

Midas Touch:

The ability to make, manage, and keep huge amounts of money.

Middle Class:

Generally characterized as a person having an income that leaves a surplus after the monthly expenses have been paid.

Middle Manager:

A manager who sits somewhere in the middle of an organization's hierarchy; a general term for the great bulk of managers who are neither managing directors nor new graduate recruits. Many middle managers have been dispensed with as a result of delaying.

Middleman:

A trader who buys from producers and sells to retailers or consumers.

An intermediary; a go-between.

Midlife Crisis:

Midlife Crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age.

Midnight Regulations:

Midnight Regulations are United States federal government regulations created by executive branch agencies in the lame duck period of an outgoing president's administration.

The term "Midnight Regulation" entered the lexicon in 1980–81, during the final months of Jimmy Carter's single term as president. Carter's administration set a new record for Midnight Regulations by publishing more than 10,000 pages of new rules between Election Day and Ronald Reagan's Inauguration Day. The term is an allusion to the "midnight judges" appointed by John Adams in the final months of his presidency.

Mikado:

A title of the emperor of Japan.

The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert.

A steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

Mil:

Slang: a million dollars.

Mile:

A Mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet (1,760 yards, or about 1,609 metres).

Mile High Club:

The Mile High Club is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have engaged in sexual intercourse while on board an aircraft in flight at least 1 mile (5,280 ft/1,609 m AGL) above the Earth. There is no known formally constituted club so named. However, since "membership" of the "club" is really a matter of an individual asserting they have qualified, the qualifications for membership are open to some interpretation.

Some people attribute the allure of the club to the lower atmospheric pressure in the flight cabin, which they claim increases the intensity of orgasms. Another explanation is the vibration of the airplane, which may make arousal easier. Others say they have fantasies about pilots or flight attendants, or a fetish about planes themselves. For many others, perhaps the majority, the appeal of joining the MHC is the thrill of doing something taboo and the thrill of the risk of being discovered.

Visit: Mile High Club.

Milestone:

A stone marker set up on a roadside to indicate the distance in miles from a given point.

An important event.

Miley Effect:

Named after Miley Cyrus. Selfie-posters posing for the camera (often their own) with their tongues sticking out. Some of these photos have a sexualized aesthetic, but many more reveal tongues as playful accessories of those who feel, perhaps, a little silly for taking and sharing their own pictures. They think a funny face will help convey a tongue-in-cheekness.

MILF (slang):

MILF, an acronym for "Mother/Mom/Mum I'd Like to Fuck", is a colloquial term common in English and generally regarded as vulgar when spelled out. It denotes a sexually attractive female, usually several years older than the person using the term.

Milieu:

An environment or a setting.

Military Cadence:

In the armed services, a Military Cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching.

Military Time:

In Canada and the United States, the term "Military Time" is a synonym for the 24-hour clock.

Milk-and-Water:

Lacking the will or ability to act effectively; insipid; weak; wishy-washy.

Milkshake Duck:

Milkshake Duck is an Internet meme that describes phenomena that are initially perceived as positive, only to soon after be revealed as deeply flawed. Oxford Dictionaries defined the term as "a person or character on social media that appears to be endearing at first, but is found to have an unappealing back story".

Read also: How a Joke Becomes a Meme: The Birth of ‘Milkshake Duck’ - The New York Times.

Milkshaking:

Milkshaking is a term that refers to the use of milkshakes and other drinks as a means of political protest in a manner similar to egging or pieing. The target of a milkshaking is usually covered in a milkshake that is thrown from a cup or bottle. The trend gained popularity in the United Kingdom in May 2019 during the European Parliament election and was used primarily against right-wing and far-right politicians and activists, such as Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage, Carl Benjamin, and members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Brexit Party.

Millennials:

Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years, with the generation typically being defined as people born from 1981 to 1996. Most millennials are the children of baby boomers and early Gen Xers; Millennials are often the parents of Generation Alpha.

Millennial Pink:

‘Millennial Pink’ is the colour of now - but what exactly is it?

Milli-:

Milli- (symbol m) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth (10³). Proposed in 1793 and adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin mille, meaning "one thousand" (the Latin plural is milia). Since 1960, the prefix is part of the International System of Units (SI).

Millibar:

The bar (symbol: bar), decibar (symbol: dbar) and the Millibar (symbol: mbar, also: mb) are units of pressure. They are not SI units, nor are they cgs units, but they are accepted for use with the SI. The bar is widely used in descriptions of pressure because it is about the same as atmospheric pressure, and is legally recognized in countries of the European Union.

Millibit:

MilliBit was name chosen by popular vote in poll on the Bitcoin forum to represent the SI unit of 0.001 bitcoins (BTCs). The poll was announced on May 14, 2011 to come to an agreement of the most commonly used name. With the market exchange rate nearing $10 USD per BTC, a name for the sub-BTC unit was needed. The subunit later steered toward simply Millibit.

A milli is the International System of Units (SI) prefix representing one thousandth (1/1000th).

Millionaire:

A person with one million US dollars in liquid funds (cash, stock and other assets), excluding his / her primary residence, businesses and luxury goods.

See also: high net worth individual, multi-millionaire, rich and ultra-rich.

Milquetoast:

(Pejorative): a person of meek or timid disposition.

From the character Caspar Milquetoast of the comic strip The Timid Soul, created by Harold Webster and first published in 1924 (named after the American dish milk toast).

MIME:

Computer Science: a communications protocol that allows for the transmission of data in many forms, such as audio, binary, or video.

Mime:

An actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression.

Act out without words but with gestures and bodily movements only.

Mimesis:

Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the presentation of the self.

In ancient Greece, Mimesis was an idea that governed the creation of works of art, in particular, with correspondence to the physical world understood as a model for beauty, truth, and the good. Plato contrasted Mimesis, or imitation, with diegesis, or narrative. After Plato, the meaning of Mimesis eventually shifted toward a specifically literary function in ancient Greek society, and its use has changed and been reinterpreted many times since.

Mimic:

To copy or imitate closely, especially in speech, expression, and gesture; ape.

To copy or imitate so as to ridicule; mock.

Minaret:

A tall slender tower attached to a mosque, having one or more projecting balconies from which a muezzin summons the people to prayer.

Mind & Body:

Of, involving, or resulting from the interrelationship between one's physical health and the state of one's mind or spirit.

Mind Fucking:

The act of messing with someones mind, usually to an extreme.

Mind Mapping:

A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas. It's widely used in education and business because of its ability to stimulate the creation of new ideas and to support managing and understanding complex sets of information. For personal use mind mapping will help retain important information and store it in a form that feels more natural for the brain than linear notes. This makes it easier to recall the stored information and get a better overview of it.

List of concept- and mind-mapping software - Wikipedia.

Mind the Gap:

"Mind the Gap" is an audible or visual warning phrase issued to rail passengers to take caution while crossing the horizontal, and in some cases vertical, spatial gap between the train door and the station platform.

Mindful Flexibility:

Psychological flexibility is defined as being in contact with the present moment, fully aware of emotions, sensations, and thoughts, welcoming them, including the undesired ones, and moving in a pattern of behavior in the service of chosen values. In simpler words this means accepting our own thoughts and emotions and acting on long-term values rather than short-term impulses, thoughts, and feelings that are often linked to experiential avoidance and a way to control unwanted inner events. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral intervention that aims to foster psychological flexibility as a central means to human adaptation and wellbeing. In a non-clinical context, it can also be called Acceptance and Commitment Training.

Mindfulness:

Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of Buddhist meditation where it is affirmed that "correct" or "right" Mindfulness is the critical factor in the path to liberation and subsequent enlightenment.

Described as a calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself, it is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path, the practice of which supports analysis resulting in the development of wisdom. The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the foremost early texts dealing with Mindfulness. A key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative stabilisation must be combined with liberating discernment.

Mindfulness practice, inherited from the Buddhist tradition, is increasingly being employed in Western psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety and in the prevention of relapse in depression and drug addiction.

Mindset:

A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations; an inclination or a habit.

Miner's Cramp:

Cramp due to loss of salt from the body caused by excessive sweating. Occurs in tropical climates and with severe exercise; mining often combines the two.

Mineral Rights:

The right to dig for the minerals that lie under a particular piece of ground.

Mingle:

To mix or bring together in combination, usually without loss of individual characteristics.

To join or take part with others.

Minimalism:

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts. Minimalism is any design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect.

See also: maximalism.

Minimum Wage:

The lowest amount that can legally be paid to an employee, often expressed as an hourly sum.

Minion:

An obsequious follower or dependent; a sycophant.

A subordinate official, especially a servile one.

One who is highly esteemed or favored; a darling.

Minister:

One who is authorized to perform religious functions in a Christian church, especially a Protestant church.

A high officer of state appointed to head an executive or administrative department of government.

To attend to the wants and needs of others.

Minor:

Law: one who has not reached full legal age.

Minority:

The smaller in number of two groups forming a whole; a group or party having fewer than a controlling number of votes.

A racial, religious, political, national, or other group thought to be different from the larger group of which it is part.

Law: the state or period of being under legal age.

Minotaur:

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Minstrel:

A medieval entertainer who traveled from place to place, especially to sing and recite poetry.

MINT (economics):

MINT is an acronym referring to the economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey.

Minute Book:

Used for writing minutes in.

The written record of meeting. Companies retain the minutes of important meetings, such as board meetings, as a formal acknowledgement and reminder of decisions that have been reached.

Minutes:

Brief summary of proceedings of a meeting / assembly / committee.

Minutiae:

A small or trivial detail; finer points.

Mirabile Dictu:

Wonderfully, amazingly; remarkable to say; It's a miracle!

Miracle:

An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an Act of God.

One that excites admiring awe.

Mirada Fuente:

Spanish for: strong gaze (e.g. Pablo Picasso's famous eyes).

Mirage:

An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of light by alternate layers of hot and cool air. Also called fata morgana.

Something illusory or insubstantial.

Miranda Warning:

A Miranda Warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are interrogated. A custodial situation is one in which the suspect's freedom of movement is restrained (judged by the "free to leave" test), even if he is not under arrest. An elicited incriminating statement by a suspect will not constitute admissible evidence unless the suspect was informed of his/her "Miranda rights" and made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of those rights. However, a 2004 Supreme Court ruling upheld state "stop-and-identify" laws, allowing police to require biographical information such as name, date of birth, and address, without arresting suspects or providing them Miranda warnings.

The Miranda Warnings were mandated by the 1966 United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Miranda v. Arizona as a means of protecting a criminal suspect's Fifth Amendment right to avoid coercive self-incrimination (see right to silence). The reading of the Miranda warning might be omitted during arrest, such as if the evidence is already sufficient to indict, or if the suspect is talkative and volunteers information (without being asked). The admissibility of conversations, as evidence, is judged on a case-by-case basis, subject to appeal.

Mirandize:

To advise (a person being arrested) of his or her rights under the Miranda ruling.

Mirror Image:

A likeness in which left and right are reversed.

Mirror Site:

Mirror Sites are sites that contain identical content, but have altogether different URLs.

Mirror Trading:

The Mirror Trading method allows traders in financial markets to select a trading strategy and to automatically "mirror" the trades executed by the selected strategies in the trader's brokerage account.

Misanthropy:

Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or contempt of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The condition is often confused with asociality.

Misdemeanor:

Law: a criminal offense that is less serious than a felony and generally punishable by a fine, a jail term of up to a year, or both.

Mise en Scène:

French: "placing on stage". The arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production.

The physical setting of an action.

Misery Index:

An index combining the unemployment rate and inflation rate. The index is used to measure the political significance of the condition of the economy, as well as consumer confidence.

Mishpachah:

A Jewish family or social unit including close and distant relatives.

Misinformation:

To provide with incorrect information.

Misogyny:

Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. According to feminist theory, Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, belittling of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women. Misogyny can be found within many mythologies of the ancient world as well as various religions. In addition, various influential Western philosophers have been described as Misogynistic.

Missing Link:

A theoretical primate postulated to bridge the evolutionary gap between the anthropoid apes and humans. Not in scientific use.

Mission:

A body of persons sent to conduct negotiations or establish relations with a foreign country; the business with which such a body of persons is charged; permanent diplomatic office abroad.

A body of persons sent to a foreign land by a religious organization, especially a Christian organization, to spread its faith or provide educational, medical, and other assistance.

A company's overriding business purpose; something that it aims to do above and beyond making a profit.

A special assignment given to a person or group; a combat operation assigned to a person or military unit.

An inner calling to pursue an activity or perform a service; a vocation.

Mission Statement:

A Mission Statement tells you the fundamental purpose of the organization. It defines the customer and the critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance.

Mistletoe:

Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.

According to ancient Christmas custom, a man and a woman who meet under a hanging of Mistletoe were obliged to kiss. The custom may be of Scandinavian origin.

Mistral:

A dry cold northerly wind that blows in squalls toward the Mediterranean coast of southern France.

Mistress:

A woman who has a continuing sexual relationship with a usually married man who is not her husband and from whom she generally receives material support.

A woman in a position of authority, control, or ownership, as the head of a household.

MIT:

Short for: Most Important Task.

Mitosis:

In cell biology, Mitosis is a part of the cell cycle when replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the number of chromosomes is maintained.

Mittyesque:

Similar to or behaving like Walter Mitty: "adventurous daydreamer," 1950, from title character in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", James Thurber short story first published in the "New Yorker," March 18, 1939.

MLAT:

Short for: Mutual Legal Assisstance Treaty created by the U.S. in the hope of accessing foreign records.

MLM:

Short for: Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), also known as Network Marketing, is a marketing strategy that compensates promoters of direct selling companies not only for product sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they introduced to the company. The products and company are usually marketed directly to consumers and potential business partners by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing.

Independent, unsalaried salespeople of Multi-Level Marketing, referred to as distributors (or associates, independent business owners, dealers, franchise owners, sales consultants, consultants, independent agents, etc.), represent the parent company and are awarded a commission based upon the volume of product sold through each of their independent businesses (organizations).

Independent distributors develop their organizations by either building an active customer base, who buy direct from the parent company, or by recruiting a downline of independent distributors who also build a customer base, thereby expanding the overall organization. Additionally, distributors can also earn a profit by retailing products they purchased from the parent company at wholesale price.

Distributors earn a commission based on the sales efforts of their organization, which includes their independent sale efforts as well as the leveraged sales efforts of their downline. This arrangement is similar to franchise arrangements where royalties are paid from the sales of individual franchise operations to the franchisor as well as to an area or region manager. Commissions are paid to Multi-Level Marketing distributors according to the company’s compensation plan. There can be multiple levels of people receiving royalties from one person's sales.

MMO (crime):

Short for: Means, Motive and Opportunity.

MMS:

Short for: Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a telecommunications standard for sending messages that include multimedia objects (images, audio, video, rich text). MMS is an extension of the SMS standard, allowing longer message lengths and using WAP to display the content. Its most popular use is sending photographs from camera-equipped handsets, although it is also popular as a method of delivering ringtones as well. The standard is developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), although during development it was part of the 3GPP and WAP groups.

See also: SMS.

Mnémo Technique:

Mnemonic, or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory.

A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.

Mnemosyne:

Mnemosyne, source of the word mnemonic, was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. A Titanide, or Titaness, she was the daughter of the Titans Uranus and Gaia. Mnemosyne was the mother of the nine Muses, fathered by her nephew, Zeus.

MO:

Short for: Modus Operandi. Modus Operandi (often used in the abbreviated forms M.O. or simply Method) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "Method of Operating". The plural is Modi Operandi ("Methods of Operating"). The term is used in English to describe someone's habits or manner of working, the method of operating or functioning.

It is often used in a criminal sense, to profile the methods employed by individuals during the execution of a crime, and may also be used in offender profiling, where it can also be used to find clues to the perpetrator's psychology. It largely consists of the methods used to execute the crime, prevent detection, and facilitate escape.

Mob:

An organized gang of criminals; a crime syndicate.

To crowd around and jostle or annoy, especially in anger or excessive enthusiasm.

Mobile Moment:

A Mobile Moment is a point in time and space when someone pulls out a mobile device to get what he or she wants immediately, in context.

Any time you reach for a smartphone to find an answer or solution on the internet in a time of crisis.

Mobile Operating System:

A Mobile Operating System, also known as a Mobile OS, a mobile platform, or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device.

Mobile Phone:

A Mobile Phone or Mobile (also called cellphone and handphone, as well as cell phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, cell, cellular telephone, mobile telephone or cell telephone) is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile voice or data communication over a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. In addition to the standard voice function of a Mobile Phone, telephone, current Mobile Phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, Bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video, MP3 player, radio and GPS. Most current Mobile Phones connect to a cellular network consisting of switching points and base stations (cell sites) owned by a mobile network operator (the exception is satellite phones, which are mobile but not cellular). See also: feature phone & smart phone.

A Mobile Phone, as opposed to a radio telephone, offers full duplex-communication, automatised calling to and paging from a public switched telephone network (PSTN), handoff (American English) or handover (European term) during a phone call when the user moves from one cell (base station coverage area) to another. A Mobile Phone offers wide area service, and should not be confused with a cordless telephone, which also is a wireless phone, but only offer telephony service within a limited range, e.g. within a home or an office, through a fixed line and a base station owned by the subscriber.

See also: postpaid mobile phone and prepaid mobile phone.

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO):

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), virtual network operator (VNO), or mobile other licensed operator (MOLO), is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobile network operator to obtain bulk access to network services at wholesale rates, then sets retail prices independently. An MVNO may use its own customer service, billing support systems, marketing, and sales personnel, or it could employ the services of a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE). The world's largest MVNO is Lycamobile, which operating in 22 countries on 4 continents.

Mobile Wealthy Residency Index:

Short: MWRI. Survey by Scorpio Partnership, a business strategy advisor to the wealth management industry, has developed the world’s first index judging the attractiveness of the most popular financial centres/cities to the “mobile wealthy”. The top destinations around the world include Switzerland, London, Singapore, New York, Hong Kong, Jersey, Cayman, Isle of Man, Monaco, Dubai and Guernsey.

Mock-Up:

A usually full-sized scale model of a structure, used for demonstration, study, or testing.

Mockbuster:

A Mockbuster (sometimes also called a knockbuster) is a film, often made with a low budget, created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme.

Mod (subculture):

Mod (originally modernist, sometimes capitalised) is a subculture that originated in London, England in the late 1950s and peaked in the early to mid 1960s.

Significant elements of the Mod subculture include: fashion (often tailor-made suits); pop music, including African American soul, Jamaican ska, and British beat music and R&B; and Italian motor scooters. The original Mod scene was also associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs. From the mid to late 1960s onwards, the mass media often used the term Mod in a wider sense to describe anything that was believed to be popular, fashionable or modern.

Mode:

A given condition of functioning; a status.

The current or customary fashion or style.

Model:

A small object, usually built to scale, that represents in detail another, often larger object; a standard to be imitated.

A representative form, style, or pattern.

Model (person):

A Model (from Middle French Modèle), sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed for the purpose of displaying and promoting fashion clothing or other products and for advertising or promotional purposes or who poses for works of art.

Modeling is distinguished from other types of public performance, such as an acting, dancing or mime artistry, although the boundary is not well defined. Appearing in a movie or a play is generally not considered to be modeling, regardless of the nature of the role. However, Models generally have to express emotion in their photographs, and many Models have also described themselves as actors. Models are generally not expected to verbally express themselves unless to visually enhance a photograph through the display of intense emotion.

Types of Models include fashion, glamour, fitness, bikini, fine art, and body-part Models.

Not all Models are what would commonly be considered "beautiful": character Models portray ordinary people and humorous types, mostly in print work and in commercials. Photo manipulation and cosmetic surgery also enable people with body imperfections to model and change their looks to suit a certain role. Many high fashion Models have what could be called 'quirky' attributes and memorably unusual faces. High end brands often use these unusual faces as people are likely to remember their brand name and associate it with an interesting face.

See also: supermodel.

Modem:

An abbreviation of MOdulator-DEModulator, the instrument which sits between a computer and a telephone line and allows electronic messages to be passed in and out of the former via the latter. Without modems there should be no public access to the Internet.

Moderator:

One that arbitrates or mediates.

One who presides over a meeting, forum, or debate.

Modern:

Of or relating to recent times or the present; a contemporary person.

Relating to a recently developed fashion or style; characteristic of present-day art and music and literature and architecture.

Advanced; ahead of the times.

Modern Monetary Theory:

Modern Monetary Theory or Modern Money Theory (MMT) is a heterodox macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly for the government and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply of the financial assets needed to pay taxes and satisfy savings desires.

Modest Fashion:

The term Modest Fashion or modest dressing refers to a fashion trend in women of wearing less skin-revealing clothes, especially in a way that satisfies their spiritual and stylistic requirements for reasons of faith, religion or personal preference. The exact interpretation of 'modest' varies across cultures and countries. There is no unambiguous interpretation as it is influenced by socio-cultural characteristics of each country. Beyond the various interpretations, all agree on the idea that Modest Fashion means loose clothing, comfortable dressing and covering of the body according to person's own comfort.

Modifier:

A word, phrase, or clause that limits or qualifies the sense of another word or word group.

Modo Vincis, Modo Vinceris:

Latin for "Sometimes you defeat, sometimes you are defeated."

Module:

A standard or unit of measurement.

Modulor:

The Modulor is an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier.

Read more here.

Modus Operandi:

See: MO.

Modus Vivendi:

A manner of living; a way of life.

A temporary agreement between contending parties pending a final settlement.

Möbius Strip:

The Möbius Strip or Möbius band, also Mobius or Moebius, is a surface with only one side and only one boundary. The Möbius Strip has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It can be realized as a ruled surface. It was discovered independently by the German mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing in 1858.

Möbius Syndrome:

Möbius Syndrome (also spelled Moebius) is an extremely rare congenital neurological disorder which is characterized by facial paralysis and the inability to move the eyes from side to side. Most people with Möbius Syndrome are born with complete facial paralysis and cannot close their eyes or form facial expressions. Limb and chest wall abnormalities sometimes occur with the syndrome. People with Möbius Syndrome have normal intelligence, although their lack of facial expression is sometimes incorrectly taken to be due to dullness or unfriendliness. It is named for Paul Julius Möbius, a neurologist who first described the syndrome in 1888.

Mogul:

A member of the Muslim dynasty founded by Babur that ruled India 1526-1857.

A very rich or powerful person; a magnate.

Moiré:

A watered or Moiré fabric.

Moiré Effect:

The effect of superimposing a repetitive design, such as a grid, on the same or a different design in order to produce a pattern distinct from its components.

The perceived distortion or flickering of printed or displayed high-contrast images.

Mojo:

Personal magnetism; charm; a person's groove.

Sexual attraction.

A magical charm or, hex or power; a magical power.

An amulet, often a small flannel bag containing one or more magic items, worn by adherents of hoodoo or voodoo.

Mole:

A spy who operates from within an organization, especially a double agent operating against his or her own government from within its intelligence establishment.

Molecular Gastronomy:

Molecular Gastronomy is a scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that that occur while cooking. Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general.

Chef Heston Blumentahl's Restaurant The Fat Duck (Bray, Berkshire, England) follows the principles of molecular gastronomy.

Moleskine:

Moleskine is a brand of notebooks, planners, diaries, sketchbooks and albums manufactured by Moleskine Srl. Moleskine notebooks are typically bound in coated paper cardboard, with an elastic band to hold the notebook closed, a sewn spine that allows it to lie flat when opened, cream colour paper, rounded corners, a ribbon bookmark, and an expandable pocket inside the rear cover, packed in a paper banderole.

Notebooks with the same features as the present Moleskine notebooks were a popular standard in 19th and 20th century Europe, handmade by small French bookbinders who supplied the stationery shops of Paris. As documented by many art collections and museums, in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, these nameless notebooks became a prominent creative tool for artists who enjoyed drawing and writing outdoors, putting down impressions on paper, painting from life in the streets and cafés, and capturing extemporary scenes, ideas, and emotions.

The present Moleskine notebook is specifically fashioned after Bruce Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used in his travels. The name itself of "Moleskine" is a nickname that Chatwin uses in one of his most celebrated writings, The Songlines (1986). In this book Chatwin tells the story of his original supplier of notebooks, a Paris stationer who in 1986 informed him that the last notebook manufacturer, a small family-run firm in Tours, had discontinued production that year, after the death of the owner. "Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus" ("The real Moleskine is no more") are the words Chatwin puts in the mouth of the owner of the stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie.

Molotov Cocktail:

The Molotov Cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons. They are frequently used by rioters due to the relative ease of production.

The bombs were derisively named after the then Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, Vyacheslav Molotov, by the Finns during the Winter War.

Mom Jeans:

Mom Jeans is a slang term for high-waisted women's jeans that were originally fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1990s and 2000s they were mainly worn by middle-aged American women and considered unhip by trendy younger women. Mom Jeans then came back in style amongst hipsters and fashionably aware young women in the 2010s.

Mom-and-Pop:

Of or being a small business that is typically owned and run by members of a family.

Resembling or evocative of the small-scale, homelike, or informal atmosphere of such a business.

Momentum:

Impetus of a physical object in motion.

An essential or constituent element; a moment.

Momism:

Things that your mom tells you that can be considered wise, but most of the time you just do whatever you feel like and the one time she's right, you will never hear the end of it.

Momo:

A generic insult used to describe one who is irritating, annoying, or an idiot. (synonyms include but are not limited too: ass, asshole, bastard, bitch, blockhead, bonehead, cocksucker, dick, dickhead, dolt, dope, dunce, fool, halfwit, idiot, imbecile, jackass, jerk, mother-fucker, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, numskull, rascal, scamp, schmo, schmuck, simpleton, son of a bitch, tomfool, twerp).

Monad (philosophy):

Monad refers in cosmogony (creation theories) to the first being, divinity, or the totality of all beings. The concept was reportedly conceived by the Pythagoreans and may refer variously to a single source acting alone and/or an indivisible origin. The concept was later adopted by other philosophers, such as Leibniz, who referred to the Monad as an elementary particle. It had a geometric counterpart, which was debated and discussed contemporaneously by the same groups of people.

Monarch:

One who reigns over a state or territory, usually for life and by hereditary right.

A sovereign, such as a king or empress, often with constitutionally limited authority.

One that surpasses others in power or preeminence.

Monarchy:

A Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a Monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times.

See also: constitutional monarchy.

Money:

Anything that is recognized as a store of value and a medium of exchange by the participants in a market. This could be (and has been) cowrie shells, black beads and dollar bills.

Money Belt:

A belt having a usually concealed pocket for holding money.

Money Laundering:

Money Laundering occurs when criminals seek to make illegally obtained funds look legitimate by funneling them through a string of banks and businesses until the money's origin is obscured.

The term "Money Laundering" is said to originate from Mafia ownership of Laundromats in the United States. Gangsters there were earning huge sums in cash from extortion, prostitution, gambling and bootleg liquor. They needed to show a legitimate source for these monies.

One of the ways in which they were able to do this was by purchasing outwardly legitimate businesses and to mix their illicit earnings with the legitimate earnings they received from these businesses. Laundromats were chosen by these gangsters because they were cash businesses and this was an undoubted advantage to people like Al Capone who purchased them.

Visit: Money Laundering - A Brief History by Billy Steel.

Money Market:

A market in which financial institutions (such as banks) buy and sell short-term financial instruments among themselves.

Money Mule:

A Money Mule or sometimes referred to as a "smurfer" is a person who transfers money acquired illegally (e.g., stolen) in person, through a courier service, or electronically, on behalf of others. The mule is paid for their services, typically a small part of the money transferred. Money Mules are often dupes recruited on-line for what they think is legitimate employment, not aware that the money they are transferring is the product of crime. The money is transferred from the mule's account to the scam operator, typically in another country. Similar techniques are used to transfer illegal merchandise.

Money Supply:

The amount of money circulating in an economy. The definition of money varies. In the M0 version it consists of notes and coins only. The M1, M2 and M3 versions include a varying range of short-term financial assets (such as bank deposits) as well as notes and coins.

Money Trail:

The 'fingerprint' most money transactions leave.

Moniker:

A personal name or nickname; an informal label, often drawing attention to a particular attribute.

Monitor (computing):

A Monitor or display (sometimes called a visual display unit) is a piece of electrical equipment which displays images generated by devices such as computers, without producing a permanent record.

Monkey Class:

= economy class, also called coach class (or just coach), steerage, or standard class, is the lowest travel class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel. Historically, this travel class has been called tourist class on ocean liners and third class, or even fourth class, on railways.

Mono No Aware:

Mono No Aware (literally "the pathos of things", and also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term for the awareness of impermanence, or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life. "Mono-No Aware: the ephemeral nature of beauty - the quietly elated, bittersweet feeling of having been witness to the dazzling circus of life - knowing that none of it can last. It’s basically about being both saddened and appreciative of transience - and also about the relationship between life and death. In Japan, there are four very distinct seasons, and you really become aware of life and mortality and transience. You become aware of how significant those moments are.”

Monogamy:

The practice or condition of having a single sexual partner during a period of time.

The practice or condition of being married to only one person at a time.

The practice of marrying only once in a lifetime.

Monogram:

A design composed of one or more letters, typically the initials of a name, used as an identifying mark.

Monograph:

A Monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author, and usually on a scholarly subject.

Monolith:

A large single block of stone, used in architecture and sculpture.

Anything massive, uniform and unmovable.

Monologue:

A literary composition in the form of a soliloquy.

A continuous series of jokes or comic stories delivered by one comedian.

A long speech made by one person, often monopolizing a conversation.

Monomania:

In 19th-century psychiatry, Monomania was a form of partial insanity conceived as single pathological preoccupation in an otherwise sound mind.

Monopoly:

The situation where a single producer has a sufficiently large share of a market to be able to control prices in that market. A Monopoly implies the absence of competition. Governments and consumer watchdogs aim to prevent companies with a Monopoly from abusing their dominant position at the expense of the consumer.

Monopsony:

The situation where a single customer has the whole of a market to itself; the mirror image of a monopoly. Monopsonies occur most frequently when a government is virtually the only customer for a particular product, for example, in the defense industry or in certain areas of medical care.

Monotony:

The quality of wearisome constancy, routine, and lack of variety.

Monotyping:

Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press.

Montage:

A single pictorial composition made by juxtaposing or superimposing many pictures or designs.

A composite of closely juxtaposed elements.

Monte-Carlo's Carré d'Or:

Monte-Carlo's Carré d'Or include Place du Casino and the neighbouring roads (Avenue Monte-Carlo, Avenue des Beaux Arts, Allées Lumières) and create one enormous jewellery shop with Cartier, Chopard, Van Cleef Arpels, Bulgari, Piaget, Repossi and others. For art lovers, the many antique dealers or designers are available to you, including Fersen, Adriano Ribolzi, Gismondi and many more famous names. The "Carré d’Or" boutiques bear the most famous names in luxury and offer you the latest creations from fashion designers such as Hermès, Céline, Christian Dior, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Ichthys and more.

Monument:

A structure, such as a building or sculpture, erected as a memorial.

Something venerated for its enduring historic significance or association with a notable past person or thing.

Moobs:

A plump or untoned breast on a man.

Mood Board:

A Mood Board is a type of collage consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. It can be based upon a set topic or can be any material chosen at random. A Mood Board can be used to convey a general idea or feel about a particular topic. They may be physical or digital, and can be effective presentation tools.

Graphic designers, interior designers, industrial designers, photographers and other creative artists use Mood Boards to visually illustrate the style they wish to pursue. However, these boards can also be used by design professionals to visually explain a certain style of writing, or an imaginary setting for a storyline. In short, Mood Boards are not limited to visual subjects, but serve as a visual tool to quickly inform others of the overall "feel" (or "flow") of an idea. In creative processes, Mood Boards can balance coordination and creative freedom.

Moody's:

Moody's is one of the world's three main credit-rating agencies. Moody's judgment on the quality of a company or a country's debt can materially affect the price that the company or country has to pay to borrow money.

Moon Illusion:

The Moon Illusion is an optical illusion which causes the Moon to appear larger near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky. It has been known since ancient times and recorded by various cultures.

Mooning:

Slang: to expose one's buttocks in public as a prank or disrespectful gesture.

Moonlighting:

The earning of a second income; for example, night-time taxi driving by someone who is a builder or a civil servant by day. Moonlighting is so called because it frequently (but not necessarily) takes place at night. It also implies that the work is not 100% legal, in particular that it is kept out of sight of the taxman.

Moonwalk:

A kind of dance step in which the dancer seems to be sliding on the spot.

Moore's Law:

Moore's Law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. The trend has continued for more than half a century and is not expected to stop until 2015 or 2020 or later.

The law is named after Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore, who described the trend in his 1965 paper (published in an article 19 April 1965 in Electronics Magazine).

Moral:

Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character.

Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior.

Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous.

Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong.

Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction, rather than on the actual evidence.

Moral Compass:

Used in reference to a person's ability to judge what is right and wrong and act accordingly.

Moral Hazard:

In economics, Moral Hazard occurs when someone increases their exposure to risk when insured. This can happen, for example, when a person takes more risks because someone else bears the cost of those risks. A Moral Hazard may occur where the actions of one party may change to the detriment of another after a financial transaction has taken place.

Moral Hazard can occur under a type of information asymmetry where the risk-taking party to a transaction knows more about its intentions than the party paying the consequences of the risk. More broadly, moral hazard can occur when the party with more information about its actions or intentions has a tendency or incentive to behave inappropriately from the perspective of the party with less information.

Moral Hazard also arises in a principal-agent problem, where one party, called an agent, acts on behalf of another party, called the principal. The agent usually has more information about his or her actions or intentions than the principal does, because the principal usually cannot completely monitor the agent. The agent may have an incentive to act inappropriately (from the viewpoint of the principal) if the interests of the agent and the principal are not aligned.

Moral High Ground:

The Moral High Ground, in ethical or political parlance, refers to the status of being respected for remaining moral, and adhering to and upholding a universally recognized standard of justice or goodness.

"Parties seeking the Moral High Ground simply refuse to act in ways which are not viewed as legitimate and morally defensible."
Holding the Moral High Ground can be used to legitimize political movements, notably nonviolent resistance, especially in the face of violent opposition, and has been used by civil disobedience movements around the world to garner sympathy and support from society.

Similarly, 21st century states may refrain from declaring war in order to retain the Moral High Ground - though the cynic will observe that realpolitik still leads to wars being fought, only without declarations.

Moral Majority:

The Moral Majority was a prominent American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. It played a key role in the mobilization of conservative Christians as a political force and particularly in Republican presidential victories throughout the 1980s.

Morale:

The state of the spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks.

Morass:

(Physical Geography): a tract of swampy low-lying land.

A disordered or muddled situation or circumstance, especially one that impedes progress.

Moratorium:

A period of time in which a borrower is allowed (with the approval of the lender) to forgo payments of principal on a loan. Financial institutions are rarely prepared to grant borrowers a moratorium on interest payments.

More Power To You!:

Means: Well done!; You really stood up for yourself!; You really did something for your own benefit!

See also: then more power to you!

Morellian Method:

The Morellian Method by Giovanni Morelli is based on clues offered by trifling details rather than identities of composition and subject matter or other broad treatments that every artist has signature ways of doing small details - drapery, hands, ears - and that distinguishing these traits make a firmer basis for authentication. These unconscious traces - in the shorthand for rendering the folds of an ear in secondary figures of a composition, for example - are unlikely to be imitated and, once deciphered, serve as fingerprints do at the scene of the crime. The identity of the artist is expressed most reliably in the details that are least attended to. The Morellian Method has its nearest roots in Morelli's own discipline of medicine, with its identification of disease through numerous symptoms, each of which may be apparently trivial in itself.

The Morellian Method of finding essence and hidden meaning in details had also a much wider cultural influence. There are references to his work in the Sherlock Holmes novels by Arthur Conan Doyle and in the works of Sigmund Freud. Like Morelli, both Freud and Doyle had a medical background).

Moretta:

The Moretta (meaning dark one lady) or servetta muta (meaning mute servant woman) was a small strapless black velvet oval mask with wide eyeholes and no lips or mouth worn by patrician women. It derived from the visard mask invented in France in the sixteenth century, but differed in not having a hole to speak through. The mask was only just large enough to conceal a woman's identity and was held in place by the wearer biting on a button or bit (the women wearing this mask were unable to speak, hence muta) and was sometimes finished off with a veil.

Morganatic Marriage:

In the context of European royalty, a Morganatic Marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. Now rare, it is also known as a left-handed marriage because in the wedding ceremony the groom traditionally held his bride's right hand with his left hand instead of his right.

Morpheus:

Morpheus is a Greek god of dreams.

Morphing:

Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes (or morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction would be achieved through cross-fading techniques on film. Since the early 1990s, this has been replaced by computer software to create more realistic transitions.

Morphology:

The branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of organisms without consideration of function; the form and structure of an organism or one of its parts.

Linguistics: The study of the structure and form of words in language or a language, including inflection, derivation, and the formation of compounds.

Morse Code:

Morse Code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment.

Visit: Morse Code - Wikipedia.

Mortgage:

A long-term loan for the purpose of buying real estate which uses the real estate as security for the loan.

Moshing:

Moshing, also known early on as “slamdancing”, is a style of dance whose participants push or slam into each other, usually while moving in circle. It is most associated with “aggressive” music genres, such as hardcore punk and numerous styles of metal. It is primarily done to live music, although it can be done to recorded music.

Variations of Moshing exist, and can be done alone as well as in groups. Moshing usually happens in a “pit” (sometimes called a mosh pit or “circle pit”) and is intended to be energetic and full of body contact. Offshoots are “pogoing” (mostly jumping up and down) and the more extreme wall of death, and are typically done in an area in the center of the crowd, generally closer to the stage.

Mosque:

A Muslim place of worship that usually has a minaret.

Most-Favored-Nation Clause:

Diplomacy: a clause, often inserted in treaties, by which each of the contracting nations binds itself to grant to the other in certain stipulated matters the same terms as are then, or may be thereafter, granted to the nation which receives from it the most favorable terms in respect of those matters. It is used most frequently in treaties regarding the terms of trade between countries, as regarding tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade.

Most Likely To Succeed:

In many American high schools, voting for senior superlatives is a time-honored tradition. But it may be less than an honor for those voted "Most Likely To Succeed." Some school administrators are concerned the title can put too much pressure on students who earn it.

Read also: The Burden Of Being 'Most Likely To Succeed'.

Mot Juste:

(French): the perfectly appropriate word or phrase for the situation.

Motel:

An establishment that provides lodging for motorists in rooms usually having direct access to an open parking area.

Motet:

A polyphonic composition based on a sacred text and usually sung without accompaniment.

Mother:

Noun: a woman who has given birth to a child.

Verb: to care for as a mother does; to watch over, (fuss), nourish, and protect maternally (sometimes too much).

Mother's Day:

Mother's Day is an annual holiday that recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society.

Motherboard:

A Motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, while providing connectors for other peripherals.

Motif (visual arts):

In art, a Motif is an element of a pattern, image or part of one, or theme. A Motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.

Motion:

A formal proposition made in a meeting which seeks to gain the support of those at the meeting for a particular course of action. Properly formulated Motions are automatically recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Motion Smoothing:

Motion interpolation or Motion Smoothing is the process in question, more commonly known as “the soap opera effect”. Gizmodo has a nice summary of it: “Motion Smoothing is a feature on most modern TVs that is intended to correct hi-def screens” tendency to make objects in motion appear to be blurry.

Read also: What is Motion Smoothing and how do you turn it off? - "The TV ‘soap opera effect’ Tom Cruise, Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson are waging war on."

Motivation:

Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested in and committed to a job, role, or subject, and to exert persistent effort in attaining a goal. Motivation is the energizer of behavior and mother of all action. It results from the interactions among conscious and unconscious factors such as the intensity of desire or need, incentive or reward value of the goal, and expectations of the individual and of his or her significant others.

Motivator:

A person who provides an incentive; move to action; impel.

Motte-and-Bailey Castle:

A Motte-and-Bailey Castle is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade.

Motto:

A brief statement used to express a principle, goal, or ideal.

A sentence, phrase, or word of appropriate character inscribed on or attached to an object.

A maxim adopted as a guide to one's conduct.

Motu Proprio:

A Motu Proprio (Latin "on his own impulse") is a document issued by the Pope (or by a monarch) on his own initiative and personally signed by him.

Mountain Bike:

A bicycle with a sturdy frame and fat tires; originally designed for riding in mountainous country.

Mouse:

The small attachment to a computer that allows the user to go in and out of different software programs. The Mouse controls the movements of a cursor on the screen. By clicking the Mouse when the cursor points to a particular icon, the user can switch from one program to another.

Mouse Over:

Computing: to move a computer mouse pointer over (an element of the display).

Mouseburger:

A woman of no particular intellect or attractiveness.

Movember:

Movember (a portmanteau from moustache and "November") is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and other male cancers, and associated charities. The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com. The goal of Movember is to "change the face of men's health."

By encouraging men (which the charity refers to as "Mo Bros") to get involved, Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. Besides annual check-ups, the Movember Foundation encourages men to be aware of family history of cancer and to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Movement:

The act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position.

A tendency or trend.

Sociology: a group of people with a common ideology, especially a political or religious one.

Music: a principal self-contained section of a symphony, sonata, etc., usually having its own structure.

Movement (clockwork):

In horology, a Movement is the internal mechanism of a clock or watch, as opposed to the case, which encloses and protects the movement, and the face which displays the time. The term originated with mechanical timepieces, whose clockwork movements are made of many moving parts. It is less frequently applied to modern electronic or quartz timepieces, where the word module is often used instead.

Moxie:

Nerve, strength of character.

Mozart Ear:

A Mozart Ear is a deformity of the pinna where the two crura of the antihelix and the crus of the helix are fixed, giving a bulging appearance of the superior part of the pinna.

Mozart Effect:

The Mozart Effect can refer to:

♦ A set of research results indicating that listening to Mozart's music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatial-temporal reasoning;"

♦ Popularized versions of the hypothesis, which suggest that "listening to Mozart makes you smarter", or that early childhood exposure to classical music has a beneficial effect on mental development;

♦ A US trademark for a set of commercial recordings and related materials, which are claimed to harness the effect for a variety of purposes. The trademark owner, Don Campbell, Inc. (The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit), claims benefits far beyond improving spatio-temporal reasoning or raising intelligence, defining the mark as "an inclusive term signifying the transformational powers of music in health, education, and well-being."

MP3:

Short for: MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players.

MPEG-4:

MPEG-4 is a collection of methods defining compression of audio and visual (AV) Digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO / IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496. Uses of MPEG-4 include compression of AV data for web (streaming media) and CD distribution, voice (telephone, videophone) and broadcast television applications.

MPV:

Short for: Multi-Purpose Vehicle: a type of automobile also known as a minivan.

MRE | Meal, Ready-to-Eat:

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat – commonly known as the MRE – is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available. The MRE replaced the canned MCI, or Meal, Combat, Individual rations, in 1981 and is the intended successor to the lighter LRP ration developed by the United States Army for Special Forces and Ranger patrol units in Vietnam.

Mrs. Robinson / Mrs. Robinsoning:

Originating in ideology from the film The Graduate: for a woman to lust after a man at least a generation younger than herself; an older woman who seduces a younger man; deflowerment of a man at least a generation younger than said woman.

MSR:

Short for: Media Social Responsibility.

MTB:

Short for: Mountain Bike. A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB or ATB (all terrain bicycle)) is a bicycle created and made for off-road cycling, including jumps, and traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines, on dirt trails, logging roads, and other unpaved environments:mdash;activities usually called mountain biking.

MTCN:

Short for: Money Transfer Control Number. The MTC number is given in connection with a Western Union money transfer.

Mockumentary:

A Mockumentary (a portmanteau of the words mock and documentary) is a type of film or television show in which fictional events are presented in documentary style to create a parody. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. They may be either comedic or dramatic in form, although comedic Mockumentaries are more common. A dramatic Mockumentary (sometimes referred to as docufiction) should not be confused with docudrama, a fictional genre in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to depict real events.

Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy:

Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy is an outdated term for psychiatric disorders known as Factitious disorders wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome or hospital hopper syndrome.

Muckraker:

The term Muckraker was used in the Progressive Era to characterize reform-minded American journalists who attacked established institutions and leaders as corrupt.

Muezzin:

A Muezzin is the person appointed at a mosque to lead and recite the call to prayer for every event of prayer and worship in the mosque.

Muffin:

A Muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread Muffins, also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.

Mug Shot:

A photograph of a person's face, especially one made for police files.

Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA):

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA; encompassing two-factor authentication, or 2FA, along with similar terms) is an electronic authentication method in which a user is granted access to a website or application only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence (or factors) to an authentication mechanism: knowledge (something only the user knows), possession (something only the user has), and inherence (something only the user is). MFA protects user data - which may include personal identification or financial assets - from being accessed by an unauthorized third party that may have been able to discover, for example, a single password.

Multi-Hyphenate:

Someone who does several different jobs, especially in the entertainment industry: A person with a hyphenated profession e.g. singer-songwriter, actor-director, but especially a person with several such roles.

Multi-Level Marketing:

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), (also called network marketing, direct selling, referral marketing, and pyramid selling) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by some companies as part of their overall marketing strategy. The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduce to the company, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation in the form of a pyramid.

Multi-Millionaire:

A person with who owns capital of at least US$30 million.

See also: high net worth individual, millionaire and rich.

Multi-Plot Film:

Multi-Plot Film follows a number of different protagonists as they each attempt to reach their goals or solve their problems.

Multi-Plot Films are essentially subplots, which have to be connected without the benefit of a main plot to hold them together. These "mini-plots" have their own individual protagonists, conflicts and resolutions, but are not strong enough to carry the momentum of an entire film; they are simpler story lines, though not necessarily less dramatic. Separately, these mini-plots don't need as much development as a single plot driving a film because intercutting among them diverts the audience. Still, a core must be created to take the place of the main plot and to bring the mini-plots into an overall relationship.

Multimedia:

The use of a number of different media simultaneously. For example, a Multimedia presentation might include a video film (using a television), some sound effects on a CD, a slide show, and a number of graphic posters.

Multimodal Biometrics:

Multimodal Biometric technology uses more then one biometric identifier to compare the identity of the person. Therefore in the case of a system using say three technologies i.e. face mimic and voice. If one of the technologies is unable to identify, the system can still use the other two to accurately identify against. Multimodal technologies have been in use commercially since 1998.

See also: biometric passport.

Multinational:

A company which has production and sales operations in a number of countries, and which coordinates these operations from a single headquarters. The operations are run separately from each other, unlike those of a transnational.

Multiple Choice:

Multiple Choice is a form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select the best possible answer (or answers) out of the choices from a list.

Multitasking (human):

Human Multi-Tasking or Multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. The term is derived from computer Multitasking. An example of Multitasking is listening to a radio interview while typing an e-mail. Some believe that Multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention. Other research illustrates our brains are capable dealing with certain 'dual multiple tasks' at the same time.

Mumbo Jumbo:

Unintelligible or incomprehensible language; gibberish.

Mundane:

Of, relating to, or typical of this world; secular.

Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces; ordinary.

Munich Analogy:

At the Munich Conference of 1938, France and England followed a policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler, choosing not to challenge him on his takeover of Czechoslovakia in the hope that German aggression toward neighboring states would stop there and that war in Europe could be averted. The failure of this appeasement approach in preventing the outbreak of World War II subsequently made the Munich agreement a metaphor for weakness in foreign policy, and the "lesson" of the Munich Conference has permeated the American political world ever since. The Munich Analogy has not only been used consistently in American presidential and governmental rhetoric but has also affected foreign policy decisions at crucial moments in U.S. history. Presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H. W. Bush, from the 1940s to the 1980s, have used the example of Munich as a warning to the public about the inherent dangers of appeasing aggressors.

Murphy's Law:

Murphy's Law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

It is used as either a purely sarcastic musing that things always go wrong, or, less frequently, a reflection of the mathematical idea that, given a sufficiently long time, an event which is possible (non-zero probability) will almost surely take place. Although, in this case, emphasis is put on the possible bad occurrences.

Visit also: Collection of Murphy's Laws.

Muscle Memory:

Muscle Memory has been used synonymously with motor learning, which is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term Muscle Memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Examples of Muscle Memory are found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding a bicycle, typing on a keyboard, typing in a PIN, playing a musical instrument, martial arts or even dancing.

Muse:

A guiding spirit.

In ancient Greek mythology any of 9 daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; protector of an art or science.

See also: mentor.

Musette:

Small lightweight cotton shoulder bag, containing food and drink given to riders in a feed zone during a cycle race. The bag is designed so that it can be easily grabbed by a moving rider. The shoulder strap is placed over the head and one shoulder, the contents are then removed and placed into jersey pockets or bottles (bidons) are placed into bottle cages. The bag is then discarded.

Music Recording Sales Certification:

Music Recording Sales Certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped a certain number of copies.

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond (silver is also used in some countries).

Musical:

A play or movie that contains Musical numbers; a Musical comedy.

Musing:

Contemplation; meditation; a product of contemplation; a thought.

Musketeer's Oath:

"One for all, all for one." "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" is a Latin phrase that means "One for all, all for one" in English. It is known as being the motto of Alexandre Dumas's Three Musketeers and is also the traditional motto of Switzerland.

Muslim:

A believer in or follower of Islam.

Mustache Pete:

Mustache Pete was the name given to members of the Sicilian Mafia who came to the United States (particularly New York City) as adults in the early 20th century.

Mutant:

An individual, organism, or new genetic character arising or resulting from mutation.

Slang: one that is suggestive of a genetic mutant, as in bizarre appearance or inaptitude.

Mutatis Mutandis:

Mutatis Mutandis is a Medieval Latin phrase meaning "the necessary changes having been made" or "once the necessary changes have been made".

Mutual:

A Mutual organization is one that is run for the benefit of a group of people (its members) who have set it up to provide goods or services for themselves. Savings banks and insurance companies were frequently set up in this way in the 19th century. In general, the members of a mutual Organization also own it.

Mutual Assistance Agreement:

A contract agreement between two or more nations in which the fiscal Governments are empowered to take preference over the civil rights of each others' citizens in ascertaining and collecting crime-related proceeds or tax liability.

Mutual Fund:

Investment company usually formed in a tax haven and issuing shares to the public.

MWRI:

Short for: Mobile Wealthy Residency Index.

Mx.:

Mx. (pronounced mix), a gender-neutral alternative to Ms. and Mr.

Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI):

In personality typology, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The test attempts to assign four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving. One letter from each category is taken to produce a four-letter test result, such as "INTJ" or "ESFP".

Mylar:

A polyester film.

Myopia:

Refractive defect of the eye.

Myrmidon:

In Greek mythology, Myrmidon was the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons.

Mystery Shopping:

Mystery Shopping or a mystery consumer is a tool used externally by market research companies or watchdog organizations or internally by companies themselves to measure quality of service or compliance to regulation, or to gather specific information about products and services. The mystery consumer's specific identity is generally not known by the establishment being evaluated. Mystery Shoppers perform specific tasks such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way, and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences.

Mystery Shopping was standard practice by the early 1940s as a way to measure employee integrity. Tools used for Mystery Shopping assessments range from simple questionnaires to complete audio and video recordings.

Myth:

A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society.

A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal.

A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology.

A fictitious story, person, or thing.

Mythology:

A body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes.

A body of myths associated with an event, individual, or institution.

The field of scholarship dealing with the systematic collection and study of myths.

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N2K:

The acronym for: nice to know.

N-Word:

The euphemism the N-Word became mainstream American English usage during the racially contentious murder trial of ex-footballer O. J. Simpson in 1995.

Key prosecution witness Detective Mark Fuhrman, of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) – who denied using racist language on duty – impeached himself with his prolific use of nigger in tape recordings about his police work. The recordings, by screenplay writer Laura McKinney, were from a 1985 research session wherein the detective assisted her with a screenplay about LAPD policewomen. Fuhrman excused his use of the word saying he used nigger in the context of his "bad cop" persona. Linguistically, the popular press reporting and discussing Fuhrman's testimony substituted the N-Word in place of nigger.

Nabob:

A Nabob is an Anglo-Indian term for a conspicuously wealthy man who made his fortune in the Orient, especially in the Indian subcontinent.

Nachspiel:

German: afterplay, the equivalent of postlude, epilogue, epilog, sequel.

Nachspiel is a German word that stands for an after party. This term is commonly used in Norway for small group gatherings usually after clubbing.

It's a "party after the party." When the bars close and you don't want to go home.

Nadir:

The Nadir is the direction pointing directly below a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there.

NAFTA:

The acronym for: North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico that aims to remove tariffs and other barriers to trade between the three countries.

Nah He Tweakin:

Nah He Tweakin: What it means and why it's all over our timelines. You've probably seen "Nah He Tweakin" all over the comment sections of Instagram posts in the past 24 hours. But what does it mean and why is it trending? The phrase basically means "he's crazy" and since Lil Nas X said that about Tony Hawk, the three words have become pretty inescapable every time you scroll.

Nail House:

A private home whose owner refuses to move to clear way for new real estate developments despite offers of huge monetary sums from a private developer or expropriation attempts by the government.

Naivety:

Artlessness or credulity; lack of sophistication or worldliness.

Nakaz:

Nakaz, or Instruction, of Catherine the Great was a statement of legal principles written by Catherine II of Russia, and permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment. It was compiled as a guide for the All-Russian Legislative Commission convened in 1767 for the purpose of replacing the mid-17th-century Muscovite code of laws with a modern law code. Catherine believed that to strengthen law and institutions was above all else to strengthen the monarchy.

Naked Short Selling:

Naked Short Selling, or naked shorting, is the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the security or ensuring that the security can be borrowed, as is conventionally done in a short sale. When the seller does not obtain the shares within the required time frame, the result is known as a "failure to deliver". The transaction generally remains open until the shares are acquired by the seller, or the seller's broker settles the trade.

Namaste:

Namaste, sometimes spoken as Namaskar and Namaskaram, is a customary Hindu greeting. In the contemporary era, it is found on the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and among the Hindu diaspora worldwide. It is used both for greeting and leave-taking. Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.

Name:

A word or words by which an entity is designated and distinguished from others.

A reputation; a distinguished reputation.

An illustrious or outstanding person.

Name Day:

A Name Day is a tradition in some countries in Europe, Latin America, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries in general. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's given name. The celebration is similar to a birthday.

Name-Dropping:

To mention casually the names of illustrious or famous people in order to imply that one is on familiar terms with them, intended as a means of self-promotion.

Name of the Game:

The essential part or quality necessary for the success of an enterprise or the fulfillment of a goal; the essential element, consideration, or ultimate purpose; key.

Nana:

A grandmother; a nanny.

Nanny State:

Nanny State is a term of British origin (and primary use) that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term "Nanny State" likens government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An early usage of the term comes from Conservative British MP Iain Macleod who referred to "what I like to call the Nanny State" in his column "Quoodle" in the December 3, 1965, edition of The Spectator. It is defined by Dictionary.com as "a government perceived as authoritarian, interfering, or overprotective" and has also come to be associated with intrusive practices of having the government basically "baby" the populace by being in charge, in control of, and even financing all of its needs. Some governance claimed to represent a nanny state are those that emerge from application of public health, risk management of health and safety policies.

Nano:

Visit: Nano-.

Nanofood:

Any food created with the help of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology, shortened to "Nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size. Nanotechnology is very diverse, ranging from novel extensions of conventional device physics, to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly, to developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale, even to speculation on whether we can directly control matter on the atomic scale.

There has been much debate on the future of implications of Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has the potential to create many new materials and devices with wide-ranging applications, such as in medicine, electronics, and energy production. On the other hand, Nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as with any introduction of new technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials, and their potential effects on global economics, as well as speculation about various doomsday scenarios. These concerns have led to a debate among advocacy groups and governments on whether special regulation of Nanotechnology is warranted.

Napalm:

Gasoline jelled with aluminum soaps; highly incendiary liquid used in fire bombs and flamethrowers.

Napoleon Complex:

Napoleon Complex is a colloquial term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people who are physically short. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives.

Narcissism:

Excessive love or admiration of oneself.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a Cluster B personality disorder in which a person is excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process. It is estimated that this condition affects one percent of the population, with rates greater for men.

Narcolepsy:

A neurological disorder marked by a sudden recurrent uncontrollable compulsion to sleep.

Narcotic:

An addictive drug, such as opium, that reduces pain, alters mood and behavior, and usually induces sleep or stupor. Natural and synthetic Narcotics are used in medicine to control pain.

Narnia:

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and originally published in London between 1950 and 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film.

Narod:

In Russia and (formerly) the Soviet Union: the people, the nation; (specifically in Russian and Soviet political ideology) the common people viewed as the bearers of national culture.

Naruto Running:

Naruto Running refers to the unique running style of the protagonist Naruto Uzumaki in the Japanese anime series Naruto, where he is often depicted sprinting with his arms stretched behind him.

NAS:

Short for: Network-Attached Storage. Network-attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous network clients.

See also: storage area network.

Nasdaq:

Nasdaq is short for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations System.

Nash Equilibrium:

In game theory, the Nash Equilibrium is a solution concept of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players, in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has anything to gain by changing only their own strategy. If each player has chosen a strategy and no player can benefit by changing strategies while the other players keep theirs unchanged, then the current set of strategy choices and the corresponding payoffs constitute a Nash Equilibrium.

Stated simply, Amy and Will are in Nash Equilibrium if Amy is making the best decision she can, taking into account Will's decision, and Will is making the best decision he can, taking into account Amy's decision. Likewise, a group of players are in Nash Equilibrium if each one is making the best decision that he or she can, taking into account the decisions of the others in the game.

Nasheed:

A Nasheed (meaning: "chants" in Arabic) is a work of vocal music that is either sung a cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daf.

Nation:

A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country; the territory occupied by such group of people.

The government of a sovereign state.

A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality.

Nation-Building:

Nation-Building refers to the process of constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. This process aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. Nation-Building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth.

Definition: the development of behaviors, values, language, institutions, and physical structures that elucidate history and culture, concretize and protect the present, and insure the future identity and independence of the nation.

National Security:

A collective term encompassing both national defense and foreign relations of the United States. Specifically, the condition provided by: a. a military or defense advantage over any foreign nation or group of nations; b. a favorable foreign relations position; or c. a defense posture capable of successfully resisting hostile or destructive action from within or without, overt or covert.

Nationalize:

A privately owned corporation is Nationalized when it is purchased (often compulsorily) by the state. Companies are usually Nationalized for a principle (for example, a belief that the defence industry should be controlled by the state for reasons of security) rather than for profit. Nationalized companies are rarely as profitable as privately owned ones.

Natura Naturata:

Natura Naturata is a Latin term coined in the Middle Ages, mainly used later by Baruch Spinoza meaning "Nature natured", or "Nature already created". The term adds the suffix for the Latin feminine past participle (-ata) to the verb naturo, to create "natured". The term describes a passive God, or more specifically, the passivity of God (substance) when it is predicated into modes, and is contrasted with the second part of Spinoza's dichotomy, natura naturans, meaning "nature naturing", or "nature in the active sense".

Natural Number:

Mathematics: any of the numbers 0,1,2,3,4, ... that can be used to count the members of a set; one of the set of positive whole numbers; a positive integer.

Natural Order:

In philosophy, the Natural Order is the moral source from which natural law seeks to derive its authority. It encompasses the natural relations of beings to one another, in the absence of law, which natural law attempts to reinforce. This is related to Dharma.

The way things were meant to be.

Nature:

The material world and its phenomena; the forces and processes that produce and control all the phenomena of the material world.

A kind or sort; the essential characteristics and qualities of a person or thing; the fundamental character or disposition of a person; temperament.

Naturel:

Applied to food cooked plainly and in a very simple fashion.

Nautical Mile:

The Nautical Mile (symbol M, NM, Nm or nmi) is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian. It is a non-SI unit (although accepted for use in the SI by the BIPM) used especially by navigators in the shipping and aviation industries, and also in polar exploration. It is commonly used in international law and treaties, especially regarding the limits of territorial waters. It developed from the sea mile and the related geographical mile.

1 Nautical Mile = 1.85200 kilometers.

Nautical Miles (nm) to kilometers (km) conversion calculator.

See also: air mile.

NB:

See: nota bene.

NCSR:

Short for: National Corporate Social Responsibility.

See also: CSR.

Né:

French for: born. Used before the original name of a man (woman: Née) who has changed his name, assumed a pseudonym, etc.

Ne Plus Ultra:

The highest, ultimate point of achievement which can be reached; perfection.

The perfect or most extreme example of its kind; the ultimate.

(Rare): a prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition.

Near Field Communication:

See: NFC.

Nebengeschäft:

German for: sideline.

Necktie:

A narrow fabric band of varying length worn around the neck and tied in a knot or bow close to the throat.

Necrolatry:

The practice of worshipping or revering the dead.

Necromancy:

Necromancy or nigromancy is a form of magic involving communication with the deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, or to use the deceased as a weapon, as the term may sometimes be used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft.

Necropolis:

A cemetery, especially a large and elaborate one belonging to an ancient city.

Nectar:

Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. A sweet liquid secreted by flowers of various plants, consumed by pollinators, such as hummingbirds and insects, and gathered by bees for making honey.

Greek & Roman Mythology: the drink of the gods.

A delicious or invigorating drink.

Something very pleasant or welcome.

Needle in a Haystack:

An item that is very hard or impossible to locate.

Negative Capability:

Negative Capability was a phrase first used by Romantic poet John Keats in 1817 to characterise the capacity of the greatest writers (particularly Shakespeare) to pursue a vision of artistic beauty even when it leads them into intellectual confusion and uncertainty, as opposed to a preference for philosophical certainty over artistic beauty. The term has been used by poets and philosophers to describe the ability of the individual to perceive, think, and operate beyond any presupposition of a predetermined capacity of the human being.

Negging:

Negging is an act of emotional manipulation whereby a person makes a deliberate backhanded compliment or otherwise flirtatious remark to another person to undermine their confidence and increase their need of the manipulator's approval. The term was coined and prescribed by pickup artists.

Negotiable Instrument:

A financial instrument, such as a bearer bond or a share, which can be transferred from one owner to another without informing the original issuer of the instrument.

Negotiation:

The process of reaching agreement between two parties, one of which has something that the other party wants, and for which the other party is prepared to give something in return.

Neknomination:

Neknominate, also known as neck and nominate, Neknomination or neck Nomination, is an online drinking game. The original parameters of the game require the participant to film themselves drinking a pint of an alcoholic beverage, usually beer, in one gulp and upload the footage to the web. The participant then nominates two others to do the same, although a third nomination has become commonplace. The nominated person has to complete the task within 24 hours.

Nemesis:

Nemesis is now often used as a term to describe one's worst enemy, normally someone or something that is the exact opposite of oneself but is also somehow similar.

Neo-:

New, recent, or a new or modern form or development.

Neo-Noir:

Neo-Noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.

Neologism:

A Neologism is a newly coined word that may be in the of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event.

Neophyte:

A recent convert to a belief; a proselyte; a beginner or novice of a religious order or congregation.

Nepotism:

The granting of favors to members of the same family, an issue central to the running of a family firm. How can it remain a family firm without undermining the morale of non-family employees by its Nepotism.

Nepotism Baby (Nepo Baby):

A Nepotism Baby or Nepo Baby is a person whose debut or success in an occupation or field is attributed to their parent's influence or support. This phenomenon is common in Hollywood and the fashion industry.

Notable examples of Nepo Babies include, among others, Ben Stiller (the son of comedian Jerry Stiller), Zoë Kravitz (the daughter of rock musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet), Lily-Rose Depp (the daughter of actor Johnny Deep), Jake Gyllenhaal (the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal) and Kaia Gerber (the daughter of former supermodel Cindy Crawford).

For centuries, children born into rich, famous and otherwise powerful families have had a leg up in life, inheriting monarchies, business empires, wealth and star power. In some cases they’ve surpassed their parents’ status. This is what most parents wish for their children. It’s also often how power works, especially in Hollywood.

Now, a new generation is finding out that their favorite celebrities, talented as they may be, have benefited from a system that is not strictly meritocratic.

The phrase “Nepotism Baby” (or the diminutive “Nepo Baby”) has pervaded social media in earnest expressions of surprise (“just found out ...”), envy (“pls god why couldn’t i have been a Nepotism Baby”) and even admiration (some favorites include Ms. Apatow, Zoë Kravitz and Dakota Johnson). Others are already talking about the next generation of Nepotism Nabies, including the unborn child of Rihanna and ASAP Rocky (“a galactic nepotism legend already,” as one person put it).

Read also: Nepo Babies: 14 celebrities with famous parents - "From Maude and Iris Apatow to Gwyneth Paltrow."

Nerd:

A foolish, inept, or unattractive person.

A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

See also: geek.

Nerd Prom:

Nickname for the annual dinner White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Nero Decree:

The Nero Decree (German: Nerobefehl) was issued by Adolf Hitler on March 19, 1945 ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent their use by Allied forces as they penetrated deep within Germany. It was officially titled Demolitions on Reich Territory Decree (Befehl betreffend Zerstörungsmaßnahmen im Reichsgebiet) and has subsequently become known as the Nero Decree, after the Roman Emperor Nero, who supposedly engineered the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.

Nerve:

A sore point or sensitive subject.

Nerve Center:

A group of closely connected nerve cells that perform a specific function; a source of power or control; a center that provides information and control.

Nestor:

A venerable and wise old man.

Net:

A value that is left after certain deductions have been made from a gross amount.

Net Asset Backing:

The net worth of a company divided by the number of its shares; a rough approximation of the value behind each share.

Net Neutrality:

Net Neutrality (also network neutrality or Internet neutrality) is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, and modes of communication.

There has been extensive debate about whether Net Neutrality should be required by law. Since the early 2000s, advocates of net neutrality and associated rules have raised concerns about the ability of broadband providers to use their last mile infrastructure to block Internet applications and content (e.g. websites, services, and protocols), and even block out competitors. (The term "net neutrality" didn't come into popular use until several years later, however.) The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate, especially in the United States.

Net Present Value:

The value today of an amount that is to be paid in the future. This value is calculated by taking into account future interest rates and the risk that the payment will not eventually be made. Net present value is frequently used to judge the viability of an investment project. If the net present value of its expected revenue exceeds the net present value of its future costs then it is worth going ahead.

Net Profit:

Net Profit, also referred to as the bottom line, net income, or net earnings is a measure of the profitability of a venture after accounting for all costs.

An organization's gross income less all its costs, including tax, depreciation and interest payments.

Net Worth:

An organization's assets less its liability. The amount that would be left to shareholders were all the organization's assets to be sold and all its liabilities to be met at the values that the accountants have ascribed to them.

Netbook Computer:

Netbooks are an evolving catogory of small, light and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing, accessing web-based applications and rich Internet applications. While the size, weight and specifications of netbooks continue to evolve, the category may offer less computing power than more expensive notebooks and may be less appropriate for complex or resource-intensive applications directly from the netbook itself.

Because netbooks are optimized for small size, low weight, and low cost, they may omit, among other features, the optical drive or ethernet port. The USB port still serves as a (non-wireless) way to load software or to interface hardware like an external drive or a camcorder. A netbook may not substitute for a laptop in cases where more power and ports are recommended; for example, to edit a video, and make a video presentation

Netbooks generally serve well in accessing the Internet for remote access to web-based applications and are targeted increasingly at cloud computing users who require a less powerful client computer. Netbooks typically run either Windows XP or Linux operating systems rather than more resource-intensive operating systems like Windows Vista. However, Windows 7 has seen some features that have been shown to run well on the newer generation of netbooks being released currently. The devices range in size from below 5 inches to over 13, typically weigh 2 to 3 pounds and are often significantly cheaper than general purpose laptops at US$ 400, with some even given away for free in Japan and the United Kingdom if the purchaser signs up for a plan.

See also: laptop, notebook, PC and tablet PC.

Netizen:

The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the English words Internet and citizen. It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities and a user of the Internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in improving the Internet, especially in regard to open access and free speech. Netizens are also commonly referred to as cybercitizens, which has the same meaning.

Netsuke:

Netsuke are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function.

Network:

Computer Science: the links that exist between computers enabling users of them to share certain centralized data and / or services, and to communicate among themselves.

A chain of radio or television broadcasting stations linked by wire or microwave relay.

To interact or engage in informal communication with others for mutual assistance or support.

Network Effect:

In economics and business, a Network Effect (also called network externality or demand-side economies of scale) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a Network Effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it.

The classic example is the telephone. The more people who own telephones, the more valuable the telephone is to each owner. This creates a positive externality because a user may purchase a telephone without intending to create value for other users, but does so in any case. Online social networks work in the same way, with sites like Twitter and Facebook becoming more attractive as more users join.

Networking:

Making contact with other people in the hope that they might subsequently be useful in business or elsewhere. The expression has grown out of the computer industry's use of the word network.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming:

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, United States, in the 1970s. NLP's creators claim there is a connection between neurological processes (neuro-), language (linguistic) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (programming), and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life. Bandler and Grinder also claim that NLP methodology can "model" the skills of exceptional people, allowing anyone to acquire those skills. They claim as well that, often in a single session, NLP can treat problems such as phobias, depression, tic disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, near-sightedness, allergy, common cold, and learning disorders. NLP has been adopted by some hypnotherapists and also by companies that run seminars marketed as leadership training to businesses and government agencies.

Neurasthenia:

Neurasthenia is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 to label a mechanical weakness of the nerves and would become a major diagnosis in North America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries after neurologist George Miller Beard reintroduced the concept in 1869.

Neurofeedback:

Neurofeedback (NFB), also called Neurotherapy, Neurobiofeedback or EEG biofeedback (EEGBF) is a therapy technique that presents the user with realtime feedback on brainwave activity, as measured by sensors on the scalp, typically in the form of a video display, sound or vibration. The aim is to provide real-time information to the Central Nervous System (CNS) as to its current activity. Some approaches believe that conscious understanding and mediation of that information is important for the training process; however, this claim has never actually been verified. Those approaches also believe that Neurofeedback training can be understood as being based on a form of operant and/or classical conditioning. In that frame of reference, when brain activity changes in the direction desired by the trainer directing the training, a positive "reward" feedback is given to the individual, and if the change is in the opposite direct from what was intended, then either different feedback is given or the provision of otherwise attained "positive" feedback is inhibited (or blocked). These ideas can be applied in various combinations depending on the protocol decided upon by the trainer. Rewards/Reinforcements can be as simple as a change in pitch of a tone or as complex as a certain type of movement of a character in a video game. This experience could be called operant conditioning for internal states even though no research has yet demonstrated that clear operant response curves occur under those scenarios.

Neutral:

Not aligned with, supporting, or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest; belonging to neither side in a controversy; belonging to neither kind; not one thing or the other.

A nation nonaligned with either side in a war; a citizen of such a nation.

A position in which a set of gears is disengaged so that power cannot be transmitted.

New Age:

The New Age (also referred to as the New Age Movement, New Age spirituality, and Cosmic Humanism) is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of astrology, esotericism, metaphysics, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature. New Age spirituality is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies, and the rejection of religious doctrine and dogma.

New Deal:

The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to a complex package of economic programs he effected between 1933 and 1935 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting Recovery of the economy during the Great Depression.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, the nation was deeply troubled. Every bank in the nation had closed its doors and no one could cash a check or get at their savings. The unemployment rate was 25% and higher in major industrial and mining centers. Farm prices had fallen by 50%. Mortgages were being foreclosed by tens of thousands.

Historians distinguish a "First New Deal" (1933) and a "Second New Deal" (1934-36). Some programs were declared unconstitutional, and others were repealed during World War II; in early 1937 almost no new programs were initiated because of the opposition of the new Conservative Coalition.

The "First New Deal" (March 4, 1933)focused on a variety of different groups; from banking and railroads to industry and farming. The New Deal instituted banking reform laws, work relief programs, agricultural programs, and industrial reform (the National Recovery Administration, NRA), and the end of the gold standard.

New Entrant:

A company that enters a market for the first time. New entrants inevitably provoke a strategic response from existing companies within the market.

New Jerusalem:

Christianity: the final resting place of souls redeemed by Jesus.

An ideal community on earth.

New Journalism:

New Journalism was a style of 1960s and 1970s news writing and journalism which used literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time. The term was codified with its current meaning by Tom Wolfe in a 1973 collection of journalism articles he published as The New Journalism, which included works by himself, Truman Capote, Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, Robert Christgau, and others.

New Look:

On February 12, 1947, Christian Dior launched his first fashion collection for Spring-Summer 1947. It was presented in the salons of the company's headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne. The new collection went down in fashion history as the "New Look" after Harper's Bazaar's editor-in-chief Carmel Snow's exclamation, "It's such a New Look!" The signature shape was characterized by a below-mid-calf length, full-skirt, large bust (which fell from style in 1912), and small waist.

New Normal:

New Normal is a term in business and economics that refers to financial conditions following the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the aftermath of the 2008–2012 global recession, the COVID-19 pandemic and other events. The term has since been used in a variety of other contexts to imply that something which was previously abnormal has become commonplace. It has been described as a cliché.

The term arose from the context of cautioning the belief of economists and policy makers that industrial economies would refer their most recent means post the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The 2010 Per Jacobsson lecture delivered by the head of PIMCO, Mohamed A. El-Erian, was titled "Navigating the New Normal in Industrial Countries". In the lecture El-Erian stated that "Our use of the term was an attempt to move the discussion beyond the notion that the crisis was a mere flesh wound... instead the crisis cut to the bone. It was the inevitable result of an extraordinary, multiyear period which was anything but normal".

New Public Management:

New Public Management (NPM), a term formally conceptualized by Hood (1991), denotes broadly the government policies, since the 1980s, that aimed to modernise and render the public sector more efficient. The basic hypothesis holds that market oriented management of the public sector will lead to greater cost-efficiency for governments, without having negative side-effects on other objectives and considerations. Ferlie et al (1996) describe 'New Public Management in Action' as involving the introduction into public services of the 'three Ms': Markets, managers and measurement.

New Year's Resolution:

A New Year's Resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year's Day.

New York's Finest:

Members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are frequently referred to by politicians, some media and their own police cars by the nickname New York's Finest.

News Cycle:

The reporting of a particular media story, from the first instance to the last; the rise and fall of news stories, on a collective basis; the average length of the rise and fall of stories in the media.

Newsletter:

A publication that specializes in breaking news in a narrow area; for example, a country, an industry or a market.

Newspaper:

Printed media usually distributed weekly or daily in the form of a folded book of papers. The publication is typically sectioned off based on subject and content. The most important or interesting news will be displayed on the front page of the publication. Newspapers may also include advertisements, opinions, entertainment and other general interest news.

See also: broadsheet newspaper, tabloid and newspaper formats.

Newspeak:

An official or semiofficial style of writing or saying one thing in the guise of its opposite, especially in order to serve a political or ideological cause while pretending to be objective, as in referring to “increased taxation” as “revenue enhancement”.

Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix in which the basic principles of the language are explained. Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suits the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim is to make any alternative thinking—"thoughtcrime", or "crimethink" in the newest edition of Newspeak—impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on. One character, Syme, says admiringly of the shrinking volume of the new dictionary: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."

Newton:

The force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram by one meter per second.

Newton's Cradle:

Newton's Cradle, named after Sir Isaac Newton, is a device that demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy via a series of swinging spheres. When one on the end is lifted and released, the resulting force travels through the line and pushes the last one upward. The device is also known as Newton's balls or "Executive Ball Clicker".

A typical Newton's Cradle consists of a series of identically sized metal balls suspended in a metal frame so that they are just touching each other at rest. Each ball is attached to the frame by two wires of equal length angled away from each other. This restricts the pendulums' movements to the same plane.

Next Big Thing:

The new rage; the latest fad or trend.

Nexus:

The means of connection between things linked in series; the core or center.

NFC:

Short for: Near Field Communication. NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 centimetre (around 4 inches) distance.

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch.

NFC technology is intended mainly for use in mobile phones. There are currently three specific uses for NFC: 1): card emulation: the NFC device behaves like an existing contactless card; 2): reader mode: the NFC device is active and reads a passive RFID tag, for example for interactive advertising; 3): P2P mode: two NFC devices communicating together and exchanging information. Plenty of applications are possible, such as: mobile ticketing in public transport; mobile payment; smart poster; bluetooth pairing, and much more.

NGO:

Short for: Non-Governmental Organization. NGO is a term that has become widely accepted for referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status therefore it excludes government representatives from membership in the organization. Unlike the term intergovernmental organization, "non-governmental organization" is a term in generalized use but not a legal definition, in many jurisdictions these type of organizations are defined as "civil society organizations" or alternative terms.

The number of internationally operating NGOs is estimated at 40,000. National numbers are even higher: Russia has 277,000 NGOs. India is estimated to have between 1 million and 2 million NGOs.

See also: INGO.

Niche:

A recess in a wall, as for holding a statue or urn.

A situation or activity specially suited to a person's interests, abilities, or nature; a special area of demand for a product or service.

Niche Market:

A small, narrowly defined market, such as the market for Rolls-Royce motor cars, or the market for newsletters about biotechnology. Small, innovative companies are particularly good at identifying and satisfying Niche Markets.

Nickname:

A descriptive name added to or replacing the actual name of a person, place, or thing; a familiar or shortened form of a proper name.

Nielsen Ratings:

Nielsen Ratings are audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States.

Nifty-Fifty Stocks:

Nifty Fifty was an informal term used to refer to 50 popular large cap stocks on the New York Stock Exchange in the 1960s and 1970s that were widely regarded as solid buy and hold growth stocks.

The fifty are credited with propelling the bull market of the early 1970s. Most are still solid performers, although a few are now defunct or otherwise worthless.

Click here to see list of stocks.

Nightclub:

A Nightclub (or Night Club or Club) is a drinking, dancing and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent Nightclubs are known as clubbers. A Nightclub is usually distinguished from bars, pubs or taverns by the inclusion of a dance floor and a DJ booth, where a DJ plays recorded dance and pop music.

Nightmare:

A dream arousing feelings of intense fear, horror, and distress.

An event or experience that is intensely distressing.

Nihil Admirari:

Nihil Admirari (or “Nil admirari”) is a Latin phrase. It means “to be surprised by nothing,” or in the imperative, "Let nothing astonish you."

Nihilism:

Philosophy: an extreme form of scepticism that systematically rejects all values, belief in existence, the possibility of communication, etc.

Nil:

Nothing; zero.

Nimbus:

A cloudy radiance said to surround a classical deity when on earth.

A radiant light that appears usually in the form of a circle or halo about or over the head in the representation of a god, demigod, saint, or sacred person such as a king or an emperor.

A splendid atmosphere or aura, as of glamour, that surrounds a person or thing.

NIMBY:

NIMBY (an acronym for the phrase "Not In My BackYard"), or Nimby, is a characterization of opposition by residents to a proposed development in their local area. It often carries the connotation that such residents are only opposing the development because it is close to them, and that they would tolerate or support it if it was built further away. The residents are often called Nimbys, and their viewpoint is called Nimbyism.

Read also: Twilight of the NIMBY - "Suburban homeowners like Susan Kirsch are often blamed for worsening the nation’s housing crisis. That doesn’t mean she’s giving up her two-decade fight against 20 condos."

Nincompoop:

From Latin non compos mentis ("not of sound mind"). A silly or foolish person.

Nine-Figure Club:

Work of art to reach nine figures (meaning sold at auction or private sale for US$100,000,000+) - e.g. With $170.4 Million Sale at Auction, Modigliani Work Joins Rarefied Nine-Figure Club. As of November 9, 2015 there are 10 members.

Nineteenth Hole:

The Nineteenth Hole is a slang term used in golf, generally referring to a pub, bar, or restaurant on or near the golf course, very often the clubhouse itself. A standard round of golf has only eighteen holes, so golfers will say they are at the 'Nineteenth Hole', meaning they are enjoying a drink after the game. The concept is similar to Après-ski in skiing.

Ninja:

A member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage.

Ninja Generation:

Ninja is an acronym which stands for No Income, No Job, no Assets. It is used to describe recent college graduates age 22 - 30 who are expected to create lives for themselves in a deadbeat economy. Coined by Michael Douglas' character Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Nirvana:

Buddhism: the ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.

Hinduism: emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.

An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.

Nipster:

Nipster is a slang term used in Germany to refer to young neo-Nazis who embrace aspects of American hipster culture.

Nirvana:

Nirvana literally means "blown out", as in an oil lamp. The term "Nirvana" is most commonly associated with Buddhism, and represents its ultimate state of soteriological release and liberation from rebirths in samsara.

Nisei:

Nisei ("second generation") is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called Issei). The Nisei are considered the second generation; and the grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei, or third generation.

Nisi:

A decree Nisi (from Latin Nisi, meaning "unless") is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time.

Once the condition is met, the ruling becomes decree absolute and is binding. Typically, the condition is that no new evidence or further petitions with a bearing on the case are introduced to the court. The wording of such a decree is generally in the form of "that the marriage, had and solemnized on (date) between AB and CD, be dissolved by reason that (grounds) UNLESS sufficient cause be shown to the court why this decree should not be made absolute within six weeks of the making hereof". This allows time for any party who objects to the divorce to come forward with those objections. It is also at times termed as a rule Nisi.

Nitty Gritty:

(Colloquial): the essence or core of something; the details.

Nitwit:

A scatterbrained or stupid person; an idiot.

N.N.:

Short for: No Name.

No-Brainer:

(Informal): an easy or obvious conclusion, decision, solution, task, etc.; something requiring little or no thought.

No Comment:

No Comment is a phrase used as a response to journalistic inquiries which the respondent does not wish to answer. Public figures may decline to comment on issues they are questioned or have nothing to say about the issue at the time.

No Cure, No Pay:

No Cure, No Pay is a form of salvage contract in which the salvor receives no payment if s/he fails to save any property. The payment will be made under this scheme only if the party makes a successful claim.

No Fly List:

The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States Government, of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States.

No-Fly Zone:

An area in which designated aircraft are not allowed to operate.

Past no-fly zones.

No-Frills:

Basic service on an airplane with no extras.

No-Go:

Impossible, not working well, or not allowed; not in a suitable condition for proceeding or functioning properly.

No Man's Land:

No Man's Land is a term for land that is not occupied or is under dispute between parties that will not occupy it because of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms. It is most commonly associated with the First World War to describe the area of land between two enemy trenches that neither side wishes to openly move on or take control of due to fear of being attacked by the enemy in the process.

No Quarter:

A victor gives No Quarter when the victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life in return for the surrender at discretion (unconditional surrender) of a vanquished opponent.

No Real Person Involved (NRPI):

“NRPI” is the justification: “No Real Person Involved” meaning cruise worker, dancer, wait staff, or someone else whose life or death “doesn't matter.” Logan covered-up the car crash where Kendall unwittingly killed a young waiter (not an RP) presumably in exchange for his obedience.

No-Tax Haven:

Term used by certain financial writers to refer to tax havens where there are no relevant taxes.

Nobiliary Particle:

A Nobiliary Particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. However, in some languages the Nobiliary Particle is the same as a regular prepositional particle that was used in the creation of many surnames. In some countries, it became customary to distinguish the Nobiliary Particle from the regular one by a different spelling, although in other countries these conventions did not arise, occasionally resulting in ambiguity. The Nobiliary Particle can often be omitted in everyday speech or certain contexts.

Nobility:

A quality class of persons distinguished by high birth or rank and in Great Britain including dukes and duchesses, marquises and marchionesses, earls and countesses, viscounts and viscountesses, and barons and baronesses.

Noble rank or status.

The state or quality of being exalted in character.

Noble Cause Corruption:

Noble Cause Corruption is corruption caused by the adherence to a teleological ethical system, suggesting that persons "will utilize unethical, and sometimes illegal, means to obtain a desired result," a result which appears to benefit the greater good. Where traditional corruption is defined by personal gain, Noble Cause Corruptions forms when someone is convinced of their righteousness, and will do anything within their powers to obtain or concertize the execution of righteous actions. Ultimately, Noble Cause Corruption is police misconduct "committed in the name of good ends" or neglect of due process through “a moral commitment to make the world a safer place to live."

Nobleman:

A man of noble rank, title, or status; peer; aristocrat.

Noblesse Oblige:

Benevolent, honorable behavior considered to be the responsibility of persons of high birth or rank.

Nocturne:

A painting of a night scene.

An instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, especially one for the piano.

Node:

In communication networks, a Node (Latin nodus, ‘knot’) is either a connection point, a redistribution point or a communication endpoint (some terminal equipment). The definition of a Node depends on the network and protocol layer referred to. A physical network Node is an active electronic device that is attached to a network, and is capable of sending, receiving, or forwarding information over a communications channel. A passive distribution point such as a distribution frame or patch panel is consequently not a Node.

Nohow:

In no way; not at all; in any manner; in no case; under any conditions.

Nolo Contendere:

Nolo Contendere is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest. In criminal trials in certain U.S. jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty. A no-contest plea, while not technically a guilty plea, has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea, and is often offered as a part of a plea bargain. In many jurisdictions a plea of Nolo Contendere is not a right, and carries various restrictions on its use.

Nom de Guerre:

A fictitious name; a pseudonym.

Nom de Plume:

A pseudonym used by a writer. Also called pen name.

Nomad:

A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.

A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer.

Nomenklatura:

The system of patronage in communist countries; controlled by committees in the Communist Party.

Nominal:

A Nominal amount may be one that is too small to mention (as in Nominal damages) or one that exists only in name (as in the Nominal price of potatoes in 1945, a price that is not adjusted for the ravages of inflation, which the so-called real price is). The Nominal value of a share is the value on the share certificate, which may not be a price that anybody has ever actually paid for it.

In name only; theoretical; minimal in comparison with real worth or what is expected; token; of, relating to, constituting, bearing, or giving a name.

Nominate:

Propose as a candidate for some honor.

Nominee:

A person whose name is used in place of somebody else's. A Nominee may open a Swiss bank account, for instance, to disguise the identity of the real beneficiary of the account.

One who has been nominated to an office or for a candidacy; a person or organization in whose name a security is registered though true ownership is held by another party.

Nominee Director:

Someone who acts on your behalf as a 'front' director of the company. In some jurisdictions the Nominee Director can also be another offshore company.

Nomophobia:

Nomophobia is a proposed name for the phobia of being out of cellular phone contact. However, it is arguable that the word "phobia" is misused and that in the majority of cases it is another form of anxiety disorder.

The term, an abbreviation for "no-mobile-phone phobia", was coined during a 2008 study by the UK Post Office who commissioned YouGov, a UK-based research organization, to evaluate anxieties suffered by mobile phone users. The study found that nearly 53% of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they "lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage".

Non-Apology:

A apology that lacks responsibility on the part of the person apologizing. A non-apology lacks three of the four required elements of an apology (a request to talk, an acknowledgement of what happened, and sincerity in admitting what you did wrong), and instead uses the words "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" as a way to get out of a discussion or argument.

Non Compos Mentis:

Not sane or in one's right mind.

Non-Communicable Disease (NCD):

A Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others. NCDs may be chronic or acute. Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission.

NCDs are the leading cause of death globally. In 2012, they caused 68% of all deaths (38 million) up from 60% in 2000. About half were under age 70 and half were women. Risk factors such as a person's background, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of certain NCDs. Every year, at least 5 million people die because of tobacco use and about 2.8 million die from being overweight. High cholesterol accounts for roughly 2.6 million deaths and 7.5 million die because of high blood pressure.

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA):

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to by third parties. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets. As such, an NDA protects non-public business information.

Non-Dom:

A Non-Dom is a UK resident whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside of the UK.

A domicile is usually the country his or her father considered his permanent home when he or she was born, or it may be the place overseas where somebody has moved to with no intention of returning.

That means somebody can be born, be educated and work in the UK but still hold Non-Dom status. It also means that some may inherit their Non-Dom status from their parents.

For proof to the tax authority, they have to provide evidence about their background, lifestyle and future intentions, such as where they own property or intend to be buried.

Key to Non-Dom tax status is that an individual must pay UK tax on UK earnings, but need not pay UK tax on foreign income or gains unless they bring that income back to the UK.

See also: List of people with non-domiciled status in the UK.

Non-Dom Tax Rule:

The Non-Dom Tax Rule is a unique quirk of the UK tax system not shared by any other country. It allows ultra-wealthy individuals to be born, raised and reside in the UK, but still pay far less tax than a typical UK citizen, perfectly legally.

The rule, a colonial era holdover that has never been formally codified in statute, is based on the principle that people may live in the UK but regard a foreign country as their true home, the country in which they intend to die.

Eligibility relies on showing that either the non-dom, their father or grandfather (in a sexist twist, their mother or grandmother being born overseas does not generally grant eligibility) was born overseas.

It also requires that the non-dom regards that country as their home, a fact they can demonstrate to HMRC through property holding, a burial plot or other means. As non-dom status isn’t defined anywhere in the UK’s laws, the criteria for claiming the status are ill-defined, complex and change substantially year-to-year.

The non-dom is not required to spend any amount of time in the country they claim as their true home, or to be tax-resident (or indeed pay any tax) to that country. They are also entitled to spend as much of each tax year as they wish in the UK – there are no residency requirements.

Non-Executive Director:

Any director on the board of a company who is not also an executive working for the company. A non-executive director's role is to ensure that there is a healthy balance between the interest of shareholders and the interest of the company's management.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT):

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy expended walking to work, typing, performing yard work, undertaking agricultural tasks and fidgeting. Even trivial physical activities increase metabolic rate substantially and it is the cumulative impact of a multitude of exothermic actions that culminate in an individual's daily NEAT. It is, therefore, not surprising that NEAT explains a vast majority of an individual's non-resting energy needs. Epidemiological studies highlight the importance of culture in promoting and quashing NEAT. Agricultural and manual workers have high NEAT, whereas wealth and industrialization appear to decrease NEAT. Physiological studies demonstrate, intriguingly, that NEAT is modulated with changes in energy balance; NEAT increases with overfeeding and decreases with underfeeding. Thus, NEAT could be a critical component in how we maintain our body weight and/or develop obesity or lose weight. The mechanism that regulates NEAT is unknown. However, hypothalamic factors have been identified that specifically and directly increase NEAT in animals. By understanding how NEAT is regulated we may come to appreciate that spontaneous physical activity is not spontaneous at all but carefully programmed.

Non-Fiction:

Non-Fiction (or Nonfiction) is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be factual. This presentation may be accurate or not—that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question—however, it is generally assumed that authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition or, at least, pose them to their audience as historically or empirically true. Note that reporting the beliefs of others in a Non-Fiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the ultimate veracity of those beliefs, it is simply saying it is true that people believe them (for such topics as mythology, religion). Non-Fiction can also be written about fiction, giving information about these other works.

Non-Fungible Token (NFT):

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a special type of cryptographic token which represents something unique; NFTs are thus not mutually interchangeable. This is in contrast to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and many network or utility tokens, that are fungible in nature.

Non-Fungible Tokens are used to create verifiable artificial scarcity in the digital domain, as well as digital ownership, and the possibility of asset interoperability across multiple platforms. NFTs are used in several specific applications that require unique digital items like crypto art, digital collectibles, and online gaming.

Art was an early use case for NFTs, and blockchain in general, because of the ability of NFTs to provide proof of authenticity and ownership of digital art, a medium that designed for ease of mass reproduction, and unauthorized distribution through the Internet.

Read more here: NFTs, explained.

Non Grata:

Not welcome; not approved.

Non-Performing:

A loan on which interest has not been paid for a considerable period of time (usually three months) is said to be non-performing. Financial institutions have to treat such loans in a special way in their accounts, setting aside reserves against the possibility that they will never get their money back.

Non Plus Ultra:

Latin: nothing further; the uttermost point; perfection.

Non-Profit Organization:

A Nonprofit Organization (abbreviated NPO, also not-for-profit) is an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals.

Non-Refundable:

Money cannot be refunded. Any advance payment for a product or service that will not be repaid if the product or service is ultimately not wanted by the payer. For instance, a deposit to secure a house which is not yet built may be non-refundable should the purchase not be completed.

Non-Resident Company:

A company treated by the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated as non-resident for tax purposes or exchange control purposes or both.

Non Sequitur:

Logic: (Latin for "it does not follow"), in formal logic, is an argument in which its conclusion does not follow from its premises. In a Non Sequitur, the conclusion could be either true or false, but the argument is fallacious because there is a disconnection between the premise and the conclusion. All invalid arguments are special cases of Non Sequitur. The term has special applicability in law, having a formal legal definition. Many types of known Non Sequitur argument forms have been classified into many different types of logical fallacies.

Literary Device: a Non Sequitur is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is something said that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what preceded it, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing.

Non-Tariff Barrier:

A barrier to trade other than a tariff imposed directly on an import at its point of entry. Non-tariff barriers include things like safety regulations which only domestic firms satisfy; distribution systems that discriminate against imports; and government regulations that demand services (like finance) be supplied by known individuals.

Non-Transferable:

Item is not to be used by any other person than the one named on the item.

Non-Voting Share:

A share in a company that does not give the holder the right to vote at company meetings. Holders of non-voting shares benefit financially in the same way as other shareholders, but they have no say in the running of the company whose shares they own. In some markets the issuing of such shares is frowned upon.

Nonchalant:

Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent.

Nonpareil:

French meaning 'without equal'.

Nonsense:

A message that seems to convey no meaning.

Nonverbal Advantage:

The Advantages of Nonverbal Communication: nonverbal communication - conveying a message to another person through a body movement or gesture - is one of the most powerful and widely used forms of communication among humans. Types of nonverbal communication include hand gestures, facial expressions, and posture. Touching another person is a form of nonverbal communication. Even the way you dress communicates messages nonverbally. Understanding nonverbal communication and learning to use it effectively will help you navigate many of life's challenges.

Read more here: Advantages and disadvantages of non-verbal communication.

Recommended reading: The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work - Amazon.com.

Nootropic:

Nootropics, also referred to as smart drugs, memory enhancers, and cognitive enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that are purported to improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration. The word nootropic was coined in 1964 by the Romanian Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea, derived from the Greek words noos, or "mind," and tropein meaning "to bend/turn". Nootropics are thought to work by altering the availability of the brain's supply of neurochemicals (neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones) by improving the brain's oxygen supply or by stimulating nerve growth. However the efficacy of nootropic substances in most cases has not been conclusively determined. This is complicated by the difficulty of defining and quantifying cognition and intelligence.

Norm:

A standard, model, or pattern regarded as typical.

Normal:

Conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level, or type; typical.

Normal Accident Theory:

Normal Accident Theory is when a technology has become sufficiently complex and tightly coupled, accidents are inevitable and therefore in a sense 'normal'.

For more information read Yale sociologist Charles Perrow's 1984 book Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies.

Normcore:

Normcore is a unisex fashion trend characterized by normal-looking clothing. Normcore fashion includes jeans, t-shirts, sweats, button-downs, and sneakers. Clothing is considered to be normcore when it is attractive and comfortable and is viewed as "normal" by the majority of people.

Normcore is about authenticity. It's a rejection of extravagance. It's about subverting any notion of edginess. It's about dressing like Jerry Seinfeld. It was a fashion trend but was also derided enough to become a meme.

"Normcore" is a portmanteau of the words "normal" and "hardcore". The word was coined by K-Hole, a trend forecasting group, in an October 2013 report called "Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom".

Normcore wearers are people who do not wish to distinguish themselves from others by their clothing. This is not to mean that they are unfashionable people who wear whatever comes to hand, but that they consciously choose clothes that are undistinguished – except, frequently, for a highly visible label to impart prestige. The "Normcore" trend has been interpreted as a reaction to fashion oversaturation resulting from ever faster-changing fashion trends.

Normcore clothes include everyday items of casual wear such as t-shirts, hoodies, short-sleeved shirts, jeans and chino pants, but not items such as neckties or blouses. These clothes are worn by men and women alike, making normcore a unisex style.

Also read: Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They’re One in 7 Billion - The Cut. & WHAT IS NORMCORE FASHION? AND WHY IT'S FALL 2023'S BIGGEST FASHION TREND - "Quiet luxury is loudly overtaking street style and the fashion scene at large. If you’re looking to embrace chic and elevated clothing without a designer logo, quiet luxury (also considered to be ‘normcore fashion’) might be something that interests you. The term ‘quiet luxury’ has been sprouting up in every media site to describe a trend where women are opting for high-quality polished pieces that favor a low-key, minimalist approach. Quiet luxury is normcore fashion (think jeans, button-downs, and t-shirts) but with luxury brands."

Norse Mythology:

Norse Mythology is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving to the modern day.

North Star:

Something that is a constant and dependable in an ever changing world.

Nosferatu:

The name Nosferatu has been presented as a Romanian word, synonymous with "vampire". However, it seems to be largely a literary creation and its basis in Romanian folklore is uncertain.

Nostalgia:

A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.

The condition of being homesick; homesickness.

Nostrum:

Nostrum remedium is an ancient Latin term for trademarked patent medicine.

Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat:

(Idiomatic): very little space (available) (of a very small room).

Attested 1665, by which point already in common use; perhaps of naval slang origin. While it is frequently stated that the phrase is derived from cat-o’-nine-tails, this latter term is only attested from 1695, and hence this idiom presumably derived from literally swinging a cat around, as by the tail.

Not in my Backyard:

One who objects to the establishment in one's neighborhood of projects, such as incinerators, prisons, or homeless shelters, that are believed to be dangerous, unsightly, or otherwise undesirable.

Not Playing with a Full Deck:

Stupid; insane, clueless, lacking in mental ability. Derogatory term often used playfully.

Notary Public:

A person legally empowered to witness and certify the validity of documents and to take affidavits and depositions.

Notch (smartphone):

The Notch is a gap usually positioned at the top of the display of the latest generation of smartphones. The so-called Notch can have different sizes and shapes, but its main purpose is always the same: increase the surface area of the display on the front of the devices without giving up the front cameras or the various sensors.

Notching:

When rating agencies reduce their ratings on structured financial collateral based on ratings from another agency without rating the collateral themselves. Notching arises when collateral, such as mortgage backed securities (MBS), and other asset backed securities (ABS) are included within investment vehicles that are rated, such as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

Nota Bene:

Nota Bene is an Italian and Latin phrase meaning "note well".

Often abbreviated as "NB", "N.b." or "n.b.". It is in the singular imperative mood, instructing one individual to note well the matter at hand. In present-day English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the attention of the reader to a certain (side) aspect or detail of the subject on hand, translating it as "pay attention" or "take notice". While "N.B." is often used in academic writing, "note" is a common substitute.

Note:

A brief record, especially one written down to aid the memory.

A brief informal letter.

A formal written diplomatic or official communication.

A written acknowledgement of a debt, as in pound Note or promissory.

Music: a tone of definite pitch.

Importance; consequence: nothing of note happened.

Notebook Computer:

A Notebook Computer is a battery- or AC-powered personal computer generally smaller than a briefcase that can easily be transported and conveniently used in temporary spaces such as on airplanes, in libraries, temporary offices, and at meetings. A Notebook computer, sometimes called a laptop computer, typically weighs less than 5 pounds and is 3 inches or less in thickness. Among the best-known makers of Notebook and laptop computers are IBM, Apple, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard.

Notebook computers generally cost more than desktop computers with the same capabilities because they are more difficult to design and manufacture. A Notebook can effectively be turned into a desktop computer with a docking station, a hardware frame that supplies connections for peripheral input/output devices such as a printer or larger monitor. The less capable port replicator allows you to connect a Notebook to a number of peripherals through a single plug.

Notebooks usually come with displays that use thin-screen technology. The thin film transistor or active matrix screen is brighter and views better at different angles than the STN or dual-scan screen. Notebooks use several different approaches for integrating a mouse into the keyboard, including the touch pad, the trackball, and the pointing stick. A serial port also allows a regular mouse to be attached. The PC Card is insertable hardware for adding a modem or network interface card to a Notebook. CD-ROM and digital versatile disc drives may be built-in or attachable.

See also: laptop, netbook, PC and tablet PC.

Not-for-Profit Corporation:

A Not-for-Profit Corporation, sometimes referred to as a nonprofit corporation, generally exists for the purpose of carrying out some socially useful objective. Formed under the nonprofit corporation laws of a state, not all of these corporations are tax exempt. And, unlike the name implies, many not-for-profit corporations make money. The money, however, does not get distributed to members, officers, or directors. The money is used to further the socially useful purpose.

Notice:

Advice given in advance. The advice may be of a forthcoming meeting, or of a person's wish to end a period of employment. For example: "Today he handed in his Notice."

Notoriety:

The condition of being infamous or notorious.

Noun:

A Noun (from Latin nomen, literally meaning "name") is a word that functions as the name of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas. Linguistically, a Noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Nouveau Riche:

The term Nouveau Riche (French: "new rich", describes rich people who acquired their wealth within their own generations; the equivalent English term is (the) new rich or new money (in contrast with "old money"). Sociologically, Nouveau Riche describes the man or woman who previously had belonged to a lower social class and economic stratum (rank) within that class; and that the new money — which constitutes his or her wealth — allowed upward social mobility and provided the means for conspicuous consumption, the buying of goods and services that signal membership in an upper class. As a pejorative term, Nouveau Riche effects distinctions of type, the given stratum within a social class; hence, among the rich people of a social class, Nouveau Riche describes the vulgarity and ostentation of the new-rich man and woman who lack the worldly experience and the system of values of Old Money, of inherited wealth, such as the patriciate and the gentry.

A person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class.

Nouvelle Society:

A term coined by a Women's Wear Daily (WWD) editor to denote a glittering Vanity Fair of new money and conspicuous consumption that flourished in New York in the 1980s.

Novel:

A fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters.

Novelette:

A Novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a Novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a Novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula awards for science fiction define the Novelette as having a word count of between 7,500 and 17,500, inclusive.

Novella:

A Novella is a written, fictional and prose narrative, usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The English word "Novella" derives from the Italian word "Novella", feminine of "novello", which means "new".

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the Novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000. Other definitions start as low as 10,000 words and run as high as 70,000 words.

Novelty Item:

This term covers a range of small manufactured goods, such as: antiques, collectables, esoterica, executive toys, gadgets, tools and implements. Novelty Items are generally devices that do not fit into another category such as gadgets, by virtue of being impractical, but this distinction is often blurred. Toys for adults are generally classed as novelties.

Novice:

A person new to a field or activity; a beginner.

A person who has entered a religious order but has not yet taken final vows.

NPO:

Short for: Non-Profit Organization.

NSA | No Strings Attached:

NSA | No Strings Attached: What Is an NSA Relationship? - "How Does a No-Strings-Attached Relationship Work? From hookups to one-night stands, experts share everything you need to know."

NSFW:

Short for: Not Safe For Work; Not Suitable For Work. used to warn someone that a website, email attachment, etc., is not suitable for viewing at most places of employment.

nth:

Highest; utmost.

Mathematics: maths of or representing an unspecified ordinal number, usually the greatest in a series of values; relating to an unspecified ordinal number.

Informal: being the last, most recent, or most extreme of a long series.

NTK:

Short for: Need To Know or Nice To Know.

Nuclear Family:

The Nuclear Family or elementary family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children. This is in contrast to a single-parent family, to the larger extended family, and to a family with more than two parents. Nuclear Families typically center on a married couple; the nuclear family may have any number of children. There are differences in definition among observers; some definitions allow only biological children that are full-blood siblings, while others allow for a stepparent and any mix of dependent children including stepchildren and adopted children.

Nuclear Football:

The Nuclear Football (also known as the atomic football, the President's emergency satchel, the Presidential Emergency Satchel, the button, the black box, or just the football) is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the President of the United States to authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room. It functions as a mobile hub in the strategic defense system of the United States. It is held by an aide-de-camp.

Nucleus:

A central or essential part around which other parts are gathered or grouped; a core.

Something regarded as a basis for future development and growth; a kernel.

Biology: a large, membrane-bound, usually spherical protoplasmic structure within a living cell, containing the cell's hereditary material and controlling its metabolism, growth, and reproduction.

Nudge:

To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal; to come close to; near; a gentle push.

Nudge Theory:

Nudge Theory (or Nudge) is a concept in behavioral science, political theory and economics which argues that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance can influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals alike, at least as effectively – if not more effectively - than direct instruction, legislation, or enforcement.

Nuke:

A nuclear device or weapon.

Nulli Secundus:

Latin for "second to none".

Number:

The property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals.

One of the separate offerings in a program of music or other entertainment.

Number Neighbor:

In something like a modern spin on the traditional pen pal, people are texting the phone numbers that are identical to their own, with one key difference: The last digit is either one up or down from theirs. That's a "Number Neighbor."

Read also: People are texting phone numbers identical to their own, with one key difference. Meet the 'number neighbor' - CNN.

Number One:

One that is first in rank, order, or importance.

Slang: one's own interests; oneself.

Numbered Account:

A bank account that is known to most of the bank's staff only by its number. No name appears on the account's checks or on the statements. The main purpose of the Numbered Account is to disguise the identity of the account holder. Most countries (include Switzerland) insist nowadays that the true beneficiary of all accounts be known to at least one senior manager in the bank. Numbered Bank Account - Wikipedia.

Numbers:

The fourth book of the Old Testament; contains a record of the number of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt.

Games: a Numbers game.

Numbers Game:

Numbers Game, also known as a numbers racket, policy racket, Italian lottery, or nigger pool, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day. In recent years, the "number" would be the last three digits of "the handle"—the amount race track bettors placed on race day at a major racetrack—published in racing journals and major newspapers in New York. A gambler places a bet with a bookie at a tavern or other semi-private place that acts as a betting parlor. A runner carries the money and betting slips between the betting parlors and the headquarters, called a numbers bank or policy bank. The name "policy" is from a similarity to cheap insurance, both seen as a gamble on the future.

Numerology:

Numerology is an ancient science which was developed by Pythagoras and is the study of the occult meanings of numbers and their supposed influence on human life.

Today, Numerology is often associated with the occult, alongside astrology and similar divinatory arts.

Nunchaku:

A pair of hardwood sticks joined by a chain or cord and used as a weapon.

Nunchi:

Nunchi, sometimes noonchi, is a Korean concept signifying the subtle art and ability to listen and gauge others' moods. In Western culture, nunchi could be described as the concept of emotional intelligence. It is of central importance to the dynamics of interpersonal relationships.

NV:

Short for: Naamlose Vennootschap. Limited company in the Netherlands used as a Substantial Holding Company, required to publish its accounts.

NYLon:

The portmanteau NYLON, also spelled NYLon or, less often, NY-Lon, starts with the concept of New York City, USA, and London, England, as twin cities — the financial and cultural capitals of the Anglo-American 'world' — and takes the concept a step further, treating the two cities as "a single city separated by an ocean". There is a community of high-earning professionals who commute with extreme frequency — sometimes several days in a given week — between New York and London on its particular transatlantic air route. As a result, the term "NYLon" can be used either to refer in a macro sense to the concept of the two cities being 'intertwined' or easily traversable generally, or in a more micro form, as a specific noun — as in "s/he is a NYLon" to refer to a person who travels extensively between the two and treats each as equal senses of "home".

Nymph:

(Classical mythology) a minor nature goddess usually depicted as a beautiful maiden.

A girl, especially a beautiful one.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- O -

O&M:

Short for: Organization and Methods, a once-popular field of management study dedicated to improving the methods and procedures used in office environments.

Oasis:

A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, made so by the presence of water.

A situation or place preserved from surrounding unpleasantness; a refuge.

Oath:

A solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God, a god, or a sacred object as witness.

Obelisk:

A tall, four-sided shaft of stone, usually tapered and monolithic, that rises to a pointed pyramidal top.

Obi:

A wide sash fastened in the back with a large flat bow, worn by women in Japan as a part of the traditional dress.

Obiter Dictum:

Obiter Dictum (more usually used in the plural, obiter dicta) is Latin for a word said "by the way", that is, a remark in a judgment that is "said in passing".

Obituary:

A published notice of a death, sometimes with a brief of the deceased.

Object:

Something perceptible by one or more of the senses, especially by vision or touch; a material thing.

A focus of attention, feeling, thought, or action.

The purpose, aim, or goal of a specific action or effort.

Objective:

Expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.

See also: subjective.

Objectives and Key Results (OKR):

Objectives and Key Results (OKR, alternatively OKRs) is a goal-setting framework used by individuals, teams, and organizations to define measurable goals and track their outcomes. The development of OKR is generally attributed to Andrew Grove who introduced the approach to Intel in the 1970s.

Obligation:

The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie.

Oblique Order:

The Oblique Order is a military tactic whereby an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The force commander concentrates the majority of their strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allows a commander with weaker or equal forces to achieve a local superiority in numbers. The commander can then try to defeat the enemy in detail. It has been used by numerous successful generals. Oblique Order required disciplined troops able to execute complex maneuvers in varied circumstances.

Oblivion:

The state of being disregarded or forgotten.

Obscenity:

An Obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious. The term is also applied to an object that incorporates such a statement or displays such an act.

Obscurantism:

Obscurantism is the practice of deliberately presenting information in an imprecise and recondite manner, often designed to forestall further inquiry and understanding. There are two historical and intellectual denotations of Obscurantism: the deliberate restriction of knowledge—opposition to disseminating knowledge; and deliberate obscurity—an abstruse style (as in literature and art) characterized by deliberate vagueness.

Observation Wheel:

See: Ferris wheel.

Observational Comedy:

Observational Comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of day-to-day life. It is the most common type of humor used in stand up comedy, although it is present in other mediums, such as films and TV shows.

The humor is based on the premise of "it's funny because it's true."

Obsolescence:

The capacity of something to become out-of-date. For example, all fashion garments have a built-in Obsolescence, that is, by their very nature they need to be replaced next season.

Occam's Razor:

Occam's Razor (also Ockham's razor or Ocham's Razor (Latin: novacula Occami); further known as the law of parsimony (Latin: lex parsimoniae) is the problem-solving principle that essentially states that "simpler solutions are more likely to be correct than complex ones". When presented with competing hypotheses to solve a problem, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions.

Occident:

The countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America.

Occult:

Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena; beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable; hidden from view; concealed.

Occupancy:

A measure of the extent to which a property is occupied. For example, an apartment that is rented for only half the year has a 50% occupancy; a hotel room that is occupied for nine nights out of every ten has a 90% occupancy.

Occupation:

The paid employment that occupies most of an individual's working life.

Occupational Hazard:

A danger that arises as a result of a person's occupation. Hence falling off ladders is an occupational hazard for window-cleaners; backache is an occupational hazard of computer programs.

Occupational Pension:

A pension that is paid by a person's employer by dint of the years of employment and the contributions that were made to the employer's pension fund during that period.

OCD:

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry (obsessions), repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety (compulsions), or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, extreme hoarding, preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts, relationship-related obsessions, aversion to particular numbers and nervous rituals such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room. These symptoms are time-consuming, might result in loss of relationships with others, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, people with OCD generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by this realization. Despite the irrational behaviour, OCD is associated with above-average intelligence.

Ocean Drive (South Beach, FL):

Ocean Drive is a street in South Beach - the southern part of Miami Beach, Florida. It is known for its Art Deco hotels. The street is the center of the city's Art Deco District, which is home to about 800 preserved buildings.

OCN:

OCLC assigns a unique control number (referred to as an "OCN" for "OCLC Control Number") to each new bibliographic record in the WorldCat. Numbers are assigned serially, and as of mid-2013 over a billion OCNs had been created. In September 2013, the OCLC declared these numbers to be in the public domain, removing a perceived barrier to widespread use of OCNs outside OCLC itself. The control numbers link WorldCat's records to local library system records by providing a common reference key for a record across libraries.

OCNs are particularly useful as identifiers for books and other bibliographic materials that do not have ISBNs (e.g., books published before 1970). OCNs are used as identifiers often in Wikipedia and Wikidata. In October 2013, it was reported that out of 29,673 instances of book infoboxes in Wikipedia, "there were 23,304 ISBNs and 15,226 OCNs", and regarding Wikidata: "of around 14 million Wikidata items, 28,741 were books. 5403 Wikidata items have an ISBN associated with them, and 12,262 have OCNs."

OCR:

Short for: Optical Character Recognition. The recognition of printed or written text characters by a computer.

Octave:

Music: a tone that is eight diatonic degrees above or below another given tone.

Octavo:

Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multiple pages of text were printed to form the individual sections (or gatherings) of a book. An Octavo is a book or pamphlet made up of one or more full sheets of (e.g. A2 paper) on which 16 pages of text were printed, which were then folded three times to produce eight leaves. Each leaf of an Octavo book thus represents one eighth the size of the original sheet. Other common book formats are folios and quartos. Octavo is also used as a general description of size of books that are about 8 to 10 inches (200 to 250 millimetres) tall (almost A5 paper size), and as such does not necessarily indicate the actual printing format of the books, which may even be unknown as is the case for many modern books.

October Surprise:

In the politics of the United States, an October Surprise is a news event that may influence the outcome of an upcoming November election (particularly one for the presidency), whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Because the date for national elections (as well as many state and local elections) is in early November, events that take place in October have greater potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters and allow less time to take remedial action; thus, relatively last-minute news stories could either change the course of an election or reinforce the inevitable. The term "October Surprise" was coined by William Casey when he served as campaign manager of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign; however, there were October election-upending events that predated the coining of the term.

OD:

An OverDose of a drug.

Odd Pricing:

Psychological pricing or price ending or charm pricing is a marketing practice based on the theory that certain prices have a psychological impact. The retail prices are often expressed as "Odd Prices": a little less than a round number, e.g. $19.99 or £2.98. Consumers tend to perceive "Odd Prices" as being significantly lower than they actually are, tending to round to the next lowest monetary unit. Thus, prices such as $1.99 is associated with spending $1 rather than $2. The theory that drives this is that lower pricing such as this institutes greater demand than if consumers were perfectly rational. Psychological pricing is one cause of price points.

Oddball:

A person regarded as a eccentric.

Odds:

A certain number of points given beforehand to a weaker side in a contest to equalize the chances of all participants.

The ratio of the probability of an event's occurring to the probability of its not occurring.

Games: a ratio expressing the amount by which the stake of one bettor differs from that of an opposing bettor.

Ode:

Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic Ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode.

Oden:

Japanese cuisine: various ingredients stewed in a thin soy soup.

Odyssey:

A long wandering and eventful journey.

OECD:

OECD is short for: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Oedipus Complex:

In psychoanalysis, a subconscious sexual desire in a child, especially a male child, for the parent of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by hostility to the parent of the same sex.

OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer:

An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) manufactures products or components that are purchased by another company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a replacement part made by the manufacturer of the original part.

Oenology:

Oenology is the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking except vine-growing and grape-harvesting.

Oeuvre:

From French œuvre, from the Latin opus. A work of art.

The sum of the lifework of an artist, writer, or composer.

Off Balance Sheet:

Any transaction by a company that does not appear on its Balance Sheet. Off-Balance-Sheet items include things like leasing deals and fiduciary deposits.

Off-Broadway:

Off-Broadway refers to any production that has satisfied the following requirements: 1. played at a Manhattan theatre with a seating capacity of 100-499; 2. intended to run a closed-ended or open-ended schedule of performances of more than one week; 3. offered itself to critics and general audiences alike.

Off-License:

A shop licensed to sell liquor to be consumed off the premises; the term may be applied to ordinary liquor stores, areas within supermarkets, or spirits shops attached to a pub.

Off-Piste:

Of snow that has not been compacted by overuse; tends to be more exciting but less regulated and more dangerous.

The area beyond the groomed runs of a ski area or backcountry away from developed ski areas.

Off-Roader:

A vehicle that is designed to drive off the road.

An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads and a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks.

Mountain bike: a bicycle with a sturdy frame and fat tires; originally designed for riding in mountainous country.

Off the Boat:

See: fresh off the boat.

Off-the-Grid:

Off-the-Grid is a system and lifestyle designed to help people function without the support of remote infrastructure, such as an electrical grid. In electricity, off-grid can be stand-alone power system or mini-grids typically to provide a smaller community with electricity.

Off-the-Grid homes are autonomous; they do not rely on municipal water supply, sewer, natural gas, electrical power grid, or similar utility services. A true off-grid house is able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services.

Off-the-Rack:

Of, relating to, or being merchandise, especially clothing, made in standard sizes; ready-made.

Off the Record:

Not for publication or attribution.

Se also: deep background.

Off-the-Shelf:

Something that is purchased straight off a shop's shelf, a product produced in advance in the expectation that it will find a consumer who is prepared to buy it. The opposite of tailor-made or customized.

Off-the-Shelf Company:

An Off-the-Shelf Company is one that is bought with its legal status already established, that is, a company that has never carried out business but which has a name, articles of association and a registered address.

Off the Wagon:

Slang: no longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages.

Off to the Races:

Euphemism for "in a hurry"; an expression characterizing the activity or excitement that is just beginning.

Offal:

Offal, also called variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone. As an English mass noun, the term "offal" has no plural form. Some cultures shy away from offal as food, while others use it as everyday food, or in delicacies. Certain offal dishes—including foie gras, pâté and sweetbread—are considered gourmet food in international cuisine. Others remain part of traditional regional cuisine and may be consumed especially in connection with holidays. This includes Scottish haggis, Jewish chopped liver, Southern U.S. chitterlings, Mexican menudo as well as many other dishes. Intestines are traditionally used as casing for sausages.

Offer:

An indication of willingness to enter into an agreement, and of the terms of such an agreement. An Offer and an acceptance constitute a legally binding contract.

Office:

A position of authority, duty, or trust given to a person, as in a government or corporation.

A room containing a desk and a chair in which people work on paper or on computers.

A clearly defined role within an organization. For example, something that has to be done by the chairman's office is done by whoever happens to be carrying out the function of chairman.

Office Politics:

The art of organizing a group of people who work in offices. More specifically, the expression refers to the psychological games that people play with each other in and out of the office.

Officer:

One who holds an office of authority or trust in an organization, such as a corporation or government.

One who holds a commission in the armed forces.

Officers:

Officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the pleasure of the board. The bylaws usually prescribe the titles and duties of each office. Common Officers are the president, secretary, and the treasurer. Officers direct the daily operations of the corporation.

Official:

One who holds an office or position, especially one who acts in a subordinate capacity for an institution such as a corporation or governmental agency.

Having a formal ceremonial character.

Sports: a referee or umpire.

Official Secrects Act:

The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.

Offline:

Not connected to a computer or computer network.

Offshore:

Any country other than your own.

In general, any business that is transacted in foreign currencies between parties that is also foreign to the place. A Dutch bank based in London lending dollars to a Brazilian company is transacting offshore business. Such business is often done in order to minimize tax liabilities.

Offshore Center:

A financial center used as a foreign base for overseas operations where the investor may move in and out of his investment freely and which fits the needs of the user.

Offshore Finance Company:

A company organized in a foreign country, almost always in a tax haven country, which handles such financing services as arranging foreign loans in Eurocurrency markets and floating bonds or other forms of indebtedness abroad in United States dollars or other hard currencies. Generally the offshore finance company is created to handle the financing requirements of its parent or related companies but is used occasionally to handle the financing needs of the parent company's distributors or agents overseas.

Offshore Fund:

A mutual fund offering its shares to persons resident outside the country in which it is incorporated.

Offshore Holding Company:

A company organized in a foreign country which controls one or more affiliate companies and which manages, administers or services its affiliate companies usually located outside the country in which the parent company is incorporated.

Offshore Investor:

An investor who is a user of a foreign base company in an offshore center and who may move in and out of his investment freely.

Offshore Trading Company:

A company organized in a foreign country to buy goods from an exporter in one or more other foreign countries and to sell these same goods to importers in other foreign countries. The documents are processed by the Offshore Trading Company and all managerial, administrative and day-to-day financial transactions are handled by it. The goods are shipped from the seller in one country to the buyer in the other country without ever being shipped or landed in the country where the Offshore Trading Company is located.

Offside:

Sports: illegally ahead of the ball or puck in the attacking zone.

Football: illegally beyond the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped or ahead of the ball when the ball is kicked on a kickoff.

OG:

(Slang) Someone or something that is an original or originator and especially one that is highly respected or regarded.

OK / Okay:

All correct; approval; agreement.

OK Boomer:

"OK Boomer" is a catchphrase and internet meme that gained popularity throughout 2019, used to dismiss or mock attitudes stereotypically attributed to the baby boomer generation. It is considered by some to be highly ageist.

Derogatory phrase used primarily by the next generations to show their indignation towards older people deemed indifferent to their concerns.

It is used widely on platforms like Twitter and TikTok.

OK Gesture:

The OK or ring gesture (Unicode symbol U+1F44C) is performed by connecting the thumb and index into a circle, and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed away from the palm. Commonly used by divers, it signifies "I am OK" or "Are you OK?" when underwater. In most English-speaking countries it denotes approval, agreement, and that all is well or "okay". In other contexts or cultures, similar gestures may have different meanings or connotations including those that are negative, offensive, financial, numerical, devotional, political, or purely linguistic.

Okey-Dokey:

See: OK.

Oktober Surprise:

In American political jargon, an October Surprise is a news event with the potential to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency. The reference to the month of October is because the date for national elections (as well as many state and local elections) occurs between November 2 and 8, and therefore events that take place in late October have greater potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters.

The term came into use shortly after the 1972 presidential election between Republican incumbent Richard Nixon and Democrat George McGovern, when the United States was in the fourth year of negotiations to end the very long and domestically divisive Vietnam War. On October 26, 1972, twelve days before the election on November 7, the United States' chief negotiator, the presidential National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, appeared at a press conference held at the White House and announced, "We believe that peace is at hand". Nixon, despite having vowed to end the unpopular war during his presidential election campaign four years earlier, had failed to either cease hostilities or gradually bring about an end to the war. Nixon was nevertheless already widely considered to be assured of an easy reelection victory against McGovern, but Kissinger's "peace is at hand" declaration may have increased Nixon's already high standing with the electorate. In the event, Nixon outpolled McGovern in every state except Massachusetts and achieved a 20 point lead in the nationwide popular vote. The fighting ended in 1973, but soldiers remained in Vietnam until 1975.

Since that election, the term "October Surprise" has been used preemptively during campaign season by partisans of one side to discredit late-campaign news by the other side.

The October Surprise conspiracy theory refers to an alleged plot to influence the outcome of the 1980 United States presidential election between incumbent Jimmy Carter (D–GA) and opponent Ronald Reagan (R–CA).

One of the leading, national issues during that year was the release of 52 Americans being held hostage in Iran since November 4, 1979. Reagan won the election. On the day of his inauguration, in fact, 20 min after he concluded his inaugural address, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the release of the hostages. The timing gave rise to an allegation that representatives of Reagan's presidential campaign had conspired with Iran to delay the release until after the election to thwart President Carter from pulling off an "October Surprise".

According to the allegation, the Reagan Administration rewarded Iran for its participation in the plot by supplying Iran with weapons via Israel and by unblocking Iranian government monetary assets in US banks.

Old Boys Network:

An Old Boys Network, or society, can refer to social and business connections among former pupils of male-only private schools.

An informal, exclusive system of mutual assistance and friendship through which men belonging to a particular group, such as the alumni of a school, exchange favors and connections, as in politics or business.

Old Guard:

"Old Guard types (the Mrs. Astor Set who liked sitting in their clubs and drawing rooms) eschewed all notoriety beyond weddings, funerals, and debuts. Café Society liked, really liked, getting their names in the papers." (The People, the Planes, the Glamour, and the Romance in Aviation's Glory Years Jet Set by William Stadiem.)

A conservative, often reactionary element of a class, society, or political group; a group that works for a long-established or old-fashioned cause or principle.

The conservative element in a political party or other group.

Old Money:

Old Money is the inherited wealth of established upper-class families.

A person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth.

See also: nouveau riche.

Old School:

A group committed to traditional ideas or practices.

Old Sport:

A term of endearment used to a friend.

Old World:

Earth Sciences / Physical Geography: that part of the world that was known before the discovery of the Americas, comprising Europe, Asia, and Africa; the eastern hemisphere.

Oldtimer:

An elderly person.

A veteran.

A vintage car.

OLED:

Short for: Organic Light Emitting Diode. OLED (also Light Emitting Polymer (LEP) and Organic Electro Luminescence (OEL)) is any Light Emitting Diode (LED) whose emissive electroluminescent layer is composed of a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. The resulting matrix of pixels can emit light of different colors.

Such systems can be used in television screens, computer displays, small, portable system screens such as cell phones and PDAs, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

A significant benefit of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. Because there is no need for a backlight, an OLED display can be much thinner than an LCD panel. Degradation of OLED materials has limited their use.

Oleograph:

A chromolithograph printed on cloth to imitate an oil painting.

Olibanum:

Another name for frankincense; an aromatic gum resin obtained from various Arabian or East African trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation.

Oligarch | Oligart:

One of the rulers in an oligarchy.

Oligarchy:

An Oligarchy (Oligocracy) is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military, or religious hegemony. The word Oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" and "rule". Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the Oligarchy.

Oligopoly:

The control of a market by a few producers. The danger of an Oligopoly is that the few producers get together and agree among themselves to fix prices as if they were a monopoly.

Olive Branch:

The Olive Branch is usually a symbol of peace or victory and was historically worn by brides and virgins. This symbol, deriving from the customs of Ancient Greece, is strongest in Western culture.

Olympiad:

An interval of four years between celebrations of the Olympic Games, by which the ancient Greeks reckoned dates.

Sports: a celebration of the modern Olympic Games.

Olympic-Size Swimming Pool:

An Olympic-Size Swimming Pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games and other "long course" events (meaning 50 meters in length and not 25 meters or 25 yards). The size is commonly used as a casual measure of volume.

Omakase:

Japanese: "it's up to you."

Japanese cuisine: Chef's choice.

Ombudsman:

An independent person appointed to hear and act upon consumers' complaints about manufacturers or service providers. The idea originated in Sweden, where the first Ombudsman was set up to hear complaints about government services.

Omen:

A sign of something about to happen.

Omertà:

Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honor, common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations like the Mafia, 'Ndrangheta, and Camorra are strong. A common definition is the "code of silence".

OMG:

Oh My God, Oh my Goodness, Oh my Gosh, or Oh my Golly, a common abbreviation used in The SMS language, instant messaging and other internet communication.

Omnibus:

A printed anthology of the works of one author or of writings on related subjects.

A long motor vehicle for passengers; a bus.

Providing for many things at once.

Omotenashi:

The word ‘Omotenashi’ in Japanese comes from omote (surface) and nashi (less), which means “single-hearted”, and also mote (carry) and nashi (accomplish), which means “to achieve”. Therefore, Omotenashi has two meanings, which include offering a service without expectation of any returned favour, and the ability to actualise that idea into an action. ‘Service’ in English is a term that is more likely to suggest a hierarchy between server and customer, and suggests a business relationship. ‘Hospitality’ in English means to make one happy, or to serve one. ‘Omotenashi’ has a similar meaning, but it suggests deeper part of the human consciousness.

On a Mission:

Being On a Mission refers to acting in a determined way and so focus in doing something that he/she is oblivious of anything else around him/her.

On a Roll:

Having a streak of good luck or good progress or success.

On Approval:

When goods are supplied on the understanding that the purchaser may return them if they prove not to be what the purchaser wanted. Goods bought by mail order are usually, in effect, sold On Approval.

On Demand:

Something demanded; an urgent requirement or need; the state of being sought after.

Economics: the desire to possess a commodity or make use of a service, combined with the ability to purchase it.

Computer Science: a coding technique in which a command to read or write is initiated as the need for a new block of data occurs, thus eliminating the need to store data.

On-Demand Everything:

"Our appetite for the instantaneous knows no bounds. Immediate access and automated task completion will make strides toward truly immediate gratification, and they’ll fundamentally change how we spend our time and what we expect from experiences. From printing in 3D to streaming in VR, we’ll have on-demand access to all our desires. We’ll tell our grandchildren: Once upon a time we had to wait."

"Everything from entertainment to groceries will be available in an instant. We will self-diagnose online instead of waiting for a doctor. Drones will deliver our purchase desires within the hour. The revolution will not be televised - it will be streamed and binge-watched on an iPhone. Frontier consumers will be able to 3D print everything from headphones to dresses using open-source code and, more commonly, businesses will 3D print to keep up with consumer demands for immediacy and personalization. As a result, our expectations for immediacy will increase even more. In an era of adaptive devices, prediction will be expected, and right now may already be late."

Read the full article here: On-demand everything | Customer of the Future - Lippincott.

On Spec:

Idiom: on a speculation basis; with no assurance of profit.

On Record:

Known to have been stated or to have taken a certain position.

See also: for the record.

On Spec:

Work done for a client without a contract or order on the understanding that the client will only pay for the work if and when it is used.

On Steroids:

In a much more powerful or extreme form.

On the House:

Free, complimentary; given free by somebody who would normally charge.

On the Road:

On tour, as a theatrical company.

Traveling, especially as a salesperson.

Wandering, as a vagabond.

On the Wagon:

Slang: abstaining from alcoholic beverages.

Onassis's 10 Golden Rules for Success:

The late bon vivant and billionaire Aristotle Onassis's own recipe for achieving success in an interview in the October 1970 issue of the Success Unlimited Magazine:

Rule #1: take care of your body. Make yourself as good as you can. Don't worry about shortcomings. Look at me. I am no Greek god but I did not waste my life in crying because I wasn't born good looking. Remember nobody is as ugly as he thinks he is.

Rule #2: eat lightly and stay away from the wines and rich food when you have a job to do. Spending several hours at the table in the middle of a working day is the best way to shorten your life.

Rule #3: wait until evening, when you have more time and the day's labor is finished. Then enjoy a good meal with friends, and never talk business while you eat.

Rule #4: exercise and keep yourself trim. The basic yoga exercises help immensely, both mind and body. And if you can manage an hour or two of judo every week, it frees you of all your complexes.

Rule #5: keep a tan even if you have to use a lamp. To most people a tan in winter means only that you have been where the sun is, and in that respect, sun is money.

Rule #6: once you have taken care of your physical appearance, establish a successful way of life. Live in an elegant building - even if you have to take a room in the attic - where you will rub shoulders with wealthy, successful people in the corridors and on the elevators. Frequent luxury cafés even if you have to sip your drinks. Soon you will learn that many people with money are very lonely.

Rule #7: if you are short of money, borrow it. And never ask for small loans. Borrow big but always repay promptly.

Rule #8: keep your troubles to yourself and let people believe you are having a wonderful time.

Rule #9: don't sleep too much or you'll wake up a failure. If you sleep three hours less each night for a year, you will have an extra month and a half to succeed in.

Rule #10: if you aspire for success, do not squander your time reading about things others have done. It is better to get on living your own life than to concern yourself with what others have done.

Once Upon A Time:

"Once Upon A Time" is a stock phrase that has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) in storytelling in the English language, and seems to have become a widely accepted convention for opening oral narratives by around 1600. These stories often then end with "and they all lived happily ever after," or, originally, "happily until their deaths."

One Belt One Road (OBOR):

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R, known within China as the One Belt One Road or OBOR/1B1R for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations. It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status. It has been compared to the American Marshall Plan. As of August 2023, 155 countries were listed as having signed up to the BRI. The participating countries include almost 75% of the world's population and account for more than half of the world's GDP.

One-Dollar Salary:

A number of top executives in large businesses and governments have worked for a One-Dollar Salary. One-Dollar Salaries are used in situations where an executive wishes to work without direct compensation, but for legal reasons must receive a payment above zero, so as to distinguish him or her from a volunteer. The concept first emerged in the early 1900s, where various leaders of industry in the United States offered their services to the government during times of war. Later, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many business executives began accepting One-Dollar Salaries - often in the case of struggling companies or startups - with the potential for further indirect earnings as the result of their ownership of stock.

One Finger Challenge:

The latest selfie challenge on the internet that’s making women click naked selfies and putting ‘one finger’ to good use. It’s called the ‘One Finger Challenge’ and if reports are to be believed, is inspired from a Japanese anime artist, Sky-FreeDom. The challenge requires you to be naked, stand in front of a mirror and place your finger strategically to hide your privates.

One-Hit Wonder:

The term One-Hit Wonder is most often used to describe music performers with only one Top 40 hit single or for having one signature song which overshadows their other work.

However, the term is used as well to describe other, related phenomena such as a software company which only has one widely successful release, or for an athlete, known for only one major career event.

One-Liner:

A short joke or witticism, usually expressed in a single sentence.

Visit: The greatest one-liner in movie history & TOP 100 funniest one-liners on the internet!.

One Man's Terrorist Is Another Man's Freedom Fighter:

The quote is another version of "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" first written by Gerald Seymour in his 1975 book Harry's Game. It means that while somebody is always painted as causing harm and terror to the civilian population, from their view, he is a liberator protecting them against you. E.g., Nazi Germany and the French Resistance, for instance. The Nazis called them terrorists and painted them as heartless killers attempting to destroy order. The French saw them as liberators and defenders.

One-Night Stand:

A performance by a traveling musical or dramatic performer or group in one place on one night only.

Slang: a sexual encounter that is limited to only one occasion.

One-On-One:

Playing directly against a single opposing player.

Involving a direct encounter between one person and another.

One-Time Password (OTP):

A One-Time Password (OTP), also known as a one-time PIN, one-time authorization code (OTAC) or dynamic password, is a password that is valid for only one login session or transaction, on a computer system or other digital device. OTPs avoid several shortcomings that are associated with traditional (static) password-based authentication; a number of implementations also incorporate two-factor authentication by ensuring that the one-time password requires access to something a person has (such as a small keyring fob device with the OTP calculator built into it, or a smartcard or specific cellphone) as well as something a person knows (such as a PIN).

One Trillion Dollar Coin:

The Trillion Dollar Coin is a concept that emerged during the United States debt-ceiling crisis in 2011, as a proposed way to bypass any necessity for the United States Congress to raise the country's borrowing limit, through the minting of very high value platinum coins. The concept gained more mainstream attention by late 2012 during the debates over the United States fiscal cliff negotiations and renewed debt-ceiling discussions.

See also: seigniorage.

Online:

A computer that is linked directly to a database or to a central processing unit.

Online Community:

Primarily, these are areas on the Internet that cater to people's common interests. They are virtual in the sense that they exist in cyberspace and do not take up physical space. Communities are formed on Web sites, discussion groups, newsgroups, and even in chat rooms, and there are several popular gaming communities online. The Internet represents an extraordinary opportunity to converse with people all over the world; online communities provide a framework in which to exchange ideas and information, build relationships, and interact.

Online Dating Profile:

An Online Dating Profile is the photo personals ad that singles see when they search the personals. It is your advert to the world.

When writing an online dating profile an important approach is to be able to see your work from another person's point of view.

Online Marketing:

See: internet marketing.

Online Reputation Management:

Online Reputation Management, or ORM, is the practice of consistent research and analysis of one’s personal or professional, business or industry reputation as represented by the content across all types of online media. It is also sometimes referred to as online reputation monitoring, maintaining the same acronym.

Online Shaming:

Online Shaming is a form of Internet vigilantism in which targets are publicly humiliated using technology like social and new media. Proponents of shaming see it as a form of online participation that allows hacktivists and cyber-dissidents to right injustices. Critics see it as a tool that encourages online mobs to destroy the reputation and careers of people or organizations who made perceived slights.

Online Shaming frequently involves the publication of private information on the Internet (called doxing), which can frequently lead to hate messages and death threats being used to intimidate that person. The ethics of public humiliation has been a source of debate over privacy and ethics.

Onomatopoeia:

An Onomatopoeia is a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the sound that it describes.

Ontology:

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences. Although ontology as a philosophical realm is academic in the sense that it is inseparable from each thinker's epistemology, it has practical application in information science and information technology, where it informs Ontologies with chosen taxonomies.

Oomph:

Physical or sexual attractiveness.

Spirited vigor.

Op-Ed:

An Op-Ed (originally short for "opposite the editorial page") is a piece typically published by newspapers, magazines, and the like which expresses the opinions of a named author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. Op-Eds are different from both editorials (opinion pieces submitted by editorial board members) and letters to the editor (opinion pieces submitted by readers).

Open City:

A city that is declared demilitarized during a war, thus gaining immunity from attack under international law.

Open-Market Operations:

Dealings by a central bank in the money market designed to adjust a country's money supply.

Open Marriage:

A marriage in which the partners agree that each is free to engage in extramarital relationships.

Open Outcry:

A method of trading on an exchange in which dealers shout out their offers to buy or sell. A contract is made when a buyer's shouts are matched with those of a seller.

Open Plan:

A way of designing the interior of an office in which the walls dividing the space into individual rooms are removed. All that may stand between employees' desks are potted plants and soundproof screening.

Open Position:

A situation in which an investor has an obligation to buy more securities of a certain type in the future than his future obligation to sell securities of that type. (Or the other way round, he has an obligation to sell more than he has to buy.)

Open Question:

A question that cannot be answered with a yes or no but requires a developed answer; a matter which is undecided.

Open Source:

Open Source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code.

Open System:

An expression used to describe information technology that is accessible to all. In other words, any hardware and software that are in the public domain so that manufacturers can make products that are compatible with them.

OpenID:

OpenID is an open, decentralized standard for authenticating users which can be used for access control, allowing users to log on to different services with the same digital identity where these services trust the authentication body. OpenID replaces the common login process that uses a login-name and a password, by allowing a user to log in once and gain access to the resources of multiple software systems. The term OpenID can also refer to an ID used in the standard.

An OpenID is in the form of a unique URL, and is authenticated by the user's 'OpenID provider' (that is, the entity hosting their OpenID URL). The OpenID protocol does not rely on a central authority to authenticate a user's identity. Since neither the OpenID protocol nor Web sites requiring identification may mandate a specific type of authentication, non-standard forms of authentication can be used, such as smart cards, biometrics, or ordinary passwords.

OpenID authentication is now used and provided by several large websites. Providers include AOL, BBC, Google, IBM, Microsoft, MySpace, Orange, PayPal, VeriSign, Yandex, Ustream and Yahoo!.

Visit the OpenID official website.

Opera:

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance.

Opéra Bouffe:

Opéra Bouffe is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens that gave its name to the form.

Opéra Bouffes are known for elements of comedy, satire, parody and farce.

Operating System (computing):

The fundamental software program that enables a computer to run all the other programs that it contains.

Operations Research:

A mathematically based study of repetitive activity designed to improve the productivity of manufacturing processes. Or, as it is known, makes considerable use of computerised simulation.

Opinion:

A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert.

The prevailing view.

Opium of the People:

Karl Marx's classic metaphor for religion.

See also: Religion is the Opium of the People.

OPM:

Short for: Other People's Money. Also the name of a film (1991) of the same name starring Danny DeVito as Larry the Liquidator reminiscent of Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street (1987).

A common expression used when talking about the multiplying effect of using borrowed funds to purchase property rather than paying all cash. Investors will say, “I'm using OPM for the deal.”

Opportunist:

One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences.

Opportunity:

A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances; a favorable or suitable occasion or time.

A chance for progress or advancement.

Opportunity Cost:

In general, the amount that could have been gained if factors of production (land, labor or capital.) had been put to an alternative (and more rewarding) use. Hence investing in a bank account earning 3% a year when the stockmarket index rises by 10% has an opportunity cost of 7%.

Opposite Number:

A person who holds a position in an organization or system corresponding to that of a person in another organization or system; a counterpart.

Antonyms: ally, assistant, backer, friend, helper, helpmate, supporter.

Synonyms: antagonist, attacker, bad person, bandit, competitor, contestant, enemy, foe, match, opposer.

Opposites Attract:

People who are completely different make ideal partners.

Opposition Research:

In the politics of the United States, Opposition Research (also called OPPO research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, legal, criminal, medical, educational, or financial history or activities, as well as prior media coverage, or the voting record of a politician. Opposition research can also entail using "trackers" to follow an individual and record their activities or political speeches.

The research is usually conducted in the time period between announcement of intent to run and the actual election; however political parties maintain long-term databases that can cover several decades. The practice is both a tactical maneuver and a cost-saving measure. The term is frequently used to refer not just to the collection of information but also how it is utilized, as a component of negative campaigning.

Optimism:

A tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation.

Philosophy: the doctrine, asserted by Leibniz, that this world is the best of all possible worlds; the belief that the universe is improving and that good will ultimately triumph over evil.

Option:

The power or freedom to choose.

The right to buy or sell a specified amount of a commodity (or of securities) at a specified price within a specified time (usually less than six months). Such a right can be bought and sold during the specified time. If it is not exercised within that time, however, it expires.

Opus:

A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.

Opus Dei:

Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the governance of a prelate (bishop) appointed by the pope. Opus Dei is Latin for "Work of God", hence the organization is often referred to by members and supporters as "the Work".

Or Else...:

- or suffer the consequences.

Oracle:

A shrine consecrated to the worship and consultation of a prophetic deity, as that of Apollo at Delphi.

A person considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinions.

Oral Contract:

An agreement made with spoken words and either no writing or only partially written. An oral contract is just as valid as a written agreement. The main problem with oral contracts is proving its existence or the terms. As one wag observed: "An oral contract is as good as the paper it's written on." An oral contract is often provable by action taken by one or both parties which is obviously in reliance on the existence of a contract. The other significant difference between oral and written contracts is that the time to sue for breach of an oral contract (the statute of limitations) is sometimes shorter. For example, California's limitation is two years for oral compared to four for written, Connecticut and Washington three for oral rather than six for written, and Georgia four for oral instead of 20 for written.

Orangery:

A sheltered place, especially a greenhouse, used for the cultivation of orange trees in cool climates.

Oratorio:

An Oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an Oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias.

Oratory:

The art of public speaking.

Eloquence or skill in making speeches to the public.

Public speaking marked by the use of overblown rhetoric.

Orbit:

The path of a celestial body or an artificial satellite as it revolves around another body.

A range of activity, experience, or knowledge; a range of control or influence.

Order:

A condition of logical or comprehensible arrangement among the separate elements of a group.

A command given by a superior.

An instruction to buy or sell goods or services which is legally binding.

The established system of social organization.

Order Form:

The document on which an order is formally recorded.

Order of Precedence:

An Order of Precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments. It can also be used in context of decorations, medals and awards.

Visit also: Order of Precedence by Country - Wikipedia.

Ordinary Share:

The most straightforward form of share. It gives the holder the right to vote at formal shareholders' meetings, and the right to a portion of any dividends that are declared, but nothing more.

Organic:

Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms.

Of, relating to, or affecting a bodily organ.

Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin.

Constituting an integral part of a whole; fundamental.

Law: denoting or relating to the fundamental or constitutional laws and precepts of a government or an organization.

Organic Food:

Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients.

They may also be required to be produced using energy-saving technologies and packaged using recyclable or biodegradable materials when possible.

Organic Growth:

The growth of an organization that comes from its own internal efforts rather than from external factors, such as a takeover or a joint venture.

Organization:

An organized structure or whole.

A collection of people who come together for a defined purpose; the way in which those people structure their relationships to best achieve their purpose.

A body of administrative officials, as of a political party, a government department, etc.

Order or system; method.

Organizational Behaviour:

The academic study of the behaviour of people within organizations. It embraces subjects like motivation and leadership.

Organogram:

A diagrammatic representation of an organization's structure, including lines representing the relationships between different functions and different businesses.

Orgone:

Orgone is a pseudoscientific and spiritual concept described as an esoteric energy or hypothetical universal life force that was discovered and recovered by Austrian scientist Wilhelm Reich.

Orient:

The countries of Asia.

Origami:

The Japanese art of folding paper into shapes representing objects (e.g., flowers or birds); a decorative object made by folding paper.

Original:

A first form from which other forms are made or developed.

An authentic work of art.

A person who is appealingly odd or curious; a character.

Being the source from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made.

Original Sin:

In Christian theology, the condition of sin that marks all humans as a result of Adam's first act of disobedience.

Ormolu:

Ormolu is an English term, used since the 18th century for the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold–mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way.

Ornament:

Anything that enhances the appearance of a person or thing.

Decorations collectively.

A small decorative object.

Something regarded as a source of pride or beauty.

Orthodox:

Adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.

Orthography:

An Orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language. It includes norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation.

Orthorexia Nervosa:

Orthorexia, or Orthorexia Nervosa is a term coined by Steven Bratman, a Colorado MD, to denote an eating disorder characterized by excessive focus on eating healthy foods. In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation so extreme that it can lead to severe malnutrition or even death.

Bratman coined the term in 1997 from the Greek orthos, "correct or right", and orexis for "appetite". Literally "correct appetite", the word is modeled on anorexia, "without appetite", as used in definition of the condition anorexia nervosa. Bratman describes orthorexia as an unhealthy obsession (as in obsessive-compulsive disorder) with what the sufferer considers to be healthy eating. The subject may avoid certain foods, such as those containing fats, preservatives, animal products, or other ingredients considered by the subject to be unhealthy; if the dietary restrictions are too severe or improperly managed, malnutrition can result. Bratman asserts that "emaciation is common among followers of certain health food diets, such as rawfoodism, and this can at times reach the extremes seen in anorexia nervosa." In addition, he claims that "anorexic orthorexia" can be as dangerous as anorexia. However, he states, "the underlying motivation is quite different. While an anorexic wants to lose weight, an orthorexic wants to feel pure, healthy and natural. Eating disorder specialists may fail to understand this distinction, leading to a disconnect between orthorexic and physician."

See also: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

OS:

See: operating system.

Oscar Bait:

(Film): film perceived to be designed at least partially in order to win an Academy Award.

Oscillation:

Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states.

Osmosis:

Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semi-permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides. It may also be used to describe a physical process in which any solvent moves across a semipermeable membrane (permeable to the solvent, but not the solute) separating two solutions of different concentrations.

Ossuary:

A container or receptacle, such as an urn or a vault, for holding the bones of the dead.

Ostracize:

To exclude or banish (a person) from a particular group, society, etc.

Historical Terms: (in ancient Greece) to punish by temporary exile.

Othello Syndrome:

Morbid jealousy, also known as Othello Syndrome or delusional jealousy, is a psychopathological condition in which a person holds a strong delusional belief that their spouse or sexual partner is being unfaithful without having any significant proof to back up their claim. In morbid jealousy, the overall basis of the psychopathological experience is the preoccupation with a partner’s sexual infidelity. The most common cited forms of psychopathology in morbid jealousy are delusions and obsessions.

Otium:

Otium, a Latin abstract term, has a variety of meanings, including leisure time in which a person can enjoy eating, playing, resting, contemplation and academic endeavors. It sometimes, but not always, relates to a time in a person's retirement after previous service to the public or private sector, opposing "active public life". Otium can be a temporary time of leisure, that is sporadic. It can have intellectual, virtuous or immoral implications. It originally had the idea of withdrawing from one's daily business (negotium) or affairs to engage in activities that were considered to be artistically valuable or enlightening (i.e. speaking, writing, philosophy). It had particular meaning to businessmen, diplomats, philosophers and poets.

Ounce:

A unit of weight in the U.S. Customary System, an avoirdupois unit equal to 437.5 grains (28.35 grams); a unit of apothecary weight, equal to 480 grains (31.10 grams).

Out-of-Date:

Old; no longer valid or fashionable; out of style or use; outmoded.

Out of Office (OoO):

An abbreviation for Out of Office, a phrase often used in professional contexts to indicate that someone is unavailable for work (usually because they are on vacation). Peter is OoO today, let's ask Michael to help us with these TPS reports instead.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind:

The idea that something is easily forgotten or dismissed as unimportant if it is not in our direct view.

Origin: the use of 'in mind' for 'remembered' and 'out of mind' for 'forgotten' date back to the at least the 13th century. The earliest printed citation of a link with memory and the sight of something is in John Heywood's: Woorkes. A dialogue conteynyng prouerbes and epigrammes, 1562.

Out of the Blue:

From an unexpected or unforeseen source.

At a completely unexpected time.

Outcast:

One that has been excluded from a society or system.

Outcome:

An end result; a consequence.

A fugitive from the law; a habitual criminal; a rebel; a nonconformist.

A person excluded from normal legal protection and rights.

Outlet:

A commercial market for goods or services; a store that sells the goods of a particular manufacturer or wholesaler.

A means of release or gratification, as for energies, drives, or desires.

A receptacle, especially one mounted in a wall, that is connected to a power supply and equipped with a socket for a plug.

Outplacement:

Assistance given to dismissed employees by their former employer to help them to find a new job or career. The function is increasingly carried out by specialist outplacement agencies.

Output:

The act or process of producing; production.

The energy, power, or work produced by a system.

Computer Science: the information produced by a program or process from a specific input.

Outré:

Very unconventional; excessive; outrageous.

Outreach:

To surpass (another) in reach.

To be more or greater than; exceed.

A systematic attempt to provide services beyond conventional limits, as to particular segments of a community.

Outsider:

Someone who is excluded from or is not a member of a group.

Individual Sports & Recreations / Horse Racing: a contestant, especially a horse, thought unlikely to win in a race.

Outsource:

To hand over to an outside organization the responsibility for running and developing a discrete function or process within business. For example, an organization might Outsource the running of its computers or its fleet of company cars.

Outsourcing:

Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering firm or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particular business, or to make more efficient use of land, labor, capital, (information) technology and resources. Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s. It is essentially a division of labor.

Outstanding:

An obligation that is due and that has not yet been settled.

Outworker:

Someone who works for an organization somewhere outside the organization's own premises Outworkers are used, for example, in the textiles industry, where they assemble garments in their own homes. They are usually paid a piece rate which relates their rewards to the quantity of goods that they produce.

Overachiever:

Overachievers are individuals who "perform better or achieve more success than expected." The implicit presumption is that the "Overachiever" is achieving superior results through excessive effort. In a teaching context, an "Overachiever" is an educational label applied to students, who perform better than their peers when normalized for the instructor's perceptions of background, intelligence or talent. In the workplace context, individuals who are deemed to be Overachievers are those with the drive to complete tasks above and beyond expectations and who set very high career goals for themselves.

Overall:

A loose protective coverall or smock worn over ordinary clothing for dirty work.

Overcharge:

To demand a price for something that is in excess of the price that can be obtained elsewhere, all other things being equal.

Overdraft:

A credit facility granted by a bank which allows the borrower to draw funds from the bank up to a prescribed limit, as and when the borrower wishes. This flexible form of borrowing is common in Europe but not widespread in North America or East Asia.

Overdrive:

A gearing mechanism of a motor vehicle engine that reduces the power output required to maintain driving speed in a specific range by lowering the gear ratio.

Informal: a state of heightened activity or concentration.

Overhead:

A company's Overhead is the sum of its direct costs.

Overkill:

Any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal.

Oversharing:

Providing more personal information than is absolutely necessary. Typically done when two or more people are conversing and details of one's sexual life creep into the discussion - or overly gross and disgusting details are included. Sometimes used in reference to loud cell phone users.

Overskud:

Understanding the Danish word “Overskud” can help you find more balance during a period of joy and competing commitments.

“Overskud” is a noun that roughly means “excess.” In an economic context it means profit, but in everyday speech it’s used to refer to having the energy, willingness or resources to tackle a task or a problem.

Having Overskud is generally viewed as a good thing - you might go the extra mile at work, plan an elaborate holiday party, find extra thoughtful presents or volunteer at your child’s school.

Danes sometimes combine the noun with other nouns so that you might say that you can make an “Overskuds-breakfast” - a fancy breakfast of omelettes, bacon, coffee and french toast. Or you might be an Overskuds-dad - the dad who decorates cookies with his kids and their friends.

Although it might seem a bit like bragging to say one has Overskud, Danes react to people describing having Overskud with authentic applause and support. After all, who wouldn’t want to have extra energy and bandwidth to tackle life?

Some Danish therapists maintain that having more Overskud can lead you to experience more contentment, calm and presence.

Oversubscribe:

When the demand for new issue of securities exceeds the supply of securities available, the issue is said to be oversubscribed. If there is a demand for 700,000 securities and there are only 100,000 for sale, the issue is said to be six times oversubscribed.

Overview Effect:

The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from outer space.

It is the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this "pale blue dot" becomes both obvious and imperative.

Over-the-Counter:

An informal stockmarket for trading in shares that are not quoted on a major exchange, known as an OTC market.

Pharmaceuticals that can be sold freely over a shop's counter without the need for a doctor's prescription.

Over-the-Top Content:

In broadcasting, Over-the-Top Content (OTT) refers to delivery of audio, video, and other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content. The Internet provider may be aware of the contents of the Internet Protocol packets but is not responsible for, nor able to control, the viewing abilities, copyrights, and/or other redistribution of the content. This model contrasts with the purchasing or rental of video or audio content from an Internet service provider (ISP), such as pay television video on demand or an IPTV video service, like AT&T U-Verse. OTT in particular refers to content that arrives from a third party, such as Sling TV,YuppTV, Amazon Instant Video, Mobibase, Dramatize, Presto, DramaFever, Crackle, HBO, Hulu, myTV, NetD, Netflix, Now TV, Qello, RPI TV, Viewster, WhereverTV, Crunchyroll or WWE Network, and is delivered to an end-user device, leaving the ISP only the role of transporting IP packets.

Overtime:

Hours worked by an employee beyond those contractually agreed with the employer; for example, work done in the evenings or at weekends. Overtime is usually paid at a higher rate than work done in normal hours.

Overtourism:

Overtourism refers to a situation in which conflicts arise between locals and visitors at tourism destinations, due to perceived congestion or overcrowding. The term is relatively young and has only been used in on a regular basis since 2015. However, in a short span of time it has become the most commonly used expression to describe the negative impacts ascribed to tourism.

According to the UNWTO the definition of Overtourism is “the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitor experiences in a negative way”. This definition shows how Overtourism can be observed both among locals, who view tourism as a disruptive factor that increasingly burdens daily local life, as well as visitors, whom may regard high numbers of tourists as a nuisance.

Read also: ‘Overtourism’ Worries Europe. How Much Did Technology Help Get Us There? - The New York Times & Overtourism: a growing global problem - The Conversation.

Overtrading:

Increasing a business's turnover to such an extent and at such a speed that the increase is not supported by other areas of the business. If the accounts department is swamped with new orders, for example, and cannot get invoices out and payments in within a reasonable time, the business might suffer from a liquidity crisis.

Overture:

Music: an instrumental composition intended especially as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera or oratorio.

An act, offer, or proposal that indicates readiness to undertake a course of action or open a relationship.

Overturning Moment:

The Overturning Moment of an object is the moment of energy capable of upsetting the object; that is, the point where it has been subjected to enough disturbance that it ceases to be stable, it overturns, capsizes, collapses, topples or otherwise incurs an unwanted change in its circumstances, possibly resulting in damage and certainly resulting in inconvenience.

Overwhelm:

A style blogger posted an article and video recently on “How To Avoid Information Overload: The Best Way To Process What You Learn And Conquer Overwhelm.” Another blogger advises on how to “Turn Off the Overwhelm” to “lead a deliberate life.” Keeping the theme of decluttering, another wrote: “And while conquering emotional Overwhelm, brings an entirely different set of challenges than conquering physical Overwhelm, the biggest challenge is surprisingly similar.”

“Overwhelm” is overwhelmingly used as a verb, to mean “to pour down upon and cover over or bury beneath”; “to dominate, subdue, obliterate, etc. as because of superior or excessive strength”; and “to overcome emotionally,” in the definitions of Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

But increasingly, it’s also been used as a noun to mean “overload.” One could argue that there is no need for the noun form of “Overwhelm” when the perfectly good noun “overload” already exists, but there’s no stopping people who want to improve (or improvise) existing words.

Information overload (also known as infobesity, infoxication, information anxiety, and information explosion) is a term used to describe the difficulty of understanding an issue and effectively making decisions when one has too much information about that issue. Generally, the term is associated with the excessive quantity of daily information. Information overload most likely originated from information theory, which are studies in the storage, preservation, communication, compression, and extraction of information. The term, information overload, was first used in Bertram Gross' 1964 book, The Managing of Organizations, and it was further popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock.

Read more here: The overwhelming Overwhelm & Are you ready for microscheduling?.

OWA-UAV:

Short for: One Way Attack - Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle.

Own Label:

Products that are branded with the name of the retailer, such as a supermarket which sells its Own-Label cornflakes and soap powder in competition with established manufacturers' products. The retailer itself does not actually manufacture cornflakes or soap powder. It does not even manufacture the packaging. It just adds its name to products that have been made by someone else, sometimes someone who produces a well-known competing brand.

Owner's Manual:

See: user guide.

Owner-Operator:

Someone who owns and runs their own small business - a taxi-driver or someone who runs a corner shop.

Oxbridge:

Oxford and Cambridge universities, especially when regarded as the seat of traditional academic excellence, privilege, and exclusiveness.

Oxymoron:

An Oxymoron (plural Oxymora or Oxymorons) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory. Oxymora appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors (such as "ground pilot") and literary Oxymorons crafted to reveal a paradox.

Oyster Card:

An Oyster Card can store up to £90 of credit, which can be used to pay as you go, plus your Travelcard or Bus & Tram Pass (London, U.K.).

Visit: Transport for London.

Oyster Rockefeller:

Created in the 1890s at Antoine's in New Orleans - freshly shucked oysters atop rock salt then topped with a mixture of chopped fresh spinach, chopped fresh watercress, chopped fresh parsley, bechamel sauce, perhaps a touch of Parmesan cheese or something comparable, maybe a touch of pernod, and topped with bread crumbs and butter. Roasted or broiled as preferred.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- P -

P5+1:

The P5+1 is a group of six world powers which in 2006 joined the diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program. The term refers to the P5 or five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany.

P50 (neuroscience):

In electroencephalography, the P50 is an event related potential occurring approximately 50 ms after the presentation of a stimulus, usually an auditory click. The P50 response is used to measure sensory gating, or the reduced neurophysiological response to redundant stimuli.

PA:

Short for Personal Assistant, or Personal Aide. A Personal Assistant is someone who assists in daily business and personal tasks.

For example, a businessman or businesswoman may have a Personal Assistant to help with time and diary management, scheduling of meetings, correspondence and note taking. The title of a business Personal Assistant is often shortened as "PA". There are also Personal Assistants who work specifically for disabled people, and whose salaries may be paid by an individual or by social services on an individual's behalf. Families in which both parents work may also employ Personal Assistants, often referred to as household managers. The role of a Personal Assistant can be varied.

PAC:

In the United States, a Political Action Committee (PAC) is a type of organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC has been created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $2,600 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, according to the Federal Election Campaign Act. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.

Pacemaker:

Sports: One who sets the pace in a race.

Any of several usually miniaturized and surgically implanted electronic devices used to stimulate or regulate contractions of the heart muscle.

Pacific Rim:

Any grouping of countries which have coastlines on the Pacific Ocean.

Package Deal:

A proposition, offer, or thing for sale in which separate items are offered together as a single or inclusive unit.

Package Tour:

A tour arranged by a travel agent; transportation and food and lodging are all provided at an inclusive price.

Packing List:

A formal list of the contents of a container which is sent with the container. The person who receives the container checks that its contents accord with the packing list to see if anything has gone missing in transit.

Pacta Sunt Servanda:

Pacta Sunt Servanda (Latin for "agreements must be kept), a brocard, is a basic principle of civil law, canon law, and international law.

Padlock Icon:

Some web browsers display a locked Padlock Icon while using such a secure protocol.

Padrone:

A patron; a protector; master; boss.

An innkeeper.

An employer, especially of immigrant laborers, who provides communal housing and eating arrangements, controls the allocation of pay, etc., in a manner that exploits the workers.

Paean:

A song of joyful praise or exultation.

An ancient Greek hymn of thanksgiving or invocation, especially to Apollo.

Pagan:

a person who does not acknowledge your god.

An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity, especially when viewed in contrast to an adherent of a monotheistic religion.

Page-Turner:

Informal: a very interesting, exciting, or suspenseful book, usually a novel.

Page Views:

Also called Page Impressions. Hits to HTML pages only (access to non-HTML documents are not counted).

Pageant:

An elaborate public dramatic presentation that usually depicts a historical or traditional event.

Pagoda:

A Pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves (the edge of a roof) common in Asia. Some Pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most Pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near temples.

Paid-Up Capital:

That part of a company's authorised capital which has been fully paid for by the company's shareholders.

Pain Management:

Pain Management (also called pain medicine) is the medical discipline concerned with the relief of pain.

Paint the Town Red:

To go out and enjoy yourself in the evening, often drinking a lot of alcohol and dancing.

Read also: The 19th Century Aristocrat Who Literally Painted The Town Red.

Pajama Rich:

Pajama Rich is the state of being exceedingly wealthy to the point where one forgoes usual attire for pajamas.

Paleoconservatism:

Paleoconservatism (sometimes shortened to paleocon) is a conservative political philosophy which stresses traditionalism, limited government, Christian ethics, regionalism and nationalism.

Panjandrum:

A pompous self-important official or person of rank.

Palace:

The official residence of a royal personage.

Chiefly British: the official residence of a high dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop.

A large or splendid residence; a large, often gaudily ornate building used for entertainment or exhibitions.

Paladin:

The Paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France.

Palaver:

Idle chatter; talk intended to charm or beguile.

Obsolete: a parley between European explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Africa.

Palazzo:

A large splendid residence or public building, such as a palace or museum.

Palindrome:

A Palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction. Examples: Anna, Otto, racecar.

Palindromic Number:

A Palindromic Number or numeral palindrome is a number that remains the same when its digits are reversed. Like 16461, for example, it is "symmetrical".

Pallet:

A wooden frame on which goods are placed when in transit. A Pallet is designed to reduce damage to the goods and to make them easier to handle.

Palliative:

Relieving or soothing the symptoms of a disease or disorder without effecting a cure.

Palmistry:

The practice or art of telling fortunes from the lines, marks, and patterns on the palms of the hands.

Pam Boy:

Someone who uses oils (such as Pam) to keep his genitalia from sticking to the inner thigh. Generally accepted as being invented by "Benstern" on Theopia forums.

Pampas:

The Pampas (from Quechua pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American lowlands, covering more than 750,000 km² (289,577 sq mi), that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba; most of Uruguay; and the southernmost Brazilian State, Rio Grande do Sul.

Pamphlet:

An unbound printed work, usually with a paper cover.

A short essay or treatise, usually on a current topic, published without a binding.

Pan-:

All; of, comprising, embracing, or common to all or every; the cooperation, unity, or union of all members of (a specified nationality, race, church, etc.).

Prefix: all; involving all of or the union of a specified group; general; whole.

Panacea:

In Greek mythology, Panacea was a goddess of universal remedy and the daughter of Asclepius and Epione.

A remedy believed to cure all disease and prolong life that was originally sought by alchemists; a cure-all.

Panache:

A dashing manner; style; swagger.

Panamax:

Panamax and New Panamax are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, these limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), titled "Vessel Requirements". These requirements also describe topics like exceptional dry seasonal limits, propulsion, communications, and detailed ship design.

Panda Diplomacy:

Panda Diplomacy is China's use of giant pandas as diplomatic gifts to other countries. The practice existed as far back as the Tang dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian (625–705) sent a pair of pandas to the Japanese emperor.

The People's Republic of China used Panda Diplomacy in the 1950s and has become known in recent decades for this practice. From 1958 to 1982, China gave 23 pandas to nine different countries. One highlight of Panda Diplomacy was the Chinese government's gift of two pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, to the United States in 1972 after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China (President Nixon reciprocated by sending back a pair of musk oxen). Upon the pandas' arrival in April 1972, First Lady Pat Nixon donated the pandas to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., where she welcomed them in an official ceremony. Over twenty thousand people visited the pandas the first day they were on display, and an estimated 1.1 million visitors came to see them the first year they were in the United States. The pandas were wildly popular and China's gift was seen as an enormous diplomatic success, evidence of China's eagerness to establish official relations with the U.S. It was so successful that British Prime Minister Edward Heath asked for pandas for the United Kingdom during a visit to China in 1974. Chia-Chia and Ching-Ching therefore arrived at the London Zoo a few weeks later.

By 1984, however, pandas were no longer used purely as agents of diplomacy. Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on ten-year loans. The standard loan terms include a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan be the property of the People's Republic of China. Since 1998, because of a World Wildlife Fund lawsuit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows a U.S. zoo to import a panda only if the zoo can ensure that China will channel more than half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for wild pandas and their habitat.

Pandemic:

A Pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across at least two continents, or even worldwide.

Pandemonium:

A place or gathering of wild persons; originally denoted hell (from Paradise Lost).

Pandora's Box:

A source of many unforeseen troubles.

Panegyric:

A formal public commendation; eulogy.

Panel:

A flat, usually rectangular piece forming a raised, recessed, or framed part of the surface in which it is set.

A board having switches or buttons to control an electric device.

Law: the complete list of persons summoned for jury duty.

A group of people gathered to plan or discuss an issue, judge a contest, or act as a team on a radio or television quiz program.

Panel Discussion:

A Panel Discussion, or simply a panel, involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business or academic conferences, fan conventions, and on television shows. Panels usually include a moderator who guides the discussion and sometimes elicits audience questions, with the goal of being informative and entertaining.

Pangasius:

Pangasius is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Pangasiidae. On the Top Ten list of the most consumed seafood in America. The Top 10 is based on tonnage of fish sold. According to the NFI, this mild-flavored white-flesh fish is farmed in Asia and is being used increasingly in food service. It is finding its way onto restaurant menus and into stores as well, where you may see it called basa, tra, or swai.

Panic Room:

A room in a house or other building that is invulnerable to attack or intrusion, and from which security operations can be directed. Also called safe room.

Visit also: Panic Room the film.

Panier à Salade:

French slang for a police wagon.

Panjandrum:

Panjandrum, also known as The Great Panjandrum, was a massive, rocket-propelled, explosive-laden cart designed by the British military during World War II.

Panoply:

A Panoply is a complete suit of armour. Thus Panoply refers to the full armour of a hoplite or heavy-armed soldier, i.e. the shield, breastplate, helmet and greaves, together with the sword and lance.

Because a Panoply is a complete set of diverse components, the word Panoply has come to refer to any complete or impressive collection.

Panopticon:

An area where everything is visible.

A room for the exhibition of novelties.

A circular prison with cells distributed around a central surveillance station.

Panorama:

An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area.

A picture or series of pictures representing a continuous scene, often exhibited a part at a time by being unrolled and passed before the spectator.

Pantheon:

A circular temple in Rome, completed in 27 b.c. and dedicated to all the gods.

A public building commemorating and dedicated to the heroes and heroines of a nation.

A group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavor.

Pantomine:

Communication by means of gesture and facial expression.

An ancient Roman theatrical performance in which one actor played all the parts by means of gesture and movement, accompanied by a narrative chorus.

Paparazzi:

Paparazzi is a plural term (Paparazzo being the Italian singular form) for photographers who take unstaged and/or candid photographs of celebrities caught unaware. Paparazzi take photos of celebrities at moments when the subjects do not expect to be photographed, such as when they shop, walk through a city or eat at a restaurant. This contrasts with press photography, or photojournalism, that is undertaken at press conferences, red carpet affairs and other events where there is an expectation and desire that the subjects will be photographed. Paparazzi tend to be independent contractors unaffiliated with a mainstream media organization. As the lines between celebrity news and hard news become blurred by the major news agencies, the differences between a Paparazzo and photojournalist are increasingly difficult to distinguish.

The word Paparazzi is an eponym originating in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita directed by Federico Fellini. One of the characters in the film is a news photographer named Paparazzo (played by Walter Santesso). In his book Word and Phrase Origins, Robert Hendrickson writes that Fellini took the name from an Italian dialect that describes a particularly annoying noise, that of a buzzing mosquito. In his school days, Fellini remembered a boy who was nicknamed "Paparazzo" (Mosquito), because of his fast talking and constant blurs (unknown), a name Fellini later applied to the fictional character in La Dolce Vita. This version of the word's origin has been strongly contested. For example, in an interview with Fellini's screenwriter Ennio Flaiano, he said the name came from a southern Italy travel narrative by Victorian writer George Gissing, "By the Ionian Sea." The book, published in 1901, gives the name of a hotel proprietor, Signor Paparazzo. He further states that either Fellini or Flaiano opened the book at random, saw the name, and decided to use it for the photographer. This story is documented by a variety of Gissing scholars and in the book "A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea" (St. Martin's Press, 2000) by John Keahey.

Tazio Secchiaroli was an Italian photographer known as one of the original Paparazzi.

Paper:

One or more sheets of paper bearing writing or printing, especially: a formal written composition intended to be published, presented, or read aloud; a scholarly essay or treatise; a piece of written work for school; a report or theme; an official document, especially one establishing the identity of the bearer. Often used in the plural.

Paper Cut:

A Paper Cut occurs when a piece of paper or other thin, sharp material slices a person's skin. Paper Cuts, though named from paper, can also be caused by other thin, stiff materials.

Paper Offer:

An offer by one company to buy another in exchange not for cash but for shares in the purchasing company (that is, its paper). The vendor thus merely exchanges the shares of one company fro those of another.

Paper Profit:

An unrealized profit which only appears on paper, that is, as a calculation. For instance, if shares bought for $300 are now worth $500, but their owner has no intention of selling them, the owner can be said to have made a Paper Profit of $200.

Paper Terrorism:

Paper Terrorism is the use of false liens, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal documents lacking sound factual basis as a method of harassment, especially against government officials. It is popular among some anti-government groups and those associated with the redemption movement. The Posse Comitatus pioneered Paper Terrorism. Some victims of Paper Terrorism have been forced to declare bankruptcy. Some Paper Terrorists also have filed reports with the Internal Revenue Service falsely accusing their political enemies of having unreported income. Another method of Paper Terrorism is filing bankruptcy petitions against others in an effort to ruin their credit ratings.

Paper Tiger:

Paper Tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐlǎohǔ. The term refers to something that seems threatening but is ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge. The expression became well known in the West as a slogan used by Mao Zedong's Chinese communist state against its opponents, particularly the U.S. government.

Paper Trail:

The enevitable trail that most transactions leave tracing back to its originator.

Paperback:

Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or cardboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples.

Papier-Mâché:

A material, made from paper pulp or shreds of paper mixed with glue or paste, that can be molded into various shapes when wet and becomes hard and suitable for painting and varnishing when dry.

Pappenheimer:

Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (29 May 1594 – 7 November 1632) was a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years' War.

His name forms the key part of the Czech, Flemish, Dutch, Scandinavian, and German colloquialism; "I know my fellow Pappenheims" ("ich kenne meine Pappenheimer"). It is used to imply tongue-in-cheek that someone has, is or will be acting in a way that is completely expected. The sentence originally held a positive connotation and referred to the determination of Pappenheim's horsemen at the Battle of Lützen: Initially, the battle went well for the Protestants, who managed to outflank Albrecht von Wallenstein's weak left wing. After a while, Pappenheim arrived with 2,000–3,000 cavalry and halted the Swedish assault. This made Wallenstein exclaim, "Thus I know my Pappenheim!".

Papyrus:

Paper made from the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus) by cutting it in strips and pressing it flat; used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks and Romans.

Par:

The established value of a monetary unit expressed in terms of a monetary unit of another country using the same metal standard.

An amount or level considered to be average; a standard.

An equality of status, level, or value; equal footing.

The face value of a stock, bond, or other negotiable instrument.

The number of golf strokes considered necessary to complete a hole or course in expert play.

Par Excellence:

Being the best or truest of a kind; quintessential.

Par Force Hunting:

In equestrian sports, a type of riding conducted as a hunt with hounds in pursuit of an animal (deer, boar, wolf, fox, hare) or following an artificially made animal “scent” for a distance of up to 35 km. Modern par force ('with strength') hunting developed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 19th century.

The techniques of persistence hunting have developed on various levels in different parts of the world. From the middle ages, we know of the technique as Par Force Hunting taken from the French parforce meaning 'with force'. In parforce hunting, the game is run up and exhausted by using a combination of mounted hunters and packs of dogs. When it is down, a selected hunter approaches and kills it with a hunting dagger and no firearms are used whatsoever. It was often seen as honorary to be allowed the final deathblow. This hunting method was adopted widely across Europe by the royalty and nobility and large deer parks are still around, as living witnesses of this specific hunting sports former popularity. Par Force Hunting is illegal nowadays.

Par Value:

Par Value, an accounting term which is rapidly being discarded, is the face value assigned to shares of stock. For exemple, if shares have a Par Value of $1 per share, the shares must be sold for at least $1. They may be sold for more, and if so, the first $1 per share is allocated to be paid in capital account of the corporation. If the stock is no par, the board of directors retains the discretion to set a price for the shares and to allocate whatever portion of that price it chooses to the paid in capital account.

Para-:

Beside; near; alongside; beyond; incorrect; abnormal.

Similar to; resembling; subsidiary; assistant.

Parabiosis:

Parabiosis, meaning "living beside", is a technical term in various contexts in fields of study related to ecology and physiology. It accordingly has been defined independently in at least three disciplines, namely experimental or medical physiology, the ecology of inactive physiological states, and the ecology of certain classes of social species that share nests.

Parable:

A short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point.

Parable of the Prodigal Son:

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or Lovesick Father) is one of the parables of Jesus and appears in Luke 15:11–32.

Parabolic Antenna:

A Parabolic Antenna is a high-gain reflector antenna used for radio, television and data communications, and also for radiolocation (radar), on the UHF and SHF parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The relatively short wavelength of electromagnetic (radio) energy at these frequencies allows reasonably sized reflectors to exhibit the very desirable highly directional response for both receiving and transmitting.

Parade:

A Parade (also called march or marchpast) is a ceremonial procession including people marching.

An ostentatious show; an exhibition.

Paradigm:

One that serves as a pattern or model.

A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Parador:

A Parador, in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, is a kind of luxury hotel, usually located in a converted historic building such as a monastery or castle.

Paradox:

A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true.

One exhibiting inexplicable or contradictory aspects.

A statement contrary to received opinion.

Paradox of Choice:

In the modern world, we tend to think more choice is better, but there can be problems with excessive choice: Decisions become less likely and paralyses the ability to make a decision, possibly leading to choosing the easy option (default) or not making the decision at all. We may also be less satisfied with our choice and unsure we made the right choice.

Read more here: The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less - 2004 book by American psychologist Barry Schwartz. In the book, Schwartz argues that eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for shoppers.

Paradox of Free Will:

The argument from free will, also called the Paradox of Free Will or theological fatalism, contends that omniscience and free will are incompatible and that any conception of God that incorporates both properties is therefore inconceivable. See the various controversies over claims of God's omniscience, in particular the critical notion of foreknowledge.[1][2] These arguments are deeply concerned with the implications of predestination.

Paradox of Plenty:

The resource curse, also known as the Paradox of Plenty, refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals), tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. There are many theories and much academic debate about the reasons for, and exceptions to, these adverse outcomes. Most experts believe the resource curse is not universal or inevitable, but affects certain types of countries or regions under certain conditions.

Paragon:

An ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept.

Paragone:

Paragone (Italian: Paragone, meaning comparison), is a debate from the Italian Renaissance in which one form of art (architecture, sculpture or painting) is championed as superior to all others. Leonardo da Vinci's treatise on painting, noting the difficulty of painting and supremacy of sight, is a noted example. Giorgio Vasari argues that drawing is the father of all arts, and as such, the most important one.

Paragraph:

A Paragraph is a self-contained unit of a discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. A Paragraph consists of one or more sentences. The start of a Paragraph is indicated by beginning on a new line. Sometimes the first line is indented.

Paralegal:

Paralegal is a term used in most jurisdictions to describe a non-lawyer who assists lawyers in their legal work.

Paralipomena:

(Greek neuter past participle plural; "things omitted").

In literary analysis, the different text variants or text witnesses researched when creating a critical edition.

Supplementary literary material.

Parallax:

Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines.

Parallel:

Parallel (latitude): an imaginary east-west line circling a globe.

Parallel Market:

A market that operates outside the standard market for a product or service; for example, European shares that are sold as ADRS in the United States; or the street vendor who sells goods ourside a store which also sells the same goods, but at a different price.

Parallel Universe (fiction):

A Parallel Universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical or fictional self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of Parallel Universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality. While the terms "Parallel Universe" and "alternative reality" are generally synonymous and can be used interchangeably in most cases, there is sometimes an additional connotation implied with the term "alternative reality" that implies that the reality is a variant of our own. The term "Parallel Universe" is more general, without any connotations implying a relationship, or lack of relationship, with our own universe. A universe where the very laws of nature are different – for example, one in which there are no relativistic limitations and the speed of light can be exceeded – would in general count as a Parallel Universe but not an alternative reality. The correct quantum mechanical definition of Parallel Universes is "universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event."

Parameter:

A constant that helps to set a framework for considering issues that are variable. For example, a company's Parameters for determining its strategy for the next year could be that the rate of growth of the economy will be 3% and that it wants to increase its market share by 10%.

Paramour:

A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship; a lover, especially an adulterous woman.

Paranoia:

Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.

Paranoid Schizophrenia:

A form of Schizophrenia characterized by delusions (of persecution or grandeur or jealousy); symptoms may include anger and anxiety and aloofness and doubts about gender identity; unlike other types of schizophrenia the patients are usually presentable and (if delusions are not acted on) may function in an apparently normal manner.

Paraphernalia:

Personal belongings.

The articles used in a particular activity; equipment.

Paraphilia:

Abnormal sexual activity.

Paraphrase:

Literary & Literary Critical Terms: an expression of a statement or text in other words, especially in order to clarify; the practice of making Paraphrases.

Rewording for the purpose of clarification.

Paraplegia:

Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities.

Parasite:

A person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.

In ancient Greece: a person who received free meals in return for amusing or impudent conversation, flattering remarks, etc.

Parasol:

A light, usually small umbrella carried as protection from the sun; sunshade.

Pardon:

Law: exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of the laws; an official document or warrant declaring such an exemption.

Allowance or forgiveness for an offense or a discourtesy.

Pareidolia:

Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists.

Parent Company:

A company which owns one or more subsidiaries.

Pareto Principle:

The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; Pareto developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., "80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients". Mathematically, the 80–20 rule is roughly followed by a power law distribution (also known as a Pareto distribution) for a particular set of parameters, and many natural phenomena have been shown empirically to exhibit such a distribution.

Pari Passu:

Pari Passu is a Latin phrase that literally means "with an equal step" or "on equal footing". It is sometimes translated as "ranking equally", "hand-in-hand", "with equal force", or "moving together", and by extension, "fairly", "without partiality".

Paria:

A social outcast.

An untouchable.

Paris Syndrome:

Paris Syndrome is a transient psychological disorder encountered by some individuals visiting or vacationing in Paris, France. It is characterized by a number of psychiatric symptoms such as acute delusional states, hallucinations, feelings of persecution (perceptions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization, depersonalization, anxiety, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating, and others. Similar syndromes include Jerusalem syndrome and Stendhal syndrome.

Parish:

An administrative part of a diocese that has its own church in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and some other churches.

A political subdivision of a British county, usually corresponding in boundaries to an original ecclesiastical Parish.

Parka:

A coat or jacket with a hood and usually a warm lining for cold-weather wear.

Parkinson's Disease:

Parkinson's Disease (also known as Parkinson Disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills, speech, and other functions.

Parkinson's Law:

Parkinson's Law was first expounded in 1958 in a book written by a history professor, C. Northcote Parkinson. The law says that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Another allied law says that "expenditure rises to meet income."

For an in-depth insight, read his book: Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress.

Parkour:

A sport or athletic activity in which the participant seeks to move quickly and fluidly through an area, often an urban locale, by surmounting obstacles such as walls and railings and leaping across open spaces, as in a stairwell or between buildings.

See also: free running.

Parlamentary Privilege:

Parliamentary Privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. It is common in countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system.

Parlance:

A particular manner of speaking; idiom.

Speech, especially a conversation or parley.

Parlor Game:

A game that can be played indoors.

Parnassus:

A mountain, about 2,458 m (8,060 ft) high, of central Greece north of the Gulf of Corinth. In ancient times it was sacred to Apollo, Dionysus, and the Muses. Delphi was at the foot of the mountain.

Literature / Poetry: the name "Parnassus" in literature typically refers to its distinction as the home of poetry, literature, and learning; the world of poetry; a centre of poetic or other creative activity; a collection of verse or belles-lettres.

Parochialism:

Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of "provincialism".

Parody:

A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.

Something so bad as to be equivalent to intentional mockery; a travesty.

Parole:

Law: early release of a prisoner who is then subject to continued monitoring as well as compliance with certain terms and conditions for a specified period.

Linguistics: linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakers.

Pars pro toto:

Pars Pro Toto, Latin for "a part (taken) for the whole", is a figure of speech where the name of a portion of an object or concept represents the entire object or concept. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts.

Part Shipment:

The shipping of one part of a larger order or consignment of goods. Part Shipments can create problems if the documentation is not handled properly.

Part-Time Work:

Any work that takes up less than a normal full working day. Part-Time Workers are rarely entitled to the same pension and health benefits as full-time workers.

Parthenogenesis:

Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. In animals, Parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell and is a component process of apomixis.

Parthian Shot:

The Parthian Shot is a light horse military tactic made famous in the West by the Parthians, an ancient Iranian people. While in real or feigned retreat their horse archers would turn their bodies back in full gallop to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his composite bow. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse.

Parti Pris:

A parti or Parti Pris comes from the French prendre parti meaning "to make a decision". Often referred to as the big idea, it is the chief organizing thought or decision behind an architect's design presented in the form of a basic diagram or a simple statement. The development of the parti frequently, but not always, precedes the development of plan, section, and elevation diagrams.

Partisan:

A fervent, sometimes militant supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea.

Partita:

Partita (also partie, partia, parthia, or parthie) was originally the name for a single-instrumental piece of music (16th and 17th centuries).

Partly Paid:

Shares for which a shareholder has paid only part of the amount that is due. The rest of the payment can usually be called for at the issuer's discretion.

Partner:

One that is united or associated with another or others in an activity or a sphere of common interest.

A member of a business partnership.

A spouse.

A domestic Partner.

Partnerships:

A Partnership often offers useful features for the purposes of an overall tax plan. In certain jurisdictions, a Partnership may have corporate attributes and resemble a company. However, even where a Partnership does not have corporate attributes, requirements relating to formations and registration the nationality and/or residence of partners, limited liability, restrictions on activities, should be examined in the context of the general law governing local Partnerships.

Partout:

Universellement; everywhere.

Party:

A social gathering especially for pleasure or amusement; a group of people who have gathered to participate in an activity.

An established political group organized to promote and support its principles and candidates for public office.

Law: a person or group involved in a legal proceeding as a litigant.

Party Girl:

An attractive young woman hired to attend parties and entertain men.

Parure:

A Parure is a set of various items of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in 17th century Europe.

Parvenu:

A person who has suddenly risen to a higher social and economic class and has not yet gained social acceptance by others in that class.

Pas:

A step or dance.

The right to go before; precedence.

Pascal:

A unit of pressure equal to one newton per square meter.

Pascal's Wager:

Pascal's Wager is an argument in apologetic philosophy devised by the seventeenth-century French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623–62). It posits that humans all bet with their lives either that God exists or that he does not. Based on the assumption that the stakes are infinite if God exists and that there is at least a small probability that God in fact exists, Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas they stand to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).

Read also: Pascal’s Wager 2.0 - The New York Times.

Paso Doble:

A modern ballroom dance in fast duple time; music for or in the rhythm of this dance, set in march time and often played at bullfights.

Pass:

A permit, ticket, or authorization to come and go at will.

Written leave of absence from military duty.

A way, such as a narrow gap between mountains, that affords passage around, over, or through a barrier.

Sports: a transfer of a ball or puck between teammates.

Games: a winning throw of the dice in craps.

Passage (painting):

Alfred Barr defined Passage as "The merging of planes with space by leaving one edge unpainted or light in tone."

Passage of Passion:

The inside of a woman's vagina.

Passbook:

A Passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank transactions on a deposit account.

Business / Commerce: a customer's book in which is recorded by a trader a list of credit sales to that customer.

Passé:

Past; gone by; hence, past one's prime; worn; faded; out of fashion.

Passe-Partout:

Something, such as a master key, that permits one to pass or go at will.

A border, such as a mat, that is used to frame or mount a picture.

Passementerie:

Passementerie or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings.

Styles of passementerie include the tassel, fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords, galloons, pompons, rosettes, and gimps as other forms. Tassels, pompons, and rosettes are point ornaments, and the others are linear ornaments.

Passenger Mile:

One airline passenger carried one mile; this is calculated by multiplying the number of miles traveled times the number of passengers.

Passenger Shaming:

Disgruntled flyers and flight attendants from around the globe, have taken their frustration to social media to shame feral passengers with annoying habits - and the results are sure to shock. A social media site is since 2013 calling out passengers behaving badly on airplanes. It’s called “Passenger Shaming” and features pictures of the rude, crude and just plain gross.

Also on: Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Passion of Christ:

In Christianity, the Passion (from Late Latin: passionem "suffering, enduring") is the short final period in the life of Jesus beginning with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with his crucifixion and his death on Good Friday.

It includes, among other events, the last supper, Jesus' agony in the garden, his arrest by the Sanhedrin priests, and his trial before Pontius Pilate. Those parts of the four Gospels that describe these events are known as the "Passion narratives". In some Christian communities, commemoration of the Passion also includes remembrance of the sorrow of Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the Friday of Sorrows.

Passive Investor:

An investor in a start-up company who is looking only for financial gain. A Passive Investor has no interest in being involved in the running and building of the business.

Passive Smoking:

Involuntary inhalation of smoke from a nearby cigarette, cigar, etc., as by a nonsmoker.

Passkey:

Key that secures entrance everywhere.

Passport:

Official document proclaiming the citizenship of an individual.

Password:

A closely guarded sequence of alphanumeric characters which have to be entered into a computer before gaining access to it and its software programs. The Password acts as a security device.

See also: PIN.

Password Fatigue:

Password Fatigue is the feeling experienced by many people who are required to remember an excessive number of passwords as part of their daily routine, such as to logon to a computer at work, undo a bicycle lock or conduct banking from an automated teller machine (ATM). The concept is also known as password chaos or more broadly as identity chaos.

Pastebin:

A Pastebin is a type of web application that allows its users to upload snippets of text, usually samples of source code, for public viewing.

Pastiche:

A dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of other artists, often with satirical intent.

Pastoral:

of, characterized by, or depicting rural life, scenery, etc.

Patchwork Economy:

An economy in which there are areas of growth and areas of decline: the initiative will support businesses facing challenges in our Patchwork Economy the report continues to suggest a patchwork economy, with only service sectors recording positive business conditions.

Patent:

A document given to an inventor by a registered authority granting the inventor the exclusive rights to manufacture and sell his invention in a specified market for a specified period of time. When that time is over, the product is said to come off Patent.

Patent Pending:

Notification, often written on the side of a product, to say that a patent for the product has been applied for, but has not yet been granted.

Pater Familias:

A man who is the head of a household or the father of a family.

Pater Noster | Paternoster:

Roman Catholic Church: the Lord's Prayer in Latin (translates as: our father); one of the large beads on a rosary on which the Lord's Prayer is said.

A sequence of words spoken as a prayer or a magic formula.

A weighted fishing line having several jointed attachments for hooks connected by beadlike swivels.

An elevator constructed of a series of doorless compartments hung on chains that move slowly and continuously, allowing passengers to step on and off at will.

Pater Peccavi:

Latin: Father, I have sinned. The traditional beginning of a Roman Catholic confession.

Paternity Leave:

Time that a male employee is allowed off work to help his partner with a new-born child. During paternity leave the father's job remains open to him, awaiting his return.

Patience:

Patience, also known as "solitaire with cards". It generally involves placing cards in a layout, and sorting them according to specific rules.

Patina:

A thin greenish layer, usually basic copper sulfate, that forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of corrosion.

The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use.

A change in appearance produced by long-standing behavior, practice, or use.

Patio:

An outdoor space for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is often paved.

A roofless inner courtyard, typically found in Spanish and Spanish-style dwellings.

Patisserie:

A bakery specializing in French pastry.

Patois:

Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of Cant. Class distinctions are embedded in the term, drawn between those who speak patois and those who speak the standard or dominant language used in literature and public speaking, i.e., the "acrolect".

Patriarch:

A man who rules a family, clan, or tribe; used formerly as a title for the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria; one who is regarded as the founder or original head of an enterprise, organization, or tradition; a very old, venerable man; an elder; the oldest member of a group.

Patrician (ancient Rome):

The term Patrician originally referred to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman Empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire it remained a high honorary title in the Byzantine Empire. Medieval Patrician classes were once again formally defined groups of elite burgher families in many medieval Italian republics, such as Venice and Genoa, and subsequently "Patrician" became a vaguer term used for aristocrats and elite bourgeoisie in many countries.

Patriciate:

Nobility or aristocracy.

The rank, position, or term of office of a patrician.

Patrimony:

An inheritance from a father or paternal ancestor.

An inheritance or legacy; heritage.

An endowment or estate belonging to an institution, especially a church.

Patriot:

A person who vigorously supports his country and its way of life.

Patriot Act:

An Act swiftly passed in the US on October 26, 2001 after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. There are provisions to prevent money laundering, which may affect any transfers of funds into, and ownership of assets in the USA. The Patriot Act also dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States.

Patron:

One that supports, protects, or champions someone or something, such as an institution, event, or cause; a sponsor or benefactor.

A customer, especially a regular customer.

A noble or wealthy person in ancient Rome who granted favor and protection to someone in exchange for certain services.

Patron Saint:

A saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven for a nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person.

Patronage:

The support or encouragement of a patron, as for an institution or cause.

The trade given to a commercial establishment by its customers.

Patronym:

A family name derived from name of your father or a paternal ancestor (especially with an affix (such as -son in English or O'- in Irish) added to the name of your father or a paternal ancestor).

Patsy:

A person easily taken advantage of, cheated, blamed, or ridiculed.

A scapegoat.

Pattern:

A model or original used as an archetype.

A person or thing considered worthy of imitation.

A representative sample; a specimen.

Paul Is Dead:

"Paul Is Dead" is an urban legend and conspiracy theory suggesting that Paul McCartney of the English rock band The Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike.

In September 1969, American college students published articles claiming that clues to McCartney's supposed death could be found among the lyrics and artwork of the Beatles' recordings. Clue-hunting proved infectious and within a few weeks had become an international phenomenon. Rumours declined after a contemporary interview with McCartney was published in Life magazine in November 1969.

Popular culture continues to make occasional references to the legend. McCartney himself poked fun at it with a 1993 live album, titling it Paul Is Live, with the cover parodying clues allegedly on the cover of the Beatles' Abbey Road album.

Pavlov's Dogs:

The dogs used in conditioned response experiments by a Russian scientist of the late nineteenth century, Ivan Pavlov. In these experiments, Pavlov sounded a bell while presenting food to a dog, thereby stimulating the natural flow of saliva in the dog's mouth. After the procedure was repeated several times, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell, even when no food was presented.

Pavlovian:

Of or relating to the theories of the Russian physiologist, psychologist, and physician Ivan Pavlov, especially those related to behavioral conditioning.

Being or expressing a conditioned or predictable reaction; automatic; involuntary.

Pax Romana:

Historical Terms: the Roman peace; the long period of stability under the Roman Empire. Its span was approximately 207 years (27 BC - 180).

Pax Vobiscum:

Latin phrase meaning: peace be with you.

Pay-per-View:

A service offered by cable television companies that allows subscribers to view special programs for an additional charge.

Payback:

The return gained from or paid on an investment.

A benefit gained as the result of a previous action.

Payback Period:

The amount of time that it takes for an investment to pay for itself; that is, the time untilthe discounted income from the investment exactly equals the capital put into the investment.

Payday:

The day on which employees receive their pay.

PAYE:

The acronym for: Pay As You Earn, a way of collecting income tax at source, that is, from full-time employees as and when they are paid.

Payment Date:

The date on which an acknowledged payment is due; for example, dividends that have been declared but not yet paid, or an invoice for work done that is due to be paid a fixed number of days after the work has been completed.

Payment Gateway:

A Payment Gateway is an e-commerce application service provider service that authorizes credit card payments for e-businesses, online retailers, bricks and clicks, or traditional brick and mortar.

Payment in Kind:

Payment in goods rather than with money.

Payment Method:

The means by which a due payment is made, that is, by cash, check, credit card, bank draft, or whatever.

Payola:

A bribe or a number of bribes given to an influential person in exchange for a promotion of a product or service.

Payroll:

The list of all the employees within an organization that are paid on a regular basis. Also the aggregate total of all that is paid to those employees on a regular basis.

Paywall:

A Paywall (or Pay Wall) blocks access to a webpage with a screen requiring payment.

PBJ:

Slang / acronym for: Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich.

PC:

Short for: Personal Computer. A PC is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator.

A personal computer may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a tablet computer. The most common current operating systems operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, while the most common microprocessors are x86-compatible CPUs, ARM architecture CPUs and PowerPC CPUs. Software applications for personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software. Modern personal computers often have high-speed or dial-up connections to the Internet, allowing access to the World Wide Web and a wide range of other resources.

A PC may be used at home, or may be found in an office, often connected to a local area network (LAN). This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time, or large data processing systems which required a full-time staff to operate efficiently.
While early PC owners usually had to write their own programs to do anything useful with the machines, today's users have access to a wide range of commercial and non-commercial software which is provided in ready-to-run form. Since the 1980s, Microsoft and Intel have been dominating much of the personal computer market with the Wintel platform.

See also: laptop, netbook, notebook, tablet PC and ultrabook.

Visit also: personal robot.

PCB:

A Printed Circuit Board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board (PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with electronic components is a printed circuit assembly (PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).

PCBs are rugged, inexpensive, and can be highly reliable. They require much more layout effort and higher initial cost than either wire-wrapped or point-to-point constructed circuits, but are much cheaper and faster for high-volume production. Much of the electronics industry's PCB design, assembly, and quality control needs are set by standards that are published by the IPC organization.

PDA:

Short for: Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A PDA is a handheld computer, also known as a palmtop computer. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones (smartphones), web browsers, or portable media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs). Many PDAs employ touch screen technology.

PDF Files:

Adobe's portable document format (pdf) is a translation format used primarily for distributing files across a network or on a website. Files with a .pdf extension have been created in another application and then translated into .pdf files so they can viewed by anyone, regardless of platform.

PDO:

Short for: Protected Designation of Origin. PDO is the EU mark for the protection of unique foods that have a good reputation and are authentically linked to the area in which they are produced.

The mark is therefore based on a nice idea to protect unique foods, maintain their basic idea and protect them against imitation. In the shops, the mark is a guide for consumers so that they always know that they are buying a "genuine product", a unique food product.

P/E Ratio:

Short for: Price/Earnings Ratio, the ratio of a share's stockmarket price to its earnings per share. The ratio is seen as a key indicator of whether a company is over-valued or not. Each industry has a P/E ratio that is considered more or less average for that industry.

Peace Pipe:

Peace pipe is a common misnomer for Calumet, a ceremonial smoking pipe used by some Native American Nations.

Peacocking:

Ostentatious dress or behaviour employed by a man in an attempt to impress women.

Peag:

See: wampum.

Peak:

The pointed summit of a mountain.

The point of greatest development, value, or intensity.

Peak Car:

Peak Car (also peak car use or peak travel) is a hypothesis that motor vehicle distance traveled per capita, predominantly by private car, has peaked and will now fall in a sustained manner. The theory was developed as an alternative to the prevailing market saturation model, which suggested that car use would saturate and then remain reasonably constant, or to GDP-based theories which predict that traffic will increase again as the economy improves, linking recent traffic reductions to the Great Recession of 2008.

Peak Smartphone Theory:

Peak Smartphone Theory: All good things must come to an end. Assets effectively begin as mere sketches on a drawing board that builds upon a series of prior ideas. From there, innovators revise prototypes before releasing finished products to market. To the masses, game-changing technology quickly becomes indispensable. Amid revolution, this movement is described as "cool," and consumers will happily pay top dollar to remain part of the "in crowd." Demand far outpaces supply amid the business cycle growth stage.

This scenario, of course, attracts competition hell bent upon leveraging supply / demand inefficiencies for profit. To do so, the competition will offer similarly fashioned products that increase aggregate supply and drive prices lower. In time, supply and demand meet at equilibrium, and product is commoditized. At this point, multiple players will compete on price, rather than quality. Production will inevitably peak and stall out, while trendsetters await the "next big thing." Technology investors take heed. Peak smart phone arrived amid Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) versus Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) patent infringement litigation.

Read also: The truth about ‘peak smartphone’.

Peak State:

The moment when your inner power show up automatically.

The moment all the business you do felt easy.

Peanut Gallery:

A Peanut Gallery was, in the days of vaudeville, a nickname for the cheapest and ostensibly rowdiest seats in the theater, the occupants of which were often known to heckle the performers. The least expensive snack served at the theatre would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to convey their disapproval. Phrases such as "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the Peanut Gallery" are extensions of the name.

Peanuts:

Informal: a very small amount of money; a trifling sum.

Pearl Harbor Strategy:

Admiral Hara Tadaichi summed up the Japanese result by saying, "We won a great tactical victory at Pearl Harbor and thereby lost the war." While the attack accomplished its intended objective, it turned out to be largely unnecessary. Unbeknownst to Yamamoto, who conceived the original plan, the U.S. Navy had decided as far back as 1935 to abandon 'charging' across the Pacific towards the Philippines in response to an outbreak of war (in keeping with the evolution of Plan Orange). The U.S. instead adopted "Plan Dog" in 1940, which emphasized keeping the IJN out of the eastern Pacific and away from the shipping lanes to Australia, while the U.S. concentrated on defeating Nazi Germany.

Pearls Before Swine:

"Pearls Before Swine" and "casting pearls" refer to a quotation from Matthew 7:6 in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, implying that you should not put what is valuable in front of those who will reject the notion that it has value and furthermore that they will seek to diminish or destroy what you offer.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."

Pebbling:

It's called “Pebbling,” which is often used to describe a romantic relationship but has been crossed over into other types of relationships, including between parent and child. The term originated from the actions of gentoo penguins in Antarctica, who were observed presenting rocks to each other as a form of courtship.

Read more here: What Is ‘Pebbling’ and Why Are Teens Doing It? - "Teens are doing it to show their affection and here's why experts say it's a great thing."

Peccavi:

Latin: I have sinned, from peccare; an acknowledgment of sin; an expression of guilt or culpability.

Pecking Order:

A hierarchy among a group, as of people, classes, or nations.

The social hierarchy in a flock of domestic fowl in which each bird pecks subordinate birds and submits to being pecked by dominant birds.

Peddle:

To travel about selling (wares); to engage in the illicit sale of (narcotics).

Informal: to seek to disseminate; give out.

Pedestal:

An architectural support or base, as for a column or statue.

A position of high regard or adoration.

Pedigree:

A list of ancestors; a family tree; a lineage.

A list of the ancestors of a purebred animal.

Pedometer:

An instrument that gauges the approximate distance traveled on foot by registering the number of steps taken.

Peer:

A person who has equal standing with another or others, as in rank, class, or age.

A nobleman.

PeerIndex:

PeerIndex is a reputation and authority rating platform. PeerIndex evaluates how much authority, influence, eminence or opinion leadership a person has developed across several online social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora, among the others).

Peer-to-Peer:

A Peer-to-Peer, commonly abbreviated to P2P, distributed network architecture is composed of participants that make a portion of their resources (such as processing power, disk storage or network bandwidth) directly available to other network participants, without the need for central coordination instances (such as servers or stable hosts). Peers are both suppliers and consumers of resources, in contrast to the traditional client-server model where only servers supply, and clients consume.

Social Peer-to-Peer processes are interactions with a Peer-to-Peer dynamic, whether these peers are humans or computers. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) is a term that originated from the popular concept of the P2P distributed computer application architecture which partitions tasks or workloads between peers. This application structure was popularized by file sharing systems like Napster, the first of its kind in the late 1990s.

The concept has inspired new structures and philosophies in many areas of human interaction. P2P human dynamic affords a critical look at current authoritarian and centralized social structures. Peer-to-Peer is also a political and social program for those who believe that in many cases, Peer-to-Peer modes are a preferable option.

Pegasus:

Pegasus is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion also known as a horse usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.

Peine Forte et Dure:

English law: a punishment formerly inflicted in England, on a person who, being arraigned of felony, refused to plead and put himself on his trial, and stubbornly stood mute. He was to be laid down and as much weight was to be put upon him as he could bear, and more, until he died. This barbarous punishment has been abolished. Vide Mute.

Pejorative:

A disparaging or belittling word or expression.

Pêle-Mêle:

Any old how, at random, chaotically, confusedly.

Pelagianism:

Pelagianism is the belief in Christianity that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special divine aid.

Pelisse:

A Pelisse was originally a short fur lined or fur trimmed jacket that was usually worn hanging loose over the left shoulder of hussar light cavalry soldiers, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name was also applied to a fashionable style of woman's coat worn in the early 19th century.

Pellet:

Pellets are small particles typically created by compressing an original material.

Peltier Effect:

When an electric current is passed through a circuit of a thermocouple, heat is evolved at one junction and absorbed at the other junction. This is known as the Peltier Effect.

Pen Name:

A pseudonym used by a writer. Also called nom de plume.

Penchant:

A definite liking; a strong inclination.

Pencil Pushups:

Pencil Pushups are a visual exercise used to treat convergence insufficiency. If you suffer from convergence insufficiency, your eye muscles are weak, leaving you unable to focus on objects as you move toward them. The resulting faulty alignment can leave you with blurred vision, double vision, and headaches. Convergence insufficiency is most common in teenagers and young adults. Pencil Pushups serve to strengthen the eye muscles and gradually improve their ability to align with objects and each other.

Pendant:

A Pendant (from Old French) word "pendre" and the Latin word "pendere" which means "to hang down" is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace".

A hanging lamp or chandelier.

A sculptured ornament suspended from a vaulted Gothic roof or ceiling.

One of a matched pair; a companion piece.

Pendle:

To travel as a commuter.

Pendulum:

An apparatus consisting of an object mounted so that it swings freely under the influence of gravity.

Peninsula:

A piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with the mainland by an isthmus.

Pennant:

A pennon or Pennant is a flag that is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, like triangular, tapering or triangular swallow-tailed.

Pennies from Heaven:

Unexpected good fortune, a windfall.

Pension:

An income that is paid after someone's retirement from work because of contributions that were made to a fund during their working life. Pension contributions are a standard perk offered by companies to attract and retain good employees.

Pension Fund:

A fund set up to meet the pension obligations of an organization. In many countries pension funds are among the largest investors in the stockmarket.

Pentagon:

A polygon having five sides and five interior angles.

Pentagon: a five-sided building near Washington, D.C., containing the U.S. Department of Defense and the offices of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Pentagram:

A star-shaped figure formed by extending the sides of a regular pentagon to meet at five points.

Pentimento:

A Pentimento is an alteration in a painting, evidenced by traces of previous work, showing that the artist has changed his or her mind as to the composition during the process of painting.

People Person:

A person who enjoys or is particularly good at interacting with others.

People Skills:

People Skills are skills dealing with the interaction with other people, such as communication and interpersonal skills. The ability or "skill" to persuade, motivate and/or effectively deliver a message.

PEP:

Short for: Public Exposed Person.

Pep Talk:

A speech of exhortation, as to a team or staff, meant to instill enthusiasm or bolster morale.

Peppercorn Rent:

An extremely low nominal rent paid for business premises, often because the premises are due to be redeveloped at some uncertain future date and may have to be vacated at short notice.

Pepsi Generation:

The generation of people in their teens and early twenties in the mid to late 1960s, regarded as a demographic group.

Per Diem:

A daily allowance given to an employee to cover expenses, for things like travel and entertainment, incurred in the course of their work.

Per Incuriam:

Per Incuriam, literally translated as "through lack of care", refers to a judgment of a court which has been decided without reference to a statutory provision or earlier judgment which would have been relevant. The significance of a judgment having been decided Per Incuriam is that it does not then have to be followed as precedent by a lower court.

Per Se:

In itself; essentially; as such; in essence; by itself; of itself; by definition; intrinsically; by its very nature.

Percussion Instrument:

An instrument, such as a drum, xylophone, piano, or maraca, in which sound is produced by one object striking another or by being scraped or shaken.

Pereat:

Let justice be done, though the world shall perish.

Perestroika:

The restructuring of the Soviet economy and bureaucracy that began in the mid 1980s.

Perfect Match:

See also: match.

Perfect Number:

In number theory, a Perfect Number is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its proper positive divisors, that is, the sum of its positive divisors excluding the number itself (also known as its aliquot sum). Equivalently, a Perfect Number is a number that is half the sum of all of its positive divisors (including itself).

The first perfect number is 6, because 1, 2, and 3 are its proper positive divisors, and 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. Equivalently, the number 6 is equal to half the sum of all its positive divisors: ( 1 + 2 + 3 + 6 ) / 2 = 6. The next perfect number is 28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14. This is followed by the perfect numbers 496 and 8128.

Perfect Storm:

A Perfect Storm is an unusual combination of events or things that produce an unusually bad or powerful result.

Perfection:

The quality or condition of being perfect.

A person or thing considered to be perfect.

An instance of excellence.

Perforce:

By necessity; by force of circumstance; unavoidably.

Performance:

The act or style of performing a work or role before an audience.

The way in which someone or something functions.

Performance Bond:

A written commitment to perform a piece of work to a specified standard and within a specified period of time. Failure to meet the criteria of the bond can lead to the payment of heavy penalties. Performance bonds are common in the construction business.

Performance-Enhancing Drugs:

Performance-Enhancing Drugs are substances known or thought to improve performance in a particular activity, e.g. sports (anabolic-androgenic steroids), learning processes. For example, the amphetamine-based drugs Adderall and Ritalin are used against attention disorders.

Performance-Related Pay:

Relating a significant proportion of an employee's pay to their performance. The concept is hard to put into practice because of the difficulty in finding a quantifiable measure that is genuinely related to an individual's performance. The most obvious candidates, share price and profit, have obvious shortcomings.

Performer:

To begin and carry through to completion; do.

To take action in accordance with the requirements of; fulfill.

To enact (a feat or role) before an audience.

To carry on; function.

Pergola:

A Pergola, arbor, or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained.

Perimeter:

Mathematics: the boundary line or the area immediately inside the boundary.

Period:

An interval of time characterized by the occurrence of a certain condition, event, or phenomenon; characterized by the prevalence of a specified culture, ideology, or technology.

Geology: a unit of time, longer than an epoch and shorter than an era.

Sports & Games: a division of the playing time of a game.

A point or portion of time at which something is ended; a completion or conclusion.

Periodic Table:

The Periodic Table, also known as the periodic table of elements, is a tabular display of the chemical elements, which are arranged by atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties.

Perishable Goods:

Goods which perish fairly quickly, such as fresh fish, fruit or dairy products.

Perjury:

Law: the deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.

The breach of an oath or promise.

Perk:

Short for Perquisite, an incidental benefit that accrues to an employee because of his or her employment. For example, someone who works in a restaurant might expect free meals to be one of the Perks of the job.

Permalink:

A Permalink, or permanent link, is a URL that points to a specific blog or forum entry after it has passed from the front page to the archives.

Permanent Establishment:

Legal concept applied by a country in order to tax commercial activities realised in its territory by a company or person incorporated or resident outside the jurisdiction. The expression is commonly used in double taxation agreements and is defined in the O.E.C.D. model agreement, although in practice there is no consistent definition adopted either in double taxation agreements or in jurisdictions which recognise the concept under their general tax laws.

Perquisite:

Something claimed as an exclusive right.

Perry Mason Moment:

In court proceedings in the United States, a Perry Mason Moment is said to have occurred whenever information is unexpectedly (to most present), and often dramatically, introduced into the record that changes the perception of the proceedings greatly and often influences the outcome. Often it takes the form of a witness's answer to a question, but it can sometimes come in the form of new evidence. It takes its name from Perry Mason, the popular mid-20th century television series where such dramatic reversals occurred, often in the form of witnesses confessing to crimes others were accused of in response to the sudden exposure of an inconsistency in their alibi.

Person of Interest:

"Person of Interest" is a term used by U.S. law enforcement when identifying someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no legal meaning, but refers to someone in whom the police are "interested," either because the person is cooperating with the investigation, may have information that would assist the investigation, or possesses certain characteristics that merit further attention.

Person of the Year:

Person of the Year (formerly Man of the Year) is an annual issue of the United States newsmagazine Time that features and profiles a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that "for better or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year."

Persona:

A voice or character representing the speaker in a literary work; an assumed identity or character.

Psychology (in Jungian psychology): the mechanism that conceals a person's true thoughts and feelings, especially in his adaptation to the outside world.

Persona Non Grata:

Persona Non Grata (Latin, plural: Personae Non Gratae, also abbreviated PNG), literally meaning "an unwelcome person," is a term used in diplomacy with a specialized and legally defined meaning. The opposite of Persona Non Grata is persona grata.

Personal Assistant:

A Personal Assistant, Personal Aide, or simply PA is someone who assists in daily business and personal a tasks.

For example, a businessman or businesswoman may have a Personal Assistant to help with time and diary management, scheduling of meetings, correspondence and note taking. The title of a business Personal Assistant is often shortened as "PA". There are also Personal Assistants who work specifically for disabled people, and whose salaries may be paid by an individual or by social services on an individual's behalf. Families in which both parents work may also employ Personal Assistants, often referred to as household managers. The role of a Personal Assistant can be varied.

Personal Computer:

See: PC.

Personal Learning Network (PLN):

A Personal Learning Network is an informal learning network that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment. In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the specific intent that some type of learning will occur because of that connection.

Personal Manager:

A Personal Manager, also known as an artist manager, band manager or talent manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the Personal Manager is to oversee the day-to-day business affairs of an artist; advise and counsel talent concerning professional matters, long-term plans and personal decisions which may affect their career.

Personal Message:

Personal Message, private message (PM), direct message (DM), or personal chat (PC) is a private form of messaging between different members on a given platform. It is only seen and accessible by the users participating in the message. It has grown popular because of the increasing demand for privacy and collaboration in this society where the public sharing domain dominates.

There are two main types of personal message: a feature on social platforms and private messaging services. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are all examples in which social media included personal messaging features to provide space for private interactions among their users. WhatsApp, Kik Messenger, and Snapchat are examples of pure private messaging tools. Users create and sign up for accounts to connect privately with selected friends. A third type of messaging platform is a peer-to-peer messaging platform where the users themselves own and create the infrastructure used to transmit and store the messages; while features vary depending on application, users themselves are in control of data concerning themselves. One example is Classified-ads.

Besides serving as a tool to connect privately with friends and family, personal message has also gained momentum in the work-space. Professionals are using it to reach coworkers who are not located in the same room to increase efficiency during meetings and work time. Although useful, personal message facilitates the fuzzy boundary between work and private lives. For many, it makes work hours longer and private times shorter.

Personal Robot:

Like the personal computer, the Personal Robot is one that will change the use of robots from being large, expensive, and hard to use, to being small, inexpensive, and easy to use. It is distinguished from industrial robot.

Visit also: The World of Personal Robotics.

Personal Shopper:

A Personal Shopper is someone who assists another with his or her shopping. The Personal Shopper can be a freelancer who hires his skills out to a select group of people. Personal Shoppers can also work for large stores in specific departments.

Personal Time Off (PTO):

Personal Time Off (PTO): a block of hours that combines all of an employee’s paid sick days, personal days, and vacation time.

Personal Touch:

An original or special quality, or something that is done for every single person in a group in order to make them feel special.

Personal Trainer:

A Personal Trainer is an exercise professional with the knowledge and experience to offer advice and guidance in the areas of exercise and fitness. These professionals can assist you by designing a safe and effective exercise program to help you reach personal goals. A personal trainer can assist with weight loss, exercise performance and improved wellness.

Personality:

The quality or condition of being a person.

The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are peculiar to a specific person.

The pattern of collective character, behavioral, temperamental, emotional, and mental traits of a person.

Distinctive qualities of a person, especially those distinguishing personal characteristics that make one socially appealing.

Personality Rights:

Personality Rights is a common or casual reference to the proper term of art "Right of Publicity." The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one's identity. It is generally considered a property right as opposed to a personal right, and as such, the validity of the Right of Publicity can survive the death of the individual (to varying degrees depending on the jurisdiction).

Personen- und Gesellschaftsrecht:

Law applicable to individuals and corporate bodies in Liechtenstein.

Personnel:

Traditionally, the department in an organization which looks after the day-to-day requirements of its employees. Nowadays it is likely to have been rebranded as human resources.

Perspective:

A way of regarding situations or topics.

Fine Arts: the theory or art of suggesting three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface, in order to recreate the appearance and spatial relationships that objects or a scene in recession present to the eye.

In about 1413 a contemporary of Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, demonstrated the geometrical method of Perspective, used today by artists, by painting the outlines of various Florentine buildings onto a mirror. When the building's outline was continued, he noticed that all of the lines converged on the horizon line.

Pesticide:

Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances which may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids or other pests in or on their bodies. The term includes substances intended for use as a plant growth regulator, defoliant, desiccant or agent for thining fruit or preventing the premature fall of fruit, and substances applied to crops either before or after harvest to protect the commodity from deterioration during storage and transport. Definition by FAO.

Pet:

An animal kept for amusement or companionship.

An object of the affections.

A person especially loved or indulged; a favorite.

Petabyte:

A Petabyte (derived from the SI prefix peta-) is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion (short scale) bytes, or 1 billiard (long scale) bytes. The unit symbol for the petabyte is PB. The prefix peta (P) indicates the fifth power to 1000.

Petaflop:

Computing: a unit of computing power equal to 1000 (or 1024) teraflops.

Peter Pan:

Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A mischievous boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang, the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Native Americans, fairies, pirates, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside of Neverland.

Peter Pan Generation:

Coined by American sociologist Kathleen Shaputis, because of the members' perceived tendency for delaying some rites of passage into adulthood.

See also: boomerang generation and generation Y.

Peter Pan Syndrome:

In psychology, Peter Pan Syndrome refers to younger generations' perceived unwillingness to grow up and their corresponding alleged immature behaviors (note: Peter Pan Syndrome is not a clinically recognised mental disorder). This syndrome is said to be most prevalent in the generation born in the mid-late 1980s and 1990s where the development of a sense of responsibility allegedly does not occur nearly as early as it used to. Possibly contributing factors might include over-protectiveness of modern parents, rising costs of living, and increased difficulty in finding satisfactory partners.

The name of the phenomenon was based on Peter Pan, a character who never ages and acts with carelessness and fearlessly cocky behaviors, created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie.

Peter Principle, The:

A rule first enunciated in a 1969 book by Laurence J. Peter. The Peter Principle says that every employee eventually rises to their Level of Incompetence. Also expressed as "cream rises until it sours".

Peter's Pence:

Peter's Pence is payment made voluntarily to the Roman Catholic Church. It began under the Saxons in England and is seen in other countries. Though formally discontinued in England at the time of the Reformation, a post-Reformation payment of uncertain characteristics is seen in some English manors into the 19th century.

A tax of one penny per household paid in medieval England to the Papal See; an annual voluntary contribution made by Roman Catholics toward the expenses of the Holy See.

Petit Bleu:

See: pneumatic tube.

Petit Saison:

Of the four social seasons in the U.S.A., Spring was called "Petit Saison".

Petition:

Law: a formal application in writing made to a court asking for some specific judicial action.

Visit: Start a petition.

Petri Dish:

A Petri Dish is a shallow circular dish with a loose-fitting cover, used to culture bacteria or other microorganisms.

Petrodollar:

United States dollars obtained by oil exporting countries.

Petticoat:

Undergarment worn under a skirt.

Petty Cash:

Small amounts of cash retained in the workplace for making occasional small payments in cash - for milk, stamps, and so on.

PGI:

Short for: Protected Geographical Indication. PGI is the EU mark for the protection of unique foods that have a good reputation and are authentically linked to the area in which they are produced.

The mark is therefore based on a nice idea to protect unique foods, maintain their basic idea and protect them against imitation. In the shops, the mark is a guide for consumers so that they always know that they are buying a "genuine product", a unique food product.

pH:

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, numerically equal to 7 for neutral solutions, increasing with increasing alkalinity and decreasing with increasing acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14.

Phablet:

A Phablet is a phone with a screen so big that it can be used as a tablet. Phablets are basically tablet / (smart)phone crossovers. Best examples are Samsung's Galaxy Note and LG's Optimus Vu.

Phalaris:

Phalaris was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC.

Phantasmagoria:

Phantasmagoria was a form of horror theatre that used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts onto walls, smoke, or semi-transparent screens, typically using rear projection to keep the lantern out of sight. Mobile or portable projectors were used, allowing the projected image to move and change size on the screen, and multiple projecting devices allowed for quick switching of different images. The shows started under the guise of actual séances in Germany in the late 18th century, and gained popularity through most of Europe (especially England) throughout the 19th century.

Phantom:

Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or an apparition.

An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.

Something dreaded or despised.

Phantom Pain:

Phantom Pain sensations are described as perceptions that an individual experiences relating to a limb or an organ that is not physically part of the body.

Pharaoh:

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods.

Pharmacology:

The study of drugs, or medications.

Phase:

Any distinct time period in a sequence of events.

PhD:

Short for: Philosophiae Doctor (Doctor of Philosophy).

Phenomenon:

An occurrence, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses.

PHEV:

Short for: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

Phi Beta Kappa:

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and is often described as its most prestigious honor society, due to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and to induct the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at American colleges and universities. It was founded at the College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776 as the first collegiate Greek-letter fraternity and was among the earliest collegiate fraternal societies.

Phi Beta Kappa stands for Philosophia Biou Kybernētēs, which means "Love of wisdom is the guide of life" or "Philosophy is the governor of one's life."

Philanderer:

A man who likes many women and has short sexual relationships with them.

Philanthrocapitalism:

Venture philanthropy (sometimes referred to as "Philanthrocapitalism") takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals.

Venture philanthropy is characterized by:
*  Willingness to experiment and try new approaches.
*  Focus on measurable results: donors and grantees assess progress based on mutually determined benchmarks.
*  Readiness to shift funds between organizations and goals based on tracking those measurable results.
*  Giving financial, intellectual, and human capital.
*  Funding on a multi-year basis - typically a minimum of 3 years, on average 5-7 years.
*  Focus on capacity building, instead of programs or general operating expenses.
*  High involvement by donors with their grantees. For example, some donors will take positions on the boards
   of the non-profits they fund.

For more information, read: Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.

Philanthropist:

Someone who makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being.

Love of humankind in general.

Philanthropy:

The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.

Love of humankind in general.

Philippic:

A Philippic is a fiery, damning speech, or tirade, delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term is most famously associated with two noted orators of the ancient world, the Roman Cicero and, most significantly, Demosthenes of Athens in his movement against the imperialist ambitions of Philip of Macedon. Demosthenes speeches, in 351 BC, denouncing the leader later became known as "The Philippics".

Philistine:

A smug, ignorant, especially middle-class person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and cultural values.

One who lacks knowledge in a specific area.

Philosophers' Stone:

A substance that was believed to have the power of transmuting base metal into gold. Also called elixir.

Philosophy:

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning subjects such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

Phishing:

In the field of computer security, Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT Administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

A Phishing technique was described in detail in 1987, and the first recorded use of the term "Phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking, and alludes to baits used to "catch" financial information and passwords.

Phlegmatic:

Phlegmatics tend to be self-content and kind. They can be very accepting and affectionate. They may be very receptive and shy and often prefer stability to uncertainty and change. They are very consistent, relaxed, rational, curious, and observant, making them good administrators and diplomats. Unlike the sanguine personality, they may be more dependable.

See also: choleric, melancholic and sanguine.

Phobia:

A Phobia (from the Greek: phóbos, fear or morbid fear), is an intense and persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people.

Phoenix:

Mythology: a bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes.

Phone Walk:

Walking while using a phone physically changes the way your legs move. You know the smartphone walk: you either do it or find people who do it really annoying. Head down, eyes glued to screen, finger scrolling down feeds, applying Instagram filters to photos of autumn leaves, filling one’s overstimulated head with the never-ending forward march of bad news. All while walking down an actual street. Without falling over. Or noticing all the people giving you dirty looks.

It turns out that walking while using our phones is also changing the way we move. Scientists at the University of Delaware asked volunteers to dial numbers on their mobiles while walking on a treadmill and found their gait became more exaggerated to reduce the chance of falling over. So not only is it silly to walk and use your phone at the same time, it also makes you do a silly walk.

Read also: The 'phone walk' - the next stage in human evolution.

Photo Opportunity:

A brief period reserved for the press to photograph the participants in a newsworthy event.

Photo Stitching:

See: image stitching.

Photobombing:

Photobombing is the act of inserting oneself into the field of view of a photograph, often in order to play a practical joke on the photographer or the subjects.

Photocall:

A gathering of theatrical performers in order to be photographed; a session in which a posed celebrity is photographed.

Photographic Memory:

Photographic Memory is popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in abundant volume.

Photojournalism:

Journalism in which a news story is presented primarily through photographs with supplementary written copy.

Photomontage:

Photomontage is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. A similar method, although one that does not use film, is realized today through image-editing software.

Photoshop:

Adobe Photoshop, or simply Photoshop, is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems. It is the current market leader for commercial bitmap and image manipulation software.

Verb: to digitally edit or alter a picture or photograph.

PHP:

PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for Web development to produce dynamic Web pages. It is one of the first developed server-side scripting languages to be embedded into an HTML source document rather than calling an external file to process data. The code is interpreted by a Web server with a PHP processor module which generates the resulting Web page. It also has evolved to include a command-line interface capability and can be used in standalone graphical applications.

See also: ASP.

Phrase:

A sequence of words intended to have meaning.

Grammar: two or more words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less than a complete sentence.

Music: a short passage or segment, often consisting of four measures or forming part of a larger unit.

Phrasing:

Music: the manner in which a phrase is rendered or interpreted.

Phreaking:

Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a culture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, such as equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks.

Phrenology:

Phrenology is a pseudomedicine primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules.

Phronesis:

Phronesis is a Greek word for a type of wisdom or intelligence. It is more specifically a type of wisdom relevant to practical things, requiring an ability to discern how or why to act virtuously and encourage practical virtue, excellence of character, in others. Phronesis was a common topic of discussion in ancient Greek philosophy.

The word was used in Greek philosophy, and such discussions are still influential today. Because of its practical character, when it is not simply translated by words meaning wisdom or intelligence, it is often translated as "practical wisdom", and sometimes (more traditionally) as "prudence", from Latin prudentia. Thomas McEvilley has proposed that the best translation is "mindfulness".

Phubbing:

The word Phubbing - snubbing someone in your company in favor of your phone, the act of ignoring a companion in favor of using a smartphone - has been around since 2012, when McCann, an advertising agency, coined the term. Phubbing is undoubtedly rude; but it's not surprising, given the role of phones in our lives. Phubbing is a contraction of the words “phone snubbing”.

Phylum:

A large group of languages that are historically related.

Biology: the major taxonomic group of animals and plants; contains classes.

Physical:

A Physical examination.

Physiognomy:

Physiognomy is a practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance - especially the face. It is often linked to racial and sexual stereotyping. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without reference to its implied characteristics.

Pi:

Pi is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean space; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius. The symbol for Pi was first proposed by the Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706. It is approximately equal to 3.14159 in the usual decimal notation. Pi is one of the most important mathematical and physical constants: many formulae from mathematics, science, and engineering involve Pi.

P.I.:

Short for: Private Investigator. A private investigator or private detective (often shortened to PI or private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigations. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases.

Piano:

A musical instrument with a manual keyboard actuating hammers that strike wire strings, producing sounds that may be softened or sustained by means of pedals.

A passage to be played softly or quietly.

Piano Nobile:

The Piano Nobile (Italian, "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, bel étage) is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture. This floor contains the principal reception and bedrooms of the house.

Pica (typography):

The Pica is a typographic unit of measure corresponding to approximately 1/6 of an inch, or 1/72 of a foot. One Pica is further divided into 12 points.

Picador:

A Picador is one of the pair of horsemen in a Spanish bullfight that jab the bull with a lance.

Picaresque:

Of or pertaining to rogues or adventurers.

Picket:

An employee who stands at the entrance to his or her place of work during an industrial dispute in order to persuade other employees (and/or suppliers and/or customers) not to enter. In many countries where picketing is legal, secondary picketing (the picketing of somebody else's place of work) is not.

Picnic:

A meal eaten outdoors, as on an excursion.

Slang: an easy task or a pleasant experience.

Pictogram:

A Pictograph (also called Pictogram or Pictogramme) is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Earliest examples of pictographs include ancient or prehistoric drawings or paintings found on rock walls. Pictographs are also used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.

Pidgin:

A simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages, has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language.

Pie Chart:

A widely used diagrammatic way of presenting business statistics. A pie is drawn to represent the whole of, say, a market or business, and the pie is then divided into slices whose size is proportional to the shares of the whole that each one represents.

"Piece of Cake":

Something very easy to do.

Pièce de Résistance:

The outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection.

Piece Rate:

A method of payment for work based on the quantity produced, in contrast to the more common method of payment which is based on the number of hours worked.

Piece Work:

Work that is performed by outsiders who are paid on a piece rate basis; common in the garment industry.

Pied-à-Terre:

Pied-à-Terre (French for "foot on the ground") is a small living unit usually located in a large city some distance away from an individual's primary residence. It may be an apartment or condominium.

The term Pied-à-Terre implies usage as a temporary second residence, either for part of the year or part of the work week, by a person of some means.

Pied Piper:

A person who offers others strong yet delusive enticements.

Pietà:

Fine Arts: a representation of the dead Christ, attended by the Virgin Mary or by holy women and angels.

Pietra Dura:

Pietra Dura or pietre dure, called parchin kari or parchinkari in the Indian Subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art.

Pigeon-Hole Messagebox:

A Pigeon-Hole Messagebox (commonly referred to as a Pigeon-Hole or pidge, a cubbyhole (often shortened to "cubby") or simply as a mailbox in some academic or office settings) is an internal mail system commonly used for communication in organisations, workplaces and educational institutes in the United Kingdom and other countries. Documents and messages are placed in a person's Pigeon-Hole for them to collect; they can reply by putting a response inside the sender's Pigeon-Hole.

In medieval times pigeons were kept as domestic birds, not for racing but for their meat. Pigeon Holes were the openings set in a wall or a purpose-built pigeon cote in which the birds nested. By 1789, the arrangement of compartments in writing cabinets and offices used to sort and file documents had come to be known as Pigeon Holes because of their resemblance to the pigeon cote. By the mid 19th century, Pigeon Hole was being used as a verb meaning either to put a matter to one side with the intention of coming back to it later, or to classify information.

A specific, often oversimplified category.

Pigging:

Pull a Pig is a game where a group of guys go out and they win the game by pulling the ugliest looking woman.

Read also: Pigging - the cruel new dating trend you need to know about.

Piggy Bank:

Piggy Bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin accumulation and storage receptacle; it is most often, but not exclusively, used by children.

Piggybacking:

Piggybacking, a practice in which a person with bad credit uses the seasoned trade line of credit of someone else.

Pigou Effect:

In economics, the Pigou Effect is the stimulation of output and employment caused by increasing consumption due to a rise in real balances of wealth, particularly during deflation. The term was named after Arthur Cecil Pigou by Don Patinkin in 1948.

Real wealth was defined by Arthur Cecil Pigou as the sum of the money supply and government bonds divided by the price level. He argued that Keynes' The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money was deficient in not specifying a link from "real balances" to current consumption and that the inclusion of such a "wealth effect" would make the economy more 'self correcting' to drops in aggregate demand than Keynes predicted. Because the effect derives from changes to the "Real Balance", this critique of Keynesianism is also called the Real Balance effect.

Pilates:

Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany.

Pile Pelion on Ossa:

In Greek mythology, Mount Pelion (which took its name from the mythical king Peleus, father of Achilles) was the homeland of Chiron the Centaur, tutor of many ancient Greek heroes, such as Jason, Achilles, Theseus and Heracles. On Mount Pelion, near Chiron's cave, the marriage of Thetis and Peleus took place. The uninvited goddess Eris, to take revenge for having been kept outside the party, brought a golden apple with the inscription "To the Fairest". The dispute that then arose between the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena resulted in events leading to the Trojan War.

When the twins Otus and Ephialtes attempted to storm Olympus, they piled Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa (whence the idiom, to "Pile Pelion on Ossa").

Pilgrim:

A person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion.

A traveler; any wayfarer.

Pilgrimage:

A journey to a sacred place or shrine.

A long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance.

Pilot:

A trial run on a modest scale to test the feasibility of something much bigger. For example, the manufacture of a small number of items of a product to see whether it is worth gearing up for their mass production.

Pilot Fish:

The Pilot Fish (Naucrates ductor) is a carnivorous fish of the trevally, or jackfish family, Carangidae. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. The pilot fish congregates around sharks, rays, and sea turtles, where it eats ectoparasites on, and leftovers around the host species; younger Pilot Fish are usually associated with jellyfish and drifting seaweeds.

Ernest Hemingway bitterly immortalised John Dos Passos as a "Pilot Fish" for the wealthy in A Moveable Feast, after falling out with him over the Spanish Civil War.

PIN Code:

Short for: Personal Identification Number. PIN is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system.

See also: PUK code.

Pin Money:

An allowance of money given by a man to his wife or to other dependents for their personal, discretionary use.

A relatively small sum of cash kept in one's personal possession, for routine expenses or incidental purchases; an amount of money which is not particularly significant.

Piñata:

A Piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italian pignatta, was introduced.

Pince-Nez:

Eyeglasses clipped to the bridge of the nose.

Ping (blogging):

In blogging, Ping is an XML-RPC-based push mechanism by which a weblog notifies a server that its content has been updated.

Pingdemic:

The phrase Pingdemic is a play on words made up of the terms “pandemic” and “ping”. It refers to being notified by the NHS Covid-19 app on your phone.

Pink Slip:

Pink Slip refers to the American practice, by a personnel department, of including a discharge notice in an employee's pay envelope to notify the worker of his or her termination of employment or layoff. The "Pink Slip" has become a metonymy for the termination of employment in general.

Pinkwashing:

Pinkwashing is a compound word modelled on term whitewash. In the context of LGBT rights, it is used to describe a variety of marketing and political strategies aimed at promoting products, countries, people or entities through an appeal to gay-friendliness, in order to be perceived as progressive, modern and tolerant. The phrase was originally coined in 1992 by Breast Cancer Action to identify companies that claimed to support people with breast cancer while actually profiting from their illness.

The practice of a company using support of breast cancer-related charities to promote itself and its products or services.

(LGBT) The practice of presenting something, particularly a state, as gay-friendly in order to soften or downplay aspects of its reputation considered negative.

Pinnacle:

Architecture: a small turret or spire on a roof or buttress.

Pinocchio Test:

Pinocchio Test: Create a fake artifact as a proxy for a real product. How: Create a non-functional version of your product and use your imagination to pretend it's functional to test if, how, and when you would use it.

Why: A Pinocchio prototype can help test the physical form factor of a product. As it is in fact a dumb prototype, it works best to convince yourself and your team, not others, that your idea is on the right track.

Pinochle:

Pinochle or binocle (sometimes pinocle, or penuchle) is a trick-taking card game typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck.

Pint:

Mathematics & Measurements / Units: a unit of liquid measure of capacity equal to one eighth of a gallon. 1 Brit Pint is equal to 0.568 liter, 1 US Pint to 0.473 liter.

Brit informal: a Pint of beer; a drink of beer.

Pinyin:

The standard system of romanized spelling for transliterating Chinese.

Pioneer:

One who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle.

One who opens up new areas of thought, research, or development.

Pipe Dream:

(Idiomatic): a plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility.

Pipeline:

A conduit of pipe, especially one used for the conveyance of water, gas, or petroleum products.

A direct channel by which information is privately transmitted.

A system through which something is conducted, especially as a means of supply.

Piquant:

Having an agreeably pungent taste.

Appealingly provocative; charming, interesting, or attractive.

PIR:

Short for: property irregularity report.

Pirate:

One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation.

One who makes use of or reproduces the work of another without authorizationauthorization.

One that operates an unlicensed, illegal television or radio station.

Pirenne Thesis:

The Pirenne Thesis was propounded by Belgian historian Henri Pirenne. In his famous essay on Mohammed and Charlemagne (1937) Pirenne argued that the continuity of Roman civilization in transalpine (northern) Europe after the fall of Rome, created real change in Europe came from the rise of Islam, not barbarian invasions. His famous summary said, "Without Islam, the Frankish Empire would have probably never existed, and Charlemagne, without Muhammad, would be inconceivable." That is, he rejected the notion that barbarian invasions in the 4th and 5th centuries caused the collapse of the Roman Empire. Instead the Muslim conquest of north Africa made the Mediterranean a barrier, cutting western Europe off from the east, enabling the Carolingians, especially Charlemagne to create a new, distinctly western form of government.

Pissing Contest:

A Pissing Contest, or pissing match, is a game in which participants compete to see who can urinate the highest, the farthest, or the most accurately.

Since the 1940s the term has been used as a slang idiomatic phrase describing contests that are "futile or purposeless", especially if waged in a "conspicuously aggressive manner". As a metaphor it is used figuratively to characterise ego-driven battling in a pejorative or facetious manner that is often considered vulgar. The image of two people urinating on each other has also been offered as a source of the phrase.

Piste:

Individual Sports & Recreations / Skiing: a ski trail densely packed with snow; an unpaved trail or path, especially in mountainous terrain.

Pit Stop:

In motorsports, a Pit Stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above.

Pita:

A round flat bread of Middle Eastern origin that can be opened to form a pocket for filling.

Pitch:

To make a prepared presentation with the aim of securing a contract or sale.

The physical space where a street trader (or a stockbroker who operates on the floor of an exchange) has their stall.

Pivot:

The central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates.

A Pivot is a “structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of growth.” A notable example of a company employing the Pivot is Groupon; when the company first started, it was an online activism platform called The Point. After receiving almost no traction, the founders opened a WordPress blog and launched their first coupon promotion for a pizzeria located in their building lobby. Although they only received 20 redemptions, the founders realized that their idea was significant, and had successfully empowered people to coordinate group action. Three years later, Groupon would grow into a billion dollar business.

A person or thing that plays a central part in an activity or organization.

Chiefly North American: a player in a central position in a team sport; basketball: a movement in which the player holding the ball may move in any direction with one foot, while keeping the other (the Pivot foot) in contact with the floor.

Pixel:

In digital imaging, a Pixel (or picture element) is the smallest item of information in an image. Pixels are normally arranged in a 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots, squares, or rectangles. Each Pixel is a sample of an original image, where more samples typically provide more-accurate representations of the original. The intensity of each Pixel is variable; in color systems, each Pixel has typically three or four components such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

The word Pixel is based on a contraction of pix ("pictures") and el (for "element"); similar formations with el for "element" include the words: voxel and texel.

Pixie:

Pixies are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. In traditional regional lore, they are generally benign, mischievous, short of stature and attractively childlike.

A cheerful mischievous sprite; a usually petite vivacious woman or girl.

Pizzazz:

Flair, zest, or vitality; vigor; energy.

Placebo Button:

A Placebo Button is a push-button or other control which has apparent functionality but has no physical effect when pressed. Such buttons can appear to work, by lighting up or otherwise reacting, which rewards the user by giving them an illusion of control. They are commonly placed in situations where it would have once been useful to have such a button but the system now operates automatically, such as a manual thermostat in a temperature-regulated office. Were the control removed entirely, some users would feel frustrated at the awareness they were not in control.

In many cases a button may appear to do nothing but in fact causes behavior that is not immediately apparent; this can give the appearance of it being a Placebo Button.

Read also: Illusion of control: Why the world is full of buttons that don't work - "Have you ever pressed the pedestrian button at a crosswalk and wondered if it really worked? Or bashed the 'close door' button in an elevator, while suspecting that it may, in fact, have no effect whatsoever? You're not alone, and you may be right. The world is full of buttons that don't actually do anything. They're sometimes called 'Placebo Buttons' -- buttons that are mechanically sound and can be pushed, but provide no functionality."

Placebo Effect:

The beneficial effect in a patient following a particular treatment that arises from the patient's expectations concerning the treatment rather than from the treatment itself.

Placeholder Name:

Placeholder Names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which they are being discussed.

Placeholder Text:

See: filler text.

Placement:

A method of selling securities in which the securities are placed with a small number of investors. A Placement is usually done privately, in contrast to the other main way of selling shares (which is through a public offering). A Placement is cheaper than a public offering, but the price obtained for the securities may be less.

Plague:

A widespread affliction or calamity, especially one seen as divine retribution.

Plaintiff:

The party that institutes a suit in a court.

Plan:

A scheme, program, or method worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective.

Plan B:

An alternative Plan in the event the main plan proves unsuccessful or impossible to implement.

Planking (fad):

The term "Planking" was coined in Australia and became a fad in 2011. Planking is the action of lying face down with arms to the sides of the body, in unusual public spaces and photographing it - and posting photos on social networking sites such as Facebook. Aficionados lie expressionless with a straight body, hands by their sides and toes pointing into the ground.

Planned Obsolescence:

Planned Obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain period of time. Planned Obsolescence has potential benefits for a producer because to obtain continuing use of the product the consumer is under pressure to purchase again, whether from the same manufacturer (a replacement part or a newer model), or from a competitor which might also rely on Planned Obsolescence.

Visit also: Centennial Light.

Planning:

The formal process of Planning for the future of a business. Traditionally, this occurs at regular intervals and involves managers outlining a series of actions for the business over, say, the next ten years.

Plant and Equipment:

A collective term for the tools and machines required to carry on a business; everything apart from the buildings and the workforce.

Plaque:

A small pin or brooch worn as an ornament or a badge of membership.

Pathology: a small disk-shaped formation or growth; a patch.

Plasma Display:

A Plasma Display Panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays (32 inches or larger). Many tiny cells between two panels of glass hold an inert mixture of noble gases. The gas in the cells is electrically turned into a plasma which then excites phosphors to emit light. Plasma displays should not be confused with LCDs, another lightweight flatscreen display using different technology.

Plateau:

An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

A relatively stable level, period, or state.

Platform:

Computer Science: the basic technology of a computer system's hardware and software that defines how a computer is operated and determines what other kinds of software can be used.

A place, means, or opportunity for public expression of opinion.

A formal declaration of the principles on which a group, such as a political party, makes its appeal to the public.

Platinum Triangle (Los Angeles):

The Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles is an informal name for three adjacent neighborhoods that are generally regarded as the most lavish in the immediate Los Angeles area: Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills.

Platonic:

Speculative or theoretical.

Plausible Deniability:

Plausible Deniability are words first used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Kennedy administration. In that case it meant not to tell senior government officials about illegal CIA activities. These officials could then defend themselves if the activities were discovered. They would be able to say quite plausibly, and perhaps truthfully, that they did not know anything about it (deniablity). It meant that actions of the CIA could not be blamed on the President of the USA.

The term most often refers to the capacity of senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command to deny knowledge of and/or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by the lower ranks because of a lack of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved or at least willfully ignorant of said actions. In the case that illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such act in order to insulate themselves and shift blame on the agents who carried out the acts, confident that their doubters will be unable to prove otherwise. The lack of evidence to the contrary ostensibly makes the denial plausible, that is, credible. The term typically implies forethought, such as intentionally setting up the conditions to plausibly avoid responsibility for one's (future) actions or knowledge. In some organizations, legal doctrines such as command responsibility exist to hold major parties responsible for the actions of subordinates involved in heinous acts and nullify any legal protection that their denial of involvement would carry.

In politics and espionage, deniability refers to the ability of a "powerful player" or intelligence agency to "pass the buck" and avoid "blowback" by secretly arranging for an action to be taken on their behalf by a third party ostensibly unconnected with the major player. In political campaigns, Plausible Deniability enables candidates to stay "clean" and denounce third-party advertisements that use unethical approaches or potentially libellous innuendo.

Plausible Deniability is also a legal concept. It refers to lack of evidence proving an allegation. Standards of proof vary in civil and criminal cases. In civil cases, the standard of proof is "preponderance of the evidence" whereas in a criminal matter, the standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt." If an opponent lacks incontrovertible proof (evidence) of their allegation, one can "plausibly deny" the allegation even though it may be true.

Play with a Full Deck:

To be of sound mind: didn't seem to be playing with a full deck.

Playbor:

Like other forms of affective or immaterial labour, Playbor is not productive in the sense of resulting in a product, but it is the process itself that generates value. The means of production are the players themselves, but insofar as they only exist within play environments by virtue of their representations, and their representations are usually owned by the providers of these environments, the players cannot be said to be fully in control of these means. Playbor is suffused with an ideology of play, which effectively masks labour as play, and disguises the process of self-expropriation as self-expression.

Playboy:

Womanizer, philanderer, rake, socialite, man about town, pleasure seeker, lady-killer (informal) roué, lover boy (slang) ladies' man. A (rich) man who is devoted to the pursuit of pleasurable activities such as fast cars, good food, high living, nightclubs and female company.

Player:

Sports: a person who participates in or is skilled at some game or sport; a gambler.

Informal: an active participant, especially a powerful one, in a particular field of activity.

Slang: one who actively seeks out sexual partners and carries on a number of sexual affairs at the same time.

Music: a person who plays a musical instrument.

Performing Arts: an actor.

Playgirl:

A woman devoted to the pursuit of pleasurable activities.

Playground:

An outdoor area set aside for recreation and play, especially one containing equipment such as seesaws and swings.

A field or sphere of unrestricted pleasurable activity.

Playing Footsie:

(Informal): the act of flirting in which one secretly touches the feet or legs of another with one's own, as under a table.

Plea Bargain:

A Plea Bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a criminal case where by the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.

Pleb:

An ordinary person, especially one from the lower social classes. Actually defined as a member of a despised social class, a commoner, a member of the plebs of ancient Rome. Also low-born, undisinguished, vulgar, and my personal favourite: vulgar-looking.

Short for plebeian, derived from the period of the Ancient Romans. The plebeians were the general body of Roman citizens and those who were privileged were labeled patricians. Nowadays, a Pleb is one associated with those in the lower class. They often lack integrity and sophistication, while many people who consider themselves modern-day patricians often lookdown and mock them.

Plebeian:

The plebs was the general body of free, land-owning Roman citizens (as distinguished from slaves and the capite censi) in Ancient Rome. It was the non-aristocratic class of Rome and consisted of freed people, shopkeepers, crafts people, skilled or unskilled workers, and farmers. Members of the plebs were also distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a Plebeian. This term is used today to refer to one who is or appears to be of the middle or lower order; however, in Rome Plebeians could become quite wealthy and influential.

A member of the lower classes.

A vulgar or coarse person.

Plenum:

An assembly or meeting with all members present.

Plogging:

Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). It started as an organised activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running.

Plot:

The pattern of events or main story in a narrative or drama.

A secret plan to accomplish a hostile or illegal purpose; a scheme.

PLP:

Short for: Platonic Life Partnership.

Plug and Play:

In computing, Plug and Play is a term used to describe the characteristic of a computer bus, or device specification, which facilitates the discovery of a hardware component in a system, without the need for physical device configuration, or user intervention in resolving resource conflicts.

Plug and Play refers to both the traditional boot-time assignment of device resources and driver identification, as well as to hotplug systems such as USB and Firewire.

Pluralis Maiestatis:

The Majestic Plural (Pluralis Maiestatis in Latin) is the use of a plural pronoun to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a monarch, bishop, pope, or university rector. It is also called the Royal pronoun, the Royal 'we' or the Victorian 'we'. The more general word for the use of "we" to refer to oneself is nosism, from the Latin nos. Its most common use denotes excellence, power and dignity of the person that speaks or writes.

Plus Esse Quam Videri:

Latin for: To be, rather than to seem.

Plusfours:

Loose sports knickers made four inches longer than ordinary knickers.

Plutocracy:

Plutocracy is a form of oligarchy and defines a society ruled or controlled by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens.

Plymouth Rock:

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history.

P.M.:

Short for: Post Meridiem. After noon; indicating the time period from midday to midnight.

Pneumatic Tube:

Pneumatic Tubes (or capsule pipelines; also known as Pneumatic Tube Transport or PTT) are systems that propel cylindrical containers through networks of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum. They are used for transporting solid objects, as opposed to conventional pipelines, which transport fluids. Pneumatic Tube networks gained acceptance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for offices that needed to transport small, urgent packages (such as mail, paperwork, or money) over relatively short distances (within a building, or, at most within a city). Some installations grew to great complexity, but were mostly superseded. In some settings, such as hospitals, they remain widespread and have been further extended and developed in recent decades.

Poacher Turned Gatekeeper:

(Idiomatic): a person who now works against the same people they once supported.

Poched:

To cook in a boiling or simmering liquid.

Pocket Listing:

A Pocket Listing or hip pocket listing is a real estate industry term used in United States which denotes a property where a broker holds a signed listing agreement (or contract) with the seller, whether that be an "Exclusive Right to Sell" or "Exclusive Agency" agreement or contract, but where it is never advertised nor entered into a multiple listing system (MLS), or where advertising is limited for an agreed-upon period of time. In Canada, this is referred to as an "Exclusive Listing".

Podcast:

An audio programme in a compressed digital format, delivered via an RSS feed over the Internet to a subscriber and designed for playback on computers or portable digital audio players, such as the iPod.

Podium:

An elevated platform, as for an orchestra conductor or public speaker; a stand for holding the notes of a public speaker; a lectern.

Architecture: A low wall serving as a foundation; a wall circling the arena of an ancient amphitheater.

Poe's Law:

Poe's Law is an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, it is impossible to create a parody of extreme views so obviously exaggerated that it cannot be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied. The original statement, by Nathan Poe, read:

Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won't mistake for the genuine article.
Read also: Poe's Paradox.

Poe's Paradox:

In any fundamentalist group where Poe's Law applies, a paradox exists where any new idea (or person) sufficiently fundamentalist to be accepted by the group is likely to be so ridiculous that it risks being rejected as a parody (or parodist).

Poem:

A composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines.

Poet Laureate:

A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events.

Poetic Justice:

An outcome in which virtue triumphs over vice (often ironically).

Pogo (dance):

The Pogo is a dance in which the dancers jump up and down, while remaining in the same location; the dance takes its name from its resemblance to the use of a pogo stick, especially in a common version of the dance, where an individual keeps their torso stiff, their arms rigid, and their legs close together. Pogo dancing is most associated with punk rock, and is a precursor to moshing.

Pogrom:

A Pogrom is a violent riot aimed at massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly one aimed at Jews.

Poilu:

Poilu is an informal term for a French World War I infantryman, meaning, literally, hairy one. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I. The word carries the sense of the infantryman's typically rustic, agricultural background. Beards and bushy moustaches were often worn.

Poincaré Conjecture:

The question as to whether a compact, simply connected three-dimensional manifold without boundary must be homeomorphic to the three-dimensional sphere.

Point:

A brief version of the essential meaning of something; an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole.

A specified degree, condition, or limit, as in a scale or course.

Sports & Games: a unit of scoring or counting.

Point d'Appui:

A Point d'Appui (French for fulcrum), in military theory, is a location where troops are assembled prior to a battle.

Point de Vue:

Opinion, position.

Viewing point.

Point of No Return:

The point in a course of action beyond which reversal is not possible.

The point in the flight of an aircraft beyond which there is insufficient fuel for return to the starting point.

Point of Order:

A question as to whether the present proceedings are in order or allowed by the rules of parliamentary procedure.

Point of Sale:

The place where a sale is made. This is usually a shop, but it can be a telephone or an order form in a mail-order catalogue.

Point-to-Point:

A term for using individual airline fares from city to city.

Poison-Pen Letter:

A usually anonymous letter or note containing abusive or malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or a third party.

Poison Pill:

A shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "Poison Pill", is a type of defensive tactic used by a corporation's board of directors against a takeover. Typically, such a plan gives shareholders the right to buy more shares at a discount if one shareholder buys a certain percentage or more of the company's shares. The plan could be triggered, for instance, if any one shareholder buys 20% of the company's shares, at which point every shareholder (except the one who possesses 20%) will have the right to buy a new issue of shares at a discount. If every other shareholder is able to buy more shares at a discount, such purchases would dilute the bidder's interest, and the cost of the bid would rise substantially. Knowing that such a plan could be activated, the bidder could be disinclined to take over the corporation without the board's approval, and would first negotiate with the board in order to revoke the plan.

Poker:

Any of various card games played by two or more players who bet on the value of their hands.

Visit: poker - Wikipedia.

Poker Face:

Informal: a face without expression, as that of a poker player attempting to conceal the value of his cards.

Poker Terms:

Visit: poker terms - Wikipedia.

See: Texas Hold 'Em.

Polarity:

The possession or manifestation of two opposing attributes, tendencies, or principles.

Polaroid Coprporation:

Polaroid Corporation is a multinational consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February 2008 decision to cease all production in favor of digital photography products. The company's original dominant market was in polarized sunglasses, an outgrowth of Land's self-guided research in polarization after leaving Harvard University after his freshman year—he later returned to Harvard to continue his research.

Pole Dance:

Pole Dancing is a form of performing art, a combination of dancing and gymnastics. It involves dancing sensually with a vertical pole and is often used in strip clubs and gentlemen's clubs, although more recently artistic Pole Dancing (Chinese poles) is used in cabaret/circus and stage performance in a non-erotic environment.

Polemic:

A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine.

A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation.

Policy:

A plan or course of action, as of a government, political party, or business, intended to influence and determine decisions, actions, and other matters.

A course of action, guiding principle, or procedure considered expedient, prudent, or advantageous.

A written contract or certificate of insurance.

Polis:

A Greek city-state.

A state or society especially when characterized by a sense of community.

Polish Joke:

A Polish Joke is a conditional joke intended to mock the Polish people in the English language based on the hostile stereotypes about them. A 'Polish Joke' belongs to the category of jokes whose understanding requires prior knowledge of what a Polish Joke is, because similar to all conditional jokes, they depend upon the audience's preconceived notions and affective dislikes for entertainment. The relationship between these internalized negative stereotypes about the Polish people and the persistence of ethnic jokes about them is not easy to trace, although they can be understood by many. Often an offensive term for the Poles themselves is used in the joke description as well, i.e. the Polack joke in English.

Politburo:

A Politburo is the executive committee for a number of (usually communist) political parties.

Politesse:

Civility, politeness, courtesy or gallantry; or an instance of this.

Political Animal:

A person who is interested in social and political issues, especially one who actively participates in politics.

Politico:

An informal word for a politician.

Politics:

The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.

Politically Correct:

Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

Being or perceived as being overconcerned with such change, often to the exclusion of other matters.

(Uncountable): avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude, marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.

(Countable): the result or product of being politically correct.

Politically Exposed Person (PEP):

In financial regulation, a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. A PEP generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence they may hold. The terms "Politically Exposed Person" and senior foreign political figure are often used interchangeably, particularly in international forums.

Poll:

An inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people.

A Poll of voters as they leave the voting place; usually taken by news media in order to predict the outcome of an election.

Pollinator:

A Pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.

Pollyanna:

One who is persistently cheerful and optimistic, even when given cause not to be so.

Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook.

The novel's success brought the "Pollyanna principle" (along with the adjective "Pollyannaish" and the noun "Pollyannaism") into the language to describe someone who seems always to be able to find something to be "glad" about no matter what circumstances arise. It is sometimes used pejoratively, referring to someone whose optimism is excessive to the point of naïveté or refusing to accept the facts of an unfortunate situation. This pejorative use can be heard in the introduction of the 1930 George and Ira Gershwin song But Not For Me: "I never want to hear from any cheerful pollyannas/who tell me fate supplies a mate/that's all bananas.

Polterabend:

German for: bachelor party; stag party.

Poltergeist:

A ghost that manifests itself by noises, rappings, and the creation of disorder.

Polydactyly:

Polydactyly or polydactylism, also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes.

Polyglot:

A Polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, a trilingual three; above that the term multilingual may be used. The word hyperPolyglot refers to a person who can speak six or more languages fluently, though it is rarely used.

Polygon:

A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

Polygraph:

A Polygraph (popularly referred to as a lie detector) is an instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, breathing rhythms, body temperature and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions, on the theory that false answers will produce distinctive measurements. The Polygraph measures physiological changes caused by the sympathetic nervous system during questioning. Within the US federal government, a Polygraph examination is also referred to as a psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD) examination.

Polygraphs are in some countries used as an interrogation tool with criminal suspects or candidates for sensitive public or private sector employment. The use and effectiveness of the Polygraph is controversial, with the manner of its use and its validity subject to ongoing criticism.

Polymath:

A Polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas; such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.

The term was first used in the 17th century; the related term, polyhistor, is an ancient term with similar meaning.

Polyphenol Antioxidant:

A Polyphenol Antioxidant is a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic substructure. In human health these compounds, numbering over 4000 distinct species, are thought to be instrumental in combating oxidative stress, a process associated with some neurodegenerative diseases and some cardiovascular diseases.

The main source of Polyphenol Antioxidants is nutritional, since they are found in a wide array of phytonutrient-bearing foods. For example, most legumes; fruits such as apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries; and vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, celery, onion and parsley are rich in polyphenol antioxidants. Red wine, chocolate, green tea, olive oil, bee pollen (honey) and many grains are alternative sources. The principal benefit of ingestion of antioxidants seems to stem from the consumption of a wide array of phytonutrients; correspondingly, the role of dietary supplements as a method of realizing these health benefits is the subject of considerable discussion.

Pomodoro Technique:

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for 'tomato', after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student. The technique has been widely popularized by dozens of apps and websites providing timers and instructions.

Pomp and Circumstance:

Formal ceremony.

Visit also: Pomp and Circumstance Marches.

Pompous:

Exaggeratedly or ostentatiously dignified or self-important.

Poncho:

A blanketlike cloak having a hole in the center for the head; a similar garment having a hood used as a raincoat.

Ponzi Scheme:

A Ponzi Scheme - named after Charles Ponzi - is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. The Ponzi Scheme usually offers returns that other investments cannot guarantee in order to entice new investors, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi Scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going.

The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than the payments. Usually, the scheme is interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses because a Ponzi Scheme is suspected or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases. While the system eventually will collapse under its own weight, the recent example of Bernie Madoff powerfully illustrates the ability of a Ponzi scheme to delude both individual and institutional investors as well as securities authorities for long periods: Madoff's variant of the Ponzi Scheme stands as the largest financial investor fraud in history committed by a single person. Prosecutors estimate losses at Madoff's hand totalling $64.8 billion.

Pooh Bah:

A person who holds multiple offices or positions of power at the same time; a leader or other important person; a pompous, self-important person.

Pool:

A small body of still water; a swimming pool.

An available supply, the use of which is shared by a group.

Poontang:

Female genitalia.

Sexual intercourse.

POPS:

Short for: Privately Owned Public Space. A physical space that, although privately owned, is legally open to the public under a city’s zoning ordinance or other land-use law.

Popular Vote:

The vote for a U.S. presidential candidate made by the qualified voters, as opposed to that made by the electoral college.

Popularity:

The quality or state of being popular, especially the state of being widely admired, accepted, or sought after.

Population:

A marketing expression for the whole of a potential market for a particular product or service.

Populism:

Populism is a political doctrine where one sides with "the people" against "the elites".

The terms populist and Populism are also often used as prejoratives by political parties and politicians against their opponents who claim that they are merely only empathising with the public, (usually through rhetoric or proposals) to increase their appeal across the political spectrum.

Porcelain:

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 °C (2,192 °F) and 1,400 °C (2,552 °F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these high temperatures.

Porno Chic:

Positive mainstream attention toward sexually explicit films, beginning in the late 1960s with commercial American pornography.

Often used in marketing to define an element that's oversexual almost trashy yet projects class.

Porpoising:

Move through the water like a porpoise, alternately rising above it and submerging.

Porpoising is when a Formula 1 car bounces up and down - a phenomenon caused by an increase, then a sudden decrease, of downforce. It is traditionally associated with ground effect cars, with teams working hard to get on top of the issue with the new breed of Formula 1 machines.

WATCH: Porpoising demonstrated - with a spoon.

Portable Pension:

A Pension that is a perk of one particular job and which the beneficiary can take with them (and continue to fund) as and when they change jobs.

Portal:

Internet general-purpose starting point.

Portcullis:

A Portcullis (from the French porte coulissante, "sliding door") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway.

Porte-Cochère:

A carriage entrance leading through a building or wall into an inner courtyard.

A roofed structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle.

Portemonnaie:

A small pocketbook or wallet for carrying money.

Portfolio:

A mixture of assets (usually financial) that belong to a single owner, either an individual or an institution. A Portfolio might typically contain shares, bonds, gold and cash.

A hand-held case that contains phoographs of a model's work.

Portfolio Manager:

The person who looks after an investor's portfolio, buying and selling financial assets (on behalf of the investor) in search of a chosen investment target.

Portfolio Work:

A form of work in which an individual has a number of regular jobs which he or she performs at various times throughout the working week.

Portmanteau:

A new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings.

A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments.

Portolan Chart:

Portolan or portulan charts are navigational maps based on compass directions and estimated distances observed by the pilots at sea. They were first made in the 13th century in Italy, and later in Spain and Portugal, with later 15th and 16th century charts noted for their cartographic accuracy. With the advent of widespread competition among seagoing nations during the Age of Discovery, Portugal and Spain considered such maps to be state secrets. The English and Dutch relative newcomers found the description of Atlantic and Indian coastlines extremely valuable for their raiding, and later trading, ships. The word Portolan comes from the Italian adjective portolano, meaning "related to ports or harbors", or "a collection of sailing directions".

Pose:

To assume or hold a particular position or posture, as in sitting for a portrait.

Affected manners intended to impress others.

Poseur:

One who affects a particular attribute, attitude, or identity to impress or influence others.

A person who habitually pretends to be something he is not.

Posh:

Smart and fashionable.

POSH - 'Port out, starboard home'. Printed on tickets of passengers on P&O (Peninsula and Orient) passenger vessels that travelled between UK and India in the days of the Raj.

Position:

Social standing or status; rank.

A particular job in an organization (as in, she has a senior Position at Forbes Magazine).

An investor's stake in a particular financial market (including what it owns and what it is contractually obliged to buy and sell in the future).

The strategic location in a market taken (or aimed for) by a company.

The way in which something is placed; the arrangement of body parts; posture.

Positional Good:

In economics, Positional Goods are products and services whose value is mostly (if not exclusively) a function of their ranking in desirability, in comparison to substitutes. The extent to which a good's value depends on such a ranking is referred to as its positionality. The term was coined by Fred Hirsch in 1976.

Positive Mental Attitude:

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is the philosophy that having an optimistic disposition in every situation in one's life attracts positive changes and increases achievement. It employs a state of mind that continues to seek, find and execute ways to win, or find a desirable outcome, regardless of the circumstances. It opposes negativity, defeatism and hopelessness.

A Positive Mental Attitude is developed by constant reinforcement of one’s goals, positive values and beliefs. Optimism and hope are vital to the development of PMA. One technique for positive reinforcement is with the use of "self-talk" such as the quote, “I feel happy. I feel healthy. I feel terrific.” A variety of other techniques have been created over the years such as motivational posters, daily devotionals, accountability partners, and cause wristbands. Learning to control one’s emotions is a key part to developing and maintaining PMA so as to expel the negative thoughts and feelings that could influence your actions and behavior.

Posse Comitatus Act:

The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152) signed on June 18, 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The purpose of the act - in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807 - is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States. It was passed as an amendment to an army appropriation bill following the end of Reconstruction, and was subsequently updated in 1956 and 1981.

Possession is Nine Points of the Law:

Unknown Presumably derives from legal principle where the satisfaction of 10 (or at times 12) points legitimated ownership; hence “nine points of the law” (sometimes “eleven points of the law”) constituted close to full ownership. Derived from the early English property system, where the right to possession of property was endorsed by the king in the form of a writ. There were nine traditional writs granted by the King, and each of these nine writs represented the nine basic rights of property possession. These nine writs evolved into the nine original laws defining property ownership, hence the expression "Possession is Nine Points in the Law."

Listed in the form “Possession is Nine points in the Law.” as a common saying in 1616 by Thomas Draxe, Adages 163.

Dated form of possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome (PADS)

‘Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome’: why do fans feel blue after watching James Cameron’s film Avatar? PADS is not a medically recognised condition, but the feelings people experience are very real.

Read more here: ‘Post-Avatar Depression Syndrome’: why do fans feel blue after watching James Cameron’s film? - The Guardian.

Post-Date:

To put a future date on a financial instrument (such as a check) so that the payee cannot obtain payment untill that date.

Post Festum:

Latin post (“after”) + festum (“feast”). After the fact; too late.

Post-Haste:

With great speed or immediacy.

Post Hoc:

Post Hoc (sometimes written as post-hoc) (a shortened style of post hoc ergo propter hoc) is a fallacy in which one event is alleged to be the reason for a later event just because it occurred earlier. It is also referred to as the fallacy of the false cause or the argument from succession alone.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc:

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (Latin: "after this, therefore because of this") is a logical fallacy (of the questionable cause variety) that states "Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X." It is often shortened to simply post hoc fallacy.

Post-it Note:

A Post-it Note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and to other surfaces: walls, desks, computer displays, and so forth. While now available in a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes, Post-it Brand notes are most commonly a 3-inch (76 mm) square, canary yellow in color. The notes use a unique low-tack adhesive that enables Post-it Brand notes to be easily attached and removed without leaving marks or residue, unless used on white boards.

Post-Mortem:

An examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (abbreviated PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more traumatic events that threatened or caused great physical harm.

It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone's actual death, a threat to the patient's or someone else's life, serious physical injury, an unwanted sexual act, or a threat to physical or psychological integrity, overwhelming psychological defenses.

In some cases it can also be from profound psychological and emotional trauma, apart from any actual physical harm. Often, however, incidents involving both things are found to be the cause.

PTSD is a condition distinct from the normal healthy emotional stress response that every human body feels after it has had a traumatic event which has less intensity and duration.

PTSD has also been recognized in the past as railway spine, stress syndrome, shell shock, battle fatigue, traumatic war neurosis, or Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Diagnostic symptoms include reexperience such as flashbacks and nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, increased arousal such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger and hypervigilance. Per definition, the symptoms last more than six months and cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (e.g. problems with work and relationships).

Post-Truth:

Post-Truth is a philosophical and political concept for "the disappearance of shared objective standards for truth" and the "circuitous slippage between facts or alt-facts, knowledge, opinion, belief, and truth". Post-Truth discourse is often contrasted with the forms taken by scientific methods and inquiry. The term garnered widespread popularity, in the form of "post-truth politics", in the period around the 2016 United States presidential election and the Brexit referendum. It was named Word of the Year in 2016 by the Oxford Dictionary where it is defined as "Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief".

While the term Post-Truth is relatively recent, the concept can be traced back to earlier moral, epistemic, and political debates about relativism, postmodernity, and mendacity in politics, including nontruthfulness, lies, deception, and deliberate falsehood.

Read also: 'Post-Truth' declared word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries - BBC News.

Postcode:

Britain and Australia: a code of letters and digits used as part of a postal address to aid the sorting of mail Also called postal code US equivalent zip code.

Poste Restante:

Poste Restante (French, translation: post which remains) is a service where the post office holds mail until the recipient calls for it. It is a common destination for mail for people who are visiting a particular location and have no need, or no way, of having mail delivered directly to their place of residence at that time.

Poster:

A large, usually printed placard, bill, or announcement, often illustrated, that is posted to advertise or publicize something; an artistic work, often a reproduction of an original painting or photograph, printed on a large sheet of paper.

Poster Boy:

A person who typifies or represents a particular characteristic, cause, opinion, etc.

Posthaste:

Quickly, as fast as someone travelling post; with great speed.

Posthumous:

Occurring or continuing after one's death.

Published after the writer's death.

Born after the death of the father.

Postmortem:

Of or relating to a medical examination of a dead body; occurring or done after death.

Informal: an analysis or review of a finished event.

Postpaid Mobile Phone:

The Post-Paid Mobile Phone is a mobile phone for which service is provided by a prior arrangement with a carriage service provider (CSP). The user in this situation is billed after the fact according to their use of mobile services at the end of each month. Typically, the customer's contract specifies a limit or "allowance" of minutes, text messages etc., and the customer will be billed at a flat rate for any usage equal to or less than that allowance. Any usage above that limit incurs extra charges. Theoretically, a user in this situation has no limit on use of mobile services and, as a consequence, unlimited credit.

The alternative billing method is as a prepaid mobile phone where a user pays in advance for credit which is then consumed by use of the mobile phone service.

Potboiler:

A literary or artistic work of poor quality, produced quickly for profit.

Potemkin Village:

The phrase "Potemkin Village" was originally used to describe a fake portable village, built only to impress. According to the story, Grigory Potemkin erected the fake portable settlement along the banks of the Dnieper River in order to fool Empress Catherine II during her journey to Crimea in 1787. The phrase is now used, typically in politics and economics, to describe any construction (literal or figurative) built solely to deceive others into thinking that some situation is better than it really is. Some modern historians claim the original story is exaggerated.

Potion:

A liquid or liquid mixture, especially one that is medicinal, poisonous, or magical.

Potis:

From Proto-Indo-European: owner, master, host, husband.

(Latin): able, capable, possible.

Potpourri:

A combination of incongruous things.

A miscellaneous anthology or collection.

A mixture of dried flower petals and spices used to scent the air.

POTUS:

Acronym of President of the United States.

See also: FLOTUS.

Pound:

A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (453.592 grams); a unit of apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces (373.242 grams).

The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, worth 20 shillings or 240 old pence before the decimalization of 1971. Also called Pound sterling.

The Pound key on a telephone.

Pound for Pound:

Pound for Pound is the term used in boxing, mixed martial arts, and other combat sports to describe a fighter's value in relation to fighters of different weight classes.

Pound of Flesh:

From Antonio's debt to Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (1596): (Act IV, scene I, line 27) a debt harshly insisted upon; something that is one's legal right but is an unreasonable demand; a particularly onerous or unpleasant obligation.

Pourboire:

Money given as a gratuity; a tip.

Poverty:

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute Poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative Poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live.

Poverty Line:

The poverty threshold, or Poverty Line, is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a given country. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the Poverty Line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries. The common international Poverty Line has in the past been roughly US$1 a day. In 2008, the World Bank came out with a revised figure of US$1.25 at 2005 purchasing-power parity (PPP).

Powder One's Nose:

Euphemistically identifies the purpose of a lavatory as a place to apply make-up.

Power:

Ability to do, act, or produce.

The ability to control others; authority; sway; influence.

A nation, especially one having influence or domination over other nations.

Power (social and political):

In social science and politics, power is the capacity of an individual to influence the conduct (behaviour) of others. The term "authority" is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust. This sort of primitive exercise of power is historically endemic to humans; however, as social beings, the same concept is seen as good and as something inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help, move, and empower others as well. In general, it is derived by the factors of interdependence between two entities and the environment. In business, the ethical instrumentality of power is achievement, and as such it is a zero-sum game. In simple terms it can be expressed as being "upward" or "downward". With downward power, a company's superior influences subordinates for attaining organizational goals. When a company exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of their leader or leaders.

Power Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner:

A working meal at which important discussions may be held, and important decisions made.

Power Circle:

A group of people dedicated to each other's success.

Power Color Red:

In connection with neckties this color lets his wearer be full with energy. He is extrovert and wants to advance. Red wants to be the eye-catcher. If you are wearing red, it could be that you express a passion and a way of ruthless power. Red neckties are mostly worn by people who like action and drama. Red stands for a strong sexuality.

Power Nap:

A Power Nap is a short sleep which terminates before the occurrence of deep sleep or slow-wave sleep (SWS), intended to quickly revitalize the subject.

Power of Attorney:

A legal document allowing one person to act as the agent of another.

Power Paradox:

The Power Paradox is this: we rise in power and make a difference in the world due to what is best about human nature, but we fall from power due to what is worst.

Recommended reading: The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence - "A revolutionary and timely reconsideration of everything we know about power. Celebrated UC Berkeley psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner argues that compassion and selflessness enable us to have the most influence over others and the result is power as a force for good in the world."

Power Shopping

When well-off people shop quickly, resulting in the rapid accumulation of goods.

Power Suit:

Clothes which you wear at work to make you look important or confident.

Power Walking:

Power Walking is walking at a speed at the upper end of the natural range for the walking gait, typically 7 km/h to 9 km/h (4.5 to 5.5 mph). In this range walking and jogging are almost equally efficient, and the walking gait gives significantly less impact to the joints.

Recently, Power Walking has been increasingly recommended as an alternative to jogging for a low-to-moderate exercise regime (say 60-80% of maximum heart rate). When used in this way, an exaggerated arm swing is also often used.

To qualify as Power Walking as opposed to jogging or running, at least one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times.

Power Walking is also known as speed walking.

See also: jogging.

Powered Exoskeleton:

A Powered Exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, exoframe, or exosuit, is a mobile machine consisting primarily of an outer framework (akin to an insect's exoskeleton) worn by a person, and a powered system of motors or hydraulics that delivers at least part of the energy for limb movement.

Powerhouse:

A highly energetic and indefatigable person.

PowerPoint:

A presentation graphics program from Microsoft for Macintosh and Windows. It was the first desktop presentation program for the Mac and provides the ability to create output for overheads, handouts, speaker notes and film recorders. PowerPoint is an integral part of Microsoft Office and is extensively used worldwide by educators, students, business people and trainers.

PowWow:

A council or meeting with or of Native Americans.

A talk, conference, or meeting.

P.P.:

Parcel Post.

Past Participle.

Per Procurationem (by proxy).

Postpaid.

P.P.C. | Pour Prendre Congé:

For leave-taking; sometimes written on the address cards of persons about to leave a locality when they pay their farewell visits.

PPP:

Short for: Purchasing Power Parity, a criterion for an appropriate exchange rate between currencies.

Also short for: Point-to-Point Protocol - a protocol for communication between two computers using a serial interface & Paycheck Protection Plan loans.

PPS:

Latin: post postscriptum (additional postscript). Short for: parlamentary private secretary.

PPV:

Short for: Pay-Per-View is the system by which a television audience can purchase events to view on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it, as opposed to video on demand systems, which allow viewers to see the event at any time. Events can be purchased using an on-screen guide, an automated telephone system, or through a live customer service representative. Events include feature films, sporting events, pornographic movies and "special" events. The primary draw of Pay-Per-View that separates it from the rest of television is the fact that, since the people are already paying out-of-pocket, there are no commercials.

PR:

Short for: Public Relations. PR is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public. Public Relations gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. Because Public Relations places exposure in credible third-party outlets, it offers a third-party legitimacy that advertising does not have. Common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the press, and employee communication.

PR can be used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public. Almost any organization that has a stake in how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level of Public Relations. A number of specialties exist within the field of Public Relations, such as Analyst Relations, Media Relations, Investor Relations or Labor Relations.

Practical Joke:

A Practical Joke (also known as a prank, gag, jape or shenanigan) is a mischievous trick or joke played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort.

Practice:

A customary way of operation or behavior.

Pramatic:

Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.

Prank Call:

A Prank Call or a crank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. A crank call, although also intended to disturb and harass, is usually more hostile than lighthearted, being made by a "crank," some in anger.

Preaching to the Choir:

To commend an opinion to those who already accept it.

Preamble:

A preliminary statement, especially the introduction to a formal document that serves to explain its purpose.

An introductory occurrence or fact; a preliminary.

Precariat:

In sociology and economics, the Precariat is a neologism for a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term is a portmanteau obtained by merging precarious with proletariat. Unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labour to live, members of the Precariat are only partially involved in labour and must undertake extensive "unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings".

Classic examples of such unpaid activities include continually having to search for work (including preparing for and attending job interviews), as well as being expected to be perpetually responsive to calls for "gig" work (yet without being paid an actual wage for being "on call"). The hallmark of the precariat class is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence. The emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism.

Some theorists suggest that the young Precariat class in Europe has become a serious issue in the early part of the 21st century. This has been linked with major populist political developments including the Brexit referendum and the presidency of Donald Trump. A survey conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations discovered that only one third of Germans and one quarter of Italians and French had enough money remaining at the end of the month to buy treats for themselves.

Precedence:

The fact, state, or right of preceding; priority.

Priority claimed or received because of preeminence or superiority.

A ceremonial order of rank or preference, especially as observed on formal occasions.

Precious Metal:

Any of several metals, including gold and platinum, that have high economic value.

Précis:

Literary & Literary Critical Terms: a concise summary of a book, article, or other text; an abstract.

Predatory Pricing:

The practice of cutting drastically and deliberately the price of a product or service in order to steal a competitor's market share. By implication, predatory pricing involves cutting prices so that the profit margin is zero or negative. Hence it can only be done as a short-term measure.

Predictable Policing:

Measuring the crime control. Benefits of hotspots. A fairly robust body of evidence suggests that hotspots policing is an effective crime prevention strategy.

Pre-Emption:

The right to purchase something before others can. It refers, in particular, to the right of existing shareholders in a company to purchase any new issue of shares in the company before the shares are offered to others.

Preemptive Rights:

Preemptive Rights (U.S.A.), another device intended to protect shareholders, enable shareholders to retain their proportional share ownership. If John owns 10% of the issued and outstanding stock of John Doe, Inc., and if the corporation proposes to issue an additional 100 shares of its stock, John would have the preemptive right to acquire 10 shares of the new issue on the same terms and conditions as the corporation proposed to offer the shares to outsiders. Like cumulative voting, preemptive rights exist in some state unless the articles reject them. In other states, preemptive rights don't exist unless the articles permit them.

Prefectures of Japan:

The Prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 first-order subnational jurisdictions on a state or provincial level: one "metropolis", Tokyo; one "circuit"/territory, Hokkaido; two urban Prefectures, Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other Prefectures. Prefectures are governmental bodies larger than cities, towns, and villages. The former provinces of Japan were converted into Prefectures in the 1870s.

The chief executive of each Prefecture is a directly elected governor. Ordinances and budgets are enacted by a unicameral (single chamber) assembly whose elected members serve four-year terms.

Preference:

Special treatment given by one country to another in respect of trade between them.

Preference Share:

A special sort of share whose dividend payment has preference over the dividend payments to the holders of ordinary shares. In the event of a liquidation, owners of preference shares receive payment efore ordinary shareholders.

Preferential Creditor:

A creditor of an organization who gets priority in certain circumstances, such as a liquidation. Preferential creditors include tax authorities, anyone with a charge on the organization's assets, and lowly paid employees whose wages are overdue.

Preferred Supplier:

A supplier who has a special relationship with a customer. This relationship usually means that the customer will, other things being equal, give the supplier a certain amount of (almost guaranteed) business during the course of a year. In return, the supplier is expected to match certain standards of quality and timeliness.

Prefix:

To put or attach before or in front of.

A title placed before a person's name.

Prelude:

An introductory performance, event, or action preceding a more important one; a preliminary or preface.

Music: music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera.

Premise:

A Premise is a statement that an argument claims will induce or justify a conclusion. In other words: a Premise is an assumption that something is true. In logic, an argument requires a set of (at least) two declarative sentences (or "propositions") known as the Premises along with another declarative sentence (or "proposition") known as the conclusion. This structure of two Premises and one conclusion forms the basic argumentative structure. More complex arguments can use a series of rules to connect several Premises to one conclusion, or to derive a number of conclusions from the original Premises which then act as Premises for additional conclusions. An example of this is the use of the rules of inference found within symbolic logic.

Premises:

The land and building where a business is carried on.

Premium:

A regular payment to an insurer for providing cover against a stated risk.

An amount paid over and above some specified value. In the takeover of a public company, for instance, the Premium is the amount paid over and above the price of the company's shares on the stockmarket before the bid appeared.

Premiumization:

Premiumization is simply a means of getting customers to pay higher prices for a brand or product. In a word, premiumization is when companies steer consumers towards higher-end versions of their standard bearer products.

Product Premiumization is when a company adds an element, like a new feature or an upgraded experience, to an already existing product or service.

Also read: Is the Entire Economy Gentrifying? - "Companies are trying to maintain fat profits as the economy changes, making 'Premiumization' their new favorite buzzword."

Prenup:

A Prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to Prenup, prenupt, or perogie is a contract entered into prior to marriage, civil union or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry or contract with each other. The content of a Prenuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage.

Prepaid Mobile Phone:

A Prepaid Mobile Phone (also commonly referred to as pay-as-you-go or prepaid wireless) is a mobile phone for which service is purchased in advance of use. By purchasing credit to use on a mobile phone network, a user can access a mobile phone network without ongoing billing. Users can then use the mobile phone network until they run out of credit. The alternative billing method (and what is commonly referred to as a mobile phone contract) is the post-paid mobile phone, where a user enters into a long-term billing arrangement with a mobile network operator or carriage service provider (CSP).

Preparatory School:

A usually private secondary school that prepares students for college.

Prepared Mind:

Louis Pasteur: In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind; chance favors the prepared mind; fortune favors the prepared mind.

Prepayment:

The settlement of a debt before it becomes due. Some loan contracts impose a penalty fee if a borrower makes a prepayment.

Prepper:

Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or Preppers) who actively prepare for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. Survivalism also encompasses preparation for personal emergencies, such as job loss or being stranded in the wild or under adverse weather conditions. The emphasis is on self-reliance, stockpiling supplies, and gaining survival knowledge and skills. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, and build structures such as survival retreats or underground shelters that may help them survive a catastrophe.

Anyone who has observed recent history and the re-occurring disasters (both natural and made-caused) that have resulted in massive casualties and/or loss of life, and in consideration of lessons learned or stemming from such events coupled with the odds of the re-occurrence of any such events, takes appropriate and measured steps to deal-with and/or survive any such events which may occur in their environment (The Prepper Journal).

Visit also: the Prepper Website.

Preppy:

Preppy, preppie, or prep (all abbreviations of the word preparatory) refers to a modern, widespread subculture in the United States.

A student or former student of a preparatory school.

A person whose manner and dress are deemed typical of traditional preparatory schools.

Prequel:

A Prequel is a work that portrays events and/or aspects of a previously completed narrative, but is set prior to the existing narrative. The word is a neologism, formed as a portmanteau from pre-, meaning before, and sequel, a work which takes place after a previous one (although the word sequel comes from the Latin verb sequor, there is no verb "prequor"). Its meaning is easily grasped and it has passed into common usage. An alternative term would be protosequel (though it would literally mean first sequel), as adopted in other languages, like the Spanish "protosecuela" (which however is not so frequently used as precuela).

Presence:

The state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence.

Immediate proximity in time or space.

The area immediately surrounding a great personage, especially a sovereign.

A person's bearing, especially when it commands respectful attention; the quality of self-assurance and effectiveness that permits a performer to achieve a rapport with the audience; a supernatural influence felt to be nearby.

The diplomatic, political, or military influence of a nation in a foreign country, especially as evidenced by the posting of its diplomats or its troops there.

Presentation:

The formal delivery of a business message.

Presenter:

A Presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form), is a person or organization responsible for running an event.

President:

One appointed or elected to preside over an organized body of people, such as an assembly or meeting.

The chief executive of a republic.

The chief executive of the United States, serving as both chief of state and chief political executive.

The chief officer of a branch of government, corporation, board of trustees, university, or similar body.

Press:

The collecting and publishing or broadcasting of news; journalism in general.

The entirety of media and agencies that collect, publish, transmit, or broadcast the news.

The people involved in the media, as news reporters, photographers, publishers, and broadcasters.

Commentary or coverage especially in print media.

Press Kit:

A packaged set of promotional materials, such as photographs and background information, for distribution to the press, as at a news conference or before the release of a new product.

Press Release:

An announcement of an event, performance, or other newsworthy item that is issued to the press.

Prestige:

The level of respect at which one is regarded by others; standing.

A person's high standing among others; honor or esteem.

Widely recognized prominence, distinction, or importance.

Presto:

Music: in a very fast tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegro but slower than prestissimo. Used chiefly as a direction.

So suddenly that magic seems involved.

Prêt-à-Porter:

Ready-to-Wear or Prêt-à-Porter (Off the Rack or "Off-the-Peg" in casual use) is the term for factory made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes.

Ready-to-wear has rather different connotations in the spheres of fashion and classic clothing. In the fashion industry, designers produce ready-to-wear clothing intended to be worn without significant alteration, because it is by far the most economical, efficient, and profitable way to produce garments. They use standard patterns, factory equipment, and faster construction techniques to keep costs low, compared to a custom-sewn version of the same item. Some fashion houses or fashion designers create ready-to-wear lines that are mass-produced and industrially manufactured, while others offer lines that are very exclusive and produced only in limited numbers for a limited time. Whatever the quantity produced, these garments are never one-of-a-kind.

Preterea:

Besides; thereafter; moreover.

Preview:

An advance showing, as of a movie or art exhibition, to which a selected audience is invited before public presentation begins.

An introductory or preliminary message, sample, or overview; a foretaste.

Priapos:

In Greek mythology, Priapos, Latinized as Priapus, was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. His Roman equivalent was Mutunus Tutunus. He was best noted for his huge, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term Priapism.

Price:

The cost in money term of a product or service.

Price On Application (POA):

Price On Application (sometimes price on asking), more commonly abbreviated as POA, is a term often seen on price lists, classified advertisements and is commonly used with regard to real estate prices. It means the seller or selling agent must be contacted in order to obtain the price.

Price Sensitive:

A product or service whose sales fluctuate dramatically with any change in its price. Commodity products in markets where there is plenty of competition are particularly price sensitive. A retailer cannot change the price of a basic loaf of bread, for example, without sharply affecting sales.

Price Support:

A minimum price set by a government for a product in order to guarantee that its producers will obtain a certain income for their output. It is usually applied to agricultural products.

Price War:

A fierce form of competition in which vendors successively undercut each others' prices to steal market share.

Priest Hole:

A Priest Hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Roman Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558.

Prikhvatizatsiya:

In 1994, executives at Russia's only Swiss Central Bank accredited bank, Oneksim Bank came up with a plan to help then-President Boris Yeltsin and his administration raise some cash while distributing the companies.

The plan was called "loans for shares." Russian banks lent the government money in exchange for temporary stakes in state-owned companies. If the government defaulted on its loan, the banks got to keep their stakes.

Of course, the government did default, and those with the capital to take advantage of this fire sale, like Oneksim Bank's then-president and Russia's 4th richest man Vladimir Potanin, became wealthy beyond belief.

At the time, reported the New York Times, Russian voters called this policy "Prikhvatizatsiya," or "grabification."

Prima Facie:

At first sight; before closer inspection.

Evident without proof or reasoning; obvious.

Prima Vista:

At first sight: as, to read a piece of music a Prima Vista.

Primacy Effect:

Tendency of an employee performance evaluator or an interviewer to rely on early cues for the first impressions.

Primadonna:

The leading woman soloist in an opera company.

A temperamental, conceited person.

Primal:

Being first in time; original; primeval; of first importance; primary.

Primary Colors:

Primary Colors are sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of colors. For human applications, three primary colors are usually used.

See also: complementary colors and secondary colors.

Primary Market:

The market in which financial instruments are sold when they are first issued, that is, when they pass from the issuer to their first purchaser. Thereafter they are bought and sold in a secondary market.

Primate:

A mammal of the order Primates, which includes the anthropoids and prosimians, characterized by refined development of the hands and feet, a shortened snout, and a large brain.

A bishop of highest rank in a province or country.

Prime:

The period of greatest prosperity or productivity.

A number that has no factor but itself and 1.

Prime Market:

The market in which financial instruments are sold when they are first issued, that is, when they pass from the issuer to their first purchaser. Thereafter they are bought and sold in a secondary market.

Prime Meridian:

A Prime Meridian is a meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a Prime Meridian and its antimeridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great circle. This great circle divides the sphere, e.g., Earth, into two hemispheres. If one uses directions of East and West from a defined Prime Meridian, then they can be called the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.

Prime Mover:

The original or most effective force in an undertaking or work.

Prime Number:

A Prime Number (or a Prime) is a natural number that has exactly two distinct natural number divisors: 1 and itself. The smallest twenty-five Prime Numbers (all the Prime Numbers under 100) are:

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89 and 97.

Prime Time:

The evening hours, generally between 7 and 11 p.m., when the largest television audience is available.

Priming:

The act of making something ready.

Priming refers to a increased sensitivity to certain stimuli due to prior experience.

Primogeniture:

Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings (compare to ultimogeniture). Historically, the term implied male Primogeniture, to the exclusion of females. In the absence of children, inheritance passed to collateral relatives, in order of seniority of their lines of descent. The eligible descendants of deceased elder siblings take precedence over those of younger siblings, such that inheritance is settled in the manner of a depth-first search. The principle has applied in history to inheritance of real property (land) and inherited titles and offices, most notably monarchies, continuing until modified or abolished.

The state of being the first born or eldest child of the same parents.

Law: the right of the eldest child, especially the eldest son, to inherit the entire estate of one or both parents.

Primrose Path:

The Primrose Path refers to a life of ease and pleasure, or to a course of action that seems easy and appropriate but can actually end in calamity.

Primus Inter Pares:

Primus Inter Pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for those who are formally equal to other members of their group but are accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office.

Prince Charming:

A man who fulfills all the romantic expectations of a woman.

A man who ardently seeks the company and affection of women.

Prince of Darkness:

Prince of Darkness is a term used in John Milton's poem Paradise Lost, published in 1667, referring to Satan, who is viewed as the embodiment of evil. It is an English translation of the Latin phrase princeps tenebrarum, which occurs in the Acts of Pilate, written in the fourth century, in the 11th-century hymn Rhythmus de die mortis by Pietro Damiani, and in a sermon by Bernard of Clairvaux from the 12th century.

The phrase also occurs in King Lear by William Shakespeare (c. 1606), Act III, Scene IV, l. 140: Edgar: The prince of darkness is a gentleman.

Prince of Wales:

Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru) is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and formerly the Kingdom of Great Britain and before that the Kingdom of England).

Prince Valiant:

Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 4000 Sunday strips.

Principal:

One who holds a position of presiding rank, especially the head of an elementary school or high school.

The amount borrowed in a loan or issue of securities. The Principal is the capital sum that has ultimately to be repaid, and on which the interest that has to be paid in the meantime is calculated.

A main participant in a situation; a person having a leading or starring role.

Principle:

A basic truth, law, or assumption.

A fixed or predetermined policy or mode of action.

A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes.

Print-on-Demand:

POD: printing what you want, when you want, where you want.

A book publishing process mainly associated with self-publishing, in which a book is printed in small runs (sometimes as small as a single book).

A technology for book production that only prints a unit when there is demand for it. Contrasted with offset printing. Used especially for books that are intended for a niche market. Not to be confused with vanity publishing, despite the efforts of vanity publishers to hide behind the term.

Printed Circuit Board:

A Printed Circuit Board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. PCBs are rugged, inexpensive, and can be highly reliable.

Priority:

Precedence, especially established by order of importance or urgency.

Priory:

Religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress.

Prisoner's Dilemma:

The Prisoner's Dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so.

Private Company:

A company whose shares are not available to be bought by the general public. A private company is owned by a small number of shareholders who have no obligations (outside the general laws of the land) to reveal information about their business to the public.

Private Label:

Private Label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private Label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting. They are often positioned as lower cost alternatives to regional, national or international brands, although recently some Private Label brands have been positioned as "premium" brands to compete with existing "name" brands.

Privatization:

The sale of a state-owned company to the general public.

Privatize:

To change (an industry or business, for example) from governmental or public ownership or control to private enterprise.

Privatizing Profits & Socializing Losses:

A phrase describing how businesses and individuals can successfully benefit from any and all profits related to their line of business, but avoid losses by having those losses paid for by society. Privatizing Profits & Socializing Losses suggests that when large losses occur for speculators or businesses, they are able to successfully lobby government for aide rather than face the consequences of said losses.

Privilege:

A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste.

The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity.

Any of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of a country by its constitution.

Privy Purse:

A sum from the public revenues allotted to the sovereign for personal expenses.

Prix Fixe:

A complete meal of several courses, sometimes with choices permitted, offered by a restaurant at a fixed price.

See also: à la carte & table d'hôte.

Prize:

Something offered or won as an award for superiority or victory, as in a contest or competition.

Something worth striving for; a highly desirable possession.

Pro Bono:

Done without compensation for the public good.

Pro Forma:

Done as a formality; perfunctory.

A presentation of financial or accounting figures based on a theoretical future occurrence. For instance, a Pro Forma set of accounts might be produced to show what would happen to their accounts if two companies were to merge. A Pro Forma invoice indicates the liability that will arise if an order is made or if certain goods are shipped. In practice, Pro Forma invoices are often issued simply because customs and excise require little relation to what the customer is actually going to pay for the goods.

Pro Rata:

Pro Rata is an adverb or adjective, meaning in proportion. The term is used in many legal and economic contexts.

Pro Se:

Latin for "for himself". A party to a lawsuit who represents himself (acting in propria persona), is appearing in the case "Pro Se."

Proactive:

Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory.

Probability:

The quality or condition of being probable; likelihood.

Statistics: a number expressing the likelihood that a specific event will occur, expressed as the ratio of the number of actual occurrences to the number of possible occurrences.

Probability Theory:

Probability Theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability, the analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of Probability Theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single occurrences or evolve over time in an apparently random fashion. If an individual coin toss or the roll of dice is considered to be a random event, then if repeated many times the sequence of random events will exhibit certain patterns, which can be studied and predicted. Two representative mathematical results describing such patterns are the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.

Procedure:

A manner of proceeding; a way of performing or effecting something.

A series of steps taken to accomplish an end.

A set of established forms or methods for conducting the affairs of an organized body such as a business, club, or government.

Computer Science: a set of instructions that performs a specific task; a subroutine or function.

Process:

A number of activities which, taken together, add value to a business. This can be as wide as something like marketing (the marketing Process) or as narrow as a small part of manufacturing (the paint-handling Process).

Proclamation:

A formal public statement.

Procura:

Power of attorney; proxy.

Procurement:

The purchasing of all the inputs that are required to keep a business running, including raw materials, spare parts and machines.

Prodigy:

A person with exceptional talents or powers.

Prodome:

In medicine, a Prodrome is an early symptom (or set of symptoms) that might indicate the start of a disease before specific symptoms occur.

Produce:

To create by physical or mental effort; to manufacture.

Producer:

One that produces, especially a person or organization that produces goods or services for sale.

One who supervises and controls the finances, creation, and public presentation of a play, film, program, or similar work.

Product:

The final output of a manufacturing process.

Product Liability:

The liability of a manufacturer for any product which it puts on to the market and that subsequently causes damage to a consumer. In developed countries this liability is becoming embedded in law and not dependent on the consumer proving that the manufacturer was negligent.

Product Placement:

Product Placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The Product Placement is often not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured.

Possibly the first film to feature product placement was Wings (released in 1927), the first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It contained a plug for Hershey's chocolate.

See also: merchandising.

Production Music:

Production Music is the name given to the music owned by production music libraries and licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media.

Unlike popular and classical music publishers, who typically own less than 50 percent of the copyright in a composition, music production libraries own all of the copyrights of their music, meaning that it can be licensed without seeking the composer's permission, as is necessary in licensing music from normal publishers. This is because virtually all music created for music libraries is done on a work for hire basis. Production music is therefore a convenient medium for media producers—they can be assured that they will be able to license any piece of music in the library at a reasonable rate.

Productivity:

An economist's term for the output produced in a given time by a unit of any of the three factors of production (land, labour or capital). For example, the return produced by an investment of $1,000 in a year, or the yield in a year from planting wheat on a hectare of land. Its numerical precision makes productivity a useful way of measuring differences in efficiency over time, or the difference between alternative uses of the factors of production.

Profanity:

Vulgar or irreverent speech or action.

Profession:

The body of people in a learned occupation; an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences).

Professional:

Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession.

Conforming to the standards of a profession.

Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career.

Performed by persons receiving pay.

Having or showing great skill; expert.

See also: amateur.

Professional Alibi:

"Paladin Deception Services is here to assist you in obtaining the fictitious reference, the little white lie, or the alibi that you need. Our agency can provide you with either male or female testimonials? over the phone in the local area code that you require. We're confidential, professional, innovative, and affordable. Most importantly, we keep it legal. Get the verification that you need!"

Professional Corporation (U.S.):

Professional Corporations are formed under the professional corporation laws of the state and are limited to professionals, such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, engineers, and accountants. Professional corporation statutes designate which professionals may incorporate under these statutes. Professional corporation shareholders remain personally liable to their clients for professional malpractice.

Professor:

A college or university teacher who ranks above an associate Professor.

Professor Challenger:

George Edward Challenger, better known as Professor Challenger, is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's laid-back, analytic character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, dominating figure.

Profile:

A side view of an object or structure, especially of the human head.

Degree of exposure to public notice; visibility.

A biographical essay presenting the subject's most noteworthy characteristics and achievements.

A formal summary or analysis of data, often in the form of a graph or table, representing distinctive features or characteristics.

Profiler:

A person or device that creates a profile, esp someone with psychological training who assists police investigations by identifying the likely characteristics of the perpetrator of a particular crime.

Profiling:

Recording a person's behavior and analyzing psychological characteristics in order to predict or assess their ability in a certain sphere or to identify a particular group of people.

In software engineering, program Profiling, software Profiling or simply Profiling, is the investigation of a program's behavior using information gathered as the program executes.

The forensic science of constructing an outline of a person's individual characteristics.

Profit:

In accounting, Profit is the difference between the purchase and the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.

What is left over in a business after all its bills have been paid.

The difference between the revenue of the business (from selling its output) and the cost of the inputs that were required to produce the output.

Profit and Loss Account:

The accountant's record of a business's revenue and expenditure during a period. Designed to show the profit (or loss) that the business made in that period, it is known in the United States as the income statement.

Profit Centre:

A business unit that prepares its own profit and loss account, recording the theoretical prices at which it buys inputs from other parts of the business, and the theoretical prices at which it sells its output to other parts of the business.

Profit Sharing:

A way of allowing employees to share in the profit of the organization for which they work. Devising profit-sharing schemes in such a way that everyone feels they are fair has proved to be extremely difficult.

Profitability:

The ability of a particular business, product or process to make a profit. There is no single satisfactory measure of a company's Profitability. Proxies include the gross profit margin, the earnings per share and the return on total assets.

Profiteer:

One who makes excessive profits on goods in short supply.

Progeny:

Offspring or descendants considered as a group.

A result or outcome.

Prognosis:

A prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disease.

A forecast or prediction.

Program:

An ordered list of events to take place or procedures to be followed; a schedule.

A listing of the order of events and other pertinent information for a public presentation.

Program (computing):

A set of instructions which enable a computer to carry out particular actions. A word-processing Program, for example, enables its user to type letters and data.

Progress:

Gradual improvement or growth or development.

Progressive Web Application (PWA):

A Progressive Web Application (PWA) is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It is intended to work on any platform that uses a standards-compliant browser. Functionality includes working offline, push notifications, and device hardware access, enabling creating user experiences similar to native applications on desktop and mobile devices. Since progressive web apps are a type of webpage or website known as a web application, there is no requirement for developers or users to install the web apps via digital distribution systems like Apple App Store or Google Play.

While web applications have been available for mobile devices from the start, they have generally been slower, have had fewer features, and been less used than native apps. But with the ability to work offline, previously only available to native apps, PWAs running on mobile devices can perform much faster and provide more features, closing the gap with native apps, in addition to being portable across both desktop and mobile platforms.

Project:

A plan or proposal; a scheme.

An undertaking requiring concerted effort.

An extensive task undertaken by a student or group of students to apply, illustrate, or supplement classroom lessons.

Project Finance:

A way of financing big capital projects, such as hydroelectric schemes or toll roads, that depends primarily on the future cash flow of the project for its return.

Prolific:

Producing abundant works or results.

Prolix:

Tediously lengthy; ending to use big or obscure words, which few understand.

Prologue:

An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.

An introduction or introductory chapter, as to a novel.

An introductory act, event, or period.

Prom:

A formal dance held for a high-school or college class typically at or near the end of the academic year.

Promenade:

A public place for such walking.

A leisurely walk, especially one taken in a public place as a social activity.

Prominence (topography):

In topography, Prominence characterizes the height of a mountain or hill's summit by the vertical distance between it and the lowest contour line encircling with no higher summit. It is a measure of the independence of a summit.

Prominent:

Having a quality that thrusts itself into attention.

Promissory Note:

A legally binding promise by one party to another that a certain payment will be made on a prescribed date in the future. Often referred to simply as a note.

Promoter:

A Promoter, in a corporation context, is one who generates interest and activity in and on behalf of a corporation before its formation. A Promoter is usually personally liable for all preincorporation activities.

Promotion:

The elevation of an employee to a more senior position.

The concentration of exceptional marketing effort on a particular product or service.

Prompt Book:

The Prompt Book, also called transcript, the bible or sometimes simply "the book," is the copy of a production script that contains the information necessary to create a theatrical production from the ground up. It is a compilation of all blocking, business, light, speech and sound cues, lists of properties, drawings of the set, contact information for the cast and crew, and any other relevant information that might be necessary to help the production run smoothly and nicely.

Pronto:

Without delay; quickly.

Prop:

An object placed beneath or against a structure to keep it from falling or shaking; a support.

One that serves as a means of support or assistance.

Propaganda:

The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause.

Propaganda of the Deed:

Propaganda of the Deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French propagande par le fait is specific political action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution.

Property:

Something owned; a possession.

A piece of real estate.

Something tangible or intangible to which its owner has legal title.

The right of ownership; title.

Prophecy:

An inspired utterance of a prophet, viewed as a revelation of divine will.

A prediction of the future, made under divine inspiration.

Prophet:

A person who speaks by divine inspiration or as the interpreter through whom the will of a god is expressed.

A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression; a predictor; a soothsayer.

Prophet's Beard:

An interjection of excitement; another phrase for "cool"; an expression of one's personal hobby.

Propose:

To put forward for consideration, discussion, or adoption; suggest.

To recommend (a person) for a position, office, or membership; nominate.

To offer (a toast to be drunk).

To make known as one's intention; purpose or intend.

Proposition:

A plan suggested for acceptance; a proposal; a subject for discussion or analysis.

A matter to be dealt with; a task.

An offer of a private bargain, especially a request for sexual relations.

Logic: a statement that affirms or denies something; the meaning expressed in such a statement, as opposed to the way it is expressed.

Mathematics: a theorem.

Proprietary:

A right that endures for some time for a special reason; for example, a right to manufacture a new invention which is protected for a while by a patent. Proprietary medicines are pharmaceuticals which are manufactured by only one company and protected from competition by patent.

Proscenium:

A Proscenium is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical Proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame into which the audience observes from a more or less unified angle the events taking place upon the stage during a theatrical performance. The concept of the fourth wall of the theatre stage space that faces the audience is essentially the same.

Prose:

Ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure; commonplace expression or quality.

Prosecco:

A dry Italian sparkling wine.

Proselyte:

A person newly converted to a religious faith or sect; a convert, especially a gentile converted to Judaism.

Prosit:

Used as a toast to someone's health while drinking.

Prospectus:

A document outlining a company's plans for issuing new securities, including what it intends to do with the money that it raises from the issue. In many countries the contents of Prospectuses are laid down by law and are designed to protect investors from misleading information.

Prosperity:

The condition of prospering; success or wealth.

Protagonist:

The main character in a drama or other literary work.

See also: antagonist.

Protectionism:

The erecting of trade barriers to shelter a domestic market from overseas competition.

Protector:

An individual appointed by the settlor of a trust to ensure that the trustee(s) administers and manages the trust assets in accordance with the trust deed and he is often vested with the power to appoint and remove trustees.

Protégé:

A person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the Protégé's career.

See also: mentoring.

Protein:

Any of a group of complex organic macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids. Proteins are fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, that are necessary for the proper functioning of an organism. They are essential in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue and can be obtained from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes.

Protestant Work Ethic:

The Protestant Work Ethic, the Calvinist work ethic or the Puritan work ethic is a concept in theology, sociology, economics and history which emphasizes that hard work, discipline and frugality are a result of a person's subscription to the values espoused by the Protestant faith, particularly Calvinism.

This contrasts with the focus upon religious attendance, confession, and ceremonial sacrament in the Roman Catholic tradition. A person does not need to be a religious Calvinist in order to follow the Protestant work ethic, as it is a part of certain cultures impacted by the Protestant Reformation.

The phrase was initially coined in 1904–1905 by Max Weber in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Protocol:

The forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state.

A code of correct conduct.

The first copy of a treaty or other such document before its ratification.

Computing: in computing, a Protocol is a set of rules which is used by computers to communicate with each other across a network. A protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between computing endpoints.

Prototype:

A Prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category.

Proust Questionnaire:

The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust, and often used by modern interviewers.

Proust answered the questionnaire in a confession album - a form of parlor game popular among Victorians.

Proustian:

(Literary & Literary Critical Movements): of or relating to Marcel Proust, his works, or his style.

Provenance:

Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something, or the history of the ownership or location of an object. The term was originally mostly used of works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing. Typical uses may cover any artifact found in archaeology or object in paleontology, or some document, such as a manuscript, or a copy of a printed book. In most fields the primary purpose of provenance is to confirm or gather evidence as to the time, place, and if appropriate the person responsible, for the creation, production or discovery of the object, but this will typically be accomplished by tracing the whole history of the object up to the present. Comparative techniques, expert opinions, and the results of various kinds of scientific tests may also be used to these ends, but establishing provenance is essentially a matter of documentation.

Proverb:

A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept.

See also: adage.

Provision:

Money put aside by a business out of current Moneyprofit to meet future liabilities. Specific Provisions are set aside against liabilities that can be forecast with a degree of certainty. General Provisions are set aside against unexpected liabilities.

A preparatory action or measure.

A stock of necessary supplies, especially food.

Proxy:

A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute.

A Proxy is a written authorization to vote on behalf of another. Shareholders often vote by Proxy, permitting others to vote their shares. Except for close corporations (U.S.), directors may never vote by Proxy. Proxies are usually revocable, but they can be made irrevocable under certain circumstances.

Proxy Fight:

A struggle between two sets of opposing shareholders to collect the proxies of other shareholders in order to pass a resolution at a company meeting, for example, a resolution that their candidate be elected to the board.

Proxy War:

A Proxy War is a conflict between two nations where neither country directly engages the other. While this can encompass a breadth of armed confrontation, its core definition hinges on two separate powers utilizing external strife to somehow attack the interests or territorial holdings of the other. This frequently involves both countries fighting their opponent's allies, or assisting their allies in fighting their opponent.

Prügelknabe:

German for: whipping boy.

PS:

Short for: Post Script(um); a note appended to a letter after the signature.

Psaligraphy:

The art of cutting out silhouettes.

Pseudo:

False or counterfeit; fake; a person who makes deceitful pretenses.

Pseudonym:

A fictitious name, especially a pen name.

Psych-Out:

The act or an instance of undermining someone's confidence by psychological means.

Psyche:

The spirit or soul.

Greek Mythology: a young woman who loved and was loved by Eros and was united with him after Aphrodite's jealousy was overcome. She subsequently became the personification of the soul.

Psychiatry: the mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior and consciously or unconsciously adjusting or mediating the body's responses to the social and physical environment.

Psychic:

Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.

Psychoanalysis:

A method of studying the mind and treating mental and emotional disorders based on revealing and investigating the role of the unconscious mind developed by Sigmund Freud.

Psychogeography:

Psychogeography is an approach to geography that emphasizes playfulness and "drifting" around urban environments. It has links to the Situationist International. Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." Another definition is "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities... just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape."

Psychokinesis:

Psychokinesis is an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to influence a physical system without physical interaction.

Psychokinesis experiments have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls and repeatability. There is no convincing evidence that Psychokinesis is a real phenomenon, and the topic is generally regarded as pseudoscience.

Psychological Avoidance:

What is avoidance behavior? Avoidance is a maladaptive coping skill that offers the mind an escape from uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and/or experiences. It may seem like avoiding discomfort could be helpful, however, it results in never addressing the actual issue.

Read more here: Avoidance: The Band-Aid Solution to Long-Term Problems.

Psychological Operations:

Psychological Operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

Psychological Pricing:

See: odd pricing.

Psychology:

The science that deals with mental processes and behavior.

The emotional and behavioral characteristics of an individual, group, or activity.

Philosophy: the branch of metaphysics that studies the soul, the mind, and the relationship of life and mind to the functions of the body.

Psychometric Testing:

The use of tests which claim to measure characteristics of an individual's personality in order to ascertain whether that individual is suitable for a particular job. It includes the use of graphology.

Psychometrics:

Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement.

Psychopath:

A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.

Psychotherapist:

An individual, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or psychiatric social worker, who practices psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy:

The treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems, with the goal being relief of symptoms, changes in behavior leading to improved social and vocational functioning, and personality growth.

PT - The Perpetual Traveler:

A PT - The Perpetual Traveler by definition, is a non-conformist in a highly regulated, highly taxed, first world society. In a nutshell, a PT merely arranges his or her paperwork in such a way that all governments consider him a tourist. A person who is just "Passing Through". The advantage is that being thought of by government officials as a person who is merely "Parked Temporarily", a PT is not subjected to taxes, military service, lawsuits, or persecution for partaking in innocent but forbidden pursuits or pleasures. Unlike most citizens or subjects, the PT will not be persecuted for his beliefs or lack of them. PT stands for many things: a PT can be a "Prior Taxpayer", "Permanent Tourist", "Party Thrower", "Priority Thinker", "Practically Transparent", "Privacy Trained", or "Perpetual Traveler" if he or she wants to be.

The individual who is a PT can stay in one place most of the time. Or all of the time. PT is a concept, a way of life, a way of perceiving the universe and your place in it. One can be a full-time PT or a part-time PT. Some may not want to break out all at once, or become a PT at all. They just want to be aware of the possibilities, and be prepared to modify their lifestyle in the event of a crisis. Knowledge will make you sort of a PT. A "Possibility Thinker" who is "Prepared Thoroughly" for the future.

Also visit: The Five Flags Theory.

PTS | Potential Trouble Source:

One of the reasons Scientology doctrines portray Suppressive Persons as such a danger is that they are supposed to make people around them become Potential Trouble Sources (abbreviated PTS). Scientology defines a PTS as "a person who is in some way connected to and being adversely affected by a suppressive person. Such a person is called a potential trouble source because he can be a lot of trouble to himself and to others." L. Ron Hubbard suggested that Potential Trouble Sources make up 17.5% of the population.

PTSD:

Short for: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

PTSID:

Short for: Post-Traumatic Sussex Interview Disorder.

Pub:

Pub is a public house or bar (establishment).

Pub Crawling:

To visit a series of bars.

Publi-ciety:

Short for: Publicity and Society. Coined by Cleveland Amory in his book Who killed society? (1960).

Public:

The community or the people as a whole.

A group of people sharing a common interest.

Admirers or followers, especially of a famous person.

Public Company:

A company whose shares can be bought and sold by the public (usually on a recognized stock exchange). The opposite of a private company. Also known as a publicly held company, but not to be confused with a publicly owned company, which is a company that is owned by a government. To confuse matters further, when a publicly owned company is privatised it becomes a public company.

Public Defender:

The term Public Defender is an attorney or a staff of attorneys, usually publicly appointed, having responsibility for the defense of those unable to afford or obtain legal assistance.

Public Domain:

Property rights that are held by the public at large.

Openly available to everyone and not subject to copyright protection. Public Domain often refers to software, but it can also refer more generally to any work of intellectual property.

Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC):

A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is a formal declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of "an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response", formulated when a situation arises that is "serious, sudden, unusual, or unexpected", which "carries implications for public health beyond the affected state's national border" and "may require immediate international action". Under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), states have a legal duty to respond promptly to a PHEIC. The declaration is publicized by an IHR Emergency Committee (EC) of international experts, which was developed following the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.

Public Holiday:

A Public Holiday, National Holiday or Legal Holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history.

Public House:

See: pub.

Public Intellectual:

(Idiomatic): a well-known, intelligent, learned person whose written works and other social and cultural contributions are recognized not only by academic audiences and readers, but also by many members of society in general.

Public Offer:

A new issue of securities that is offered to the general public.

Public Office:

A position concerning the people as a whole.

Public Relations:

The job of communicating an organization's point of view to a number of different audiences; for example, the press, customers and the government. The more specific job of communicating with investorsinvestors is called investor relations.

Public Servant:

A person who holds a government position by election or appointment.

Public Service:

Employment within a governmental system, especially within the civil service.

A service performed for the benefit of the public, especially by a non-profit organization.

The business of supplying an essential commodity, such as water or electricity, or a service, such as communications or transportation, to the public.

Public Service Announcement (PSA):

A Public Service Announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated without charge, with the objective of raising awareness of, and changing public attitudes and behavior towards, a social issue.

Publicity:

In general, the attention of the public. Something that companies seek to gain for their new products or for their good behavior (vis-à-vis the environment, for example). In French, publicité means advertising.

Puff Pastry:

In baking, a Puff Pastry is a light, flaky, leavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20 °C (68 °F). In raw form, Puff Pastry is a dough which is spread with solid fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out (never mashed, as this will destroy layering) and used to produce the aforementioned pastries. It is sometimes called a "water dough" or détrempe.

Puffery:

In everyday language, Puffery refers to exaggerated or false praise. Puffery serves to "puff up" what is being described. In law, puffery is usually invoked as a defense argument: it identifies futile speech, typically of a seller, which does not give rise to legal liability. In a circular manner, legal explanations for this normative position describe the non-enforceable speech as a statement that no "reasonable person" would take seriously anyway.

Read also: Is It Fraud, or Is It ‘Puffery’? - "Courts have given companies some leeway to make (perhaps overly optimistic) sweeping statements, a practice lawyers call 'puffing.'"

PUK Code:

Short for: Pin Unlock Key / Personal Unblockig Code. A PIN Unlock Code (PUC) or PIN Unlock Key (PUK) is used in GSM mobile phones and some smart cards to unblock a blocked card.

See also: PIN code.

Pulcinella:

Pulcinella, a name derived from "pulcino," meaning chick, and "pollastrello," meaning rooster, is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Engineered specifically to be the star of southern Italy, he is described as "the voice of the people, as the direct expression of a people as lively and spirited as the Neapolitans is never questioned."

Pull Rank:

To use one's superior rank to gain an advantage.

Pull Strings:

Influence or control shrewdly or deviously; have and exert influence or effect.

Pull Technology:

Pull coding or client Pull is a style of network communication where the initial request for data originates from the client, and then is responded to by the server. The reverse is known as push technology, where the server pushes data to clients.. Usually, customers will look for a site and visit only if it provides helpful and attractive contents and display. The pull code is effective and economical when advertising to open, unidentified potential customers world wide. It is more effective for the customer when he searches for a specific item.

Pulp Fiction:

Fiction dealing with lurid or sensational subjects, often printed on rough, low-quality paper manufactured from wood pulp.

Pump Priming:

A one-off course of action designed to act as a catalyst for a broader economic consequence. Once a pump has been primed it should run by itself thereafter.

Pun:

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Punch Above One's Weight:

(Idiomatic): to achieve or perform at a higher level than would be expected based on one's preparation, attributes, rank, or past accomplishments.

Punch and Judy:

Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular, and usually violent puppet show featuring Pulcinella (Mr. Punch) and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's club. It is often associated with traditional British culture. The various episodes of Punch comedy - often provoking shocked laughter - are dominated by the clowning of Mr. Punch.

Punch Line:

The climactic phrase or statement of a joke, producing a sudden humorous effect.

Pundit:

A Pundit (sometimes called talking head) is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically political analysis, the social sciences or sport) on which they are usually knowledgeable (or can at least appear to be knowledgeable). The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities. In certain cases, it may be used in a derogatory manner as well, as the political equivalent of ideologue.

Punitive Damages:

Punitive Damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. Although the purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate the plaintiff, the plaintiff will in fact receive all or some portion of the Punitive Damage award.

Punk:

A young person, especially a member of a rebellious counter-culture group.

An inexperienced young man.

Music: Punk rock; a Punk rocker.

Punster:

A maker of puns.

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms): a person who is fond of making puns, especially one who makes a tedious habit of this.

Punter:

Slang: a prostitute's client; a victim of a con man.

Puppet:

A figure having jointed parts animated from above by strings or wires; a marionette; a toy representing a human figure; a doll.

One whose behavior is determined by the will of others; a person, group, state, etc., that appears independent but is in fact controlled by another.

Puppeteer:

A Puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The Puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A Puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or her own hands placed inside the puppet or holding it externally. Some puppet styles require Puppeteers to work together as a team to create a single puppet character.

Purchase Order:

A detailed written request to a supplier for the delivery of goods or services at a specific price. Once the supplier accepts the terms, the order becomes a legally binding document.

Purchasing Power:

The capacity of consumers to purchase goods and services, itself a function of the taxes that they pay, their propensity to save, and their morale.

Purchasing Power Parity:

The exchange rate between two currencies based on a comparison of how much it takes in each currency to buy an identical basket of consumer goods. Commonly abbreviated to PPP.

Purdah:

Purdah or pardah is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. More simply, it is the practice of preventing men from seeing women. This takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that women cover their bodies so as to cover their skin and conceal their form.

Purim:

Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, who was planning to kill all the Jews.

Puritanical:

Rigorous in religious observance; marked by stern morality.

Purlieu:

(Historical): the ground on the edges of a forest, especially when partly subject to the same forest laws concerning game hunting etc.

The outskirts of any place; an adjacent district; the environs or neighborhood.

Purple Patch:

A period of excellent performance, where nearly everything seems to go right, work properly, and contrasting with a more general lower level of performance.

Purple Prose:

In literary criticism, Purple Prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing, thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall. Purple Prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and metaphors. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages, standing out from the rest of the work.

Purple Prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author's text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions. As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes Purple Prose, deciding if a text, passage, or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision. According to Paul West, "It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that's rich, succulent and full of novelty. Purple is immoral, undemocratic and insincere; at best artsy, at worst the exterminating angel of depravity."

Purse:

A woman's bag for carrying keys, a wallet, and other personal items; a handbag.

Available wealth or resources; money.

A sum of money collected as a present or offered as a prize.

Push Technology:

Push, or server push, describes a style of Internet-based communication where the request for a given transaction is initiated by the publisher or central server. It is contrasted with pull technology, where the request for the transmission of information is initiated by the receiver or client.

Put Option:

An option to sell a fixed number of securities at a specified price within a specified period of time.

Put out to Grass / Put out to Pasture:

Informal: to make someone stop work permanently because they are too old; cause to retire.

Putative:

Purported; commonly put forth or accepted as true on inconclusive grounds.

Putsch:

A sudden attempt by a group to overthrow a government.

Puttin' on the Ritz:

"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz (1930). The title derives from the slang expression "Putting on the Ritz," meaning to dress very fashionably.

Puzzle:

Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling.

PVC:

PolyVinyl Chloride, (IUPAC Poly(chloroethanediyl)) commonly abbreviated PVC, is the third most widely used thermoplastic polymer after polyethylene and polypropylene. In terms of revenue generated, it is one of the most valuable products of the chemical industry. Around the world, over 50% of PVC manufactured is used in construction. As a building material, PVC is cheap, durable, and easy to assemble. The PVC world market grew with an average rate of approximately 5% in the last years and will probably reach a volume of 40 million tons by the year 2016.

PVR:

See: DVR.

Pygmalion:

Greek Mythology: a king of Cyprus who carved and then fell in love with a statue of a woman, which Aphrodite brought to life as Galatea.

Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.

Pygmalion Effect:

The Pygmalion Effect, or Rosenthal effect, refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people, often children or students and employees, the better they perform.

Pyramid Selling:

A method of selling products through layers and layers of agents who are structured like a pyramid. The top layer of agents sells to the next layer and so on. The last layer gets to sell to the general public. In practice, the last layer more frequently gets left with a load of unsellable stuff.

Pyrrhic Victory:

A Pyrrhic Victory is a victory that is offset by staggering losses.

Pythagorean Theorem:

In mathematics, the Pythagorean Theorem—or Pythagoras' Theorem—is a relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often called the Pythagorean equation:

a² + b² = c²

where c represents the length of the hypotenuse, and a and b represent the lengths of the other two sides.

The Pythagorean Theorem is named after the Greek mathematician Pythagoras (ca. 570 BC—ca. 495 BC), who by tradition is credited with its proof, although it is often argued that knowledge of the theorem predates him.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- Q -

Q & A:

Short for: Questions and Answers (Q&A website).

Q Score:

The Q Score is a measurement of the familiarity and appeal of a brand, celebrity, company, or entertainment product (e.g., television show) used in the United States. The higher the Q Score, the more highly regarded the item or person is among the group familiar with them. Q Scores and other variants are primarily used by the advertising, marketing, media, and public relations industries.

Visit also: Q Scores - since 1963: "The recognized industry standard for measuring consumer appeal of personalities, characters, licensed properties, programs and brands."

Q.C.:

Short for: Queen's Counsel. Q.C., known as King's Counsel (postnominal KC) during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of "Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law".

As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), the award of Queen's or King's Counsel is known informally as "taking silk". In order to qualify, a lawyer usually has to serve as a barrister or solicitor (or, in Scotland, as an advocate) for at least ten years.

Q.E.D.:

Q.E.D. or QED (sometimes italicized) is an initialism of the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum", literally meaning "what was to be shown". Traditionally, the abbreviation is placed at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument in print publications to indicate that the proof or the argument is complete, and hence is used with the meaning "thus it has been demonstrated".

Qi:

In traditional Chinese culture, Qi (also chi or ch'i) is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as "natural energy", "life force", or "energy flow". Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. The literal translation of "Qi" is "breath", "air", or "gas".

Qivitoq:

Greenlandish for trekker.

QR Code:

QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds ("modes") of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, virtually any kind of data.

QRishing:

QRishing is a phishing type attack implemented through the QR code, it works by hiding malicious software or fraudulent websites in the QR code. Users who scan these codes may not immediately recognize the content of the QR code with potentially dangerous consequences.

For instance, the attacker could attach a QR Code in an area that tends to be dedicated to advertising a product or brand. Once the user falls into the trap and scans the code, he is usually redirected to a fraudulent link which among other scams can aim to trick the user into entering his credentials in order to steal his identity or to infect his device with trojans and ransomware.

Quack:

An untrained person who pretends to be a physician and dispenses medical advice and treatment.

A charlatan; a mountebank.

Quadriga:

A Quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast (the Roman Empire's equivalent of Ancient Greek tethrippon). It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The Quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing. Quadrigas were emblems of triumph; Victory and Fame often are depicted as the triumphant woman driving it. In classical mythology, the Quadriga is the chariot of the gods; Apollo was depicted driving his Quadriga across the heavens, delivering daylight and dispersing the night.

Quadrille:

Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a rectangular formation, and a precursor to traditional square dancing.

Quaere:

Quaere is legal Latin, literally meaning "inquire" or "query". In legal drafting it is usually used to indicate that the person expressing the view that precedes the phrase may not adhere to the hypothesis following it.

Quai d'Orsay:

A street paralleling the southern bank of the Seine River in Paris, France, notable for its governmental ministries. The name is used figuratively to refer to the French foreign office.

Qualified Accounts:

A set of accounts to which auditors have added a qualification saying that for one reason or another they are unable to verify all the figures. The reason may be that the company is involved in a long-running and still unresolved lawsuit, or that it is unable to verify the existence of inventory in a faraway place.

Qualitative Research:

Market research designed to gain unquantifiable insights into consumer's attitudes and perceptions. It relies heavily on group discussions and in-depth interviews.

Quality:

An inherent or distinguishing characteristic.

Essential character; nature.

Superiority of kind; degree or grade of excellence.

Quality Management:

A system developed in Japan after the second world war in which companies aim to improve the quality of everything they do, marginally but continuously. Well expressed in a saying from the Middle East: "Drop by drop we make a lake."

Quality Circle:

A group of employees who get together to consider the quality of their work and how they can improve it. Quality circles rely heavily on charting measurable elements of performance and then rewarding any improvement in those elements.

Quality Control:

The systematic checking of samples of mass-produced goods at various stages in the production process, but particularly just before the goods are dispatched to the shops. Sometimes abbreviated to QC.

Quant:

Slang: an expert in the use of mathematics and related subjects, particularly in investment management and stock trading.

Quantified Self:

The Quantified Self is a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on aspects of a person's daily life in terms of inputs (e.g. food consumed, quality of surrounding air), states (e.g. mood, arousal, blood oxygen levels), and performance (mental and physical). Such self-monitoring and self-sensing, which combines wearable sensors (EEG, ECG, video, etc.) and wearable computing, is also known as lifelogging. Other names for using self-tracking data to improve daily functioning are "self-tracking", "auto-analytics", "body hacking", "self-quantifying", "self-surveillance", and "Personal Informatics". In short, Quantified Self is self-knowledge through self-tracking with technology. Quantified Self-advancement have allowed individuals to quantify biometrics that they never knew existed, as well as make data collection cheaper and more convenient. One can track insulin and cortisol levels, sequence DNA, and see what microbial cells inhabit his or her body.

Quantitative Research:

Market research that attempts to obtain quantitative findings about a sample of consumers, usually expressed as a percentage: for example, 75% of the sample said that they ate Gozo for breakfast.

Quantum Leap:

An abrupt change or step, especially in method, information, or knowledge.

Quarantine:

A period of time during which a vehicle, person, or material suspected of carrying a contagious disease is detained at a port of entry under enforced isolation to prevent disease from entering a country.

A condition of enforced isolation.

Quarantini:

A cocktail that you drink while in quarantine (= when a person stays in a particular place for a period of time so that they don't spread or catch a disease), made from whatever ingredients are available to you.

Visit also: Top 40 Most Famous & Popular Cocktails of All Time.

Quarter Day:

The traditional days on which quarterly payments (of rent, and so on) are paid. These vary from country to country.

Quarter Ratio:

The ratio of a company's current assets (cash, bank accounts, accounts payable) to its current liabilities. The quick ratio gives a rough idea of how well a company could cope with a liquidity crisis.

Quatrain:

A stanza or poem of four lines.

Qué Será, Será:

Whatever will be, will be. From Italian "che sarà, sarà". This phrase is not used in Spanish and is not grammatically correct. The correct form would be lo que será, será, but this is not used either.

Queen & Country:

See: close your eyes and think of England.

Queen's Counsel:

See: Q.C..

Quest:

The act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search.

Questionnaire:

A form containing a set of questions, especially one addressed to a statistically significant number of subjects as a way of gathering information for a survey.

Qui Vive:

On the alert; vigilant; watchful.

Quiche:

French cuisine: a Quiche is a baked dish that is based on a custard made from eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust.

Quickie:

Something made or done rapidly.

A hasty act of sexual intercourse.

Quicksand:

A bed of loose sand mixed with water forming a soft shifting mass that yields easily to pressure and tends to engulf any object resting on its surface.

A place or situation into which entry can be swift and sudden but from which extrication can be difficult or impossible.

Quid:

Chiefly British: a pound sterling.

Quid Pro Quo:

Quid Pro Quo (from the Latin meaning "Something for Something") indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favor for a favor" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "what for what," "give and take," "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours".

Quidam / Quaedam:

Latin for his / her.

Quiet Quitting:

Quiet Quitting is a term originally coined at a Texas A&M economics symposium on diminishing ambitions in Venezuela on September 17th 2009 by Economist Mark Boldger and a term often used by best selling authors Nick Adams and Economist Thomas Sowell. It’s use gained popularity in numerous publications following a viral TikTok video in mid-2022. The philosophy of Quiet Quitting is not abruptly leaving a job but doing exactly what the job requires, no more no less. The main objective of this mindset is avoiding occupational burnout and paying more attention to one's mental health and personal well-being.

Quiet Quitting refers to doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary. As such, it is something of a misnomer, since the worker doesn’t actually leave their position and continues to collect a salary.

Read more here: Who Is Quiet Quitting For? - "For those not ready to make a grand exit, a softer approach may work." & Why ‘quiet quitting’ is nothing new - "The idea of slowly withdrawing from overworking has gone viral. This ‘quiet quitting’ has actually been happening for decades - but its newfound popularity says a lot about work now."

Quincunx:

A Quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. It forms the arrangement of five units in the pattern corresponding to the five-spot on six-sided dice, playing cards, and dominoes.

Quinoa:

Quinoa, a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family.

Quintessential:

Most typically representative of a quality, state, etc.; perfect.

Quinto Quarto:

In the cuisine of modern Rome Quinto Quarto (literally the "fifth quarter") is the offal of butchered animals. The name makes sense on more than one level: because offal amounts to about a fourth of the weight of the carcass; because the importance of offal in Roman cooking is at least as great as any of the outer quarters, fore and hind; and because in the past slaughterhouse workers were partly paid in kind with a share of the offal.

Quip:

A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion.

A clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe.

Something curious or odd.

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?:

"Who watches the watchmen?" Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? is a Latin phrase found in the work of the Roman poet Juvenal from his Satires (Satire VI, lines 347–8). It is literally translated as "Who will guard the guards themselves?", though is also known by variant translations.

Quisling:

A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country. The term was coined by the British newspaper The Times in its leader of 15 April 1940, entitled "Quislings everywhere."

Quitclaim Deed:

A Quitclaim Deed is a legal instrument by which the owner of a piece of real property, called the grantor, transfers any interest to a recipient, called the grantee. The owner/grantor terminates (“quits”) any right and claim to the property, thereby allowing claim to transfer to the recipient/grantee.

Quixotism:

Quixotism is impracticality in pursuit of ideals, especially those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action.

Quiz:

An examination consisting of a few short questions; examine someone's knowledge of something.

Quodlibetarian:

One who discusses any subject at pleasure.

Quorum:

A Quorum is usually at least half of the directors or the holders of at least half of a corporation's issued and outstanding stock. Before directors or shareholders can authorize any action, a Quorum must be present. The bylaws prescribe Quorum requirements.

Quorum Pars Magna Fui:

Quotation from Virgil: in which I played a great part.

Quota:

A predetermined amount, particularly of goods that are allowed to cross trade barriers. For example, a country may set a Quota for the number of foreign cars that it is prepared to allow across its borders in any one year.

Quote:

To repeat or copy the words of (another), usually with acknowledgment of the source.

To cite or refer to for illustration or proof.

To state (a price) for securities, goods, or services.

To give a quotation, as from a book.

Quotation:

An explicit reference or allusion in an artistic work to a passage or element from another, usually well-known work.

A price that a supplier "quotes" for the (future) delivery of goods or services.

What a company gets when it becomes quoted on a stock exchange - the price at which buyers and sellers are prepared to deal in its shares.

Quoted Company:

A company whose share price is quoted on a recognized stock exchange.

QWERTY:

QWERTY is the most used modern-day keyboard layout on English-language computer and typewriter keyboards. It takes its name from the first six characters seen in the far left of the keyboard's top row of letters. The QWERTY design was patented by Christopher Sholes in 1874 and sold to Remington in the same year, when it first appeared in typewriters.

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R2P:

See: responsibility to protect.

'R' in the Month:

In the northern hemisphere, the old rule that native oysters should only be eaten when there's an 'R' in the Month still holds true; so eat oysters from September to April.

Why do we only eat oyster in the months that have R's in them? The answer to this also has something to do with an oyster's sex life. During the month without R's, the adult oyster has little interest in sex and, in fact, even less wo work with. During cold weather the oyster's body weight is made up of the glycogen and salts that make it fat and tasty. But in the late spring, the oyster's fancy lightly tunrns to reproduction and it assumes a sex for the season, or at least part of it. It may be either sex, primarily. Having made a choice of which sex it will be, the oyster converts 80 percent of its body weight to sex organs, which are thin and watery and taste like nothing at all. It isn't that oysters are inedible during the summer; just that they aren't as meaty and succulent.

R & D:

Short for: Research and Development. The work that a company does (and the department that does it) to come up with new products and with new ways of developing existing products.

R & R:

Short for: (US Military) Rest and Recreation.

Rabbit Hole:

Metaphor for the conceptual path which is thought to lead to the true nature of reality. Infinitesimally deep and complex, venturing too far down is probably not that great of an idea.

Taking hallucinogenic drugs can be considered "tripping" down the Rabbit Hole, but it is also explored through philosophical and existential thinking.

The origin of the term is from the Rabbit Hole in Alice in Wonderland which leads into Wonderland.

Rabbit Punch:

A chopping blow to the back of the neck.

Rabbit's Foot:

The Foot of a Rabbit, especially the left hind foot carried as a good-luck charm.

Rabid:

Extremely zealous or enthusiastic; fanatical.

Racial Discrimination:

Discrimination between people on the basis of their race. In most countries racial discrimination in the workplace is illegal.

Race:

People who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock.

Any competition; a contest of speed.

Racial Impostor Syndrome:

It occurs when your internal sense of self doesn't match with others' perception of your racial identity and gives rise to a feeling of self-doubt. It's usually experienced by people, living in countries where we are an ethnic minority.

Read more here: Racial Impostor Syndrome: When you're made to feel like a fake.

Racist:

A person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others.

Discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion.

Racket:

A dishonest business or practice, especially one that obtains money through fraud or extortion.

An easy, profitable means of livelihood.

A business or occupation.

Racol:

Short for: Registered & Authorised Company Logo. Racol is a circled R: ® the registered trademark symbol.

Raconteur:

One who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.

Racquet:

A Racquet is a sports implement consisting of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a network of cord is stretched tightly. It is used for striking a ball in such games as squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Collectively, these games are known as Racquet sports.

Rad:

The Rad is a unit of absorbed radiation dose. It has been replaced as a standard scientific unit by the gray.

Radar:

A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of very high frequency radio waves reflected from their surfaces.

Radar Chart:

A Radar Chart is a graphical method of displaying multivariate data in the form of a two-dimensional chart of three or more quantitative variables represented on axes starting from the same point. The relative position and angle of the axes is typically uninformative.

The Radar Chart is also known as web chart, spider chart, star chart, star plot, cobweb chart, irregular polygon, polar chart, or kiviat diagram.

Radiation:

Physics: a stream of particles or electromagnetic waves emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay.

Emission and propagation and emission of energy in the form of rays or waves; energy Radiated or transmitted as rays, waves, in the form of particles.

Radical:

Arising from or going to a root or source; basic.

Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme.

Slang: excellent; wonderful.

Radical Chic:

Radical Chic is a term coined by journalist Tom Wolfe in his 1970 essay "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's " , to describe the adoption and promotion of radical political causes by celebrities, socialites, and high society. The concept has been described as "an exercise in double-tracking one's public image: on the one hand, defining oneself through committed allegiance to a radical cause, but on the other, vitally, demonstrating this allegiance because it is the fashionable, au courant way to be seen in moneyed, name-conscious Society." Unlike dedicated activists, revolutionaries, or dissenters, those who engage in Radical Chic remain frivolous political agitators. They are ideologically invested in their cause of choice only so far as it advances their social standing.

Radio Face:

One with commendable broadcasting abilities, yet an appearance of far lesser appreciation; also used to describe someone with a nice character and/or body but a poor face.

A polite and indirect way of saying ugly.

A face you won't see on television.

An ugly face (because a radio presenter is never seen by the audience).

A really fresh face. Someone with features that are not traditionally pretty, but people are drawn to them anyways.

Radio Silence:

In telecommunications, Radio Silence is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons.

Radiocarbon Dating:

Radiocarbon Dating, or Carbon Dating, is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 (14C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" (BP), "Present" being defined as AD 1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give calendar dates.

One of the most frequent uses of Radiocarbon Dating is to estimate the age of organic remains from archaeological sites. When plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic material during photosynthesis they incorporate a quantity of 14C that approximately matches the level of this isotope in the atmosphere (a small difference occurs because of isotope fractionation, but this is corrected after laboratory analysis). After plants die or they are consumed by other organisms (for example, by humans or other animals) the 14C fraction of this organic material declines at a fixed exponential rate due to the radioactive decay of 14C. Comparing the remaining 14C fraction of a sample to that expected from atmospheric 14C allows the age of the sample to be estimated.

The technique of radiocarbon dating was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949. Libby estimated that the steady state radioactivity concentration of exchangeable carbon-14 would be about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram. In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. He first demonstrated the accuracy of radiocarbon dating by accurately measuring the age of wood from an ancient Egyptian royal barge whose age was known from historical documents.

Rag:

A scrap of cloth.

A newspaper, especially one specializing in sensationalism or gossip.

See also: tabloid.

Ragnarok:

Norse Myth: the so-called "Twilight of the Gods" (called in German Götterdämmerung), the final destruction of the world in the great conflict between the Æsir (gods) on the one hand, and on the other, the giants and the powers of Hel under the leadership of Loki (who is escaped from bondage).

Rags to Riches:

Rags to Riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from obscurity to fame--sometimes instantly.

Raguser:

(French): to betray. Named after Auguste de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of France and was awarded the title Duc de Raguse (duke of Ragusa). Despite his long friendship with Napoleon, by this time the verb "Raguser" - derived from his title, the Duke of Ragusa - was a household word in France: it meant "to betray". He died at Venice in March 1852, the last living Napoleonic Marshal.

Rah (slang):

Rah is a pejorative referring to a stereotypical affluent young upper class or upper-middle class person (male or female) in the United Kingdom. The characteristics of a rah are similar to those of the Sloane Ranger stereotype also recognised in the UK. Although a rah is generally younger, typically around university age (18–25). An important feature of the Rah stereotype is the enjoyment of an affluent/party lifestyle with excessive financial assistance from their parents.

Raid:

A surprise attack by a small armed force; a sudden forcible entry into a place by police.

An attempt to seize control of a company, as by acquiring a majority of its stock; an attempt by speculators to drive stock prices down by coordinated selling.

Rain Check:

A promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future.

Rainbow:

A Rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. They take the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outer part of the arch and violet on the inner section of the arch.

A Rainbow spans a continuous spectrum of colours; the discrete bands are an artefact of human colour vision. The most commonly cited and remembered sequence, in English, is Newton's sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (popularly memorized by mnemonics like Roy G. Biv). Rainbows can be caused by other forms of water than rain, including mist, spray, and dew.

Rainy Day:

A time of need or trouble.

A (future) time of financial need.

Raison d'État:

A state interest, especially when invoked as politically superior to moral or even legal considerations.

Raison d'Être:

Reason or justification for existing.

Rally:

A competition in which automobiles are driven over public roads and under normal traffic regulations but with specified rules as to speed, time, and route.

A resurgence of prices (particular of share prices) after a period in which they have been depressed.

A gathering, especially one intended to inspire enthusiasm for a cause.

To reassemble and restore to order.

An abrupt recovery from a setback or disadvantage.

Rally 'Round the Flag' Effect:

The Rally 'Round the Flag' Effect (or syndrome) is a concept used in political science and international relations to explain increased short-run popular support of a country's government or political leaders during periods of international crisis or war. Because the effect can reduce criticism of governmental policies, it can be seen as a factor of diversionary foreign policy.

RAM Disk:

RAM Disk (not to be confused with a RAM drive or Solid-state drive) is a block of RAM (primary storage or volatile memory) that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive (secondary storage). It is sometimes referred to as a virtual RAM drive or software RAM drive to distinguish its use of "primary storage" from a "hardware RAM drive" that uses separate hardware containing RAM, such as a solid-state drive.

Because the speed of RAM is so much faster for most kinds of storage, files on a RAM Disk can be accessed much more quickly. Also, because the storage is actually in RAM, it is volatile memory, which means it will be lost when the computer powers off. This is sometimes desirable: for example, when working with a decrypted copy of an encrypted file. In many cases, the data stored on the RAM disk is created, for faster access, from data permanently stored elsewhere, and is re-created on the RAM disk when the system reboots.

Ramadan:

Ramadan (also written Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, Ramdan, Ramadaan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving forward about ten days each year as it is a moving festival depending on the moon. Ramadan was the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Ramen:

Japanese cuisine: a Japanese dish of noodles in broth, often garnished with small pieces of meat and vegetables; a thin white noodle served in this dish.

Ranch:

An extensive farm, especially in the western United States, on which large herds of cattle, sheep, or horses are raised.

Random:

Without a governing design, method, or purpose; unsystematically.

Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective.

Of or relating to a type of circumstance or event that is described by a probability distribution.

Random Sample:

A sample of a population chosen so that (in mathematical theory, at least) every member of that population has an equal chance of being chosen. It is important that samples are random when companies are test-marketing new products or doing quantitative research.

Rank:

A relative position in a society; an official position or grade; high or eminent station or position.

Games: any of the rows of squares running crosswise to the files on a playing board in chess or checkers.

Rank and File:

Military: the ordinary soldiers of an army, excluding the officers.

The great mass or majority of any group or organization, as opposed to the leadership.

Ransom:

Money demanded for the return of a captured person.

Ransomware:

Ransomware is a type of malware which restricts access to the computer system that it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator(s) of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed. Some forms of Ransomware encrypt files on the system's hard drive, while some may simply lock the system and display messages intended to coax the user into paying.

Rap:

A form of popular music developed especially in African-American urban communities and characterized by spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment.

Rap Sheet:

A police arrest record.

Rapid Security Responses (RSR):

Rapid Security Responses are a new type of software release for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. They deliver important security improvements between software updates - for example, improvements to the Safari web browser, the WebKit framework stack, or other critical system libraries. They may also be used to mitigate some security issues more quickly, such as issues that might have been exploited or reported to exist "in the wild."

Rapport:

a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people.

Rapprochement:

A reestablishing of cordial relations, as between two countries.

Rapture:

The state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy.

The final assumption of Christians into heaven during the End Time according to Christian theology referred to in the Biblical passage 1 Thess 4:17, when in the End Times the Christians of the world will be gathered together in the air to meet Jesus Christ. The primary passage used to support the idea of the Rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15–7, in which Paul cites "the word of the Lord" about the return of Christ to gather his saints.

Rapunzel:

Rapunzel is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm.

Rara Avis:

A rare or unique person or thing.

Rare Earth:

Any element of the lanthanide series (atomic numbers 57 through 71).

Rare Events:

Rare or extreme Events are events that occur with low frequency, and often refers to infrequent events that have widespread impact and which might destabilize systems (for example, stock markets, ocean wave intensity or optical fibers or society). Rare Events encompass natural phenomena (major earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, asteroid impacts, solar flares, etc.), anthropogenic hazards (warfare and related forms of violent conflict, acts of terrorism, industrial accidents, financial and commodity market crashes, etc.), as well as phenomena for which natural and anthropogenic factors interact in complex ways (epidemic disease spread, global warming-related changes in climate and weather, etc.).

Rashomon Effect:

The Rashomon Effect is the effect of the subjectivity of perception on recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it.

It is named for Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon, in which a crime witnessed by four individuals is described in four mutually contradictory ways.

See also: Use in film & Use in television.

Rat Race:

Informal: a difficult, tiring, often competitive activity or routine.

Rate of Interest:

The price paid for the use of money over time. This takes into account the rate of inflation in an economy, the demand for money in the economy, and the degree of risk to the lender.

Rate of Return:

The rate at which factors of production (land, labor or capital) produce a return. In analyzing a company's performance (and comparing it with others) various Rates of Return on total assets, the rate of return on equity and the Rate of Return on capital employed.

Rate Parity:

A situation in which a travel supplier, such as a hotel, maintains the same price across all its various distribution channels.

Rating:

The classifying of the characteristics of something according to a scale. It might be a film's suitability for children, a company's respect for the environment, or the chances of a debt being repaid.

Ratio:

Relation in degree or number between two similar things.

Rational Egoism:

Rational Egoism (also called rational selfishness) is the principle that an action is rational if and only if it maximizes one's self-interest. The view is a normative form of egoism. It is distinct from psychological egoism (according to which people are motivated only to act in their own self-interest) and ethical egoism (that moral agents ought only to do what is in their own self-interest).

The author and philosopher Ayn Rand also discusses a theory that she called 'Rational Egoism'. She holds that it is both irrational and immoral to act against one's self-interest. Thus, her view is a conjunction of both rational egoism (in the standard sense) and ethical egoism, because according to Objectivist philosophy, egoism cannot be properly justified without an epistemology based on reason. Her book The Virtue of Selfishness (1964) explains the concept of Rational Egoism in depth. According to Rand, a rational man holds his own life as his highest value, rationality as his highest virtue, and his happiness as the final purpose of his life.

Read also Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

Rationing:

The allocation of scarce goods or services by a method other than price. Rationing can be done on a first-come, first-served basis, as when people queue for tickets to an immensely popular concert. Or, as in wartime, it can be done with coupons entitling the holder to a certain amount of goods, and no more. One of the most problematic areas of Rationing today is in the provision of health services. How do you decided who is to have their hip replaced next?

Ratlines:

Ratlines were a system of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe at the end of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in South America, particularly Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Bolivia. Other destinations included the United States, Great Britain, Canada and the Middle East. There were two primary routes: the first went from Germany to Spain, then Argentina; the second from Germany to Rome to Genoa, then South America; the two routes "developed independently" but eventually came together to collaborate.

Ratlines, pronounced "rattlin's", are lengths of thin line tied between the shrouds of a sailing ship to form a ladder. Found on all square rigged ships, whose crews must go aloft to stow the square sails, they also appear on larger fore-and-aft rigged vessels to aid in repairs aloft or conduct a lookout from above.

Rave:

Rave or Rave Party is a term first used in the 1980s and 90s to describe dance parties (often all-night events) with fast-paced electronic music and light shows.

Ravelin:

Military / Fortifications: an outwork having two embankments at a salient angle.

Raw Materials:

The most basic inputs of a manufacturing process. In many cases these are materials taken from the ground, through mining or agriculture. For steel making for example, the raw material include iron; for car making the raw materials include steel.

RBF:

Short for: Resting Bitch Face. RBF is a face that, when at ease, is perceived as angry, irritated or simply … expressionless. It’s the kind a person may make when thinking hard about something — or perhaps when they’re not thinking at all.

R&D:

Research and Development (R&D), also known in Europe as research and technical (or technological) development (RTD), is a general term for activities in connection with corporate or governmental innovation. The activities that are classified as R&D differ from company to company, but there are two primary models, with an R&D department being either staffed by engineers and tasked with directly developing new products, or staffed with industrial scientists and tasked with applied research in scientific or technological fields which may facilitate future product development. In either case, R&D differs from the vast majority of corporate activities in that it is not often intended to yield immediate profit, and generally carries greater risk and an uncertain return on investment.

RDF:

See: reality distortion field.

RDS:

Short for: Radio Data System. RDS is a communications protocol standard from the European Broadcasting Union for sending small amounts of digital information using conventional FM radio broadcasts.

Re:

RE: or "Re:" followed by the subject line of a previous message indicates a reply to that message. This is not an abbreviation but stands for "in re", the Latin for "in the matter of", and is expressly allowed for in the RFC 5322 email standard.

Read (Somebody) the Riot Act:

To speak angrily to someone about something they have done and warn them that they will be punished if they do it again.

The Riot Act was a law made in 1715 which said how to deal with groups of twelve or more people who were causing trouble.

Ready-Made Company:

See Shelf Company.

Real:

Corrected for inflation. The Real price is rarely the same as the nominal price.

Real Estate:

Withholding and other taxes are frequently imposed on rental income deriving from the holding of Real Estate in a foreign country; similarly, capital gains taxes may be imposed on the profits flowing from the sale of property. However, in exceptional cases, the provisions of a tax treaty may be of considerable value in minimizing the total tax burden, e.g. the treaty between the Netherlands Antilles and the United States.

Ownership of Real Estate by individuals may also result in liability to death duties and similar taxes in the country in which the Real Estate is situated, irrespective of the residence or domicile of the individual owner. For this reason it is common to hold foreign Real Estate through a tax haven or other company.

Real Time:

Occurring in the present, with special reference to computer systems that take little or no time to perform computations; that is, they carry out instructions almost instantaneously. Really useful in fighter planes.

Reality:

In philosophy, Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, Reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. A still more broad definition includes everything that has existed, exists, or will exist, not just in the mind, or even more broadly also including what is only in the mind.

Reality Effect:

Reality Effect is the small details of person, place, and action that while contributing little or nothing to the narrative, give the story its atmosphere, making it feel real. It does not add to the plot to know that the character James Bond wears Egyptian cotton shirts, but it clearly does add considerably to our understanding of him. By the same token, knowing that he buys his food from Fortnum and Mason makes him more real. Thus, as Roland Barthes argues in his essay introducing this concept, ‘The Reality Effect’ (1968), reprinted in The Rustle of Language (1989) no analysis of a text can be considered complete if it does not take these seemingly insignificant details into account.

Reality Distortion Field:

Reality distortion field (RDF) is a term coined by Bud Tribble at Apple Computer in 1981 that Steve Jobs is able to convince himself and others to believe almost anything with a mix of charm, charisma, bluster, exaggeration, marketing and persistence. Bud Tribble claimed that the term came from Star Trek.

Reality Television:

Reality Television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the term reality television is most commonly used to describe programs of this genre produced since 2000. Documentaries and nonfictional programming such as news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows.

Reality Television covers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (such as Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as Big Brother.

Such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen sometimes manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques.

Realpolitik:

Realpolitik (from German: real "realistic", "practical", or "actual"; and Politik "politics") is politics or diplomacy based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those of realism and pragmatism.

Reason:

The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction; a declaration made to explain or justify action, decision, or conviction.

An underlying fact or cause that provides logical sense for a premise or occurrence.

The capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought; intelligence; good judgment; sound sense.

Logic: a premise, usually the minor premise, of an argument.

Reasonable Doubt:

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is the standard of proof required in most criminal cases within an adversarial system. Generally the prosecution bears the burden of proof and is required to prove their version of events to this standard.

Rebel:

To refuse allegiance to and oppose by force an established government or ruling authority.

To resist or defy an authority or a generally accepted convention.

To feel or express strong unwillingness or repugnance.

Rebranding:

Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, competitors, and other stakeholders. Often, this involves radical changes to a brand's logo, name, legal names, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. Such changes typically aim to reposition the brand/company, occasionally to distance itself from negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket; they may also communicate a new message a new board of directors wishes to communicate.

Rebus:

A representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols, often presented as a puzzle.

Recall:

A call by a manufacturer for all the products purchased at a particular time to be returned (and a refund to be paid). Most frequently used when a product is discovered to be faulty.

Recapitalization:

A major reorganization of the structure of a company's capital, involving, for example, the exchange of shares for loans (or vice versa).

Receipt:

A written acknowledgement of payment received for goods or services.

Receivable:

Money that has not yet been received by a business for bills that it has delivered to its customers.

Receiver:

Somebody appointed by a court to "receive" a shaky company's assets on behalf of the company's creditors. Receivers either attempt to help the company to trade itself back into good health, or they liquidate it.

Reception:

The manner in which something is greeted.

A formal party of people; as after a wedding.

Recess Appointment:

In the United States, a Recess Appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the president is empowered to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, make appointments to high-level policy-making positions in federal departments, agencies, boards, and commissions, as well as to the federal judiciary. A Recess Appointment under Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution is an alternative method of appointing officials that allows the temporary filling of offices during periods when the Senate is not in session. It was anticipated that the Senate would be away for months at a time, so the ability to fill vacancies in important positions when the Senate is in recess and unavailable to provide advice and consent was deemed essential to maintain government function, as described by Alexander Hamilton in No. 67 of The Federalist Papers.

Recession:

An economy is technically said to be in Recession when its GDP has fallen for at least two three-month periods in succession. More generally, a Recession is a prolonged period of exceptionally slow economic growth.

Recessionista:

A person who is able to stick to a tight budget while still managing to dress stylishly.

Recipe:

A set of directions with a list of ingredients for making or preparing something, especially food.

A formula for or means to a desired end.

A medical prescription.

Reciprocity:

The granting of favors to A by B in return for the same favors being granted to B by A. A common principle underlying countries' negotiations over trade and tax issues.

Réclame:

A gift for dramatization or publicity; public acclaim.

Recommend:

To praise or commend (one) to another as being worthy or desirable; endorse.

To commit to the charge of another; entrust.

To advise or counsel.

Recommended Retail Price:

A price which manufacturers recommend that recommendretailers should charge consumers for their products. When Recommended Retail Prices become compulsory they can constitute a restrictive practice. As such, they are illegal in many countries.

Recommerce:

Recommerce or reverse commerce is the selling of previously owned, new or used products, mainly electronic devices or media such as books, through physical or online distribution channels to buyers who repair, if necessary, then reuse, recycle or resell them.

Reconciliation:

The reestablishing of cordial relations.

Record:

An account, as of information or facts, set down especially in writing as a means of preserving knowledge.

Information or data on a particular subject collected and preserved.

The known history of performance, activities, or achievement.

An unsurpassed measurement.

Computer Science: a collection of related, often adjacent items of data, treated as a unit.

Law: an account officially written and preserved as evidence or testimony.

A disk designed to be played on a phonograph; something, such as magnetic tape, on which sound or visual images have been recorded.

Recovery Position:

The Recovery Position, more technically the lateral recumbent position, is an airway management technique for assisting people who are unconscious, or nearly so, but are still breathing. It is frequently taught alongside CPR in first aid.

Also visit: recovery position - Wikipedia.

Recreation:

Refreshment of one's mind or body after work through activity that amuses or stimulates; play.

Recreational Drug:

A narcotic drug that is used only occasionally and is claimed to be nonaddictive.

Recruitment:

The process of identifying and choosing new employees. Specialist Recruitment agencies are often called upon to assist in the process.

Recycle:

To reuse industrial and commercial waste as the raw material for a new industrial process; for example, to use waste paper in manufacturing pulp.

The process whereby banks take in surplus savings in one part of the world and invest them in other places where there is a shortage.

Red Alert:

The highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent (or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger).

Red Carpet:

A Red Carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.

The earliest known reference to walking a Red Carpet in literature is in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. When the title character returns from Troy, he is greeted by his vengeful wife Clytemnestra who offers him a red path to walk upon:

Now my beloved, step down from your chariot, and let not your foot, my lord, touch the Earth. Servants, let there be spread before the house he never expected to see, where Justice leads him in, a crimson path.

Agamemnon, knowing that only gods walk on such luxury, responds with trepidation:

I am a mortal, a man; I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors without fear thrown in my path.

Red Cent:

(US, colloquial): a very small amount of money.

Red Clause:

A clause typed in red on a letter of credit to indicate that an exporter can receive all the amount due on the letter of credit in advance of shipping the goods. Red clause originated in the Australian wool trade.

Red Envelope:

In Chinese and other East Asian societies, a Red Envelope, red packet, lai see or hongbao is a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions such as weddings, graduation or the birth of a baby. Outside of China, similar customs exist across parts of South East Asia and many other countries with a sizable ethnic Chinese population.

Red Eye:

A flight on which a passenger cannot expect to get much sleep on account of the time of departure or arrival.

Red Hat:

The broad-brimmed official hat of a Roman Catholic cardinal, symbolic of the office or rank of a cardinal.

A cardinal.

Red Herring:

A smoked herring having a reddish color.

Something that draws attention away from the central issue.

In fiction and non-fiction a Red Herring may be intentionally used by the writer to plant a false clue that leads readers or audiences towards a false conclusion.

Red Ink:

A loss. Red Ink used to be used by accountants to indicate that a figure was negative.

Red-Light District:

A district with many brothels.

Red Line (phrase):

The Red Line, or "to cross the Red Line", is a phrase used worldwide to mean a figurative point of no return or line in the sand, or "the fastest, farthest, or highest point or degree considered safe."

The origin of the phrase in English traces back to the "Red Line Agreement" in 1928 between the largest oil companies of Britain, the USA, and France at the time of the end of the Ottoman Empire. At the time of signature, the former empire's borders were unclear. To remedy the problem, Armenian businessman Calouste Gulbenkian took a red pencil to draw arbitrarily the borders of the divided empire.

Red Pill:

The Red Pill, an Internet community on Reddit founded on the general belief that women have it better than men. Red Pill is not a dating advice bulletin, but rather a forum for people — men, mostly — exploring an ideology that revolves almost exclusively around gender.

Red Tape:

The collection or sequence of forms and procedures required to gain bureaucratic approval for something, especially when oppressively complex and time-consuming.

Red Thread:

In Greek mythology, Theseus rescued himself out of the labyrinth of Minotaur by following a Red Thread, given to him by Ariadne.

Red Tourism:

Red Tourism is a subset of tourism in the People's Republic of China in which Chinese people visit locations with historical significance to Chinese Communism "to rekindle their long-lost sense of class struggle and proletarian principles." The Government began actively supporting Red Tourism in 2005 to promote the "national ethos" and socioeconomic development in those areas, which are typically rural and poorer than East China.

Redemption:

Relating to the time when a financial asset matures, as in Redemption date or Redemption yield.

Redneck:

Redneck is a derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality).

Redshirting:

The practice of postponing an age-eligible child's kindergarten entry by a year, typically one whose birthday is very close to the cut-off date. Academic Redshirting is often done in order to provide some extra time for social, intellectual or physical maturation.

To keep (a college or school athlete) out of varsity competition for one year in order to extend the athlete's period of eligibility.

Reductio Ad Absurdum:

Reductio Ad Absurdum is a common form of argument which seeks to demonstrate that a statement is true by showing that a false, untenable, or absurd result follows from its denial, or in turn to demonstrate that a statement is false by showing that a false, untenable, or absurd result follows from its acceptance.

Reductio ad Hitlerum:

Reductio ad Hitlerum, also argumentum ad Hitlerum, (Latin for "reduction to" and "argument to" and dog Latin for "Hitler" respectively) is an ad hominem or ad misericordiam argument whereby an opponent's view is compared to a view that would be held by Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party. It is a fallacy of irrelevance, in which a conclusion is suggested based solely on something's or someone's origin rather than its current meaning. The suggested logic is one of guilt by association.

Reduit:

A Reduit is a fortified structure such as a citadel or a keep into which the defending troops can retreat when the outer defences are breached. The term is also used to describe an area of a country, which either through a ring of heavy fortifications or through enhancing through fortification the defences offered by natural features such as mountains will be defended even when the rest of the county is occupied by a hostile power.

Redundancy:

The loss of a job through no fault of the employer. The job is redundant, (that is, no longer needed) not the employee. Employees who are made redundant are often legally entitled to extra payment as compensation for losing their jobs.

Re-Engineering:

A radical redesign of a manufacturing process.

Reference:

Significance in a specified context; meaning or denotation.

A written statement testifying to the character of someone known to the writer. References are often requested by potential employers from job candidates.

Reference Daily Intake (RDI):

The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. While developed for the US population, it has been adopted by other countries, though not universally.

Referendum:

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: the submission of a proposed public measure or actual statute to a direct popular vote.

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: a note from a diplomat to the diplomat's government requesting instructions.

Refinance:

To refund an existing debt; borrowing elsewhere to meet a current financial obligation.

Reflection Pool:

A reflecting pool or Reflection Pool is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and at memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a reflective surface.

Reform:

A change for the better as a result of correcting abuses.

Refraction:

Refraction is the change in direction of propagation of a wave due to a change in its transmission medium.

Refrain:

The part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers.

Refreshment:

Something, such as food or drink, that refreshes.

Refreshments: a snack or light meal and drinks.

Refund:

To repay to a consumer the price of goods that has been purchased upon the return of the goods and/or the presentation of evidence that they were faulty.

Regalia:

The emblems and symbols of royalty, such as the crown and scepter.

The distinguishing symbols of a rank, office, order, or society.

Magnificent attire; finery.

Regan Test:

Are you better off now than you were four years ago?

Regatta:

A Regatta is a term used to describe either a boat race, or series of boat races.

Régime:

In politics, a Régime is the form of government: the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of government and its interactions with society.

A regulated system, as of diet and exercise; a regimen.

Regiment:

A Regiment is a title used by some military units. The size of a Regiment varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

Region:

The geographical area under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state.

A specified district or territory.

An area of interest or activity; a sphere.

Video: Region codes are a DVD coding system enforced by the movie industry that is intended to preserve movie distribution rights and agreements. DVD players and DVDs are labeled for operation on within a specific geographical Region in the world. For example, the U.S. is in Region 1. All DVD players sold in the U.S. are made to Region 1 specs. Region 1 players can only play Region 1 discs. Read more here.

Register:

A formal or official recording of items, names, or actions; a book for such entries; an entry in such a record.

Computer Science: a part of the central processing unit used as a storage location.

A device that automatically records a quantity or number.

Registered Address:

Street address of a company's registered office.

Registered Agent:

A Registered Agent is the person or entity designated in the articles of incorporation to receive service of process and other important notices from the state. A corporation must maintain a registered agent at all times or risk forfeiture of the corporate charter.

Registered Company:

A company that is registered with the authorities of the country in which it is established. In most countries it is illegal to operate as a company without being registered.

Registered Office:

The Registered Office is the place where the registered agent can be found. It may be the corporate office, or it may be the office of the corporation's attorney.

Registered Share:

Share which is transferred by an instrument of transfer. The name of the holder is registered in the books of the company and the shareholder's name is displayed on the actual share certificate.

Registered Trademark Symbol:

The Registered Trademark Symbol, designated by ® (the circled "R") and also known as a racol (derived from Registered & Authorized Company Logo), is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office.

Registration:

An entry in a register.

Regram:

The act of reposting on Instagram. It involves screen-shotting someones else's original post, and then reposting it using the hashtag #regram and acknowledging the source of the original instagram posting.

Regulation:

The administering of the laws and government rules imposed upon business.

Regulator:

The person in charge of an agency (or government department) that has been set up for the purpose of regulating a particular industry or market.

Rehab:

To restore to good health or useful life, as through therapy and education.

Rehoboam:

A wine bottle, used especially for champagne, holding the equivalent of six normal bottles or 4.8 liters (5 quarts, approximately 156 ounces).

Reid Technique:

The Reid Technique is a method of questioning subjects to try to assess their credibility and to extract confessions of guilt from a suspect. Supporters argue the Reid Technique is useful in extracting information from otherwise unwilling suspects, while critics have charged the technique can elicit false confessions from innocent persons, especially children. Indeed, Reid's breakthrough case resulted in an overturned conviction decades later.

Reimburse:

To pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent or losses incurred.

Reincarnation:

Rebirth of the soul in another body.

A reappearance or revitalization in another form; a new embodiment.

Reinsurance:

The practice among insurance companies of redistributing risk between them. An insurance company that agrees to insure, say, an oilrig may then buy some Reinsurance from another insurer in order to share the risk of the rig sinking.

Reiwa Period:

The Reiwa Period will be the next era of Japan. The period is expected to start on 1 May 2019, the day when Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, is expected to ascend to the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. Emperor Akihito is expected to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne on 30 April 2019, marking the end of Heisei period.

Relais:

Road house, hotel.

Relation:

A logical or natural association between two or more things; relevance of one to another; connection.

A person connected to another by blood or marriage; a relative.

Relative Strength Index (RSI):

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a technical indicator used in the analysis of financial markets. It is intended to chart the current and historical strength or weakness of a stock or market based on the closing prices of a recent trading period. The indicator should not be confused with relative strength.

Relativism:

Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration. As moral relativism, the term is often used in the context of moral principles, where principles and ethics are regarded as applicable in only limited context. There are many forms of relativism which vary in their degree of controversy. The term often refers to truth relativism, which is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, i.e., that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture (cultural relativism).

Relevant:

Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.

Relic:

In religion, a Relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a touchable or tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions. The word Relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains" or "something left behind" (the same root as relinquish). A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

Something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared; something cherished for its age or historic interest; an object kept for its association with the past; a memento.

Religion:

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe; a personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

"Religion is the Opium of the People":

"Religion is the opium of the people" is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx. The quotation originates from the introduction of his 1843 work Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. The quotation, in context, reads as follows: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the Opium of the People."

Relocation:

The business of moving elsewhere. This can be the moving elsewhere of a whole company, or the moving elsewhere of a whole company, or the moving elsewhere of the individuals who work for it.

REM:

A basic unit used to measure the amount of biological damage caused by various types of ionizing radiation, equal to the dose that produces the same amount of damage in human tissue as one roentgen of X-rays or gamma rays (0.01 sievert).

The rapid, periodic, jerky movement of the eyes during certain stages of the sleep cycle when dreaming takes place.

Remake:

Something in remade form, especially a new version of an earlier movie or song.

See also: spin-off.

Remittance:

The sending of money from one person to another, particularly associated with the cross-border payments made by immigrant communities in Europe and North America to the families that they left behind.

Remix:

To recombine (audio tracks or channels from a recording) to produce a new or modified audio recording.

Remote Control:

The control of an activity, process, or machine from a distance, as by radioed instructions or coded signals.

A device used to control an apparatus or machine from a distance.

Remuneration Committee:

The subcommittee of a company's board which negotiates and decides on the Remuneration of the most senior executives of the company, in particular of the managing director and the other executive directors on the board.

Renaissance:

The Renaissance is a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.

Renaissance Man:

A scholar during the Renaissance who (because knowledge was limited) could know almost everything about many topics.

A modern scholar who is in a position to acquire more than superficial knowledge about many different interests.

A man with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.

Rendezvous:

A meeting at a prearranged time and place.

A popular gathering place.

Renewable Energy:

Renewable Energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable Energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, motor fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services.

Renommé:

The quality of being widely honored and acclaimed; fame.

Renounce:

To give up or put aside voluntarily; to give up by formal declaration.

Rent:

Money paid for the use of real estate over time.

A similar payment made for the use of a facility, equipment, or service provided by another.

Rent Control:

Government-imposed rules on the amount of rent that can be charged, designed either to control ruthless landlords or to influence the movement of tenants (for example, out of inner-city areas).

Rent-Free Period:

A period of time in which a tenant is allowed to occupy premises without paying rent. Often granted as part of a package to entice a particularly desirable tenant into a new development.

Repartee:

A swift, witty reply; conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts.

Repeatable Business Model:

A Repeatable Business Model is a business model, which will generate cash-flow more than once.

Repertoire:

The entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation.

The stock of songs, plays, operas, readings, or other pieces that a player or company is prepared to perform.

The class of compositions in a genre.

Replacement Cost:

The cost today of replacing a waiting asset. Replacement cost accounting attempts to inject these costs into a company's book.

Replacement Demand:

The demand for a product, which arises from consumers wanting to replace old models with new ones. The replacement demand for detergent is high, for cars it is low (and becoming even lower) and for mink coats it is virtually non-existent.

Replevin:

An action to recover personal property said or claimed to be unlawfully taken.

Replica:

An exact copy or reproduction, especially on a smaller scale.

Repo 105:

Repo 105 is an accounting manoeuvre where a short-term loan is classified as a sale. The cash obtained through this "sale" is then used to pay down debt, allowing the company to appear to reduce its leverage by temporarily paying down liabilities—just long enough to reflect on the company's published balance sheet. After the company's financial reports are published, the company borrows cash and repurchases its original assets.

A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is the sale of securities together with an agreement for the seller to buy back the securities at a later date. The repurchase price should be greater than the original sale price, the difference effectively representing interest, sometimes called the repo rate. The party that originally buys the securities effectively acts as a lender. The original seller is effectively acting as a borrower, using their security as collateral for a secured cash loan at a fixed rate of interest.

Report:

A written document describing the findings of some individual or group.

Reportage:

The reporting of news or information of general interest.

Repositioning:

Changing consumers' perception of a product or service by altering its packaging or the way in which it is sold.

Representative:

One that serves as an example or type for others of the same classification.

One that serves as a delegate or agent for another.

Reprimand:

To reprove severely, especially in a formal or official way.

Reproduction:

The act of Reproducing or the condition or process of being Reproduced.

Something Reproduced, especially in the faithfulness of its resemblance to the form and elements of the original.

Biology: the sexual or asexual process by which organisms generate new individuals of the same kind; procreation.

Reproduction Number (COVID-19):

In epidemiology, the basic Reproduction Number (sometimes called basic reproductive ratio, or incorrectly basic reproductive rate, and denoted R₀, pronounced R nought or R zero) of an infection can be thought of as the expected number of cases directly generated by one case in a population where all individuals are susceptible to infection. The definition describes the state where no other individuals are infected or immunized (naturally or through vaccination).

Read also: Reproduction number of COVID-19 and how it relates to public health measures.

Reptile Fund:

The source of money for covert operations, a slush fund.

Republican In Name Only (RINO):

In US politics, Republican In Name Only is a pejorative applied to officials elected as members of the Republican Party, who allegedly govern and legislate like Democrats. Similar terms have been used since the early 1900s. The term is an acronym invented so that it is abbreviated to RINO and pronounced to sound like "rhino". The term became popular in the 1990s.

Republican Party (United States):

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with its main, historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Reputation:

The general estimation in which a person is held by the public.

Reputation Management:

Reputation Management is a relatively new public relations specialty that focuses on managing brand, product, or personal perceptions through an active, near real-time program of conscious engagement in social media outlets.

Requiem:

A hymn, composition, or service for the dead.

Requirement:

Something obligatory; a prerequisite.

Res Augusta Domi:

The severe pressure of poverty.

Res Ipsa Loquitur:

In the common law of negligence, the doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur (Latin for "the thing itself speaks") states that the elements of duty of care and breach can sometimes be inferred from the very nature of an accident or other outcome, even without direct evidence of how any defendant behaved. Although modern formulations differ by jurisdiction, the common law originally stated that the accident must satisfy the necessary conditions of negligence.

Reschedule:

To alter the maturity of a borrower's debts (with the agreement of both the borrower and the lender) in order to facilitate the borrower's chances of repaying on time. Formally putting off until tomorrow what cannot be paid today.

Research:

Scholarly or scientific investigation or inquiry.

Close, careful study.

To study (something) thoroughly so as to present in a detailed, accurate manner

Reserve Price:

The price fixed and announced as the minimum at which property will be sold at an auction.

Reserves:

Surplus funds that an organization retains for itself and does not distribute to shareholder. Countries also hold reserves. The foreign currency, gold and facilities with international organizations such as the IMF that they can use if and when they need to intervene in the foreign-exchange markets to stabilize their currencies.

Residence:

The place where an individual or a company is said (by a national tax authority) to reside for the purposes of taxation.

Resident Company:

A company treated by the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated or in which it conducts commercial activities as resident for tax purposes or exchange control purposes or both.

Resignation:

The formal ending by an employee of a contract of employment.

Resolutions:

A Resolution is a formal statement of any decision, which has been voted upon. When the board of directors or shareholders authorize a particular action, the authorization most often comes in the form of a corporate resolution. For example, a corporate resolution could read: "Resolved, that this corporation establish a depositary account with the XXX Bank."

Resort:

A place frequented by people for relaxation or recreation.

Resource:

Something that can be used for support or help.

An available supply that can be drawn on when needed.

Resources:

The input available to a business; in particular, the factors of production (land, labor and capital), but also more abstract things such as information and advice.

Respect:

A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem.

The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.

Respectability:

Meriting respect or esteem; worthy.

Characterized by socially or conventionally acceptable morals.

Responsibility:

The state, quality, or fact of being responsible.

Something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden.

Responsibility to Protect:

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P or RtoP) is a United Nations initiative established in 2005. It consists of an emerging intended norm, or set of principles, based on the claim that sovereignty is not a right, but a responsibility. R2P focuses on preventing and halting four crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing, which it places under the generic umbrella term of Mass Atrocity Crimes. The Responsibility to Protect has three "pillars".
1. A state has a Responsibility to Protect its population from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing;
2. The international community has a responsibility to assist the state to fulfill its primary responsibility;
3. If the state manifestly fails to protect its citizens from the four above mass atrocities and peaceful measures have failed, the international community has the responsibility to intervene through coercive measures such as economic sanctions. Military intervention is considered the last resort.
In the international community R2P is a norm, not a law, however it is grounded in international law. R2P provides a framework for using tools that already exist, i.e. mediation, early warning mechanisms, economic sanctioning, and chapter VII powers, to prevent mass atrocities. Civil society organizations, States, regional organizations, and international institutions all have a role to play in the R2P process. The authority to employ the last resort and intervene militarily rests solely with United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly.

Rest On (One's) Laurels:

To rely on one's past achievements instead of working to maintain or advance one's status or reputation.

See also: laurels.

Restaurant:

A Restaurant is a business establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money, either paid before the meal, after the meal, or with a running tab. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many Restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of the main chef's cuisines and service models.

Restorationism:

Christian primitivism, also described as Restorationism, is the belief that Christianity should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a more pure and more ancient form of the religion.

Restraining Order:

A court order forbidding someone to bother another.

Restraint of Trade:

Any contract that places a restriction on the way a party to the contract trade. For example, an agreement between an ice-cream manufacturer and a retailer to provide the retailer with refrigerators as long as they are stocked only with the manufacturers own products.

Restricted Community:

"For whites only".

Restrictive Practice:

A business activity that restricts free competition. In free-market economies governments keep an eye out for Restrictive Practices, and clamp down whenever they find them.

Result:

The consequence of a particular action, operation, or course; an outcome.

A favorable or concrete outcome or effect.

Mathematics: the quantity or expression obtained by calculation.

Résumé:

See: CV.

Resveratrol:

Resveratrol (trans-resveratrol) is a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol has also been produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed. In mouse and rat experiments, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of Resveratrol have been reported. Most of these results have yet to be replicated in humans. In the only positive human trial, extremely high doses (3–5 g) of resveratrol in a proprietary formulation have been necessary to significantly lower blood sugar. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine, but apparently not in sufficient amounts to explain the French paradox. Experiments have shown that Resveratrol treatment extended the life of fruit flies, nematode worms and short living fish but it did not increase the life span of mice.

Retail:

The selling of goods and services to the final consumer.

Retail Outlet:

Any distribution channel that sells goods and services retail: a shop, a mail order catalogue, or a web site.

Retained Earnings:

That part of a company's net profit, which is not distributed as a dividend.

Retainer:

A fee charged in advance to retain the services of someone.

The act of engaging the services of a professional adviser, such as an attorney, counselor, or consultant.

Retinue:

A Retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble or royal personage, a suite (literal French meaning: what follows) of "retainers".

Retire:

To end full-time employment, that is, to retire from work.

To remove the obligation attached to a debt, either by early payment or through some other arrangement.

Retirement Age:

The standard age within a society at which people retire from work. In most developed countries this is between 60 and 65. Someone who retires before the Retirement Age is said to take early retirement.

Retro:

Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past; retrospective.

A fashion, decor, design, or style reminiscent of things past.

Retrograde:

Moving or tending backward; opposite to the usual order; inverted or reversed; reverting to an earlier or inferior condition.

(Astronomy): of or relating to the orbital revolution or axial rotation of a planetary or other celestial body that moves clockwise from east to west, in the direction opposite to most celestial bodies.

Retroscripting:

Retroscripting is a term for two techniques used in movie and television programs, pre- and post- production.

A retroscripted script contains a plot outline and leaves dialogue deliberately vague for interpretation by the actors through improvisation. It gives realism and characterization to dialogue, and is regularly employed in the improvised situation comedy genre.

Retroscripting can also refer to the practice of recording new or unscripted dialogue over a live-action or animated program.

Retrospective:

Looking back on, contemplating, or directed to the past.

Applying to or influencing the past; retroactive.

Retroussé:

From the French retroussé, past participle of retrousser, to bundle or tie up.

Turned up, as in describing the nose.

Return:

What comes back to someone who makes use on land, labor and/or capital. The return may be in the form of interest (on a loan) or a harvest (from agricultural land). A company's health can be judged by looking at its return on equity (roe), its return on assets (roa) and its return on sales (ros).

Return to Office (RTO):

Return to Office (RTO) is a coordinated plan to safely bring back employees and contractors to the workplace. When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 a worldwide wellbeing emergency in March 2020, numerous companies globally had to switch to remote working. With the Covid pandemic now coming under control and vaccination drives being spend up, employees are considering and longing to get back to office as usual. A return to office plan needs to consider numerous country specific, regional and local factors.

Returns:

Products which are returned to their supplier by the purchaser to whom the purchase price is refunded. The term is also used to refer to the responses to a direct mail advertising campaign.

Reunion:

The act of reuniting.

A gathering of the members of a group who have been separated.

Revanche:

The act of retaliating; revenge.

A usually political policy, as of a nation or an ethnic group, intended to regain lost territory or standing.

Reveille:

Military: a signal, given by a bugle, drum, etc., to awaken soldiers or sailors in the morning.

Revenge Body:

Revenge Body is when a person exercises to get a physically fit body as a result of a breakup. It comes from a person channeling his or her frustration over a breakup into exercise.

The Revenge Body, or Revenge Bod, is intended to make his or her ex jealous and regret breaking up. This is most commonly seen among celebrities who break up often and have an enormous amount of free time to exercise.

Read also: Is the ‘Revenge Body’ the worst fitness fad to date?.

Revenge Porn:

Revenge Porn is sexually explicit media that is distributed without the consent of the individual(s) involved. In the wake of civil lawsuits, legislation has been passed in various countries and jurisdictions to criminalize this practice as well as to define it. As a result other crimes and issues have been linked to this phenomenon.

Many of the images are pictures taken by the pictured persons themselves, with victims mostly being women. The explicit images are often accompanied by personal information, including the pictured individual's full name, links to social media profiles or addresses. Jurisdictions which have passed laws against Revenge Porn include Israel, Germany, the UK, and eighteen states within the United States. Revenge Porn is often uploaded by ex-partners with an intention to harm the pictured individual,by hackers, or by individuals seeking profit or notoriety.

Revenge Spending:

A shopping spree wherein one member of a romantic partnership whose finances are intertwined spends extravagantly and beyond the couple's means in order to exact vengeance on the other member. Such sprees are generally motivated by jealousy, rage, spite, etc., and come about in relation to specific instances where one member of a couple feels him or herself to have been excluded from the other's experience of pleasure.

Revenue:

The income from any commercial activity. Originally, it was the income of the state from taxes (as in Inland Revenue).

Reverse Engineering:

Reverse Engineering, also called back engineering, is the processes of extracting knowledge or design information from anything man-made and re-producing it or reproducing anything based on the extracted information. The process often involves disassembling something (a mechanical device, electronic component, computer program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter) and analyzing its components and workings in detail.

Reverse Psychology:

Reverse Psychology is a technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what actually is desired: the opposite of what is suggested. This technique relies on the psychological phenomenon of reactance, in which a person has a negative emotional reaction to being persuaded, and thus chooses the option which is being advocated against. The one being manipulated is usually unaware of what is really going on.

Reverse Takeover:

A takeover in which the company being taken over fights back by taking over the company that is trying to buy it.

Review:

A reexamination or reconsideration.

An inspection or examination for the purpose of evaluation.

Revolution:

The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.

A sudden or momentous change in a situation.

Revolving Credit:

A loan which permits the borrower to borrow up to a set limit, again and again. The borrower with a Revolving Credit can borrow up to its limit, repay some of it, and then borrow up to the limit again.

Revue:

A musical show consisting of skits, songs, and dances, often satirizing current events, trends, and personalities.

Reward:

Something given or received in recompense for worthy behavior or in retribution for evil acts.

Money offered or given for some special service, such as the return of a lost article or the capture of a criminal.

A satisfying return or result; profit.

Rezidentura:

A resident spy in the world of espionage is an agent operating within a foreign country for extended periods of time. A base of operations within a foreign country with which a resident spy may liaise is known as a "station" in English and a Rezidentura ('residency') in Russian. What the U.S. would call a "station chief", the head spy, is known as a rezident in Russian.

RFID chip:

Short for: Radio-Frequency Identification. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Rhapsody:

Exalted or excessively enthusiastic expression of feeling in speech or writing: a literary work written in an impassioned or exalted style.

A state of elated bliss; ecstasy.

Music: a usually instrumental composition of irregular form that often incorporates improvisation.

An ancient Greek epic poem or a portion of one suitable for uninterrupted recitation.

Rhetoric:

Rhetoric is one of the arts of using language as a means to persuade.

See also: oratory.

Rhetorical Question:

A statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered.

A question posed only for dramatic or persuasive effect.

Rhinestone:

A Rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.

Originally, Rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased when around 1775 the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate diamonds by coating the lower side of glass with metal powder. Hence, Rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages.

Rhinestones may be used as imitations of diamonds, and some manufacturers even manage to capture the glistening effect real diamonds have in the sun.

Rhubarb:

Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a species of plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizomes. It produces large poisonous leaves that are somewhat triangular, with long fleshy edible stalks and small flowers grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences.

(Uncountable): general background noise caused by several simultaneous conversations, none of which is decipherable; specifically such noise created in films, stage plays, etc., by actors repeating the word rhubarb; rhubarb rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.

(US, originally baseball, countable): an excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event.

(US, originally baseball, by extension, countable): a brawl.

Rhyme:

Correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines (especially final sounds).

A piece of poetry.

Rhythm:

Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions.

The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.

Music: a specific kind of such a pattern, formed by a series of notes differing in duration and stress.

The pattern of development produced in a literary or dramatic work by repetition of elements such as words, phrases, incidents, themes, images, and symbols.

Rich:

Possessing great material wealth; wealthy people considered as a group.

Having great worth or value; magnificent; sumptuous; having an abundant supply.

Read also: How Much Money Do You Need To Be Wealthy?.

See also: high net worth individual, millionaire, multi-millionaire and ultra-rich.

Rich Communication Services (RCS):

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a communication protocol standard between mobile telephone carriers, based on IP Multimedia Subsystem, developed and defined by the GSM Association (GSMA). It aims to be a replacement of SMS and MMS, with a text-message system that is richer and provides phonebook polling (for service discovery). It is also marketed as Advanced Messaging, and was previously marketed as chat features, joyn, SMSoIP, Message+, and SMS+.

Richie Rich:

A colloquialism for a Rich Kid.

Richter Magnitude Scale:

The Richter Magnitude Scale, also known as the local magnitude (ML) scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a base-10 logarithmic scale obtained by calculating the logarithm of the combined horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement from zero on a Wood–Anderson torsion seismometer output. So, for example, an earthquake that measures 5.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than one that measures 4.0. The effective limit of measurement for local magnitude ML is about 6.8.

To follow current seismic activity, visit IRIS Seismic Monitor.

Rickshaw:

A small two-wheeled cart for one passenger; pulled by one person. Also called jinrikisha.

RICO Act:

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (commonly referred to as RICO Act or RICO) is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

Ricochet:

To rebound at least once from a surface.

Riddle:

A Riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and conundrums, which are questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer.

See also: Samson's riddle.

Rider:

A Rider is an additional clause, document, or slip of paper that adds, alters, amends, or removes the provisions of an associated or attached agreement or contract (such as an insurance policy) or a negotiable instrument. See also allonge.

One that rides, especially one who rides horses.

An unrelated provision added to a legislative bill as a means of trying to get the provision adopted along with the bill or to hamper the passage of the bill.

Something, such as the top rail of a fence, that rests on or is supported by something else.

Visit also: Celebrity Riders - The Huffington Post.

Riemann Hypothesis:

In mathematics, the Riemann hypothesis, proposed by Bernhard Riemann (1859), is a conjecture about the distribution of the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function stating that all non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function have real part 1/2.

Riff:

A constantly repeated musical phrase used especially as background for a soloist or as the basic theme of a final chorus; a term that originated in jazz music.

Riffraff:

People regarded as disreputable or worthless.

Right:

Conforming with or conformable to justice, law, or morality.

In accordance with fact, reason, or truth; correct.

In or into a satisfactory state or condition.

Right of First Refusal:

Right of First Refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party. A first refusal right must have at least three parties: the owner, the third party or buyer and the option holder. In general, the owner must make the same offer to the option holder before making the offer to the buyer.

Right-of-Way (transportation):

A Right-of-Way is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A Right-of-Way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as for a footway, carriageway, trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A Right-of-Way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the Right-of-Way. In the case of an easement, it may revert to its original owners if the facility is abandoned.

Right to be Forgotten:

See: do not track.

Right Wing:

The conservative or reactionary faction of a group.

Rights Issue:

An issue of shares which gives existing shareholders the right to buy the issue at a favorable price and within a specified period of time. Rights that are not taken up can usually be sold on the open market before they expire. In most markets a public company has to make all new share issues in this way in order to prevent existing shareholders from involuntarily having their holdings diluted.

Rigoletto:

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. It is considered by many to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda.

Rigor Mortis:

Muscular stiffening following death.

Ringmaster:

A person who is in charge of the performances in a circus ring.

A supervisor or moderator especially of a performance or presentation.

See also: sprechstallmeister.

R.I.P.:

Short for: Rest in Peace. Latin: Requiescat In Pace (may he rest in peace; may she rest in peace).

Rip-Off:

A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.

Rip van Winkle:

A person who is oblivious to changes, especially in social attitudes or thought; a person who sleeps a lot.

Rip van Winkle is the title character in a story by Washington Irving about a man who sleeps for 20 years and doesn't recognize the world when he wakens.

Riparian Zone:

A Riparian Zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream.

Risk:

The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger.

The chances of losing money. Investors who buy financial instruments such as US government bonds, where the risks of not being repaid are minimal, are said to be risk averse. Some risks can be reduced by hedging, others by taking out insurance cover.

Risk Analysis:

The systematic analysis and measurement of the risk of different investments. There are other types of risk associated with an investment besides the simple one of an inability of the investment to make a return. They include political risk (that a government may compel the borrower to renege on the debt) and foreign-exchange risk (that a debt denominated in another currency may, through turbulence in the foreign-exchange markets, come to e worth much less by the time it is repaid).

Risk Management:

The task of managing the risks that an organization takes in the course of its business. Ways of reducing risk include insurance, hedging and disinvestment.

Risqué:

Suggestive of or bordering on indelicacy or impropriety.

Risus Sardonicus:

Risus Sardonicus or rictus grin is a highly characteristic, abnormal, sustained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning. Risus Sardonicus may be caused by tetanus, strychnine poisoning or Wilson's disease.

Ritual:

A Ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community.

Ritzy:

Elegant; fancy; luxuriously elegant. After the Hôtel Ritz Paris, established by César Ritz (1850-1918), Swiss hotelier.

Colloquialism: a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech.

River of Sludge:

Slang for tabloids.

River Styx:

Greek mythology: the Styx was a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls.

Riverdance:

Popular dance and music spectacle based on Irish step dance and also featuring Spanish, Russian, folk, and tap.

Rizz (slang):

Rizz is an Internet slang word defined as "style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner". The phrase was coined by YouTuber Kai Cenat in mid-2021. Short for "charisma" (or, possibly, romantic charisma), it subsequently garnered virality on the social media application TikTok. It was named Oxford University Press' word of the year for 2023.

RMC:

Short for: Rugged Mobile Computer.

Road Map:

A map, especially one for motorists, showing and designating the roads of a region.

A set of guidelines, instructions, plans, or explanations.

Road Movie:

A Road Movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home to travel from place to place by motor vehicle, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives, having various encounters, adventures, etc. along the way.

The on-the-road plot was used at the birth of American cinema but blossomed in the years after World War II, reflecting a boom in automobile production and the growth of youth culture. Even so, awareness of the "road picture" as a genre came only in the 1960s with Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider.

Road Pricing:

Road Pricing is a system of making drivers pay money for driving on certain roads by electronically recording the movement of vehicles on those roads.

Road Show:

A show presented by a touring theater company.

A traveling presentation advocating a political idea or agenda.

Road To Damascus:

From the Conversion of Paul, we get the metaphorical reference to the "Road to Damascus" that has come to refer to a sudden and/or radical conversion of thought or a change of heart or mind, even in matters outside of a Christian context. For example, Australian politician Tony Abbott was described as having been "on his own road to Damascus" after pledging increased mental health funding, and a New Zealand drug dealer turned police officer was likewise described as taking "the first step on the road to Damascus."

Roadie:

A person who loads, unloads, and sets up equipment and often performs errands for musicians on tour.

Roadster:

A Roadster, also known as a spyder or spider, is a two-seat car, traditionally without either a roof, side or rear windows.

Roaming Service:

Roaming Service is the ability to get access to the Internet when away from home at the price of a local call or at a charge considerably less than the regular long-distance charges. For example, if you normally get access to the Internet from an access provider in Brooklyn, New York and are travelling to Hong Kong, you can call a designated access provider in Hong Kong. Instead of paying long distance charges to your local provider in Brooklyn, you pay the local phone connection charge in Hong Kong and possibly a modest additional charge for the service.

Roaring Twenties:

The Roaring Twenties is a term sometimes used to refer to the 1920s, characterizing the decade's distinctive cultural edge in New York City, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, London, and many other major cities during a period of sustained economic prosperity. French speakers called it the "années folles" ("Crazy Years"), emphasizing the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism. "Normalcy" returned to politics in the wake of hyper-emotional patriotism during World War I, jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood, and Art Deco peaked. Economically, the era saw the large-scale diffusion and use of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, and electricity, unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The media focused on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars, as cities rooted for their home team and filled the new palatial cinemas and gigantic stadiums. In most major countries women were given the right to vote for the first time. Finally the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the era, as the Great Depression set in worldwide, bringing years of worldwide gloom and hardship.

Robbe-Grillet Mystery:

What is missing from a Robbe-Grillet Mystery plot is a firm resolution of the mystery.

Robber Baron:

Robber Baron is a pejorative term for an American capitalist of the latter part of the 19th century who became wealthy through exploitation (as of natural resources, governmental influence, or low wage scales).

A business owner or executive who acquires wealth through ethically questionable tactics.

List of businessmen who were called Robber Barons.

For an in-depth insight, read the book: The Robber Barons.

Robin Hood Tax:

Global tax on banks' financial transactions to fight poverty, protect public services and tackle climate change.

Robo Advisor:

Robo Advisors are a class of financial adviser that provides financial advice or portfolio management online with minimal human intervention.

Robocall:

Robocall is a term for an automated phone call that uses both a computerized autodialer and a computer-delivered pre-recorded message. The implication is that a "Robocall" resembles a telephone call from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns.

Robot:

A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human and is capable of performing a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by being programmed in advance.

A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.

A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds automatically to the commands of others.

Robotics:

The development and use of robots to undertake activity formerly done by humans. In the car industry, in particular, robots have taken over many of the manufacturing processes.

Rocaille:

Rocaille was a French style of exuberant decoration, with an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations and elements modeled on nature, that appeared in furniture and interior decoration during the early reign of Louis XV of France. It was a reaction against the heaviness and formality of the Style Louis XIV. It began in about 1710, reached its peak in the 1730s, and came to an end in the late 1750s, replaced by neoclassicism. It was the beginning of the French baroque movement in furniture and design, and also marked the beginning of the Rococo movement, which spread to Italy, Bavaria and Austria by the mid-18th century.

Rocambole:

Rocambole is a fictional adventurer created by Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail, a 19th-century French writer. The word rocambolesque has become common in French and other languages to label any kind of fantastic adventure.

Rock and Roll:

Rock and Roll (often written as Rock & Roll or Rock ’n’ Roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes. Though elements of Rock and Roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s, and in blues records from the 1920s, Rock and Roll did not acquire its name until the 1950s. An early form of Rock and Roll was rockabilly, which combined country and jazz, with influences from traditional Appalachian folk, and gospel music.

The term "Rock and Roll" now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage. The American Heritage Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary both define Rock and Roll as synonymous with rock music. Conversely, Allwords.com defines the term to refer specifically to the music of the 1950s. For the purpose of differentiation, this article uses the latter definition, while the broader musical genre is discussed in the rock music article.

In the earliest Rock and Roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s. The beat is essentially a boogie woogie blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, the latter almost always provided by a snare drum. Classic Rock and Roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit.

The massive popularity and eventual worldwide view of Rock and Roll gave it a widespread social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, Rock and Roll, as seen in movies and in the new medium of television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It went on to spawn various sub-genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply "rock music" or "rock".

Rock Group:

A band of musicians who play rock'n'roll music.

Rock Star:

A famous and successful singer or performer of rock music.

Someone who can stay up and party all night long and then wake up and take care of business in the morning.

A person treated as a celebrity, especially in inspiring fanatical admiration.

Read also: How ‘Rock Star’ Became a Business Buzzword - The New York Times.

Rocket Science:

An endeavor requiring great intelligence or technical ability.

Rodeo:

A public competition or exhibition in which skills such as riding broncos or roping calves are displayed.

Rodeo Clown:

The primary job of the Rodeo Clown is to protect a fallen rider from the bull, whether the rider has been bucked off or has jumped off of the animal. The Rodeo Clown distracts the bull and provides an alternative target for the bull to attack.

Roger:

Used especially in radio communications to indicate receipt of a message.

Rogue:

A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.

Rogue State:

Government, Politics & Diplomacy: a state that conducts its policy in a dangerously unpredictable way, disregarding international law or diplomacy.

Rogue's Gallery:

A collection of pictures of criminals; a coterie of undesirable people.

Rohypnol:

Rohypnol can incapacitate victims and prevent them from resisting sexual assault (commonly referred to in street slang as a "roofie", or sometimes more appropriately as a "groundie"). It can produce "anterograde amnesia," which means that individuals may not remember events they experienced while under the effects of the drug.

The sedative effects of Rohypnol begin to appear approximately 15 to 20 minutes after the drug is ingested. The effects typically last from four to eight hours after administration of the drug, but some cases have been reported in which the effects were experienced for twelve or more hours after administration. In recent news, it has been discovered that scientists can now detect flunitrazepam and related compounds in urine at least up to five days or in hair up to a month after administration of a single dose of Rohypnol.

Rohypnol is also known as a "date rape drug" refers to any drug that can be used to assist in the commission of a sexual assault (date rape). Drink spiking may also be undertaken for amusement purposes as well. The term "date rape drug" originated in journalism and has no strict scientific or legal definition, because a wide variety of substances can be used to incapacitate a person, and all of them have sometimes been taken willingly by people in other situations.

ROI:

Short for: Return On Investment.

Roi Fainéant:

Roi Fainéant, literally "do-nothing king" and so presumptively "lazy king", is a French term primarily used to refer to the later kings of the Merovingian dynasty, after they seemed to have lost their initial energy. They were considered and portrayed "useless" by Carolingian kings and even recent generations of modern historians, though current historical opinion is more nuanced.

Role:

Also Rôle. A character or part played by a performer.

The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual.

A function or position.

Role Model:

A person who serves as a model in a particular behavioral or social role for another person to emulate.

Roleplaying:

Roleplaying refers to the changing of one's behavior to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the Oxford English Dictionary defines roleplaying as "the changing of one's behavior to fulfill a social role", the term is used more loosely in three senses:

To refer to the playing of roles generally such as in a theater, or educational setting.

To refer to a wide range of games including computer Role-Playing games, play-by-mail games and more.

To refer specifically to role-playing games.

Rolfing:

Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf (1896–1979) as Structural Integration. It is typically delivered as a series of ten hands-on physical manipulation sessions sometimes called "the recipe". It is based on Rolf's ideas about how the human body's "energy field" can benefit when aligned with the Earth's gravitational field. Practitioners combine superficial and deep manual therapy with movement prompts. The process is sometimes painful.

Roll Over:

To extend the maturity of a loan beyond its original repayment date. In some cases this may involve replacing an old loan with a new one.

Rolling News:

A 24 hour, continuously updated news service on radio or television.

See also: breaking news.

Ro-Ro:

A ship where vehicles ROll on and then ROll off; that is, the vehicles are driven down ramps and straight into the hold of the boat, and likewise in reverse when disembarking.

Rolodex:

A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information (the name is a portmanteau word of rolling and index) currently manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid Company. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card.

Roman à Clef:

Roman à Clef, French for "novel with a key", is a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. This "key" may be produced separately by the author, or implied through the use of epigraphs or other literary devices.

Roman Calendar:

The Roman Calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. The original Roman Calendar is believed to have been a lunar calendar, which may have been based on one of the Greek lunar calendars. As the time between new moons averages 29.5 days, its months were constructed to be either hollow (29 days) or full (30 days).

See also: Gregorian Calendar and Julian Calendar.

Romance:

A love affair.

Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people.

A strong, sometimes short-lived attachment, fascination, or enthusiasm for something.

A mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful.

Romance Tourism:

Romance Tourism: female sex tourism is travel by women, partially or fully for the purpose of having sex. The practice differs from male sex tourism in that women do not typically use the structures of the sex industry (e.g. strip clubs, sex shows and organised tours) to meet foreign partners.

RomCom:

ROMantic COMedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles. Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films and often have elements of screwball comedies and stoner comedies.

ROMO:

Short for: Relief Of Missing Out.

Read more here: Evolving from FOMO to ROMO - the Relief Of Missing Out - "After FOMO, or the fear of missing out, here comes ROMO - the Relief Of Missing Out, as people seek to avoid the news."

Rookie:

A Rookie is a person in his or her first year of a sport, or someone who is new to a profession, training or activity such as a Rookie cop, Rookie pilot, a recruit, or occasionally a freshman.

An inexperienced person; a novice.

Rorschach Test:

The Rorschach Test (also known as the Rorschach inkblot test or simply as the Inkblot test) is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex scientifically derived algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning. It has been employed to detect an underlying thought disorder, especially in cases where patients are reluctant to describe their thinking processes openly. The test takes its name from that of its creator, Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach.

Rosary:

Roman Catholic Church: a form of devotion to the Virgin Mary, chiefly consisting of three sets of five decades each of the Hail Mary, each decade preceded by the Lord's Prayer and ending with a doxology; a string of 55 or 165 beads used to count these prayers as they are recited.

A bed or garden of roses.

Rose Line:

Rose Line is a fictional name given to the Paris Meridian and to the sunlight line defining the exact time of Easter on the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice, marked by a brass strip on the floor of the church in the Priory of Sion mythology, where the two are conflated. The fictional name Rose Line was also popularized by Dan Brown in his 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code.

Rose Window:

Rose Window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style that are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery.

Rosebud:

Orson Welles credited the "Rosebud" device to Herman J. Mankiewicz. "Rosebud remained, because it was the only way we could find to get off, as they used to say in vaudeville," Welles said. "It manages to work, but I'm still not too keen about it, and I don't think that he was, either." Welles said that they attempted to diminish the importance of the word's meaning and "take the mickey out of it."

As he began his first draft of the screenplay in early 1940, Mankiewicz mentioned "Rosebud" to his secretary. When she asked, "Who is rosebud?" he replied, "It isn't a who, it's an it." The symbol of Mankiewicz's own damaged childhood was a treasured bicycle, stolen while he visited the public library and not replaced by his family as punishment. "He mourned that all his life," wrote Kael, who believed Mankiewicz put the emotion of that boyhood loss into the loss that haunted Kane.

Hearst biographer Louis Pizzitola reports one historian's statement that "Rosebud" was a nickname given to Hearst's mother by portrait and landscape painter Orrin Peck, whose family were friends with the Hearsts. Another theory of the origin of "Rosebud" is the similarity with the dying wish of Zaharoff to be wheeled "by the rosebush".

In 1989 author Gore Vidal stated that "Rosebud" was a nickname which Hearst had used for the clitoris of Davies. Vidal said that Davies had told this intimate detail to Lederer, who had mentioned it to him years later. Film critic Roger Ebert said, "Some people have fallen in love with the story that Herman Mankiewicz…happened to know that 'Rosebud' was William Randolph Hearst's pet name for an intimate part of Marion Davies' anatomy." Welles biographer Frank Brady traced the story back to newspaper articles in the late 1970s, and wrote, "How Orson (or Mankiewicz) could have ever discovered this most private utterance is unexplained and why it took over 35 years for such a suggestive rationale to emerge... unknown. If this highly unlikely story is even partially true... Hearst may have become upset at the implied connotation, although any such connection seems to have been innocent on Welles's part." Houseman denied this rumor about "Rosebud"'s origins, claiming that he would have heard about something "so provocative" and that Welles could never "have kept such a secret for over 40 years."

Rosenthal Effect:

See: Pygmalion effect.

Rosette (decoration):

A Rosette is a small, circular device that is presented with a medal. The Rosettes are either worn on the medal to denote a higher rank, or for situations where wearing the medal is deemed inappropriate. Rosettes are issued in nations such as Belgium, France, Italy and Japan. Rosettes are also sometimes called bowknots, due to their shape. Moreover, a large Rosette is sometimes pinned onto the ribbon which suspends a medal, usually the Officer (and sometimes Grand Officer)'s badge of certain Orders of Chivalry.

Rosh Hashanah:

Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year."

Roswell:

The Roswell UFO Incident was the alleged recovery of extra-terrestrial debris, including alien corpses, from an object which crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, USA, on or about July 8, 1947. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and the subject of conspiracy theories as to the true nature of the object which crashed. The United States military maintains that what was actually recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to a classified program named "Mogul"; however, many UFO proponents maintain that in fact a crashed alien craft and bodies were recovered, and that the military then engaged in a cover-up.

Rosy Retrospection:

Rosy Retrospection is a proposed psychological phenomenon of recalling the past more positively than it was actually experienced.

Rotunda (architecture):

A Rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building (a famous example being within the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). The Pantheon in Rome is a famous Rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome.

Roué:

One devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; a debauchee; a rake.

Roughneck:

A member of the crew of an oil rig other than the driller.

An uncouth person.

Roulette:

Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for "little wheel". In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a number, a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even. To determine the winning number and color, a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular track running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually loses momentum and falls on to the wheel and into one of 37 (in French/European Roulette) or 38 (in American Roulette) colored and numbered pockets on the wheel.

Round:

An interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs.

A set of negotiations under the terms of the Gatt, such as the Tokyo Round or the Uruguay Round. The purpose of these rounds is to get the member countries to agree to reduce even further the barriers to trade between them.

Round-Robin Tournament:

A Round-Robin Tournament (or all-play-all tournament) is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".

Sports: a tournament in which each contestant is matched in turn against every other contestant.

A petition or protest on which the signatures are arranged in a circle in order to conceal the order of signing.

See also: knock-out tornament.

Route 66:

A famous road in the US that is mentioned in books, films, and songs. It was built in the early 1930s, and was the first road to go a long distance across the US, from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Router:

An electronic device used to connect two or more computers or other electronic devices to each other.

Routine:

A prescribed, detailed course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.

A set of customary and often mechanically performed procedures or activities.

A particular kind of behavior or activity.

Royal:

Of or relating to a monarch.

Of the rank of a monarch.

Befitting royalty; stately.

Royal Fifth:

The Royal Fifth (quinto real or quinto del rey in Spanish and Portuguese) is an old royal tax that reserves to the monarch 20% of all precious metals and other commodities (including slaves) acquired by his subjects as war loot, found as treasure or extracted by mining. The 'Royal Fifth' was instituted in Medieval Muslim states, Christian Iberian kingdoms and their overseas colonial empires during the age of exploration.

Royal Pardon:

A Royal Pardon is an official order given by a king or queen to stop the punishment of a person accused of a crime.

Royal Prerogative:

The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone.

Royal Touch:

The Royal Touch (also known as the king's touch) was a form of laying on of hands, whereby French and English monarchs would touch their subjects, regardless of social classes, with the intent to cure them of various diseases and conditions.

Royalty:

Royalties (sometimes, running royalties, or private sector taxes) are usage-based payments made by one party (the "licensee") to another (the "licensor") for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property (IP). Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or a fixed price per unit sold of an item of such, but there are also other modes and metrics of compensation. A royalty interest is the right to collect a stream of future royalty payments, often used in the oil and music industries to describe a percentage ownership of future production or revenues from a given leasehold, which may be divested from the original owner of the asset.

All amounts received for the privilege of using intangibles such as patent, copyright, secret processes and formulae, as well as amounts received for the privilege of exploiting mineral, oil and gas deposits.

A person of royal rank or lineage.

RSS:

Short for: Rich Site Summary (originally RDF Site Summary, often dubbed Really Simple Syndication). RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works - such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's URI (often referred to informally as a "URL" (uniform resource locater), although technically the two terms are not exactly synonymous) into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.

Free RSS Reader displays any RSS and Atom news feed.

RSVP:

Short for: Répondez S'il Vous Plaît. RSVP is a French phrase that translates to "please respond" and word for word translation is "respond if you please". It is with this meaning that invitation cards and similar documents.

RTD:

Short for: Ready-to-drink.

RTFM:

Short for: Read The Fucking Manual.

RTW:

Short for: ready-to-wear.

Rubber Band Effect:

In video games, the Rubber Band Effect in dynamic game difficulty balancing, where AI characters with a more severe disadvantage are harder to beat and vice versa.

Rubber Stamp:

A piece of rubber affixed to a handle and bearing raised characters used to make ink impressions, as of names or dates.

A person or body that gives perfunctory approval or endorsement of a policy without assessing its merit; A perfunctory approval or endorsement.

Rubber Band Effect (intertial scrolling):

This relates to the "Rubber Band Effect" that occurs when a user attempts to scroll past the end of a displayed document or webpage. This is also known as intertial scrolling.

Rucking:

Rucking is the action of walking with weight on your back. Walking with a weighted rucksack (aka backpack) is a low impact exercise based on military training workouts.

Hiking is Rucking in the mountains and urban hiking is simply called Rucking. You've probably even spent time Rucking - traveling, bringing books to school, or on your commute to work. Carrying weight is a necessary part of life, and as it turns out, humans are naturally good at it, too.

Rucksack:

A large bag, usually having two straps and a supporting frame, carried on the back and often used by climbers, campers, etc. US and Canadian name backpack. A knapsack.

Rug:

A heavy fabric used to cover a floor.

Slang: a toupee.

Rug-Pull:

A sudden revelation that completely contradicts the assumptions one has been led to believe.

A fraud scheme where anonymous founders trick people into investing money for a cryptocurrency project which is then abandoned.

Rule:

Governing power or its possession or use; authority.

An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.

A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all cases.

Mathematics standard method or procedure for solving a class of problems.

Rule 34:

Rule 34 is an internet concept meaning that if something exists in real life, or is made up, there will be a pornographic depiction of it. This includes cartoons, celebrities, and objects, and in some cases, these depictions go well beyond usual themes found in mainstream pornography.

The phrase "Rule 34" was coined from an August 13, 2003 webcomic captioned, "Rule #34 There is porn of it. No exceptions." The comic was drawn by TangoStari (Peter Morley-Souter) to depict his shock at seeing Calvin and Hobbes parody porn. Although the comic faded into obscurity, the caption instantly became popular on the Internet. Since then, the phrase has been adapted into different syntactic versions and has even been used as a verb.

Rule Against Perpetuities:

The common law Rule Against Perpetuities forbids instruments (contracts, wills, and so forth) from tying up property for too long a time beyond the lives of people living at the time the instrument was written. For instance, willing property to one's great-great-great-great grandchildren (to be held in trust for them, but not fully owned, by the intervening generations) would normally violate the Rule Against Perpetuities. The law is applied differently (or sometimes not applied at all) in different jurisdictions and circumstances.

Rule of Thumb:

A Rule of Thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination.

Rum Row:

A Rum Row was a Prohibition-era term (1920-1933) referring to a line of ships loaded with liquor anchored beyond the maritime limit of the United States. The maritime limit was three miles prior to April 21, 1924, and 12 miles thereafter. These lines became established near major U.S. ports so that rum runners could load cargoes of alcoholic beverages from these freight ships and sneak them into port. This lucrative but dangerous business was often punctuated by murder, hijackings and other violent crimes. The cities were often in Florida at first and the product was rum from the Caribbean. However, as the importation of whiskey from Canada increased, rum rows became established in locations along all the coastlines of the U.S. Notable rum-row locations included the New Jersey coast (by far the largest), San Francisco, Virginia, Galveston, and New Orleans. Twenty American navy destroyers were turned over to the Coast Guard to fight rum runners.

Rumble in the Jungle:

The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30, 1974 (at 4:00 am). Held at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël), it pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight champion. The attendance was 60,000. Ali won by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. It has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century".

Rumor:

Information, often a mixture of truth and untruth, passed around verbally.

Gossip or hearsay.

Rumpelstiltskin:

Rumpelstiltskin is the protagonist of a fairy tale that originated in Germany (where he is known as Rumpelstilzchen).

Run:

An unusually intense demand by customers for the same thing at the same time. For example, a run on a bank is a simultaneous demand by the bank's depositors to withdraw their money. Other runs, such as the run on turkeys just before Christmas, are less worrying (and more predictable).

Run Round Like a Headless Chicken:

To be very busy doing a lot of things, but in a way that is not very effectiive.

Runet:

Runet (portmanteau of ru (Russia's top-level domain) and net (common abbreviation of internet)) is a widely used term that pertains to Internet domains and websites, and has several terminological uses. The term "Runet" has been used by media, journalists and politicians.

Running Account:

Revolving credit facility offered by a seller under which an approved buyer may continually obtain goods or services up to the agreed limit. Amount paid by the buyer makes the same sum available again for purchases.

Running the Gauntlet:

Running the Gauntlet or gantlet is a form of physical punishment where a captive is to run between two rows - a gauntlet - of soldiers who repeatedly strike them.

Runway:

A strip of level, usually paved ground on which aircraft take off and land.

A narrow walkway extending from a stage into an auditorium.

Runyonesque:

Reminiscent of Damon Runyon (1880–1946), American newspaperman and writer, best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era.

Rural:

Living in or characteristic of farming or country life.

Ruritania:

Ruritania is a fictional country in central Europe which forms the setting for three books by Anthony Hope: The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), The Heart of Princess Osra (1896), and Rupert of Hentzau (1898). Although the first and third are set in the recent past — between the 1850s and 1880s — the second is set in the 1730s, although it refers to subsequent events that happened between that time and the time of writing.

The kingdom is also the setting for sequels and variations by other writers. It lent its name to a genre of adventure stories known as Ruritanian romances, and is used in academia to refer to a hypothetical country.

Russian Roulette:

Russian Roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger. "Russian" refers to the supposed country of origin of the game and roulette to the element of risk-taking and the spinning of the revolver's cylinder being reminiscent of spinning a roulette wheel.

Russian Spring:

Khrushchev's Thaw or First Russian Spring.

Rustic:

Of, characteristic of, or living in the country; rural.

Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture: denoting or characteristic of a style of furniture popular in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, in which the legs and feet of chairs, tables, etc., were made to resemble roots, trunks, and branches of trees.

An unsophisticated country person.

RV:

Short for: Recreational Vehicle. In North America the term recreational vehicle, and its acronym RV, are generally used to refer to a vehicle equiped with living space and amenities found in a home. A Recreational Vehicle normally includes a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom and a living room.

RVs are intended for everything from brief leisure activities such as vacations and camping, to full-time living, for which they are often parked in special trailer parks. (However, many trailer parks are reserved just for mobile homes, not to be confused with RVs and motorhomes.) RVs can also be rented in most major cities and tourist areas.

Furthermore, they are occasionally used as mobile offices for business travelers and often include customizations such as extra desk space, an upgraded electrical system, a generator, and satellite Internet.

RX:

Rx: A medical prescription. The symbol "Rx" is usually said to stand for the Latin word "recipe" meaning "to take." It is customarily part of the superscription (heading) of a prescription.

Ryokan:

A Ryokan is a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan's highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner.

Ryokan are difficult to find in Tokyo and other large cities because many are expensive compared to hotels, and Japanese people increasingly use hotels for urban tourism. Nonetheless, some major cities do have reasonably priced Ryokan, with some costing as little as $40 a night. However, Ryokan are more typically located in scenic areas, such as in the mountains or by the sea, and tend to be more expensive.

Ryotei:

Traditional Japanese restaurant.

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S Corporation (U.S.):

An S Corporation is created under the Internal Revenue Code. A corporation may elect to be treated as an S Corporation. Stringent rules exist with respect to how and when the election is made; the number and type of shareholders; and the means by which the election may be terminated. S Corporations pay no income tax; all items of income, gain, credit, and loss pass through to the shareholders in proportion to their shareholdings.

S.A.:

Short for: Société Anonyme. The French equivalent of a limited company, an indication to the general public that a company enjoys the benefit of limited liability. Usuallly abbreviated to SA.

Sabbatical:

An extended period of leave taken by an employee, often as a right under the terms of their contract of employment. University teachers, for instance, are often allowed to take a one-term sabbatical every seven years.

See also: gap year.

Sabotage:

Destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in time of war.

Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion.

Sabrage:

Sabrage is a technique for opening a champagne bottle with a sabre, used for ceremonial occasions. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle. The cork and collar remain together after separating from the neck.

Sabre Rattling:

The ostentatious display of military power (with the implied threat that it might be used).

Saceur:

(Supreme Allied Commander Europe): NATO's top military title - usually a U.S. general.

Sachem:

A Sachem or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American First Nation tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Algonquian languages. Some sources contend the sagamore was a lesser chief than the Sachem.

Sackcloth and Ashes:

Sackcloth is a coarse, black cloth made from goat’s hair that was worn together with the burnt ashes of wood as a sign of mourning for personal and national disaster, as a sign of repentance and at times of prayer for deliverance.

Sacrament:

A formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction.

Sacré Bleu:

A French expression of surprise, exasperation, or dismay.

A stereotypical French curse that is actually never used by real French people. Same as the mustache and the beret - something only non-French people think is typical of the French.

Sacred Cow:

Informal: a person, institution, custom, etc., unreasonably held to be beyond criticism.

Sacrilege:

Desecration, profanation, misuse, or theft of something sacred.

Sacristy:

A room in a church housing the sacred vessels and vestments; a vestry.

Sadomasochism:

Sadomasochism is the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The acronym S&M is often used for sadomasochism, although practitioners themselves normally drop the & and use the acronym SM or S/M.

SAE:

A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE), stamped self-addressed envelope (SSAE), or just Self Addressed Envelope (SAE) in the UK, is an envelope with the sender's name and address on it, with affixed paid postage and mailed to a company or private individual.

Safe Conduct:

An official document or an escort assuring unmolested passage, as through enemy territory.

Safe Harbor:

A harbor considered safe for a ship, as in wartime or during a storm at sea.

Any place or situation that offers refuge or protection.

A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated.

A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. In effect, this gives the target company a "Safe Harbor."

An accounting method that avoids legal or tax regulations and allows for a simpler method (usually) of determining a tax consequence than those methods described by the precise language of the tax code.

An example of a Safe Harbor on the Internet is a statute protecting Internet service providers from the actions of users such as protection for Google against users who use it for illegal purposes.

Another example of a Safe Harbor in broadcasting is the time period from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. where television can show programs which are not suitable for children such as a 2 a.m. showing of a R-rated film.

Safe House:

A house or apartment used as a hiding place or secure refuge by the members of an organization, such as a secret service agency or an underground terrorist group.

Safe Passage:

Official protection for someone who is travelling through a dangerous area.

Safety Car:

A vehicle employed to lead the competitors in an auto race for the duration of a few laps, with the intention of restricting their speed while a hazard exists on the circuit.

Safeword:

A Safeword is a code word or series of code words that are sometimes used in BDSM for a submissive or bottom to unambiguously communicate their physical or emotional state to a dominant or top, typically when approaching, or crossing, a physical, emotional, or moral boundary. Some Safewords are used to stop the scene outright, while others can communicate a willingness to continue, but at a reduced level of intensity. Safewords are usually agreed upon before playing a scene by all participants, and many organized BDSM groups have standard Safewords that all members agree to use to avoid confusion at organized play events.

Saffiano Leather:

This is the heavily grained or cross-hatched, waterproof and durable leather used by the Italian luxury goods houses of (signature pattern of) Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo.

Saga:

A narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account.

Sage:

One venerated for experience, judgment, and wisdom.

Sahib:

Name of Arabic origin meaning "holder, master or owner." It has also entered English, as a loanword especially associated with British rule in India.

Sail Close to the Wind:

(Nautical): to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, but still making headway.

(Idiomatic): to behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, improper or illegal.

Saint:

A person who has died and gone to heaven; a person of exceptional holiness or goodness.

Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms: a person who after death is formally recognized by a Christian Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, as having attained, through holy deeds or behavior, a specially exalted place in heaven and the right to veneration.

Saint-Simonianism:

Saint-Simonianism was a French political and social movement of the first half of the 19th century.

Salad Days:

"Salad Days" is an idiomatic expression, referring to a youthful time, accompanied by the inexperience, enthusiasm, idealism, innocence, or indiscretion that one associates with a young person. More modern use, especially in the United States, refers to a person's heyday when somebody was at the peak of their abilities—not necessarily in that person's youth.

Salami Tactics:

Salami Tactics, also known as the salami-slice strategy or salami attacks, is a divide and conquer process of threats and alliances used to overcome opposition. With it, an aggressor can influence and eventually dominate a landscape, typically political, piece by piece. In this fashion, the opposition is eliminated "slice by slice" until one realizes (too late) that it is gone in its entirety. In some cases it includes the creation of several factions within the opposing political party and then dismantling that party from the inside, without causing the 'sliced' sides to protest. Salami Tactics are most likely to succeed when the perpetrators keep their true long-term motives hidden and maintain a posture of cooperativeness and helpfulness while engaged in the intended gradual subversion.

Salary:

Regular payment to an employee for his or her work. A salary is usually paid monthly. A weekly payment is generally called a wage.

Sale:

Any exchange of goods or services for money, commonly used in the plural. For example: "Last week's Sales were extremely poor."

A special reduction in prices designed to stimulate Sales of the other kind. Retailers hold these Sales in what are for them the quiet periods of the year.

Sale of Return:

A type of contract under which goods are supplied to retailer on the basis that if they are not sold within a given time they can be returned to the supplier without payment.

Sales Pitch:

An argument or other persuasion used in selling.

Sales Promotion:

A special short-term effort used to promote or launch a product or service. To be effective, a sales promotion needs to be conspicious and noticed, and it needs to bring in more revenue than it costs.

Sales Quota:

A target given by a company to its sales staff setting the volume or value of sales that they are expected to achieve within a given period.

Sales Tax:

Any tax based on the volume or value of sales.

Salesman:

A person whose main job it to sell goods or services. The word has come to symbolize the slick entrepreneur trying to pass on low products for high prices.

Salic Law:

The Salic Law was a set of laws established by King Clovis I for the Salian Franks during the sixth century. It stayed important in parts of western Europe for a long time because Charlemagne based his laws on the Salic Law. One part of Salic Law that stayed very important was inheritance for kings. The Salic Law said that land goes to sons and not daughters.

Salmagundi:

Salmagundi (sometimes abbreviated as salmi) is a dish of seasoned meats, stewed with vegetables.

Salonfähig:

German: acceptable for polite society; socially acceptable; presentable.

Salt & Pepper Hair:

Color of a mix together blend of a person's natural hair color along with gray.

"Salt of the Earth":

The origin is the Bible, from Jesus' sermon of the Mount (King James version, Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 13: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

Idiomatic for a most worthy person; a decent, dependable, unpretentious person.

Salto Mortale:

A dangerous and daring jump with possibly lethal outcome.

(Figuratively): a risky, dangerous or crucial step or undertaking.

Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto:

Latin: The health (welfare, good, salvation, felicity) of the people should be the supreme law.

Salutation:

A greeting, salute, or address; a hello; the act of greeting.

The title in your name, such as Mr, Mrs, Ms., Dr. or Rev.

Sam Spade:

Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's novel The Maltese Falcon (1930) and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known books by Hammett.

Samfundssind:

There’s no direct English translation of Samfundssind. Think of it as putting the good of the greater society above your own personal interests. Danes believe this word has played a key role in the country’s successful response to the pandemic, and it may just offer clues for how the rest of the world can follow suit.

Samfundssind is a compound noun of ‘samfund’ (society) and ‘sind’ (mind). It dates back to 1936, and made an historical cameo in a call for solidarity by then prime minister Thorvald Stauning at the outbreak of World War II. Thereafter, it lay in relative dormancy until Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen revived the word at a press conference on 11 March of this year announcing the first major measures to shut down the country. She presented samfundssind to Danes as having two main pillars: collective responsibility and community spirit.

Read more here: 'Samfundssind': How a long-forgotten word rallied a nation.

Samizdat:

Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader. This grassroots practice to evade officially imposed censorship was fraught with danger as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials.

Samo Samo:

The same as.

Sample:

A number of items chosen from all those that exist. Samples are used to test the characteristics of the group as a whole.

A product that is taken as a model for the subsequent mass production of that product; particularly common in the rag trade.

A small example of a product that is given away to consumers to persuade them to buy it in larger quantities.

Sampling (music):

In music, Sampling is the act of taking a portion, or Sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song. This is typically done with a Sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also possible with tape loops or with vinyl records on a phonograph. People who Sample are commonly referred to as producers or beatmakers. Although beatmaking can be done using various live instruments and synthesizers, Sampling is the method most enjoyed by beatmakers.

Samsara:

Samsāra is a Sanskrit word that means "wandering" or "world", with the connotation of cyclic, circuitous change. It also refers to the theory of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental assumption of all Indian religions. Samsāra is sometimes referred to with terms or phrases such as transmigration, karmic cycle, reincarnation, and "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence".

Samson's Riddle:

"Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness" (Judges 14:14). The riddle refers to a lion he had just killed, on which he saw bees and honey; he ate some of the lion and the honey.

Samurai:

A Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military aristocracy.

-San:

Used as a courtesy title in Japanese-speaking areas as a suffix to the given name, surname, or title of the person being addressed, regardless of age or gender.

SAN:

Short for: Storage Area Network. A storage area network (SAN) is an architecture to attach remote computer storage devices (such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes) to servers in such a way that the devices appear as locally attached to the operating system.

See also: network-attached storage.

San Francisco's Gold Coast:

Pacific Heights is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The Pacific Heights Residents Association defines the neighborhood as inside Bush Street, Presidio Avenue, Union Street, and Van Ness Avenue. Pacific Heights is situated on a primarily east-west oriented ridge that rises sharply from the Marina District and Cow Hollow neighborhoods, to the north, to a maximum height of 370 feet above sea level. The streets of Jackson, Pacific, and Broadway extend along some of the most scenic areas along the hill's crest.

The section of Broadway Street extending from Divisadero to Lyon Street is known as the "Gold Coast."

Sanction:

Formal and explicit approval.

An obstruction placed on a country's ability to trade freely. Sanctions are usually imposed as a penalty for behavior disapproved of by the international community; for example, the Sanctions imposed on South Africa for its policy of apartheid. Confusingly, the word sanction (as a verb) means to authorize. Hence South Africa sanctioned the policy (of apartheid) that brought about sanctions.

Sanctum Sanctorum:

The Latin phrase Sanctum Sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term "Holy of Holies" which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel and later the Temples in Jerusalem, but also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the Tabernacle in church architecture.

Sandbagging:

Sandbagging, hiding the strength, skill or difficulty of something or someone early in an engagement.

Sandbox (computer security):

In computer security, a Sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs. It is often used to execute untested code, or untrusted programs from unverified third-parties, suppliers, untrusted users and untrusted websites.

The Sandbox typically provides a tightly controlled set of resources for guest programs to run in, such as scratch space on disk and memory. Network access, the ability to inspect the host system or read from input devices are usually disallowed or heavily restricted. In this sense, sandboxes are a specific example of virtualization.

Sandbox (software development):

A Sandbox is a testing environment that isolates untested code changes and outright experimentation from the production environment or repository, in the context of software development including Web development and revision control. Sandboxing protects "live" servers and their data, vetted source code distributions, and other collections of code, data and/or content, proprietary or public, from changes that could be damaging (regardless of the intent of the author of those changes) to a mission-critical system or which could simply be difficult to revert. Sandboxes replicate at least the minimal functionality needed to accurately test the programs or other code under development (e.g. usage of the same environment variables as, or access to an identical database to that used by, the stable prior implementation intended to be modified; there are many other possibilities, as the specific functionality needs vary widely with the nature of the code and the application[s] for which it is intended.)

Sandwich:

A Sandwich is a food item consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open Sandwich.

Sangfroid:

Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.

Sanguine:

The Sanguine temperament personality is fairly extroverted. People of a Sanguine temperament tend to enjoy social gatherings and making new friends. They tend to be creative and often daydream. However, some alone time is crucial for those of this temperament. Sanguine can also mean very sensitive, compassionate and thoughtful. Sanguine personalities generally struggle with following tasks all the way through, are chronically late, and tend to be forgetful and sometimes a little sarcastic. Often, when pursuing a new hobby, interest is lost quickly when it ceases to be engaging or fun.

See also: choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic.

Sanhedrin:

The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: synedrion, "sitting together," hence "assembly" or "council") were assemblies of either twenty-three or seventy-one elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), appointed to sit as a tribunal in every city in the ancient Land of Israel.

Sanmitsu:

Sanmitsu, the “Three Cs” approach to preventing COVID-19 infection by avoiding closed spaces, crowds and close-contact situations.

Read also: Why ‘Sanmitsu’ is Japan's word of the year 2020.

Sans-Culottes:

The Sans-Culottes, literally "without breeches") were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Ancien Régime.

Sans Serif:

A typeface in which characters have no serifs.

Sanskrit:

Sanskrit is an ancient Indic language that is the language of Hinduism and the Vedas and is the classical literary language of India.

Santa Claus:

Santa Claus, or Santa, is the personification of the spirit of Christmas, usually represented as a jolly fat old man with a white beard and a red suit, who brings gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.

Sapeur:

French: firefighter.

Sapio:

Mind, spirit, mood; I taste of, taste like, smack of, have a flavour of.

Sapiosexual:

A person who is sexually attracted to intelligence or the human mind before appearance.

Sapphic:

Of or relating to sexual relations between women.

Saracen:

Saracen was a term widely used among Christian writers in Europe during the Middle Ages to refer to Arab Muslims.

Sarcasm:

A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.

A form of wit that is marked by the use of Sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

See also: irony and wit.

Sarcophagus:

Elaborate burial casket not sunk underground.

Sardonic:

Scornfully or cynically mocking; characterized by irony, mockery, or derision.

Sartorialism:

An interest in matters of or relating to the tailoring of clothing.

SASE:

See: SAE.

Sashimi:

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafood, sliced into thin pieces about 2.5 cm (1") wide by 4 cm (1.5") long by 0.5 cm (0.2") thick, but dimensions vary depending on the type of item and chef, and served with only a dipping sauce (soy sauce with wasabi paste or other condiments such as grated fresh ginger, or ponzu), depending on the fish, and simple garnishes such as shiso and shredded daikon radish.

See also: sushi.

SAT:

Short for: Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test. SAT is a college admissions test in the United States.

Satellite Dish:

A Satellite Dish is a type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite television.

Satellite Phone:

A Satellite telePhone, Satellite Phone, or SatPhone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may include the entire Earth, or only specific regions.

In some countries ruled by oppressive regimes such as Burma, possession of a Satellite Phone is illegal. Their signals will usually bypass local telecoms systems, hindering censorship and wiretapping attempts. In Australia, residents of remote areas may apply for a government subsidy for a Satellite Phone.

See also: mobile phone.

Satire:

A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through Irony, derision, or wit.

Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.

Satori:

Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru.

In the Zen Buddhist tradition, Satori refers to a deep experience of kenshō, "seeing into one's true nature".

Satoshi (unit):

The Satoshi is currently the smallest unit of the bitcoin currency recorded on the block chain. It is a one hundred millionth of a single bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC). The unit has been named in collective homage to the original creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Satrap:

Satraps were the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid (Persian) Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.

The word Satrap is also often used metaphorically in modern literature to refer to world leaders or governors who are heavily influenced by larger world superpowers or hegemonies and act as their surrogates.

Satsang:

Satsanga, Satsangam, Satsang in Indian religions is being in the company of the truth or the good, by sitting together with a guru or a group of spiritual students.

Saturate:

To have such a generous supply of products in a market that it is difficult for a new entrant to gain a foothold.

Saturated Fat:

Saturated Fat is fat that consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acid radicals. There are several kinds of naturally-occurring saturated fatty acids, which differ by the number of carbon atoms, ranging from 3 carbons (Propionic Acid) to 36 (Hexatriacontanoic acid). Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain and are thus fully saturated with hydrogen atoms.

Fat that occurs naturally in living matter contains varying proportions of saturated and unsaturated fat. Examples of foods containing a high proportion of Saturated Fat include dairy products (especially cream and cheese but also butter and ghee), animal fats such as suet, tallow, lard and fatty meat, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil, chocolate, and some prepared foods.

Serum saturated fatty acid is generally higher in smokers, alcohol drinkers and obese people.

See also: trans fat.

Satyagraha:

Satyagraha (Sanskrit: Satya-graha), loosely translated as "Soul Force," "truth force," or "holding on to truth," is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term "Satyagraha" was conceived and developed by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as "Mahatma" Gandhi).

Savant:

A learned person; a scholar.

Savile Row:

Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street is termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, and Napoleon III.

Savoir-Faire:

The ability to say or do the right or graceful thing.

Savoriness:

Having an appetizing flavor.

Say:

The chance to speak; express in words; report or maintain; express a supposition; have or contain a certain wording or form.

Saying:

Something, such as an adage or maxim, that is said.

Sbirro:

A policeman in Italy, Corsica, etc.; a ruffian or henchman.

Scale:

A system of ordered marks at fixed intervals used as a reference standard in measurement.

A progressive classification, as of size, amount, importance, or rank; A relative level or degree.

Music: an ascending or descending collection of pitches proceeding by a specified scheme of intervals.

Scalp:

The skin covering the top of the human head.

A trophy of victory.

To buy and sell (securities or commodities) in order to make small quick profits.

Scalping:

Attempt to take maximum financial benefit of the scarcity of an item (such as tickets to a sellout show) by hoarding it.

Trading strategies in which goods or securities are bought and sold for small, short-term, profit during a trading session, rarely carrying a trading position to the next day.

Spreading favorable but false information about a good or security to boost its demand and then unloading it. Also called pumping and dumping.

Scam:

A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.

Scan:

To read electronically the bar code on the packaging of products in a retail outlet.

Scanner:

Computer peripheral or a stand-alone device that converts a document, film, graphic, or photograph to a digital image, manipulable through an appropriate software. When used with an optical character recognition (OCR) software, a scanner can convert printed, typewritten (and, with some devices, handwritten) text into a digital file that can be read by a word processor.

Scandal:

A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society.

A person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage.

Damage to reputation or character caused by public disclosure of immoral or grossly improper behavior; disgrace.

Scapegoat:

Scapegoating is the practice of singling out one child, employee, member of a group of peers, ethnic or religious group, or country for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Related concepts include frameup, whipping boy, jobber, sucker and fall guy.

Scareware:

Scareware, included into the class of malware known as Rogueware, comprises several classes of ransomware or scam software with malicious payloads, usually of limited or no benefit, that are sold to consumers via certain unethical marketing practices. The selling approach uses social engineering to cause shock, anxiety, or the perception of a threat, generally directed at an unsuspecting user. Some forms of spyware and adware also use Scareware tactics.

Scarlet Letter:

The definition of a Scarlet Letter is an identifying mark or brand placed on someone who has committed adultery.

Scatology:

In medicine and biology, Scatology or coprology is the study of feces.

Scavenger Hunt:

A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list.

Scenario:

An outline of the plot of a dramatic or literary work.

An outline or model of an expected or supposed sequence of events.

Scenario Planning:

A method of planning for the future that involves getting an organization's executives to focus on the changes that they think will be the most significant for their business in the future. They are then asked to imagine what such changes might lead to.

Scene:

The place where an action or event, real or imaginary, occurs.

The setting for the action of a play, novel, etc.

Informal: the environment for a specific activity.

Scenester:

A person who frequents a social or cultural scene.

Schadenfreude:

Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This word is used as a loanword from German, and is also borrowed in some other languages.

Schedule:

A list of times of departures and arrivals; a timetable.

A plan for performing work or achieving an objective, specifying the order and allotted time for each part.

A printed or written list of items in tabular form.

Scheduled Territories:

Since June 1972, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar.

Scheherazade:

Scheherazade is a legendary queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.

Schengen Treaty:

A number of European countries have signed an agreement called the Schengen Treaty which states that if a person secures a visa from one member country, they may use a Schengen Visa to enter all other member countries. Current member countries include: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Austria and Italy have also agreed to become members in the future.

Schema (psychology):

In psychology and cognitive science, a Schema (plural Schemata or schemas), describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior. It can also be described as a mental structure of pre-conceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information. Schemata influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge: people are more likely to notice things that fit into their Schema, while re-interpreting contradictions to the Schema as exceptions or distorting them to fit. Schemata have a tendency to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information.

Scheme:

A systematic plan of action.

A secret or devious plan; a plot.

An orderly combination of related parts.

A chart, diagram, or outline of a system or object.

Schifanoia:

Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna (Italy) built for the Este family. The name "Schifanoia" is thought to originate from "schivar la noia" meaning literally to "escape from boredom" which describes accurately the original intention of the palazzo and the other villas in close proximity where the Este court relaxed.

Schism:

Division of a group into opposing factions.

Schizophrenia:

A situation or condition that results from the coexistence of disparate or antagonistic qualities, identities, or activities.

Schlager:

Schlager (German Schlager, literally "hitter" or, more loosely translated, "a hit") is a style of popular music that is prevalent in Central and Northern Europe, in particular Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, but also to a lesser extent in Baltic States, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Typical schlager tracks are either sweet, highly sentimental ballads with a simple, catchy melody or light pop tunes. Lyrics typically center on love, relationships and feelings. The northern variant of schlager, notably in Finland, has taken elements from Nordic and Slavic folk songs, with lyrics tending towards melancholic and elegiac themes. Musically the Schlager has some similarities to other styles like Easy Listening-Music.

The style has been frequently represented at the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been popular since it started in 1956, even though it is increasingly replaced by other pop music styles.

Schlemiel:

Schlemiel is a Yiddish term meaning "unlucky bungler" or "chump."

Schlock:

Of low quality or value.

Schmaltz:

Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat used for frying or as a spread on bread in Central European cuisine, and in the United States, particularly identified with Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. Rendered waterfowl fat is also used in the cuisine of Southwestern France.

Schmancy:

Expensive and fashionable in a way that is meant to be impressive - used in order to show disapproval.

Schmooze:

An informal conversation; to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.

Schnook:

Slang: a stupid or easily victimized person; a dupe.

Scholar:

A learned person; a savant.

A specialist in a given branch of knowledge.

Scholarship:

A grant of financial aid awarded to a student, as for the purpose of attending a college.

School:

An institution for the instruction of children or people under college age.

An institution for instruction in a skill or business.

The building or group of buildings housing an educational institution.

Schrödinger's Cat:

Schrödinger's Cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a cat that may be both alive and dead, this state being tied to an earlier random event. Although the original "experiment" was imaginary, similar principles have been researched and used in practical applications. The thought experiment is also often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics. In the course of developing this experiment, Schrödinger coined the term Verschränkung (entanglement).

In Schrödinger's original formulation, a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor (e.g. a Geiger counter) detects radioactivity (i.e. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation implies that, after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality resolves into one possibility or the other.

Schwung:

German: Swing.

Term beloved of critics when describing an idiomatic performance of, for example, Die Fledermaus. Also: schwungvoll, full of go, vigorous.

Science:

Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice.

In its more restricted contemporary sense, science is a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, and to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research.

Science Fiction (Sci-Fi):

Science Fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations on current or future science or technology. Science Fiction is found in books, magazines, art, television, films, games, theatre, and other media. In organizational or marketing contexts, Science Fiction can be synonymous with the broader definition of speculative fiction, encompassing creative works incorporating imaginative elements not found in contemporary reality; this includes fantasy, horror, and related genres.

Science Fiction differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional purpose of Science Fiction, making it a "literature of ideas". Science Fiction is largely based on writing entertainingly and rationally about alternate possibilities in settings that are contrary to known reality.

Scientific Citation:

Scientific Citation is the process by which conclusions of previous scientists are used to justify experimental procedures, apparatus, goals or theses. Typically such citations establish the general framework of influences and the mindset of research, and especially as "part of what science" it is, and to help determine who conducts the peer review.

Sciolist:

One who exhibits only superficial knowledge; a self-proclaimed expert with little real understanding.

Sciosophy:

False or pretended knowledge of science or natural phenomena.

Systematized ignorance, the most delightful science in the world beacuse it is acquired without labor or pain and keeps the mind from meloncholy.

Sclerotic:

Becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt.

Scoop:

To top or outmaneuver (a competitor) in acquiring and publishing an important news story.

Scope:

The range of one's perceptions, thoughts, or actions.

Breadth or opportunity to function.

The area covered by a given activity or subject.

Scopes Trial:

The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely incriminated himself so that the case could have a defendant.

(Law): the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law; "he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty"; "most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial".

"Winner takes all."

Scopophilia:

Psychiatry: also called passive Scopophilia. The deriving of sexual pleasure from viewing nude bodies, sexual acts, or erotic photographs; voyeurism.

Also called active Scopophilia, scoptophilia. An abnormal desire to be seen, especially genitally; exhibitionism.

Scorched Earth Policy:

A Scorched Earth Policy is a military strategy of devastating all land and buildings in the course of advancing or retreating troops so as to leave nothing salvageable to the enemy.

Technique used by a company that has become the target of a takeover attempt to make itself unattractive to the acquirer. For example, it may agree to sell off the most attractive parts of its business, called the crown jewels, or it may schedule all debt to become due immediately after a merger.

Score:

A usually numerical record of a competitive event.

The total number of points made by each competitor or side in a contest, either final or at a given stage.

Music: the notation of a musical work; the written form of a composition for orchestral or vocal parts; the music written for a film or a play.

An amount due; a debt.

A sexual conquest.

To achieve; win.

Scot-Free:

Without consequences or penalties; to get away without penalty; to beat the rap.

Scotch Tape:

Scotch Tape is a brand name used for certain pressure sensitive tapes manufactured by 3M as part of the company's Scotch brand.

The precursor to the current tapes was developed in the 1930s in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Richard Drew to seal a then-new transparent material known as cellophane.

Scotoma:

A Scotoma is an area of partial alteration in the field of vision consisting of a partially diminished or entirely degenerated visual acuity that is surrounded by a field of normal – or relatively well-preserved – vision.

Every normal mammalian eye has a Scotoma in its field of vision, usually termed its blind spot. This is a location with no photoreceptor cells, where the retinal ganglion cell axons that compose the optic nerve exit the retina. This location is called the optic disc. There is no direct conscious awareness of visual Scotomas. They are simply regions of reduced information within the visual field. Rather than recognizing an incomplete image, patients with Scotomas report that things "disappear" on them.

Scout:

To spy on or explore carefully in order to obtain information; reconnoiter.

One that is dispatched from a main body to gather information, especially in preparation for military action.

The term "Bedder" is short for "bedmaker" and is a housekeeper in a college of the University of Cambridge and the University of Durham. The equivalent at the University of Oxford is known as a "Scout". There is no equivalent at the majority of other universities.

Scoville Scale:

The Scoville Scale is a measure of the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper, as defined by the amount of capsaicin (a chemical compound which stimulates nerve endings in the skin) present.

Some hot sauces use their Scoville rating in advertising as a selling point.

Scrambler:

An electronic device that Scrambles telecommunication signals to make them unintelligible to anyone without a special receiver.

Scrap:

An asset that is no longer of economic value to an organization. But this does not mean that it is of no value to anyone. Scrap can be sold and its value is called the Scrap (or salvage value).

Scrapbook:

An album into which clippings or notes or pictures can be pasted.

Screen Company:

A company incorporated in a country which charges a nil or low rate of tax on receipts or distributions of interest, dividends or royalties received from another country, taking advantage of a favourable double taxation agreement between two countries which reduces the tax withheld at source in the country in which the income arises.

Screen Dump:

The act or process of transferring data on a computer screen to a printer or storage medium.

Screen Name:

A pseudonym used for Internet communications.

Another term for username found in certain programs, such as those from AOL, AIM, Facebook and CompuServe.

Screen Saver:

A software program that displays constantly changing images or dims the brightness of a display screen to protect the screen from having an image etched onto its surface.

Screenshot:

A Screenshot (sometimes called a screen capture or screen dump) is an image taken by the computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device.

Scrip:

Scrip is a term for any substitute for legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long voyages, or occupied countries in war time. Other forms of scrip include land scrip, subway tokens, IOUs, arcade tokens and tickets, and points on some websites.

Scrip Issue:

A free distribution of shares to a company's existing shareholders in proportion to their shareholding. A scrip issue is little more than an accounting device; it does nothing to increase the value of the company or of any shareholder's stake in it. Also known as bonus issue.

Scroll:

A roll, as of parchment or papyrus, used especially for writing a document.

A list or schedule of names.

An ornament or ornamental design that resembles a partially rolled Scroll of paper, as the volute in Ionic and Corinthian capitals.

Heraldry: a ribbon inscribed with a motto.

SD Card:

Short for Secure Digital Card. A SD Card is a non-volatile memory card format developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba for use in portable devices. Today it is widely used in digital cameras, handheld computers, PDAs, Media Players, mobile phones, GPS receivers, and video game consoles. Standard SD Card capacities range from 4 MB to 2 GB, and for high capacity SDHC cards from 4 GB to 32 GB as of 2008. The SDXC (eXtended Capacity), a new specification announced at the 2009 CES, will allow for 2 TB capacity cards.

SDTV:

Short for: Standard-Definition TeleVision. SDTV (480i) is a television system that has a resolution that meets standards but not considered either enhanced-definition television (EDTV) or high-definition television (HDTV). The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same (or similar) resolution as analog systems.

Seal:

Fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters.

A device incised to make an impression; used to secure a closing or to authenticate documents.

Short for: a member of a Naval Special Warfare unit who is trained for unconventional warfare; "SEAL is an acronym for SEa Air and Land".

Seal of Approval:

An endorsement of something or someone; a statement or action that shows a good opinion of something.

An advertising gimmick of Good Housekeeping Magazine, which gave its so-called "Seal of Approval" to products it endorsed; the products' packaging in turn bore a small emblem attesting to this endorsement.

Sealed Bid:

A bid for a contract that is presented in a sealed envelope. Nobody knows the details until the envelopes of all bidders for the contract have been handed in. They are then all opened at the same (prearranged) time, and the winning bid is announced.

Séance:

A meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead.

Search Engine:

A software program that enables a computer to search its database and retrieve all references to a specified keyword.

Season:

One of the four natural divisions of the year, spring, summer, fall, and winter, in the North and South Temperate zones. Each Season, beginning astronomically at an equinox or solstice, is characterized by specific meteorological or climatic conditions; the two divisions of the year, rainy and dry, in some tropical regions.

A recurrent period characterized by certain occurrences, occupations, festivities, or crops.

See also: social season.

Season's Greetings:

Sometimes written on a Christmas card as a way of expressing a Christmas greeting, especially to someone who is not from a Christian culture.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder subset in which people who typically have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year. It is commonly, but not always, associated with the reductions or increases in total daily sunlight hours that occur during the summer or winter.

Seasonally Adjusted:

The adjustment of statistics to take account of the fact that business activity varies with the seasons; for example, sales figures are distorted during the Christmas and summer holiday periods. Seasonally adjusted data remove the exceptional influence and show the underlying trend.

Seat Filler:

A Seat Filler is a person who fills in an empty seat during an event. There are two types of Seat Fillers:

1): a person who subscribes to a seat-filling theatre club. Members of these clubs help fill in unsold seats for theatre, music, film, sporting events, dance performances and other live events. The producers of the event give complimentary tickets to the seat-filling organization, who pass them on to their members.

2): a person who takes up spare seats when the person allocated the seat is elsewhere. An example of this is the Academy Awards in which many of the audience are either gaining awards, once they win the award the recipient needs to wait for an appropriate time to return to their seat, or because the member of the audience is involved in producing the show. Seat Fillers are primarily employed so that when TV cameras show audience shots there are no empty seats.

SEC:

Short for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, United States federal organisation which supervises information provided by companies whose shares are offered to or dealt in by the public.

Second Chance:

In a game, happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action. The practice is also sometimes referred to as a "do over."

Any minor blunder which is allowed to pass unnoticed or without consequence.

Second Chair:

Second Chair means a lawyer who helps the lead attorney in court. The services of Second Chair includes examining some of the witnesses, arguing some of the points of law, handling parts of the voir dire, and presenting the opening statement or closing argument. Hence, Second Chair offers every level of training, support, and consultation for the trial attorney preparing a case for trial. A Second Chair can execute any task as long as it is done under the supervision of an attorney on the list. Generally, the courts will not make any payment to the Second Chair.

Second Coming:

In Christianity, the Second Coming, sometimes called the second advent of Christ or the parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus to Earth. The belief is based on prophecies found in the canonical gospels and is part of most Christian eschatologies. The coming is predicted in biblical messianic prophecies. Views about the nature of Jesus' Second Coming vary among Christian denominations and among individual Christians.

Second Nature:

An acquired behavior or trait that is so long practiced as to seem innate.

Second Opinion:

A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert.

Second Screen:

Second Screen, sometimes also referred to as "companion device" (or "companion apps" when referring to software applications), is a term that refers to an additional electronic device (e.g. tablet, smartphone) that allows a content consumer to interact with the content they are consuming, such as TV shows, movies, music, or video games. Extra data is displayed on a portable device synchronized with the content being viewed on television.

Second Sight:

Second Sight is a form of extrasensory perception, the supposed power to perceive things that are not present to the senses, whereby a person perceives information, in the form of a vision, about future events before they happen (precognition), or about things or events at remote locations (remote viewing).

Second to None:

Better than anyone or anything else.

Secondary Colors:

A Secondary Color is a color made by mixing two primary colors in a given color space.

See also: complementary colors and primary colors.

Secondary Market:

A market in goods or services which have already been sold to a consumer at least once (especially markets in financial instruments such as bonds and shares).

Secondment:

A temporary job taken by an employee with an organization other than the one with which they have a contract of employment. For example: "He normally works for Rolls-Royce, but he is on secondment this year to the Ministry of Defense."

Secrecy Clause:

See: non-disclosure agreement.

Secretary:

A person who does the formal correspondence required by either an individual or an organization. Hence a company Secretary is responsible for all the official correspondence between the company and the government or regulator. Company Secretaires may also have personal Secretaries who type their letters for them. From the French word Secrétaire, meaning a writing table with drawers in which to keep paper and pens.

Sect:

A group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.

A religious body, especially one that has separated from a larger denomination.

A faction united by common interests or beliefs.

Section:

One of several components; a piece.

A subdivision of a written work; a distinct portion of a newspaper.

Law: a division of a statute or code.

A distinct area of a town, county, or country.

Section 230:

Section 230 is a piece of Internet legislation in the United States, passed into law as part of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 (a common name for Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996), formally codified as Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 at 47 U.S.C. § 230. Section 230 generally provides immunity for website publishers from third-party content. At its core, Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users:

"No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
The statute in Section 230(c)(2) further provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the removal or moderation of third-party material they deem obscene or offensive, even of constitutionally protected speech, as long as it is done in good faith.

Sector:

A group of companies with some sort of commercial activity in common. The transport Sector, for instance, comprises companies involved in transport (airlines, train operators, and so on). The airline companies alone constitute the airline Sector.

Secularism:

Secularism is the concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.

Secured Credit Card:

A credit card that is linked to a corresponding savings account or other form of collateral. Typically a sum of money equal to or larger than the line of credit is deposited in an interest-bearing savings account. This is used as security against a potential future loss against the card-holder's liabilities. The advantages of a Secured Credit Card are no-questions-asked privacy and the ease of approval of credit.

Secured Loan:

Any loan which gives the lender the right to take possession of assets belonging to the borrower should the loan not be repaid on schedule.

Securities:

Securities can include notes, stock, treasury stock, pre-organization subscriptions, voting trust certificates, partnership interests, investment contracts, and certificates of interest in oil, gas, or mineral rights. Both the offer and sale of securities are regulated by state and federal governments, and care must be taken to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Security:

Freedom from risk or danger; safety; freedom from doubt, anxiety, or fear; confidence.

One who undertakes to fulfill the obligation of another; a surety.

Something which is pledged by a borrower to a lender as collateral for a loan. Should the loan not be repaid, the lender has the right to take the security in place of the repayment. The security for a mortgage is the property that has been purchased with the mortgage loan.

A document which demonstrates its holder's right to a share in a company's equity or to the ownership of one of its bonds. In this sense the word is generally used in the plural (that is, securities).

Sedan:

A closed automobile having two or four doors and a front and rear seat.

Seduce:

To lead away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct.

Seduction:

Something that seduces or has the qualities to seduce; an enticement.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil:

See: three wise monkeys.

See You Later, Alligator & In a While, Crocodile:

Is one of the informal ways of saying goodbye to someone, and reply to 'See You Later, Alligator'.

Seed Money:

The first (small) investment in a project. Seed Money is usually designed to enable the project's backers to prepare a business plan and to do enough market research to persuade a sizeable financial institution to back the project more fully.

Segment:

Any of the parts into which something can be divided.

Mathematics: the portion of a sphere cut off by two parallel planes.

Biology: a clearly differentiated subdivision of an organism or part, such as a metamere.

Segmentation:

The breaking up of a market according to the characteristics of its consumers. This enables a product to be sold in different ways to different ways to different segments of its market. Selling pensions to university students requires a dramatically different approach from the way in which they are sold to middle-aged managers.

Segue:

A Segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.

Seicento:

The Seicento is Italian history and culture during the 17th century. The Seicento saw the end of the Renaissance movement in Italy and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque era. The word Seicento means "six hundred" (sei = six, cento = hundred).

Seigneur:

A man of rank, especially a feudal lord in the ancien régime.

In Canada, a man who owned a large estate originally held by a feudal grant from the king of France.

Seigniorage:

Seigniorage is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be applied in the following ways:
1: Seigniorage derived from specie—metal coins—is a tax, added to the total price of a coin (metal content and production costs), that a customer of the mint had to pay to the mint, and that was sent to the sovereign of the political area.
2: Seigniorage derived from notes is more indirect, being the difference between interest earned on securities acquired in exchange for bank notes and the costs of producing and distributing those notes.

Seigniorage is a convenient source of revenue for some governments.

Seinfeld Election:

United States midterm election, which will decide whether the U.S. Senate is run by Democrats or Republicans, has been called "the Seinfeld election," because so much of the campaign seems to be about nothing.

Seismograph:

An instrument for automatically detecting and recording the intensity, direction, and duration of a movement of the ground, especially of an earthquake.

Seize Quartiers:

Seize Quartiers is a French phrase which literally means a person's "sixteen quarters", the coats of arms of their sixteen great-great-grandparents, which are typically accompanied by a five generation genealogy outlining the relationship between them and their descendant. They were used as a proof of nobility ("the proof of the Seize Quartiers") in Continental Europe beginning in the seventeenth century and achieving their highest prominence in the eighteenth. Possession of Seize-Quartiers guaranteed admission to any court in Europe, and bestowed many advantages.

Sekundogenitur:

Back in 17th-18th century common name for secondary lines of royal houses from the Latin "secundus genitus" - the second-born (son).

Self-Coup:

A Self-Coup (or autocoup, from the Spanish autogolpe) is a form of putsch or coup d'État in which a nation's leader, despite having come to power through legal means, dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assumes extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures taken may include annulling the nation's constitution, suspending civil courts and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers.

Self-Employed:

Someone who works for themselves and is not employed by an organization. Self-Employed people have to handle their own tax affairs and have no perks.

Self-Made:

Having achieved wealth, success, status, etc., by one's own efforts.

Self-Regulation:

The regulation of an industry done by the industry itself, as opposed to the regulation that is done by government. Industries have an interest in regulating themselves to ensure that no rogue in their midst blackens the reputation of all of them. Most of them prefer to set the rules by which they are judged themselves rather than have the government do it.

Self Storage:

Self storage facilities are businesses composed of real estate or personal property cargo transit containers divided into self storage spaces that are rented to tenants, usually on a monthly basis.

Self-Tracking:

The practice of systematically recording information about one’s diet, health, or activities, typically by means of a smartphone, so as to discover behavioural patterns that may be adjusted to help improve one’s physical or mental well-being.

Selfie:

A Selfie is photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Selfies are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer, or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus.

Selfies have existed in a less persistent form roughly since the debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while adjusting the focus via a viewfinder at the top of the box. Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that accompanied the photograph, she wrote, "I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard as my hands were trembling."

By 2013, the word "Selfie" had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary. On November 19, 2013, the word "Selfie" was announced as being the "word of the year" by the Oxford English Dictionary which gave the word itself an Australian origin.

See also: Obama & Cameron pose for Selfie with Danish PM & The story behind "that Selfie" & dronie, ussie & slofie.

Selfitis:

Selfitis is the obsessive need to post selfies and is a genuine mental disorder.

Read also: Test to find out where you fit on the 'selfitis' scale - Daily Mail Online.

Seller's Market:

A market in which demand outstrips supply and in which sellers can get rid of as much product as they can lay their hands on.

Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos:

Whether you’re in sales or not, you’ve probably heard the term “sell ice to eskimos,” meaning that you’re trying to sell a product or service to someone who doesn’t really need (or want) your product.

SEM:

Short for: Search engine marketing. SEM is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through optimization and advertising. SEM may use search engine optimization (SEO), which adjusts or rewrites website content to achieve a higher ranking in search engine results pages, or use pay per click (PPC) listings.

Sem Fabrica:

Spanish for "without a factory", an expression used widely in Latin America to describe elderly entrepreneurs who have sold their businesses and are now living comfortably on the proceeds.

Semantics:

Of or relating to meaning, especially meaning in language.

Semaphore:

Any visual signaling system with flags, lights, or mechanically moving arms.

A visual system for transmitting information by means of two flags that are held one in each hand, using an alphabetic and numeric code based on the position of the signaler’s arms.

(Computing): a bit, token, fragment of code, or some other mechanism which is used to restrict access to a shared function or device to a single process at a time, or to synchronize and coordinate events in different processes.

Semester:

The period of time each year when the school is open and people are studying.

Semiconductor:

A material with conductive properties between those of a conductor such as a metal and an insulator.

Semiconductor material such as silicon is used as a base for manufacturing integrated circuits and other solid-state components, usually by depositing various types of doping substances on or into its surface.

Seminar:

A small group of advanced students in a college or graduate school engaged in original research or intensive study under the guidance of a professor who meets regularly with them to discuss their reports and findings.

A course of study so pursued.

A meeting for an exchange of ideas; a conference.

Semiology:

The study of signs.

Semiotics:

The theory and study of signs and symbols, especially as elements of language or other systems of communication, and comprising semantics, syntactics, and pragmatics.

Semper Fi:

Short for: Semper Fidelis - latin for "Always Faithful".

Semper Fidelis has served as a slogan for many families and entities, in many countries, dated to have been started no later than the 16th century.

Senior:

Higher in rank or length of service.

Senior Debt:

A loan which has first call on a company's assets in the event of a liquidation of the company. A secured loan is Senior Debt; an unsecured loan is known as junior debt.

Sensationalism:

Subject matter that is calculated to excite and please vulgar tastes.

Sense:

Any of the faculties by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as the faculties of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium; a perception or feeling produced by a stimulus; sensation.

Sense Memory:

Memories of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. It is used to help define a character in a certain situation.

Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF):

A Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in British and United States military, national security/national defense and intelligence parlance, is an enclosed area within a building that is used to process Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) types of classified information.

SCIFs can be either permanent or temporary, and can set up in official government buildings (such as the Situation Room in the White House), on board ships, in private residences of officials, or in hotel rooms and other places of necessity for officials when traveling. Portable SCIFs can also be quickly set up when needed during emergency situations.

Sensitivity Analysis:

Calculation of the extent to which one business variable is affected by changes in another. For instance, calculating the percentage increase in sales for each 1% reduction in the price of a product.

Sensorium:

A Sensorium is the apparatus of an organism's perception considered as a whole, the "seat of sensation" where it experiences and interprets the environments within which it lives.

Sentience:

Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive, or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences.

Sentimental:

Characterized or swayed by sentiment.

Affectedly or extravagantly emotional.

Resulting from or colored by emotion rather than reason or realism.

Appealing to the sentiments, especially to romantic feelings.

Sentimental Value:

The value of an article in terms of its sentimental associations for a particular person.

SEO:

Short for: Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.

Visit: Beginner's Guide to SEO from SEOmoz.

Sepoy:

A Sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier. In the modern Nepalese Army, Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.

Sequel:

A Sequel is a work in literature, film, or other media that chronologically portrays events following those of a previous work.

In many cases, the Sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A Sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear in a number of stories. Although the difference between more than one Sequel and a series is somewhat arbitrary, it is clear that some media franchises have enough Sequels to become series, whether originally planned as such or not.

Sequels are attractive to creators and to publishers because there is less risk involved in returning to a story with known popularity rather than developing new and untested characters and settings. Audiences are sometimes eager for more stories about popular characters or settings, making the production of sequels financially appealing.

If the main character dies at the end of the first work, a new character (perhaps a son or daughter, or a supporting character) may take up the role in the Sequel. In other cases, the main character is simply brought back, or determined not to have died, or simply replaced by a new character.

In movies sequels are quite common.

Sequence:

Serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern.

Seraglio:

A Seraglio or serail is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in an Ottoman household. The term harem refers to the women themselves, but has also come to be used to refer to these sequestered living quarters.

Serenade:

A complimentary performance given to honor or express love for someone.

Serendipity Principle:

Serendipity Principle is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity Principle is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. Serendipity Principle is also seen as a potential design principle for online activities that would present a wide array of information and viewpoints, rather than just re-enforcing a user's opinion.

Serial Killer:

A Serial Killer is typically defined as an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time (a "cooling off period") between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification.

Serial Number:

A number that is one of a series and is used for identification, as of a machine, weapon, or motor vehicle.

Serif:

In typography, Serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols.

SERP:

A Search Engine Results Page (SERP), is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query. The results normally include a list of web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the Keywords have matched content within the page.

Serum:

A clear, watery animal fluid, as serous fluid.

Blood Serum containing agents of immunity, taken from an animal made immune to a specific disease by inoculation: it is used as an antitoxin and for diagnosis.

The whey of milk.

Server:

A computer that hosts information available to anyone accessing the Internet.

Service:

An act of help or assistance.

Non-tangible benefits supplied by businesses to consumers.

A religious discourse delivered as part of a church Service.

Service Economy:

An economy in which service industries (those which supply services rather than finished goods or raw materials) predominate. Most rich countries are service economies today.

Service Mark:

A Service Mark or servicemark is a trademark used in some countries, notably the United States, to identify a service rather than a product.

Service Mark Symbol:

The Service Mark Symbol, designated by ℠ (the letters SM written in superscript style), is a symbol commonly used in the United States to provide notice that the preceding mark is a service mark.

Serviced Office:

A Serviced Office also known as 'executive suite' is an office or office building that is fully equipped and managed by a facility management company, which then rents individual offices or floors to other companies. Serviced Offices, which are also referred to as managed offices, business centers, executive suites or executive centers, are often found in the business districts of large cities around the world.

Companies offering Serviced Offices are generally able to offer more flexible rental terms, as opposed to a conventional leased office which may require furnishing, equipment, and more restrictive leases. Space is normally flexible, allowing for additional space to be allocated at short notice, should the size of an individual business change. Serviced Office providers often allow tenants to share reception services, business machines and other resources, providing reduced costs and access to equipment which may otherwise be unaffordable.

See also: maildrop.

Session:

A meeting for execution of a group's functions.

Set:

A group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used.

The manner in which something is positioned.

Set-Off:

The attempt by one party to a contract to reduce its obligations under the contract by the amount of a counter-obligation arising elsewhere. Thus if A owes B $1m for one deal and B owes A $100,00 for a completely different deal, A might pay B $900,000 and call it quits. But what if B does not acknowledge the debt to A?

Setting:

The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place: "a peaceful country Setting"; the place and time at which a play, novel, or film is represented as happening: "short stories with a contemporary Setting".

Music: composition written or arranged to fit a text, such as a poetical work.

A mounting, as for a jewel.

Settlement:

The act or process of settling.

Establishment, as of a person in a business or of people in a new region; a newly colonized region; a small community.

An arrangement, adjustment, or other understanding reached, as in financial or business proceedings.

Settlor:

The person who creates a trust.

Seven Ages of Man:

"All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a play, and catalogues the seven stages of a man's life, sometimes referred to as the Seven Ages of Man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, sans.
The man in the poem goes through these stages:
1. Infancy: In this stage he is a helpless baby and knows little.
2. Childhood: It is that stage of life that he begins to go to school. He is unwilling to leave the protected environment of his home as he is still not confident enough to exercise his own discretion.
3. The lover: In this stage he is always remorseful due to some reason or other, especially the loss of love. He tries to express feelings through song or some other cultural activity.
4. The soldier: It is in this age that he thinks less of himself and begins to think more of others. He is very easily aroused and is hot headed. He is always working towards making a reputation for himself and gaining recognition, however short-lived it may be, even at the cost of his own life.
5. The justice: In this stage he has acquired wisdom through the many experiences he has had in life. He has reached a stage where he has gained prosperity and social status. He becomes very attentive of his looks and begins to enjoy the finer things of life.
6. Old Age: He begins to lose his charm — both physical and mental. He begins to become the butt of others' jokes. He loses his firmness and assertiveness, and shrinks in stature and personality.
7. Second Infancy: He loses his status and he becomes a non-entity. He becomes dependent on others.

Seven Arts:

The traditional subdivision of the Arts, being Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Literature, Music, Performing, and Film.

Seven Deadly Sins:

The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices of Christian origin. Behaviors or habits are classified under this category if they directly give birth to other immoralities. According to the standard list, they are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, which are also contrary to the seven virtues. These sins are often thought to be abuses or excessive versions of one's natural faculties or passions (for example, gluttony abuses one's desire to eat).

Seven-League Boots:

Seven-League Boots are an element in European folklore. The boot allows the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid in the completion of a significant task.

Seven Oceans:

Modern geographical classification schemes count Seven Oceans in the world: the North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.

Seven Seas:

After the European discovery of America, some people used the term Seven Seas to refer to seven of the largest bodies of water in the world: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Seven Sisters (oil companies):

"Seven Sisters" was a common term for the seven transnational oil companies of the "Consortium for Iran" oligopoly or cartel, which dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s: Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (originally Anglo-Persian; now BP); Royal Dutch Shell; Standard Oil Company of California (SoCal, later Chevron); Gulf Oil (now merged into Chevron); Texaco (now merged into Chevron); Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Esso, later Exxon, now part of ExxonMobil); Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony, later Mobil, now part of ExxonMobil).

Seven Veils:

See: dance of the seven veils.

Seven Virtues:

In the Catholic catechism, the Seven Christian Virtues or heavenly virtues refers to the union of two sets of virtues: from ancient Greek philosophy, are prudence, justice, temperance (meaning restriction or restraint), and courage (or fortitude); and the three theological virtues, from the letters of Saint Paul of Tarsus, are faith, hope, and charity (or love). These were adopted by the Church Fathers as the seven virtues.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Visit also: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - Wikipedia.

Seven-Year-Itch:

The Seven-Year-Itch is a psychological term that suggests that happiness in a relationship declines after around year seven of a marriage.

Seventh Art:

The making of motion pictures: filmmaking.

Several Liability:

The liability of group of people for which they can only be sued individually, and then only for that part of the overall liability incurred by each of them. Several Liability thus creates Several Liabilities.

Severance Pay:

An amount of money to which employees are contractually entitled if their employment is brought to a premature end through no fault of their own. Severance pay is often related to the individual employee's length of service with the employer.

Sex Appeal:

Physical attractiveness or personal qualities that arouse others sexually.

General appeal; power to interest or attract.

See also: oomph.

Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll:

A nickname for the lifestyle of Rock stars. The three things are stereotypically connected, and none can be separated from the others.

Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll Test:

During the confirmation process of, for example, political candidates, they are asked about financial conflicts and past vices - known informally as the "Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll" questions.

Read also: Trump Team Didn’t Put Nominees to ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll’ Test - The New York Times.

Sexting:

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages and/or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. The term was first popularized in early 21st century, and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with images.

See also: Anthony Weiner sexting scandal.

Sfumato:

Sfumato is one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance (the other three being Cangiante, Chiaroscuro, and Unione). It refers to a mode of painting in which there are no extreme darks or lights, as the brightness values are grouped more or less tightly together around middle gray. It corresponds to the concept of 'low-contrast' in photography.

The most prominent practitioner of Sfumato was Leonardo da Vinci and his famous painting of the Mona Lisa exhibits all the advantages of the technique.

SGML:

Short for: Standard Generalized Markup Language. SGML (computer science) a standardized language for the descriptive markup of documents; a set of rules for using whatever markup vocabulary is adopted.

SGPS:

Short for: Sociedades Gestoras de Participatoes Sociais. A Madeira holding company specifically designed to take advantage of European Union Directive 90/435 of July 23, 1990.

Shades of Grey:

The possibility of uncertainty.

Colors resembling gray.

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It is the first instalment in the Fifty Shades trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM).

Shadow Banking System:

The Shadow Banking System is a term for the collection of non-bank financial intermediaries that provide services similar to traditional commercial banks.

Shadow Cabinet:

The Shadow Cabinet is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the Cabinet. Members of a shadow cabinet are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post if and when their party gets into government. It is the Shadow Cabinet's responsibility to criticise the policies and actions of the government, as well as offering an alternative program.

Shadow Director:

A person who is not a director of a company but under whose shadow the official directors operate. Shadow directors are often the founders of companies which have gone public. They have been removed from the board, but they will manage to exert considerable influence over it.

Shadow Yacht:

A Shadow Yacht is a trailer yacht for your mega yacht - a floating garage of a sort that tags along with your main yacht to carry your collection of helicopters, cars, motorcycles, jet skis and motorboats. To buy one, visit Shadow Marine.

See also: superyacht, giga yacht & yacht.

Shake & Bake:

Phrase used when someone did something completely awesome or when something completely awesome has just been said then you and that other person you are conversating with pound fists.

Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man:

"All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII. The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a play, and catalogues the seven stages of a man's life, sometimes referred to as the Seven Ages of Man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, sans. The man in the poem goes through these stages:
1. Infancy: In this stage he is a helpless baby and knows little.
2. Childhood: It is that stage of life that he begins to go to school. He is unwilling to leave the protected environment of his home as he is still not confident enough to exercise his own discretion.
3. The lover: In this stage he is always remorseful due to some reason or other, especially the loss of love. He tries to express feelings through song or some other cultural activity.
4. The soldier: It is in this age that he thinks less of himself and begins to think more of others. He is very easily aroused and is hot headed. He is always working towards making a reputation for himself and gaining recognition, however short-lived it may be, even at the cost of his own life.
5. The justice: In this stage he has acquired wisdom through the many experiences he has had in life. He has reached a stage where he has gained prosperity and social status. He becomes very attentive of his looks and begins to enjoy the finer things of life.
6. Old Age: He begins to lose his charm — both physical and mental. He begins to become the butt of others' jokes. He loses his firmness and assertiveness, and shrinks in stature and personality.
7. Second Infancy: He loses his status and he becomes a non-entity. He becomes dependent on others.

Shalom:

Used as a traditional Jewish greeting or farewell. Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye.

Shaman:

A person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.

Shamanism:

Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A Shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.

Shanghai:

To kidnap (a man) for compulsory service aboard a ship, especially after drugging him.

To induce or compel (someone) to do something, especially by fraud or force.

Shangri-la:

An imaginary remote paradise on earth; utopia.

A distant and secluded hideaway, usually of great beauty and peacefulness.

Shanty Town:

A Shanty Town (also called a squatter settlement) is a slum settlement (sometimes illegal or unauthorized) of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic. Shanty Towns, which are usually built on the periphery of cities, often do not have proper sanitation, water supply or aqueduct, electricity or telephone services.

See also: favela.

SHAPE:

Short for: Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. SHAPE is NATO's military headquarters in the Belgian town of Mons 60 km south of Brussels.

Shapewear:

Shapewear (also known as foundation garment) is a fitted underwear, especially a girdle, that is designed to hold a part of the body in a particular form.

Shard:

A piece of broken pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig; a potsherd.

A fragment of a brittle substance, as of glass or metal; a small piece or part.

Share:

A portion of something, in particular of the equity of a company.

Share Certificate:

Documentary evidence of the holder's ownership of a share in the equity of a company.

Share Index:

An index, such as the FTSE 100, of the prices of leading shares quoted on a particular stock market. Their price movements act as a proxy for the market as a whole.

Share of Stock:

Represents ownership in a corporation.There exist several different types (common and preferred) and classes of shares with different privileges and rights, such as registered shares (with or without par value), preference shares, (non-)redeemable shares, shares with or without voting rights and bearer shares etc.

Share Option:

An option to purchase shares at a given price and within a specified period of time. Share Options are frequently offered to senior managers as part of their remuneration packages. The prices at which the options can be exercised ensure that the managers make a sizeable capital gain if the company performs well while they are running it.

Share Premium:

The amount of money that a company raises from a share issue that is in excess of the nominal value of the shares.

Shared Space:

Shared Space is an urban design approach which seeks to minimise demarcations between vehicle traffic and pedestrians, often by removing features such as curbs, road surface markings, traffic signs, and regulations. Typically used on narrower streets within the urban core and as part of living streets within residential areas, the approach has also been applied to busier roads, including Exhibition Road in Kensington, London.

Schemes are often motivated by a desire to reduce the dominance of vehicles, vehicle speeds, and road casualty rates. First proposed in 1991, the term is now strongly associated to the work of Hans Monderman who suggested that by creating a greater sense of uncertainty and making it unclear who had right of way, drivers reduce their speed, and everyone reduces their level of risk compensation. The approach is frequently opposed by organisations representing the interests of blind, partially sighted and deaf who often express a strong preference for the clear separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Shareholders / Stockholders:

Shareholders, who own the issued stock of a corporation and are thus its owners, elect directors and vote on fundamental matters, e.g., merger, sale, dissolution. Shareholders do not own specific corporate property; they merely own an interest in the corporation. Some state statutes use the term "shareholder"; others refer to "stockholders."

Shareholders' Funds:

The total value of the shareholders' stake in their company. Shareholders' funds are equivalent to the company's capital and reserves. Virtually the same as net worth.

Sharing Economy:

Sharing Economy is an umbrella term with a range of meanings, often used to describe economic and social activity involving online transactions. Originally growing out of the open-source community to refer to peer-to-peer based sharing of access to goods and services, the term is now sometimes used in a broader sense to describe any sales transactions that are done via online market places, even ones that are business to business (B2B), rather than peer-to-peer. For this reason, the term Sharing Economy has been criticised as misleading, some arguing that even services that enable peer-to-peer exchange can be primarily profit-driven. However, many commentators assert that the term is still valid as a means of describing a generally more democratized marketplace, even when it's applied to a broader spectrum of services.

The Sharing Economy may take a variety of forms, including using information technology to provide individuals with information that enables the optimization of resources through the mutualization of excess capacity in goods and services. A common premise is that when information about goods is shared (typically via an online marketplace), the value of those goods may increase for the business, for individuals, for the community and for society in general.

Sharpest Knife in the Drawer:

To imply that a person is either insane or unintelligent.

Weird, geek, odd, garuntied for failure, unintillegent, woody, witty, zany, insane, crucial to mankind, and insult to people.

Shauri:

Swahili: a consultation, usually between a bwana and a local African.

Shawarma:

Shawarma, also spelled Chawarma, Schawarma, Shawirma, Shwarma, Shuarma, Shawerma, Shoarma, Schwarma, Shoermeh, Siaorma, or Shaorma, known as guss in Iraq, is a Middle Eastern Arabic-style sandwich-like wrap usually composed of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a halal mixture of meats. Shawarma is a popular dish and fast-food staple across the Middle East and North Africa; it has also become popular worldwide.

The classic Shawarma combination is pita bread or taboon bread, hummus, tomato and cucumber, and the shaved meat itself. Typical additional toppings include tahini, pickled beets and amba. In outward appearance, it vaguely resembles the gyros of Greece or the Turkish döner kebab in the sense that all use pita-wrapped meat, but the sauces are distinctly different.

Visit: What Is A Shawarma?.

Sheep With 5 Legs:

The super user, aka key user, can be found on the project organization chart of any major business system implementation project. As they would say in Holland, a super user is “a Sheep With 5 Legs”: somebody who needs to be unreasonably versatile. Typically from a super user is expected that he/she is:

1: an expert on the current and envisioned business processes
2: an expert on master data issues
3: the new system tester
4: the new system trainer
5: a help-desk person

... and of course that he/she keeps on running his/her daily responsibilities. Sorry, that makes 6 legs, but super indeed.

Shelf Company:

A company that previously has been organized with designated capital and registration cost paid and is placed on an inactive basis, with annual registration, capital and stamp duty fees currently paid but shares held in bearer form and the directors and officers substituted at the time the company is taken off the shelf and becomes active.

Shelf Life:

The amount of time that a product can be left on the shelf in a retail outlet and still be in a fit condition for consumption. The expression is used particularly with respect to foodstuffs.

Shell Company:

A company that has no significant assets. Its purpose is to act either as a vehicle for legitimate borrowing, or as a way to launder money and/or keep it out of the eyes of the taxman. Shell companies also provide a way for businesses to get a listing on a stock exchange without having to go through the listing procedure.

Shell Game:

The Shell Game is portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud.

Shelter in Place:

Shelter in Place (also known as a Shelter In-Place Warning, SAME code SPW) is to seek safety within the building one already occupies, rather than to evacuate the area or seek a community emergency shelter. The American Red Cross says the warning is issued when "chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants may be released accidentally or intentionally into the environment" and residents should "select a small, interior room, with no or few windows, taking refuge there."

During an epidemic or pandemic with an infectious agent posing significant risk of death or severe illness, authorities may recommend "Shelter in Place" for the general population or for segments of the population at high-risk. Unlike other "Shelter in Place" incidents, recommendations may only be for particular at-risk populations (e.g., the elderly, the immunocompromised) and the recommended duration may be for an extended period of time (days, weeks or months). Shelter in Place may be implemented as a strategy for suppressing or mitigating an epidemic, for reducing numbers of critically ill patients presenting at the same time and for thus reducing the impact of critical illness on health care systems and reducing the likelihood that a surge in illness will overwhelm critical care resources.

Read also: What's a ‘Shelter in Place’ Order, and Who’s Affected? - "The spreading coronavirus prompts public officials in several states and cities to order residents to stay inside, except for 'essential' business."

Shenanigans:

A mischievous or deceitful trick, practice, etc.

Shepherd's Pie:

A meat pie baked in a crust of mashed potatoes.

Sherlocked:

Sherlocked is to have developed a product and just started shipping it, only to have Apple come along and provide exactly the same functionality in a system update.

Sherpa:

A member of a traditionally Buddhist people of Tibetan descent living on the southern side of the Himalaya Mountains in Nepal and Sikkim. In modern times Sherpas have achieved world renown as expert guides on Himalayan mountaineering expeditions.

(Informal): a civil servant or diplomat who undertakes preparatory work prior to a summit conference.

Shtetl:

A Jewish village or small town, especially one in Eastern Europe.

Shiatsu Massage:

A Japanese form of rigorous massage that uses fingers to apply acupressure to points along the body's energy pathways (meridians) in order to stimulate physical relaxation and reduce stress.

Shibboleth:

A Shibboleth in its original signification and in a meaning it still bears today, is a word or custom whose variations in pronunciation or style can be used to differentiate members of ingroups from those of outgroups. Within the mindset of the ingroup, a connotation or value judgment of correct/incorrect or superior/inferior can be ascribed to the two variants.

In contemporary usage the word has acquired an extended meaning which is often cited first (and sometimes even exclusively) in shorter dictionaries, namely, an old belief or saying which is cited repetitively or unreflectively but which is, or may be, fallacious or untrue.

Shield of the Trinity:

The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity, summarizing the first part of the Athanasian Creed in a compact diagram.

Shift:

A number of employees who work together for a fixed period of time. For example: "Today she's working on the night shift." Shift work occurs in manufacturing industries where equipment needs to be kept running for 24 hours a day, either because demand is exceptionally high or because it is expensive to shut the equipment down and restart it.

Shiksa:

A derogatory term used by Jews to refer to non-Jewish women.

Shill:

One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.

Shintoism:

Shinto: the ancient indigenous religion of Japan lacking formal dogma; characterized by a veneration of nature spirits and of ancestors.

Shipper:

One that consigns or receives goods for transportation.

Shipping:

Owing to the inate mobility of the shipping industry it is common for shipowners and operators to have recourse to tax havens. Frequently the ownership, operation, administration and registration are situated in carefully chosen (and often different) jurisdictions in order to keep global tax burdens at a low level.

Shipping Agent:

An agent who handles the shipping of goods and raw materials for a manufacturer. In this context, the word shipping covers all forms of transport, not just ships.

Ship's Manifest:

A list, kept by a ship's captain, of all the different cargo carried on his ship.

Shipshape:

Marked by meticulous order and neatness; tidy; in good order.

Shirt of Nessus:

In Greek mythology, the Shirt of Nessus, Tunic of Nessus, Nessus-robe, or Nessus' shirt was the poisoned shirt that killed Heracles. It was once a popular reference in literature.

Shitstorm:

Shitstorm is a vulgar dysphemism for a chaotic and unpleasant situation.

The term has come into inflationary use by German-speaking media since 2010 to describe any clamour of outrage on the Internet, especially by posting and writing in social media. It was voted Anglicism of the year 2011 by a jury in Germany. It was voted Word of the Year in Switzerland 2012. The opposite of a Shitstorm is a candystorm.

Shiva (Judaism):

Shiva is the week-long mourning period in Judaism for first-degree relatives: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse. The ritual is referred to as "sitting Shiva". Immediately after burial, people assume the halakhic status of "avel". This state lasts for seven days, during which family members traditionally gather in one home (preferably the home of the deceased) and receive visitors. At the funeral, mourners traditionally wear an outer garment or ribbon that was torn at the funeral in a ritual known as keriah. This garment is worn throughout Shiva.

Shmatte:

An item of clothing: a "rag" in fashion and clothing-industry slang.

Shock and Awe:

Shock and Awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a tactic based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy its will to fight.

Shocking Pink:

Shocking Pink is bold and intense. It takes its name from the tone of pink used in the lettering on the box of the perfume called Shocking, designed by Leonor Fini for the Surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937.

Shoey:

The action of drinking an alcoholic beverage out of a shoe.

Shogun:

The hereditary commander of the Japanese army who until 1867 exercised absolute rule under the nominal leadership of the emperor.

A ruler who is unconstrained by law.

See also: tycoon.

Shoot the Breeze:

Idle chit-chat, mostly done to be polite and to occupy time; to chat casually and without purpose.

Shooting Fish in a Barrel:

An idiom, describing an effortless or simple action, with guaranteed success.

Shooting the Moon:

A task or feat that is difficult to the point of near impossibility; to attempt the near-impossible.

Shop Floor:

The physical location of a company's manufacturing processes; also the complete set of all such places. For example: "He was a Shop-Floor worker until he got promoted to head office."

Shop Front:

The most visible evidence of an organization's existence. For example: "The company's office in Manhattan is just a shop front. The real business goes on in Milwaukee."

Shop Steward:

The appointed representative of a trade union. Each significant business unit where a union is represented has its own Shop Steward. He or she acts as an intermediary between the union and the workers on the shop floor.

Shopaholic:

A person who shops compulsively or very frequently.

Short:

An investor is said to be Short in a stock when his supply of it plus his commitments to buy it in the future amount to less than his commitments to sell it in the future.

Short Film:

The description can be used to describe any film that has a duration longer than one minute and shorter than 15 minutes.

Short Story:

A prose narrative shorter than a novel.

Short-Term:

A period of time of 12 months or less. In accounting, a liability is Short-Term if it is going to arise within the current accounting period, that is, in less than 12 months. A Short-Term loan is one with a maturity of 12 months or less.

Short-Term Memory:

A system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Short-Term Memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information-processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data.

Shortfall:

The amount by which an actual figure falls short of a targeted figure. For example: "The Shortfall on the six-months profit figure was greater than expected."

Shorthand:

A system of rapid handwriting employing symbols to represent words, phrases, and letters.

Shortlist:

A list of preferable items or candidates that have been selected for final consideration, as in making an award or filling a position.

Shortselling:

In finance, Shortselling (also known as shorting or going short) is the practice of selling assets, usually securities, that have been borrowed from a third party (usually a broker) with the intention of buying identical assets back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the price of the assets between the sale and the repurchase, as he will pay less to buy the assets than he received on selling them.

Shoshin:

Shoshin is a concept from Zen Buddhism meaning beginner's mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying, even at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. The term is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts, and was popularized outside of Japan by Shunry? Suzuki's 1970 book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.

The practice of Shoshin acts as a counter to the hubris and closed-mindedness often associated with thinking of oneself as an expert. This includes the Einstellung effect, where a person becomes so accustomed to a certain way of doing things that they do not consider or acknowledge new ideas or approaches. The word shoshin is a combination of sho, meaning "beginner" or "initial", and shin, meaning "mind".

Shot:

The firing or discharge of a weapon, such as a gun.

Sports: an attempt to score in a game, as in soccer or hockey.

A drink, especially a jigger of liquor.

Informal: an attempt; a try; a guess; an opportunity; a chance at odds; something to bet on.

Show:

To cause or allow to be seen; display.

A display; a manifestation.

Performing Arts / Theatre: a theatrical or other entertainment.

Show Business:

Show Business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side (including managers, agents, producers and distributors) to the creative element (including artists, performers, writers and musicians). It applies to every aspect of entertainment including cinema, television, radio, theater and music.

Show Trial:

Law: a trial conducted primarily to make a particular impression on the public or on other nations, especially one that demonstrates the power of the state over the individual.

Shower Effect:

This is an example of what researchers call the “The Shower Effect”: moderately engaging activities such as showering, washing the dishes, or taking a stroll that can lead to a form of mind-wandering that facilitates creativity.

Shower or Grower:

A Grower is someone whose penis is small when flaccid, but much larger when erect. A Shower (pronounced like "show," rather than how you'd pronounce a bathroom "shower") is someone whose flaccid penis is already near full length. A Shower with an erection would have a stiffer penis, but not much of a change in size.

Showgirl:

A Showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc. These models often have no dance or entertainment skills but are there to attract attention to their sponsors' products with their beauty.

Showman:

A man who has a flair for dramatic or ostentatious behavior.

Showmance:

A Showmance (sometimes show-mance), also known as show romance, is a romance that develops between two individuals in theater, or on films and television series and between reality show contestants or participants for the running period of the show. When the two actively engage in a "made up" situation, it can be called a fauxmance. It is also considered a neologism and its usage is gaining popularity in the media.

Showreel:

a short videotape containing examples of an actor’s or director’s work for showing to potential employers.

Showroom:

An area where merchandise (such as cars) can be displayed.

Showrooming:

Showrooming is the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick and mortar retail store without purchasing it, but then shopping online to find a lower price for the same item.

Online stores often offer lower prices than their brick and mortar counterparts, because they do not have the same overhead cost. Showrooming can be costly to retailers, not only in terms of the loss of the sale, but also due to damage caused to the store's floor samples of a product through constant examination from consumers.

Showtime:

The time at which an entertainment, such as the showing of a movie, is scheduled to start.

The time at which an activity is to begin.

Shrine:

A place of religious devotion or commemoration, such as: a place where devotion is paid to a deity or deities, as in Shinto; the tomb of a saint or other venerated person; a location where an important event in the life of a holy person is thought to have occurred.

A container or receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.

A site hallowed by association with a revered person or object or with an important event.

Shrink:

Slang: a psychotherapist.

Shrinkage:

Any stock in a retail outlet that is not exchanged for cash. Shrinkage may occur through theft, damage, or shoddy workmanship.

Shrinkflation:

In economics, Shrinkflation is the process of items shrinking in size or quantity while their prices remain the same or increase.

Shrinkflation is a rise in the general price level of goods per unit of weight or volume, brought about by a reduction in the weight or size of the item sold. The price for one piece of the packaged product remains the same or could even be lowered. This sometimes does not affect inflation measures such as the consumer price index or Retail Price Index, i.e. might not increase in the cost of a basket of retail goods and services, but many indicators of price levels and thus inflation are linked to units of volume or weigth of products, so that Shrinkflation also affects the statistically represented inflation figures.

Read also: Why your cereal boxes & ice cream cartons are shrinking - "The reason? A tactic known as 'shrinkflation,' deployed by consumer product brands and grocery stores. The phenomenon - getting less for your money because a manufacturer has reduced the size of the product - has been going on for decades, but it typically becomes more common when companies' costs go up like the inflation surge we are seeing today."

Shtetl:

Shtetlekh were small towns with large Jewish populations, which existed in Central and Eastern Europe before the Holocaust.

Shtick:

A Shtick is a comic theme or gimmick.

SHU:

Short for: Scoville Heat Units. The "heat" of chili peppers is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU), which is the number of times a chili extract must be diluted in water for it to lose its heat. Bell peppers rank at 0 SHU, New Mexico green chilis at about 1,500 SHU, jalapeños at 3,000–6,000 SHU, and habaneros at 300,000 SHU. The record for the hottest chili pepper was assigned by the Guinness Book of Records to the Naga Jolokia, measuring over 1,000,000 SHU.

Shuffle Step:

See: triple step.

Shutdown:

The closing down of a sizeable manufacturing operation because:

There is a shortage or orders;

The equipment needs retooling, or

The workers have gone on strike.

Shuttle:

Regular travel back and forth over an established, often short route by a vehicle; a space shuttle.

Travel between disputing parties by a diplomatic intermediary.

Shy Tory Factor:

The Shy Tory Factor is a name given by British opinion polling companies to a phenomenon first observed by psephologists in the early 1990s. They observed that the share of the electoral vote won by the Conservative Party (known as the 'Tories') was significantly higher than the equivalent share in opinion polls. It was most notable in the general elections of 1992 and then 2015, when the Conservative Party exceeded opinion polls and comfortably won re-election.

Shyster:

An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law.

SI:

The International System of Units.

Visit: BIPM. The task of the BIPM is to ensure world-wide uniformity of measurements and their traceability to the International System of Units (SI).

Siberia:

Siberia is an extensive geographical region, and by the broadest definition is also known as North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of Russia since the 17th century.

Any undesirable or isolated locale, job, etc., to which one is assigned as punishment, a mark of disfavor, or the like.

Sibyl:

The word Sibyl comes (via Latin), meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the Sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally at Delphi and Pessinos.

Sibylline Oracles:

The Sibylline Oracles (Latin: Oracula Sibyllina; sometimes called the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles) are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of Sibylline Oracles survive, in an edition of the 6th or 7th century.

sic:

sic – generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, (sic) – when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates that the passage is just as it appears from its original source. The usual purpose is to inform readers that any errors or apparent errors in the copied material are not from transcription – i.e. that they are reproduced exactly from the original writer or printer. Bracketed sics have also been used in humorous comments and for ridicule, typically by drawing attention to the original writer's mistakes.

SIC:

Short for: Standard Industrial Classification, a widely used system for classifying industrial products. It is based on a six-digit number in which the first two digits identify a broad industry sector, the second two define the sector more narrowly, and the third two define the individual product.

Sicario:

Hitman, hired killer (especially when referring to Latin American drug cartels).

Sidekick:

A close companion or comrade.

Siesta:

A rest or nap after the midday meal.

Sievert:

Named after Rolf Sievert, the SI unit for the amount of ionizing radiation required to produce the same biological effect as one rad of high-penetration x-rays, equivalent to a gray for x-rays.

SIFI | Systemically Important Financial Institution:

A SIFI | Systemically Important Financial Institution is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis.

See also: too big to fail.

Sight:

Something worth seeing; a spectacle.

If something is payable on Sight it means that it is payable on demand. A Sight deposit, for example, is a deposit at a bank that the depositor can withdraw immediately and at any time.

Sightseeing:

The act or pastime of visiting sights of interest.

Sigil (magic):

A Sigil is a symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a type of pictorial signature of a demon or other entity; in modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, it refers to a symbolic representation of the magician's desired outcome.

Sigla:

Scribal abbreviations or Sigla (singular: siglum) are the abbreviations used by ancient and medieval scribes writing in Latin, and later in Greek and Old Norse. In modern manuscript editing (substantive and mechanical) "Sigla" are the symbols used to indicate the source manuscript (e.g. variations in text between different such manuscripts) and to identify the copyist(s) of a work.

Sign:

Something that suggests the presence or existence of a fact, condition, or quality.

A displayed structure bearing lettering or symbols, used to identify or advertise a place of business.

A portentous incident or event; a presage.

One of the 12 divisions of the zodiac, each named for a constellation and represented by a symbol.

Signal:

An indicator, such as a gesture or colored light, that serves as a means of communication.

Something that incites action.

The sound, image, or message transmitted or received in telegraphy, telephony, radio, television, or radar.

Signatura Rerum:

Signatura Rerum (The doctrine of signatures), written by the German mystic, Jacob Böhme. It has been reprinted and re-titled as The Signature of All Things. The author was considered an original thinker within the Lutheran tradition, and his first book, commonly known as Aurora, caused a great scandal and threatened him with excommunication.

Signature:

Your name written in your own handwriting.

A distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity.

See also: digital Signature.

Signature Song:

A Signature Song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with, even if they have had success with a variety of songs.

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered:

Acknowledgment that the referred document (instrument) was properly executed by the intended entity, secured in a suitable envelope, and handed over to the intended recipient.

If something's Signed, Sealed and Delivered, it has been done correctly, following all the necessary procedures.

Significant Form:

Significant Form refers to an aesthetic theory developed by English art critic Clive Bell which specified a set of criteria for what qualified as a work of art.

Significant Other:

A person, such as a spouse or lover, with whom one shares a long-term sexual relationship; a person, such as a family member or close friend, who is important or influential in one's life.

Significant Other (SO) is colloquially used as a gender-blind term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation, as it is vague enough to avoid offense by using a term that an individual might consider inappropriate (e.g. lover when he considers him a boyfriend, or girlfriend when he considers her a life partner).

Signpost:

A signpost is a sign where roads meet that tells you which direction to go in to reach a particular place or different places.

A signpost is something that helps you to know how a situation or a course of action will develop.

Silent Majority:

The Silent Majority is an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly.

Silent Partner:

A partner (who usually provides capital) whose association with the enterprise is not public knowledge.

Silhouette:

A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

An outline that appears dark against a light background.

Silicon Alley:

Silicon Alley is a nickname for an area with a concentration of Internet and new media companies in Manhattan, New York City. Originally, the term referred to the cluster of such companies extending from the Flatiron District down to SoHo and TriBeCa along the Broadway corridor, but as the location of these companies spread out, it became a general term referring to the dot com industry in New York City as a whole.

Silicon Valley:

Popular name for the valley running between San Jose and San Francisco in California where many pioneering computer companies grew up. The computer industry relies heavily on silicon as a semiconductor.

Silk Road:

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe.

Silly Season:

In the United Kingdom and in some other places, the Silly Season is the period lasting for a few summer months typified by the emergence of frivolous news stories in the media. It is known in many languages as the cucumber time.

In North America the period is referred to prosaically as the slow news season, or with the phrase dog days of summer. In Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the silly season has come to refer to the Christmas/New Year festive period (which occurs during the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere) on account of the higher than usual number of social engagements where the consumption of alcohol is typical.

Silver Bullet:

A simple guaranteed solution for a difficult problem.

Silver Fox:

A slang term for an attractive older man ("silver" referring to their hair).

Silver Lining:

A hopeful or comforting prospect in the midst of difficulty.

Silver Spoon:

Inherited wealth. Born wealthy, or fortunate, or both. To be spoiled. Have many luxuries without earning them on their own. 'Born with a Silver Spoon in one's mouth'.

SIM Card:

Short for: Subscriber Identity Module. A SIM card is commonly used in a GSM cell phone. The card holds a microchip that stores information and encrypts voice and data transmissions, making it close to impossible to listen in on calls. The SIM card also stores data that identifies the caller to the network service provider.

Simile:

A Simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things through the explicit use of connecting words (such as like, as, so, than, or various verbs such as resemble). Although Similes and metaphors are sometimes considered to be interchangeable, Similes acknowledge the imperfections and limitations of the comparative relationship to a greater extent than metaphors. Metaphors are subtler and therefore rhetorically stronger in that metaphors equate two things rather than simply compare them. Similes also safeguard the author against outrageous, incomplete, or unfair comparison. Generally, metaphor is the stronger and more encompassing of the two forms of rhetorical analogies. While Similes are mainly used in forms of poetry that compare the inanimate and the living, there are also terms in which Similes and personifications are used for humorous purposes and comparison.

Simon-Pure:

Like the character of Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's play The Rivals, the name Simon Pure soon became a noun for a quality in a person. In Mrs. Malaprop's case, that quality was incorrect usage of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with comic effect. In Simon's case, that quality was authenticity and in Simon's impersonator's case, that quality was hypocrisy.

Simon Says:

Simon Says is a game for three or more players (most often children). One of the people is "it" – i.e., Simon. The others must do what Simon tells them to do when asked with a phrase beginning with "Simon says". If Simon says "Simon says jump", the players must jump (players that do not jump are out). However, if Simon says simply "jump", without first saying "Simon says", players do not jump; those that do jump are out. In general, it is the spirit of the command, not the actions that matters; if Simon says "Simon says touch your toes", players only have to show that they are trying to touch their toes. It is the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands, rather than physical ability, that matters here.

It is Simon's task to try to get everyone out as quickly as possible, and it is every one else's job to stay "in" for as long as possible. The last of Simon's followers to stay in wins (although the game is not always played all the way through).

It is considered cheating to give impossible commands ("Simon says 'lift your left leg'. Simon says 'lift your right leg'. Simon did not say 'put your left leg down'!") or phrase the commands in such a way that the other player has no option but to 'go out' ("Simon says 'jump up'. Come down."). However, at least in some versions, it is allowed for Simon to eliminate players by asking them to do something seemingly unrelated to the game (example: "Anyone remaining join me up here.")

Simony:

Simony, the paying of monies in exchange for spiritual favor (church offices and roles).

Simoom:

Simoom is a strong, dry, dust-laden wind. The word is generally used to describe a local wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the deserts of Arabian Peninsula.

Simpatico:

Likable and easy to get along with; of like mind or temperament; compatible; pleasant or congenial; having shared attributes; compatible.

Simple Living:

Simple Living (voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the "more is better" pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in 'quality time' for family and friends, stress reduction, personal taste or frugality. E. F. Schumacher put it best by saying, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

Simpleton:

Someone who is not very intelligent or who does not have or show good sense or judgment.

In folklore, a Simpleton is a person whose foolish actions are the subject of often-repeated stories. Simpletons are also known as noodles, fools, and gothamites.

Simulacrum:

A Simulacrum (plural: simulacra from Latin: simulacrum, which means "likeness, similarity") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing.

Simulated Reality:

Simulated Reality is the hypothesis that reality could be simulated - for example by computer simulation - to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation. This is quite different from the current, technologically achievable concept of virtual reality. Virtual reality is easily distinguished from the experience of actuality; participants are never in doubt about the nature of what they experience. Simulated reality, by contrast, would be hard or impossible to separate from "true" reality. There has been much debate over this topic, ranging from philosophical discourse to practical applications in computing.

Simulation:

An attempt to represent aspects of the real world (economic aspects in particular) by means of mathematical models. Simulation is heavily dependent on the use of advanced computer programs.

Simulation Hypothesis:

The Simulation Hypothesis contends that reality is in fact a simulation (most likely a computer simulation), of which we, the simulants, are totally unaware. Some versions rely on the development of simulated reality, a fictional technology. The hypothesis has been a central plot device of many science fiction stories and films.

Sin:

A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.

Theology: deliberate disobedience to the known will of God; a condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.

Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.

Sin of Pride:

In almost every list, Pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris (Greek), is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God).

Sine Die:

Without any future date being designated.

Sing for Your Supper:

To do something for someone else in order to receive something in return, especially food.

Single Person:

In legal definitions for relationships, a single person is one who is not married. Single people may engage in dating to find a partner or spouse. Not all single people actively seek out a relationship, however, as some are content to wait for the 'right' person to enter their lives, while others do not seek relations at all. Additionally, persons may be required to remain single (or chaste) for religious reasons such as priests, nuns, or monks in certain faiths.

According to the United States Bureau of the Census, the fastest-growing household type since the 1980s has been the single person.

Single Point of Failure (SPOF):

A Single Point of Failure (SPOF) is a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. SPOFs are undesirable in any system with a goal of high availability or reliability, be it a business practice, software application, or other industrial system.

Singularity:

The technological Singularity hypothesis is that accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing or even ending civilization in an event called the Singularity. Because the capabilities of such an intelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological Singularity is an occurrence beyond which events may become unpredictable or even unfathomable.

Read also: A Scientist Says Humans Will Reach the Singularity Within 21 Years - "Futurists have long debated the arrival of the singularity, when human and artificial intelligence will merge, a concept borrowed from the world of quantum physics."

Sinkhole:

A Sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water.

Sinking Fund:

A fund into which money is transferred at regular intervals to meet an expected future liability.

Sippenhaftung:

Sippenhaft or Sippenhaftung (German: kin liability) is a German term referring to the idea that a family can share the responsibility for a crime or act committed by one of its members; that is, it is a form of collective punishment because of family association. As a legal principle, it was derived from Germanic law in the Middle Ages, usually in the form of fines and compensations.

Sir:

Sir is an honorific used as a title, or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in most English speaking cultures. It is often used in formal correspondence (Dear Sir, Right Reverend Sir).

The term was once reserved for use only towards equals, one of superior rank or status, such as an educator or commanding officer, an elder (especially by a minor), or as a form of address from a merchant to a customer.

Equivalent terms of address are "ma'am" or "madam" in most cases, or in the case of a very young woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such, "miss". The equivalent term for a knighted woman is Dame, or "Lady" for the wife of a knight.

Sire:

A title of address formerly used for a man of rank and authority.

Sirtaki:

Sirtaki or syrtaki is a popular dance of Greek origin, choreographed by Giorgos Provias for the 1964 film Zorba the Greek. It is a recent Greek folkdance, and a mixture of the slow and fast rhythms of the hasapiko dance. The dance and the accompanying music by Míkis Theodorakis are also called Zorbá's dance, Zorbas, or "the dance of Zorba".

Sisyphus:

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeating this action forever.

Sit-In:

A Sit-In or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to move unless their demands are met. The often clearly visible demonstrations are intended to spread awareness among the public, or disrupt the goings-on of the protested organisation.

Sitcom:

A SITuation COMedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy programs which originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a common environment such as a home or workplace and generally include laugh tracks or studio audiences.

Site:

See: web site.

Sitemap:

A Site Map (or Sitemap) is a list of pages of a web site accessible to crawlers or users. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for web design, or a web page that lists the pages on a web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion. This helps visitors and search engine bots find pages on the site.

Sitting Duck:

An easy target or victim.

Situation Room:

A room at a military or political headquarters where the latest information on a military or political situation is channeled; e.g. White House Situation Room.

Situs:

The place where something exists or originates.

Six Thinking Hats:

Six Thinking Hats is a book by Edward de Bono which describes a tool for group discussion and individual thinking involving six colored hats. "Six Thinking Hats" and the associated idea parallel thinking provide a means for groups to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way, and in doing so to think together more effectively.

Sixth Sense:

A supposed intuitive faculty giving awareness not explicable in terms of normal perception: "some Sixth Sense told him he was not alone"; intuition; extrasensory perception (ESP) involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and clairvoyance, and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition. ESP is also sometimes casually referred to as a Sixth Sense, gut instinct or hunch, which are historical English idioms , other than the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Size Zero:

The Size Zero fad has caught on with celebrities, Posh Spice being the most favoured example. Posh Spice has the body of an under fed 9 year old. When reported in the tabloids the Size Zero fad is typically considered with distaste.

Most respectable dieticians are known to believe that being a Size Zero is unhealthy, will shorten a persons life span and has been linked to osteoporosis.

Skeleton:

The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton. There are 206 bones in the adult human skeleton.

The essential framework of any structure, such as a building or leaf, that supports or determines the shape of the rest of the structure.

An outline or sketch; something reduced to its basic or minimal parts.

Skeleton in the Closet:

A scandal that is kept secret.

Sketch:

A hasty or undetailed drawing or painting often made as a preliminary study; a brief general account or presentation; an outline; a brief, light, or informal literary composition, such as an essay or a short story.

Skeuomorphism:

A Skeuomorph is a physical ornament or design on an object made to resemble another material or technique. Examples include pottery embellished with imitation rivets reminiscent of similar pots made of metal, or a software calendar application which displays the days organised on animated month pages in imitation of a paper desk calendar. Skeuomorphs are deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar, or are simply habits too deeply ingrained to wash away. The term has been applied to material objects since 1890, and is now used to describe computer interfaces. Many computer programs have a Skeuomorphic graphical user interface that emulates objects in the physical world.

A similar alternative definition of Skeuomorph is "an element of design or structure that serves little or no purpose in the artifact fashioned from the new material but was essential to the object made from the original material". This definition is narrower in scope and ties Skeuomorphs to changes in materials, as it focuses on the cultural history behind the physical object and how that influences the evolution of the object's design.

Apple, while under the direction of Steve Jobs, was known for its wide usage of Skeuomorphic designs in various applications. The debate over the merits of Apple's extensive use of Skeuomorphism became the subject of substantial media attention in October 2012, a year after Jobs' death, largely as the result of the reported resignation of Scott Forstall, described as "the most vocal and high-ranking proponent of the visual design style favored by Mr. Jobs". Apple designer Jonathan Ive, who took over some of Forstall's responsibilities and had "made his distaste for the visual ornamentation in Apple’s mobile software known within the company", was expected to move the company toward a less Skeuomorphic aesthetic.

Skid Row:

A squalid district inhabited chiefly by derelicts and vagrants.

Skill:

Proficiency at a particular task. A Skilled workforce is one whose members have special expertise at something or other. An unskilled workforce consists of people who have had no training or relevant experience since leaving school.

Skim:

To take away the choicest or most readily attainable contents or parts from.

Slang: to fail to declare part of (certain income, such as winnings) to avoid tax payment.

Skimpy:

(Australia, Western Australia): a barmaid who wears little clothing. Note that this term should not be confused with a barmaid, who serves drinks in a bar but is not expected to personally entertain customers or provide sexual services.

Inadequate, as in size or fullness, especially through economizing or stinting; unduly thrifty; niggardly.

(Clothing & Fashion) (of clothes, etc) made of too little material; scanty; excessively thrifty; mean; stingy.

Skin Hunger:

Skin Hunger is a need for healthy touch. It does not have to be sexual. Often nonsexual touch proves more satisfying, although many people try to meet skin hunger with sex. The real need is for caring contact. It may feel intimate even if it is nonsexual, especially if someone has gone a long time with little or no touching.

When you've been without a date for a long, long time, haven't seen your Mom for ages, and no one has hugged you forever and you need someone to touch and hug you, that's Skin Hunger.

When you are lying in bed or sitting on a park bench and begin fantasizing about lying in bed holding another person and NOT thinking about sex. That's Skin Hunger!

Skinhead:

A person with a shaven head.

A member of any of various groups of people, especially young people, who shave their heads and sometimes participate in white-supremacist and anti-immigrant activities.

Skiptrace:

Skiptracing (also Skip Tracing) is a colloquial term used to describe the process of locating a person's whereabouts for any number of purposes.

Skype:

Skype is a way to make free phone calls to anyone anywhere in the world, using a microphone and an Internet connection; peer-to-peer Internet telephony network.

Skyscraper:

A Skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or height above which a building may clearly be classified as a Skyscraper. A loose convention in the United States and Europe now draws the lower limit of a Skyscraper at 150 meters (~500 ft). A Skyscraper taller than 300 meters (~1000 ft) may be referred to as supertall. Shorter buildings are still sometimes referred to as Skyscrapers if they appear to dominate their surroundings.

Skyway:

In an urban setting, a Skyway, catwalk, skybridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two or more buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These Skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces (compare with sidewalk). However, in Asia, such as Bangkok's skywalks, they are built and owned separately by the city government, connecting between privately run rail stations or other transport with their own footbridges, and run many kilometers. Skyways usually connect on the first few floors above the ground-level floor, though they are sometimes much higher, as in Petronas Towers, SWFC, and Kingdom Centre. A notable exception in North America are the Saint Paul Skyways, which are publicly owned, unlike most Skyways in North America. The space in the buildings connected by Skyways is often devoted to retail business, so areas around the Skyway may operate as a shopping mall. Non-commercial areas with closely associated buildings, such as university campuses, can often have Skyways and/or tunnels connecting buildings.

Slacktivism:

Slacktivism (a portmanteau of slacker and activism) is a pejorative term for the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment. Slacktivism is showing support for a cause with the main purpose of boosting the egos of participants in the movement. The action may have little effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfied that they have contributed. The underlying assumption being promoted by the term is that these low-cost efforts substitute for more substantive actions rather than supplementing them, although this assumption has been criticized.

Many websites and news platforms have integrated social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter into their interface, allowing people to easily "like", "share" or "tweet" about something interesting they saw on the Internet. People can now express concern about social or political issues with nothing more than the click of a mouse, raising the question of what is actually being accomplished by these "likes" when very little thought or effort is required.

Read also: How 'clicktivism' changes the world - "Often derided, online activism is far more effective than it first appears - but there are big differences between how the political left and right deploy it to spread ideas."

Slam Dunk:

A Slam Dunk is a type of basketball shot, in which a player thrusts the ball forcefully down through the basket.

(Slang): a sure thing; something that is sure to happen successfully without any effort or little effort.

Slamming:

An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

Slander:

Words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another.

Slang:

A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.

Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon.

Slap on the Wrist:

If someone gets a Slap on the Wrist, they get a very minor punishment when they could have been punished more severely.

Slapstick:

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense.

Slash-and-Burn:

Slash-and-Burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools.

Slave:

One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household.

A machine or component controlled by another machine or component.

Sleeping Partner:

A partner in a business who is not involved in the day-to-day running of the business. Although the expression originally applied only to individuals who worked in a partnership, now it applies to all forms of business, with the word partner being used loosely.

Sleeper Cell:

A group of people (sleepers) who remain dormant in a community until activated, by a prearranged signal, to perform acts of espionage, sabotage, or terrorism.

See also: sleeper agent.

Sleeping Dictionary:

A "Sleeping Dictionary" is a term used to describe a person who gains a "new language (L2)" and culture by being in a romantic relationship with someone who doesn't speak your native language, L1.

Sleight of Hand:

See: legerdemain.

See also: Sleight of Hand - John Scarne "Exposé of Sleight of Hand": YouTube 8:57.

Slender Man:

The Slender Man (also known as Slenderman) is a fictional supernatural character that originated as an Internet meme created by Something Awful forums user Eric Knudsen (a.k.a. "Victor Surge") in 2009. It is depicted as resembling a thin, unnaturally tall man with a blank and usually featureless face, wearing a black suit.

Slider (sandwich):

A Slider is a small sandwich, typically around 3 in (7.6 cm) across, served in a bun. The term primarily refers to small hamburgers, but can also cover any small sandwich served on a Slider roll. The term, when used in reference to a small hamburger, refers to a small hamburger patty served on a small bun. According to the earliest citations, the name may have originated aboard U.S. Navy ships, due to the way greasy burgers slid across the galley grill while the ship pitched and rolled.

Slinky:

A Slinky is a toy precompressed helical spring invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum, or appear to levitate for a period of time after it has been dropped. These interesting characteristics have contributed to its success as a toy in its home country of United States, resulting in many popular toys with slinky components in a wide range of countries.

Sloane Ranger:

The term Sloane Ranger refers to the young, upper class and upper-middle-class men and women living in South-West London. The term is a punning portmanteau of "Sloane Square", the fashionable and wealthy London area associated most in the public imagination with "Sloanes", and the television cowboy character "The Lone Ranger".

Initially the term "Sloane Ranger" was used mostly in reference to women, a particular archetype being Diana, Princess of Wales. However, the term now usually includes men. Male Sloanes have also been referred to as "Rahs" and "Hooray Henrys" (though said terms more accurately apply to the louder, male Sloane Ranger male subset). The Sloane Rangers have their equivalents in other countries: in the USA they are 'Preppies'; in France they are called 'BCBG' (bon chic, bon genre), in Australia they are sometimes referred to as Pru and Trudes (based on similar characters in the TV Series Kath & Kim).

Although Sloanes are nowadays supposedly more widely spread and amorphous than in the past, they are still perceived to socialise in the expensive areas of west London, most notably Kings Road, Fulham Road, Kensington High Street, and other areas of Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham. The pubs and nightclubs in these areas are popular with Sloanes, in particular The White Horse pub, known as the "Sloaney Pony", in Fulham and the Admiral Codrington, known as "The Cod", in Chelsea.

Slofie:

The Slofie is the new selfie. A Slofie are slow-motion selfies.

Read also: 'Slofies' are a thing now, thanks to Apple's new iPhone 11 - Mashable.

Slogan:

A memorable phrase or sentence about a product that helps to keep the product in consumers' minds.

Slot:

An assigned place in a sequence or schedule; a position of employment in an organization or hierarchy.

Slow Food:

The Slow Food movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy to combat fast food. It claims to preserve the cultural cuisine and the associated food plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming within an ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 150 countries.

Food, in contrast to fast food, that is normally a part of a complete meal; especially the traditional cuisine of a region.

Famous Slow Food restaurant: Chez Panisse.

Slow Luxury:

Slow Luxury is a strategy to help popularise slow fashion by stripping luxury back to its essence and re-focusing on craftsmanship, quality and timeless designs.

SLR:

Short for: Single Lens Reflex. A camera having a viewing system that allows the photographer to see the subject through the same lens that brings the image to the film.

Slugger:

One that slugs, as a fighter who delivers hard swinging punches.

Baseball: a batter who hits many extra-base hits.

Slum:

A heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor.

Slumming:

To visit impoverished areas or squalid locales, especially out of curiosity or for amusement.

Slump:

A severe economic recession that falls short of a depression. A slump in sales is a short sharp drop in turnover.

Slush Fund:

A fund raised for undesignated purposes, especially: a fund raised by a group for corrupt practices, such as bribery or graft; A fund used by a group, as for entertainment.

Money formerly raised by the sale of garbage from a warship to buy small items of luxury for the crew.

Slut-Shaming:

In human sexuality, Slut-Shaming is the act of making a person, especially a woman or girl, feel guilty or inferior for certain sexual behaviors, circumstances, or desires that deviate from traditional or orthodox gender expectations, or that which may be considered to be contrary to natural or religious law. Some examples of circumstances where women are "Slut-Shamed" include violating accepted dress codes by dressing in sexually provocative ways, requesting access to birth control, having premarital or casual sex, or being raped or otherwise sexually assaulted (which is known as victim blaming).

SlutWalk:

SlutWalk is a kind of protest march against rape culture and slut-shaming, generally led by young women who dress in revealing clothing.

Small Talk:

Casual or trivial conversation.

Smart:

Characterized by sharp quick thought; bright.

Any product with some sort of embedded electronic intelligence is described as Smart.

Smart Card:

A Smart Card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data.

See also: EMV.

Smart Data:

“Smart Data” means information that actually makes sense. It is the difference between seeing a long list of numbers referring to weekly sales vs. identifying the peaks and troughs in sales volume over time. Algorithms turn meaningless numbers into actionable insights. Smart Data is data from which signals and patterns have been extracted by intelligent algorithms. Collecting large amounts of statistics and numbers bring little benefit if there is no layer of added intelligence.

Smart Drugs:

Nootropics, also referred to as Smart Drugs, memory enhancers, neuro enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that purportedly improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration.

Smart Glass:

Smart Glass, EGlass, or switchable glass, also called smart windows or switchable windows in its application to windows or skylights, refers to electrically switchable glass or glazing which changes light transmission properties when voltage is applied.

Certain types of Smart Glass can allow users to control the amount of light and heat passing through: with the press of a button, it changes from transparent to translucent, partially blocking light while maintaining a clear view of what lies behind the window. Another type of Smart Glass can provide privacy at the turn of a switch.

Smart Grid:

A Smart Grid is an electrical grid that uses information and communications technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity.

Smart Sanction:

(Often plural): a sanction intended to affect only a particular area of a country's activities or economy.

Read also: Smart Sanctions: Targeting Economic Statecraft.

Smart Set:

Fashionable sophisticated people considered as a group.

Smartphone:

A Smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality (PC-mobile handset convergence). There is no industry standard definition of a Smartphone. For some, a Smartphone is a phone that runs complete operating system software providing a standardized interface and platform for application developers. For others, a Smartphone is simply a phone with advanced features like e-mail, Internet and e-book reader capabilities, and / or a built-in full keyboard or external USB keyboard and VGA connector. In other words, it is a miniature computer that has phone capability.

Smartphone-Zombie:

A person that is constantly focused on his or her smartphone, ignoring the environment and especially other people.

Smartwatch:

A Smartwatch or Smart Watch is a computerized wristwatch with functionality enhanced beyond timekeeping, often with features comparable to a PDA. While early models were capable of performing basic tasks like calculations, translations, or playing games, modern smartwatches are effectively wearable computers. Many smartwatches run mobile apps, some run on a mobile operating system, and a few have full mobile phone capability.

SME:

Short for: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. In Europe it has become a general term for all small businesses. The SME sector is universally recognized as having special needs. Although it is innovative and nimble, it is hampered by not having access to economies of scale.

Smiling Voice:

A Smiling Voice makes all the difference. Now since you understand why the customer is calling and what to say when you answer the phone, all you have to do is say it with a “smile” and your first impression on the customer will be a good impression, which is soothing, accommodating, encouraging, and reassuring to the customer. It will be a customer-centered contact that will be profitable to you, because you will make a very positive impression upon the customer.

Smiley:

A Smiley or happy face is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly represented as a yellow (many other colors are also used) circle (or sphere) with two black dots representing eyes and a black half circle representing the mouth. Smiley is also sometimes used as a generic term for any emoticon.

The iconic Smiley with the black ink smile and two oval dots for eyes inside of a black circle printed on a yellow background was created by freelance artist Harvey R. Ball in 1963 in an advertising campaign by The State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Ball never copyrighted or trademarked the symbol resulting in its being in the public domain and modified by countless artists over the years.

See: list of smileys.

Smize:

To Smize is to smile with your eyes, usually in a sexy and playful way.

Smog:

Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "Smog" is a portmanteau of SMoke and fOG. Classic Smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern Smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical Smog.

Smoke and Mirrors:

Smoke and Mirrors is a classic technique in magical illusions that makes an entity appear to hover in empty space. It was documented as early as 1770 and spread widely after its use by the charlatan Johann Georg Schröpfer, who claimed the apparitions to be conjured spirits. It subsequently became a fixture of 19th-century phantasmagoria shows. The illusion relies on a hidden projector (known then as a magic lantern) the beam of which reflects off a mirror into a cloud of smoke, which in turn scatters the beam to create an image.

The phrase "Smoke and Mirrors" has entered common English use to refer to any proposal that, when examined closely, proves to be an illusion.

Smoke Screen:

A mass of dense artificial smoke used to conceal military areas or operations from an enemy.

An action or statement used to conceal actual plans or intentions.

Smoking Gun:

Something that serves as indisputable evidence or proof, especially of a crime.

Smoking Jacket:

A Smoking Jacket is an overgarment designed for the purposes of smoking tobacco, usually in the form of pipes and cigars, or for domestic leisure.

Smombie:

A person walking around unaware of his or her surroundings entirely absorbed in their smartphone.

Smoothie:

A Smoothie is a blended, chilled, sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit or vegetables. In addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey or frozen yogurt, although some smoothies are 100% fruit.

SMS:

Short for: Short Message Service (SMS). SMS is a communication service standardized in the GSM mobile communication system, using standardized communications protocols allowing the interchange of short text messages (less than 160 characters) between mobile telephone devices.

SMS messaging was used for the first time on 3 December 1992, when Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old test engineer for Sema Group in the UK (now Airwide Solutions), used a personal computer to send the text message "Merry Christmas" via the Vodafone network to the phone of Richard Jarvis.

See also: MMS.

SMSPR:

Short for: Stop Making Stupid People Rich. (We hate influencers, talentless people and anyone who get rich and famous without deserving it.)

Smörgåsbord:

Smörgåsbord is a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple hot and cold dishes of various foods on a table, originating in Sweden. In Norway it is called koldtbord, in Denmark it is called det kolde bord (English: the cool table).

Smummy:

Short for: Smart Mummy. A colloquialism for a modern mother who combines being both an active career-woman and a mother.

Smurfing:

Breaking large sums of money into small deposits through anonymous bank accounts and offshore "shell" companies into order to dodge banks to report these transactions.

Smushi:

A savoury snack consisting of very small squares of bread topped with fish, cheese and vegetables, etc.

Snack:

A hurried or light meal.

Food eaten between meals.

SNAFU:

Short for: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.

The term was born during the Second World War as an acronym of the initials of the words Situation Normal, All Fucked Up, which summed up the chaos and confusion of the war from an individual soldier’s point of view.

Read also: The difference between a SNAFU, a shitshow, and a clusterfuck - QUARTZ.

Snake Eyes:

In gambling in general and the game of craps in particular, Snake Eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game and getting only one pip on each die. The pair of pips resembles a pair of eyes, which is appended to the word snake because of the creature's long-standing association with treachery and betrayal. The dictionary of etymology traces use of the term as far back as 1919. Ancient Roman dice games used the term dogs to describe a throw of double ones, referring to this as "the dog throw".

Snake Oil:

Medicine: any of various liquids sold as medicine (as by a travelling medicine show) but medically worthless.

Speech or writing intended to deceive; humbug.

Snakes and Ladders:

Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a gameboard having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "Ladders" and "Snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares. The object of the game is to navigate one's game piece, according to die rolls, from the start (bottom square) to the finish (top square), helped or hindered by Ladders and Snakes respectively.

Snaps:

Photographs and videos sent via the photo messaging application Snapchat.

Snapshot:

An informal photograph taken with a small hand-held camera.

An isolated observation.

Sneakerhead:

A Sneakerhead is a person who collects, trades or admires sneakers as a hobby. A Sneakerhead may also be highly experienced in distinguishing between real and fake replica sneakers. Sneaker collecting is a hobby often manifested by the use and collection of shoes made for particular sports, particularly but not limited to basketball and skateboarding.

Snellen Chart:

A Snellen Chart is an eye chart that can be used to measure visual acuity.

Sniffer:

A packet analyzer (also known as a network analyzer, protocol analyzer or packet sniffer - or, for particular types of networks, an Ethernet sniffer or wireless sniffer) is a computer program or piece of computer hardware that can intercept and log traffic that passes over a digital network or part of a network. As data streams flow across the network, the sniffer captures each packet and, if needed, decodes the packet's raw data, showing the values of various fields in the packet, and analyzes its content according to the appropriate RFC or other specifications.

Snip:

Snip: a single base change, a change in which a single base in the DNA differs from the usual base at that position. "Snips" are also termed SNPs.

Millions of SNP's have been cataloged in the human genome. Some SNPs such that which causes sickle cell are responsible for disease. Other SNPs are normal variations in the genome.

See also: DNA.

Sniper:

A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place.

One who shoots at other people from a concealed place.

Snippet:

A bit, scrap, or morsel.

Informal: a small or mischievous person.

Snob:

A Snob (Sans NOBlesse) is someone who adopts the worldview of Snobbery – that some people are inherently inferior to him or her for any one of a variety of reasons, including real or supposed intellect, wealth, education, ancestry, etc. Often, the form of Snobbery reflects the Snob's personal attributes. For example, a common Snobbery of the affluent is the affectation that wealth is either the cause or result of superiority, or both, and a common Snobbery of the physically attractive is that beauty is paramount.

However, a form of Snobbery can be adopted by someone not a part of that group; a pseudo-intellectual, a celebrity worshiper, and a poor person idolizing money and the rich are types of Snobs who do not base their Snobbery on their personal attributes. Such a Snob idolizes and imitates, if possible, the manners, worldview, and lifestyle of a classification of people to which he or she aspires, but does not yet belong, and to which he or she may never belong (wealthy, famous, intellectual, beautiful, aryan, etc).

A person who imitates, cultivates, or slavishly admires superiors.

One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as social inferiors and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as social superiors.

Snobbism:

Snobbism is the greatest sterilizer of inspiration, the greatest deadener of originality, the greatest destroyer of talents. (Definition by Marcel Proust (1871-1922)).

Snooping:

To pry into the private affairs of others, especially by prowling about.

Snooze:

To take a light nap; doze; a brief light sleep.

Most also allarm clocks offer a "Snooze button", a large button on the top that stops the alarm and sets it to ring again at a short time later, most commonly nine minutes.

Snowball Effect:

Snowball Effect is a figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger (graver, more serious), and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous (a vicious circle, a "spiral of decline"), though it might be beneficial instead (a virtuous circle).

Snowbird (person):

A Snowbird is a North American term for a person who moves from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada and migrates southward in winter to warmer locales such as Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean.

Snowclone:

A type of cliché which uses an old idiom formulaically in a new context.

Snowflake (slang):

Snowflake as a slang term involves the derogatory usage of the word Snowflake to make reference to people. Its meaning has varied, but may include a person who has an inflated sense of their own uniqueness, has an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or is easily offended and unable to deal with opposing opinions.

Snowflake Generation:

The term "Generation Snowflake" or "Snowflake Generation" was popularized by Claire Fox's 2016 book I Find That Offensive!, which discussed a 2015 student/faculty confrontation at Yale University.

The term "Snowflake Generation" was one of Collins English Dictionary's 2016 words of the year. Collins defines the term as "the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations".

Soap (opera):

A Soap Opera, sometimes called "Soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio.
A drama, typically performed as a serial on daytime television or radio, characterized by stock characters and situations.
A serialized television drama that (originally) was sponsered by a single company for advertising purposes. The first soaps were sponsered by soap manufacturers.

Soapbox:

A Soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject.

The term originates from when speakers would stand on a wooden box meant for holding soap. The term is also used metaphorically to describe a person engaging in often flamboyant impromptu or unofficial public speaking, as in the phrases "He's on his soapbox", or "Get off your soapbox." Hyde Park, London is known for its Sunday soapbox orators, who have assembled at Speakers' Corner since 1872 to discuss religion, politics, and other topics. A modern form of the soapbox is a blog: a website on which a user publishes one's thoughts to whoever reads the page.

Soba:

Japanese cuisine: buckwheat noodles.

Social:

Living together in communities.

Living together in organized groups or similar close aggregates.

Of or relating to the upper classes.

Of, relating to, or occupied with matters affecting human welfare.

Social Bookmarking Managers:

Social Bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata.

In a Social Bookmarking system, users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, and can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or another combination of public and private domains. The allowed people can usually view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or via a search engine.

Most Social Bookmark services encourage users to organize their bookmarks with informal tags instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although some services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags. They also enable viewing bookmarks associated with a chosen tag, and include information about the number of users who have bookmarked them. Some Social Bookmarking services also draw inferences from the relationship of tags to create clusters of tags or bookmarks.

Social Business:

a Social Business is a non-loss, non-dividend company designed to address a social objective within the highly regulated marketplace of today. It is distinct from a non-profit because the business should seek to generate a modest profit but this will be used to expand the company’s reach, improve the product or service or in other ways to subsidise the social mission.

Social Capital:

The commonalities of most definitions of Social Capital are that they focus on social relations that have productive benefits. There are several more definitions:

1: The degree to which a community or society collaborates and cooperates (through such mechanisms as networks, shared trust, norms and values) to achieve mutual benefits.

2: The network of connections that exist between people, and their shared values and norms of behavior, which enable and encourage mutually advantageous social cooperation.

3: The value of social networks that people can draw on to solve common problems. The benefits of Social Capital flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks.

4: Stock of community's goodwill and trust acquired by an organization over the years, through its understanding and addressing of the concerns and priorities of the citizens.

Visit also: Definitions of Social Capital.

Social Cataloging Application:

A Social Cataloging Application is a web application designed to help users to catalog things—books, CDs, etc.—owned or otherwise of interest to them. The phrase refers to two characteristics that generally arise from a multi-user cataloging environment:

The ability to share catalogs and interact with others based upon shared items;

The enrichment or improvement of cataloging description through either explicit cooperation in the production of cataloging metadata or through the analysis of implicit data (e.g., "People who like X also like Y").

Social Class:

Social Classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups.

Social Cleansing:

Social Cleansing is class-based killing that consists of elimination of members of society considered "undesirable," including but not limited to the homeless, criminals, street children, the elderly, sex workers, and sexual minorities. This phenomenon is caused by a combination of economic and social factors, but killings are notably present in regions with high levels of poverty and disparities of wealth. Perpetrators are usually of the same community as the victims and are often motivated by the idea that the victims are a drain on the resources of society. Efforts by national and local governments to stop these killings have been largely ineffective, and the government and police forces are often involved in the killings, especially in South America.

Social Club:

A formal association of people with similar interests.

Social Currency:

Social Currency is a common term that can be understood as the entirety of actual and potential resources which arise from the presence in social networks and communities, may they be digital or offline. It derives from Pierre Bourdieu's social capital theory and is about increasing one's sense of community, granting access to information and knowledge, helping to form one's identity, and providing status and recognition.

Social Dance:

Social Dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. Social Dances can be danced with a variety of partners and still be led and followed in a relaxed, easy atmosphere.

Social Disease:

A sexually transmitted disease; a venereal disease.

Social Distancing:

Social Distancing is a set of nonpharmaceutical infection control actions intended to stop or slow down the spread of a contagious disease. The objective of Social Distancing is to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission, morbidity and ultimately, mortality.

Social Distancing is most effective when the infection can be transmitted via droplet contact (coughing or sneezing); direct physical contact, including sexual contact; indirect physical contact (e.g. by touching a contaminated surface such as a fomite); or airborne transmission (if the microorganism can survive in the air for long periods).

Drawbacks of Social Distancing can include loneliness, reduced productivity, and the loss of other benefits associated with human interaction.

One of the earliest references to social distancing dates to the seventh century BC in the Book of Leviticus, 13:46: "And the leper in whom the plague is... he shall dwell alone; [outside] the camp shall his habitation be."

Read also: What Is 'Social Distancing?' Here's How to Best Practice It as Coronavirus Spreads - "'Social distancing' is the idea of people staying away from others in large crowds, at schools, at their jobs and at social events."

Social Drinking:

"Social Drinking" refers to casual drinking in a social setting without an intent to get drunk. Good news is often celebrated by a group of people having a few drinks. For example, drinks may be served to "wet the baby's head" in the celebration of a birth. Buying someone a drink is a gesture of goodwill. It may be an expression of gratitude, or it may mark the resolution of a dispute.

Social Engineering (security):

Social Engineering, in the context of information security, is the psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. This differs from Social Engineering within the social sciences, which does not concern the divulging of confidential information. A type of confidence trick for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or system access, it differs from a traditional "con" in that it is often one of many steps in a more complex fraud scheme.

It has also been defined as "any act that influences a person to take an action that may or may not be in their best interests."

Social Farming:

Social Farming or care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices. Care farms utilise the whole or part of a farm, provide health, social or educational care services for one or a range of vulnerable groups of people and provide a supervised, structured programme of farming-related activities. The purpose of care farming is to promote mental and physical health by giving people the opportunity to spend time working on the land. Care farms can provide supervised, structured programs of farming-related activities, including animal husbandry, crop and vegetable production and woodland management.

Social Gathering:

A gathering for the purpose of promoting fellowship.

Social Jet Lag:

The short definition: the fatigue you experience after trying to cram in too many social activities into one's schedule.

Social Jetlag is defined as a syndrome that occurs when our body's biological clock and our actual sleep schedules don't match up. The term "Social Jetlag" was created by Dr. Till Roenneberg of the University of Munich’s Institute of Medical Psychology, in Germany in the book Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired. Doctors and researchers say that instead of your body following its internal clock, sleeping and waking by circadian rhythm, you're forced to adhere to schedules and rely on alarm clocks.

Social Justice:

Social Justice is "justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society".

Social Justice Warrior:

"Social Justice Warrior" (abbreviated "SJW") is a snarl word used primarily on the interwebs to describe those who call out others for perceived social injustice. It's analogous to how conservatives use "liberal" or "leftist" as a snarl word, despite it having superficially positive connotations when it's first encountered. Very few people unironically self-identify as an SJW.

The term was originally used as a somewhat neutral and usually humorous phrase describing someone who obsesses over social justice (or their own perception of it) to an almost-deranged extent; it could also refer to someone who is accused of otherizing and harassing opponents of (what they think is) social justice and failing to examine their prejudices and underlying beliefs.

Social Ladder:

The hierarchical structure of a society.

Social Lion:

A celebrity who is lionized (much sought after).

Social Media (SoMe):

Social Media (SoMe) refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Furthermore, Social Media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.

Social Network:

A Social Network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, sexual relationships, kinship, dislike, conflict or trade.

Social Network analysis views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the Networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of academic fields has shown that Social Networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.

In its simplest form, a Social Network is a map of all of the relevant ties between the nodes being studied. The Network can also be used to determine the social capital of individual actors. These concepts are often displayed in a social network diagram, where nodes are the points and ties are the lines.

Social Networking:

A Social Networking Service is a platform to build Social Networks or social relations among people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. A Social Network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most Social Network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a Social Network service, though in a broader sense, Social Network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social Networking sites allow users to share ideas, pictures, posts, activities, events, and interests with people in their network.

The main types of Social Networking Services are those that contain category places (such as former school year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with American-based services such as Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter widely used worldwide; Nexopia in Canada; Badoo, Bebo, VKontakte, Delphi (online service) (also called Delphi Forums), Draugiem.lv (mostly in Latvia), Hi5, Hyves (mostly in The Netherlands), iWiW (mostly in Hungary), Nasza-Klasa, Soup (mostly in Poland), Glocals in Switzerland, Skyrock, The Sphere, StudiVZ (mostly in Germany), Tagged, Tuenti (mostly in Spain), and XING in parts of Europe; Hi5 and Orkut in South America and Central America; Mxit in Africa; and Cyworld, Mixi, Orkut, renren, weibo and Wretch in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Social Register:

Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite (socialites), though until recently not necessarily the political or corporate elite (approx. 25,000 entries).

Social Season:

The Social Season or Season has historically referred to the annual period when it is customary for members of the a social elite of society to hold débutante balls, dinner parties and large charity events. It was also the appropriate time to be resident in the city rather than in the country, in order to attend such events.

Events in the London Season and in the United States.

Social Secretary:

A personal secretary who handles social correspondence and appointments.

"Social Secretaries are not to be confused with personal assistants or executive secretaries, who work in the business world. Social secretaries work from their employers' homes, generally for a woman who doesn't hold a full-time job (or any job, for that matter, other than socializing), and while they must be willing to write invitations and shop, their most important skill is the tact and decorum needed in the oh-so-perilous shoals of social life -- a skill their employers are sometimes lacking in."

Social Skill:

A Social Skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others.

The ability to interact with other people and to function in groups.

Social Status:

In sociology or anthropology, Social Status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society (one's social position).

Social Visit:

A friendly visit.

Socialism:

Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.

The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

Socialite:

A Socialite is a person who is known to be a part of fashionable high society because of their regular participation in social activities and fondness for spending a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained. Some Socialites may choose to use their social skills and connections to promote and raise funds for various charitable or philanthropic activities. Socialites are usually in possession of considerable wealth, that can sustain their steady attendance at social functions. Their social movements may have been published in the UK's Tatler magazine and they might be listed in features such as the Social Register of the United States.

By the mid-twentieth century, television news gave little attention to members of high society and in the 1970s newspapers curtailed or discontinued their daily "Society" page to institute a Sunday "Style" section. In recent years, Socialites have been largely neglected in the media and social prominence has come to reside with celebrities, who are more famous, have a public profile and are often accomplished at a specific profession. Socialites and celebrities were briefly united in the Jet Set around 1960 but in later years the former group were seemingly absorbed and subsumed by the latter, although the facts do not necessarily bear this out, as the two groups are often interchangeable.

Societal:

Of or pertaining to society or social groups, or to their activities, customs, etc.

Society:

A Society is a body of individuals that is outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, comprising also possible characteristics or conditions such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, or eusociality. Human Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and institutions. Like other communities or groups, a Society allows its individual members to achieve needs or wishes that they could not fulfill separately by themselves without the existence of solidarity.

Sociolect:

In sociolinguistics, a Sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language (a register) associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group (precisely termed ethnolect), an age group, etc.

Sociolects involve both passive acquisition of particular communicative practices through association with a local community, as well as active learning and choice among speech or writing forms to demonstrate identification with particular groups.

Sociology:

The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society.

Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-contained entity or in relation to society as a whole.

Sociopath:

Someone with a Sociopathic personality; a person with an antisocial personality disorder ('psychopath' was once widely used but has now been superseded by 'Sociopath').

See also: antisocial personality disorder.

Read more: How to Spot a Sociopath.

Soft Currency:

A currency that is expected to depreciate in value against other currencies. The opposite of hard currency.

Soft Loan:

A loan that is granted on terms that are more generous to the borrower than those that could be obtained in the open market.

Soft Market:

A market in which supply exceeds demand; one that favors buyers (who hold off in expectation of the price falling) rather than sellers.

Soft Money:

Soft Money (political contributions made in such a way as to avoid the United States regulations for federal election campaigns [as by contributions to a political action committee]).

Soft Power:

(Politics): political influence that is extended by means of diplomacy, international assistance, cultural exchanges, etc., rather than by such "hard" means as military intervention or punitive economic measures.

Soft Power is a concept developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University to describe the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce, use force or give money as a means of persuasion. Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defining feature of Soft Power is that it is noncoercive; the currency of Soft Power is culture, political values, and foreign policies. Recently, the term has also been used in changing and influencing social and public opinion through relatively less transparent channels and lobbying through powerful political and non-political organizations. In 2012, Nye explained that with Soft Power, "the best propaganda is not propaganda", further explaining that during the Information Age, "credibility is the scarcest resource".

Soft Sell:

A gentle attempt to sell something to a consumer, making no effort to hurry the consumer into making a decision. The opposite of a hard sell.

Software:

The electronic programs inside a computer's hardware that enable it to carry out different tasks.

Sogo Shosha:

The unique trading companies that sit at the heart of all Japanese zaibatsu. Their role is to act as the group's agent in all its trading activities. They also serve as an intelligence-gathering operation for the group.

Soho:

The acronym for: Small Office, Home Office. A recently identified industrial sector consisting of home workers and of people who work in organizations with one or two others. Soho is a dynamic, fast-growing sector.

Soi-Disant:

From French soi ("self") + disant ("speaking, proclaiming"). Self-styled; self-proclaimed.

Soirée:

An evening party or reception.

Solar System:

The sun together with the eight planets and all other celestial bodies that orbit the sun.

SOLAS:

Visit: International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974.

Sold as Seen:

When something being sold comes with no assurances at all from the seller. The buyer must beware - or caveat emptor.

Soldier of Fortune:

One who will serve in any army or undertake risky tasks for personal gain or love of adventure.

Also: Soldier of Fortune (SOF), The Journal of Professional Adventurers, is a periodical monthly magazine devoted to world-wide reporting of wars, including conventional warfare, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency, and counter-terrorism.

Sole Trader:

A business that is not incorporated and that is run by its owner. The whole owner of the business has sole unlimited liability.

Solicitor:

Chiefly British: an attorney who advises clients on legal matters, represents clients in certain lower courts, and prepares cases for barristers to present in the higher courts.

Solidarity:

A interestsunion of interests, purposes, or sympathies among members of a group; fellowship of responsibilities and interests.

Soliloquy:

A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.

The act of speaking to oneself.

Solipsism:

Solipsism from Latin solus, meaning 'alone', and ipse, meaning 'self') is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, Solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, Solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist.

Solitaire:

Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. In the US, it refers to a card game played by oneself; In the UK the term Patience refers to Solitaire with cards.

Solo:

Music: a composition or passage for an individual voice or instrument, with or without accompaniment.

A performance by a single singer or instrumentalist.

Games: any of various card games in which one player singly opposes others.

Solo Poly:

Solo Polyamory means that someone has multiple intimate relationships with people but has an independent or single lifestyle. They may not live with partners, share finances, or have a desire to reach traditional relationship milestones in which partners' lives become more intertwined.

Read more here: You’re ‘Solo Poly’? So ... You’re Single? - "Not quite, according to practitioners, who want people to understand that the lifestyle is more than a dressed-up 'friends with benefits.'"

Solomon Grundy:

Solomon Grundy is a fictional character, usually depicted as a supervillain in the DC Comics universe and an antihero in the DC animated universe. He was originally depicted as a murder victim brought back to life as a corporeal revenant or zombie, though subsequent versions of the character have occasionally depicted a different origin. Named after the 19th century nursery rhyme, Grundy was introduced as an enemy of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott), but has since become a prominent enemy for a number of superheroes such as Superman and Batman.

Solomon's Paradox:

Solomon's Paradox refers to the observation that people often display greater wisdom and judgment when advising others compared to when making decisions for themselves.

The paradox is named after the biblical figure King Solomon, who was renowned for his great wisdom and sagacity, yet is said to have made poor decisions in his own personal life. The paradox suggests that people can become "blinded" by their own emotions, biases, and self-interest when it comes to making choices for themselves, even if they are able to provide clear-headed advice to others in similar situations.

The phenomenon has been studied in psychology and behavioral economics, and suggests that people may have an easier time seeing the big picture and identifying the best course of action when they are not directly involved or affected by the decision. However, when the decision is personal, their judgment can become clouded by factors like ego, fear, or a desire for immediate gratification. This can lead to suboptimal choices, despite their ability to recognize the wiser path when advising others.

Solomonic:

Exhibiting or requiring the exercise of great wisdom, especially in making difficult decisions.

Solstice:

Astronomy: either the shortest day of the year (winter Solstice) or the longest day of the year (summer Solstice).

Either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

Solus Cum Solo:

Alone with the alone.

Solvent:

Having the ability to pay debts as and when they become due. The opposite of insolvent.

SoMe (Social Media):

Short for: Social Media.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue:

Something Old, a traditional rhyme about what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck.

Sommelier:

A restaurant employee who orders and maintains the wines sold in the restaurant and usually has extensive knowledge about wine and food pairings.

Son et Lumière:

Son et Lumière (French, lit. "sound and light"), or a sound and light show, is a form of nighttime entertainment that is usually presented in an outdoor venue of historic significance.

Song and Dance:

Singing and Dancing, especially in vaudeville.

Informal talk, especially an explanation, that is pointless, devious, or evasive.

Sonnet:

A 14-line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes.

Sophist:

A Sophist was a specific kind of teacher in ancient Greece, in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Many Sophists specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric, though other Sophists taught subjects such as music, athletics, and mathematics. In general, they claimed to teach arete ("excellence" or "virtue", applied to various subject areas), predominantly to young statesmen and nobility.

Sophistication:

To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly; uplifting enlightenment; to make more complex or inclusive; refine.

Sophomore:

Sophomore is a term particularly used in US English to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university. The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a professional athlete.

See also: freshman.

Sorority:

Fraternities and Sororities, or Greek letter organizations (GLOs) (collectively referred to as "Greek life") are social organizations at colleges and universities. A form of the social fraternity, they are prominent in the United States and the Philippines, with much smaller numbers existing in France, Canada, and elsewhere. Similar organizations exist in other countries as well, including the Studentenverbindungen of German-speaking countries.

Sortie:

A Sortie is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The Sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission.

SOS:

SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal (· · · — — — · · ·). This distress signal was first adopted by the German government in radio regulations effective April 1, 1905, and became the worldwide standard under the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906 and became effective on July 1, 1908. SOS remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress Safety System. SOS is still recognized as a visual distress signal.

Soshokukei Danshi:

A Japanese term – "herbivorous males" – used to describe men who choose to engage in traditionally female pursuits.

Sothic Cycle:

The Sothic Cycle or Canicular period is a period of 1,461 ancient Egyptian years (of 365 days each) or 1,460 Julian years (averaging 365.25 days each).

Sotto Voce:

Sotto Voce, literally "under voice") means intentionally lowering the volume of one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend.

Soufflé:

A Soufflé is a light, fluffy, baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" — an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites.

Soufflé Rothschild:

Soufflé Rothschild is a dessert soufflé created by Antonin Câreme for Baron James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868) and Baroness Betty de Rothschild (1805–1886) in the 1820s. The Baron was a notable French banker and diplomat. It was originally flavoured with Goldwasser but is now flavoured with a variety of other liqueurs and spirits including kirsch."

Souk:

A souq or Souk is a marketplace or commercial quarter in Western Asian, North African and some Horn African cities.

Soul:

The immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life.

Deep feeling or emotion.

The human embodiment of something.

See also: 21 Grams Theory.

Soulmate:

Soulmate is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, and / or compatibility.

Sound Bite:

A brief statement, as by a politician, taken from an audiotape or videotape and broadcast especially during a news report.

Sounding Board:

A person or group whose reactions to an idea, opinion, or point of view serve as a measure of its effectiveness or acceptability.

Soundtrack:

The music that accompanies a movie; a commercial recording of such music.

Soupçon:

A suspicion; a suggestion; hence, a very small portion; a taste.

Souq:

A Souq or souk (also spelled shuk, shooq, soq, esouk, suk, sooq, suq) is an open-air marketplace or commercial quarter in Western Asian and North African cities. The equivalent Persian term is "bazaar".

Sour Grapes:

Denial of the desirability of something after one has found out that it cannot be reached or acquired.

Source:

The point at which something springs into being or from which it derives or is obtained.

One that causes, creates, or initiates; a maker.

One, such as a person or document, that supplies information.

Source Code:

In computer science, Source Code (commonly just Source or Code) is any collection of statements or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language. Source Code is the mechanism most often used by programmers to specify the actions to be performed by a computer.

Sources and Uses of Funds:

An accounting statement that shows all the cash that came in and out of a business during a fixed period (usually a year). In some countries such statements are required by law to be submitted as an integral part of the company's annual accounts.

Sousveillance:

Sousveillance, coined by Steve Mann, is most commonly defined as the recording of an activity by a participant in the activity typically by way of small wearable or portable personal technologies.

South:

South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. It is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. South is the polar opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.

The direction along a meridian 90° clockwise from east; the direction to the right of sunrise.

The cardinal point on the mariner's compass 180° clockwise from due north and directly opposite north.

An area or region lying in the south.

Slang: into a worse or inferior condition, as of decreased value.

South Paw:

A left-handed person.

Boxing: Southpaw is a boxing term that designates the normal stance for a left-handed boxer.

Visit: Left Hander's Day.

South Sea Bubble:

The South Sea Bubble was a speculative bubble in the early 18th century involving the shares of the South Sea Company, a British international trading company that was granted a monopoly in trade with Spain’s colonies in South America and the West Indies as part of a treaty made after the War of the Spanish Succession. In return for these exclusive trading rights, the company assumed England’s war debt. When investors recognized the potential profits to be made from trade with the gold and silver-rich South American colonies, they bid the South Sea Company’s shares South Sea Bubble: South Sea Company Stock Certificateand the shares of similar trading companies to incredible heights in a typical speculative bubble fashion. Not long after virtually all classes of British society were thoroughly engaged in wild stock speculation, the South Sea Bubble popped and stock prices violently collapsed, financially ruining their investors.

Souvenir:

A Souvenir (from French, for memory), memento or keepsake is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with it. Souvenirs include clothing such as T-shirts or hats, postcards, refrigerator magnets, miniature figures, household items such as mugs and bowls, ashtrays, egg timers, spoons, notepads, and many others.

Sovereign:

One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit, as: a king, queen, or other noble person who serves as chief of state; a ruler or monarch; a national governing council or committee.

A nation that governs territory outside its borders.

A gold coin formerly used in Great Britain.

Sovereign Citizen:

Sovereign Citizen is a term used to refer to a political movement which grew out of a belief in government abuses of power. Members often refuse to hold social security cards or driver's licenses and avoid using zip codes. Sovereign Citizens believe that U.S. citizens are either "Fourteenth Amendment citizens" (who are subject to the federal and state laws and taxes) or "Sovereign Citizens", who are subject only to common law or "constitutional law" (or both), but are not bound to obey statutory law. No court has ever upheld these claims. Sovereign Citizens may also be referred to as "freemen" or "common law citizens."

Sovereign Democracy:

Sovereign Democracy is a term describing modern Russian politics first used by Vladislav Surkov on 22 February 2006 in a speech before a gathering of the Russian political party United Russia. According to Surkov, Sovereign Democracy is:

      a society's political life where the political powers, their authorities and decisions are decided
      and controlled by a diverse Russian nation for the purpose of reaching material welfare, freedom
      and fairness by all citizens, social groups and nationalities, by the people that formed it.

Read also: Vladislav Surkov: A profile of Putin's grey cardinal.

Sovereign Risk:

The risk that a country will not pay its obligations as and when they fall due for political, military or economic reasons.

Sovereignty:

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided. The concept has been discussed, debated and questioned throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day, although it has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, especially during the Age of Enlightenment. The current notion of state Sovereignty was laid down in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), which, in relation to states, codified the basic principles of territorial integrity, border inviolability, and supremacy of the state (rather than the Church).

Space Marshal:

A Space Marshal is someone meant to supervise physical distancing from others when inside.

Read more here: 'Space Marshals': no, they're not welcoming intergalactic visitors.

Space Syntax:

The term Space Syntax encompasses a set of theories and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations. It was conceived by Bill Hillier, Julienne Hanson, and colleagues at The Bartlett, University College London in the late 1970s to early 1980s to develop insights into the mutually constructive relation between society and space. As Space Syntax has evolved, certain measures have been found to correlate with human spatial behavior, and Space Syntax has thus come to be used to forecast likely effects of architectural and urban space on users.

Space Syntax has grown to become a tool used around the world in a variety of research areas and design applications in architecture, urban design, urban planning, transport and interior design.

Spaghetti Strap:

A Spaghetti Strap is a very thin shoulder strap used in clothing, such as camisoles, cocktail dresses, and evening gowns, so-named for its resemblance to the thin pasta strings called spaghetti.

Spaghetti Straps on a dress are very thin pieces of fabric resembling the pasta noodle. Found on everything from sundresses to after five dresses, the Spaghetti Strap is a feminine way to show off bare shoulders and arms.

Spaghetti Western:

Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by Italians, usually in co-production with a Spanish partner.

The typical team was made up of an Italian director, Italo-Spanish technical staff, and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors, sometimes a fading Hollywood star and sometimes a rising one like the young Clint Eastwood in three of Sergio Leone's films. The films were typically shot in inexpensive locales resembling the American Southwest, primarily the Andalusia region of Spain, Sardinia, and Abruzzo.

Spam Mail:

E-mail Spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail," is a subset of Spam that involves nearly identical message sent to numerous recipients

Span of Control:

The extent of an individual manager's responsibility, as a measured (usually) by the number of people reporting to him. Some argue that this should be no more than six; others think that 20 is not too many.

Spanish Archer:

“Getting the Spanish Archer” is a British slang term for being fired. Why? Because a Spanish Archer could be referred to as “El Bow”, by someone who wasn't terribly good at Spanish. So, to “get the el-bow” = to be removed from your position, or job.

Sparring:

An argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage.

Making the motions of attack and defense with the fists and arms; a part of training for a boxer.

SPE:

Short for: Special Purpose Entity.

Speakeasy:

A place for the illegal sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks, as during Prohibition in the United States.

Speaker:

One who delivers a public speech.

The presiding officer of a legislative assembly.

A loudspeaker.

Speakers' Corner:

A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate and discussion are allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. Speakers there may speak on any subject, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful, although this right is not restricted to Speakers' Corner only. Contrary to popular belief, there is no immunity from the law, nor are any subjects proscribed, but in practice the police tend to be tolerant and therefore intervene only when they receive a complaint or if they hear profanity.

Speaking Clock:

A Speaking Clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time.

Speaking in Tongues:

Glossolalia or Speaking in Tongues is the fluid vocalizing (or, less commonly, the writing) of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. Though some consider these utterances to be meaningless, others consider them to be a holy language.

Spear Phishing:

Phishing attempts directed at specific individuals or companies have been termed Spear Phishing. Attackers may gather personal information about their target to increase their probability of success. This technique is, by far, the most successful on the internet today, accounting for 91% of attacks.

Spear Phishing is an e-mail spoofing fraud attempt that targets a specific organization, seeking unauthorized access to confidential data. As with the e-mail messages used in regular phishing expeditions, Spear Phishing messages appear to come from a trusted source... As with the e-mail messages used in regular phishing expeditions, Spear Phishing messages appear to come from a trusted source. Phishing messages usually appear to come from a large and well-known company or Web site with a broad membership base, such as eBay or PayPal. In the case of Spear Phishing, however, the apparent source of the e-mail is likely to be an individual within the recipient's own company and generally someone in a position of authority.

Special Effect:

An effect used to produce scenes that cannot be achieved by normal techniques (especially on film).

Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC):

A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) is a "blank check" shell corporation designed to take companies public without going through the traditional IPO process. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), "A SPAC is created specifically to pool funds in order to finance a merger or acquisition opportunity within a set timeframe. The opportunity usually has yet to be identified."

Read also: Bernard Arnault: Europe's richest man is joining the SPAC craze - "Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, is the latest billionaire to embrace Wall Street's hot new way to raise money."

Special Resolution:

A resolution proposed at a company meeting that falls outside the company's normal business. For instance, a resolution that a director charged with fraud should stand down from the board would be a special resolution.

Special Snowflake Syndrome:

(Derogatory): The conviction that one (or often, one's child) is, in some way, special and should therefore be treated differently than others.

Read also: Overcoming 'Special Snowflake Syndrome' as a Millennial.

Specialization:

The process of focusing on a narrow range of things. Specialization by a company involves it in manufacturing a smaller and smaller product range, or in focusing on one narrow aspect of the manufacturing process. In the case of an individual, Specialization means concentrating on a narrower range of skills, and mastering them to a greater degree.

Species:

Biology: a fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.

Logic: a class of individuals or objects grouped by virtue of their common attributes and assigned a common name; a division subordinate to a genus.

Specification:

The detailed description of what a customer wants done (and, sometimes, of the way in which it is to be done) that is given to a supplier; for example, to the printer of this book. The supplier then quotes a price on the basis of the "spec".

Spectator Sport:

A sport that attracts more people as spectators than as participants.

Spectrum:

A graphic or photographic representation of such a distribution; a range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities; a broad sequence or range of related qualities, ideas, or activities.

Speculator:

Someone who buys something with the aim of making a quick (and substantial) profit from selling it soon after. In particular, investors in the stock market whose interest is in making a quick turn, not in owning corporate assets.

Speed Dating:

Speed Dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. "SpeedDating", as a single word, is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah. "Speed dating", as two separate words, is often used as a generic term for similar events.

The first Speed Dating event took place at Pete’s Café & Bar in Beverly Hills in late 1998. Soon afterward, several commercial services began offering secular round-robin dating events across the United States. By 2000, Speed Dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by its portrayal in shows such as Sex and the City as something that glamorous people did. Supporters argue that Speed Dating saves time, as most people quickly decide if they are romantically compatible, and first impressions are often permanent decisive.

Speed Dial:

Speed Dial is a function available on many telephone systems allowing the user to place a call by pressing a reduced number of keys.

Speed Reading:

Speed Reading is a collection of reading methods which attempt to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention. Methods include chunking and eliminating subvocalization. It is important to understand that no absolute distinct "normal" and "Speed-Reading" types of reading exist in practice, since all readers use some of the techniques used in Speed Reading (such as identifying words without focusing on each letter, not sounding out all words, not sub-vocalizing some phrases, or spending less time on some phrases than others, and skimming small sections). Speed Reading is characterized by an analysis of trade-offs between measures of speed and comprehension, recognizing that different types of reading call for different speed and comprehension rates, and that those rates may be improved with practice.

Speed Walking:

See: power walking.

Speedo:

A swim brief, or racing brief, refers to any briefs style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming and diving.

Speedy Gonzales:

(Idiomatic): a fast person; someone who does something fast.

Speedy Gonzales (commonly shortened to just Speedy) is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent and also speaking Spanish. He usually wears an oversized yellow hat of Mexican charro, white shirt and trousers (which was a common traditional outfit worn by men and boys of rural Mexican villages), and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. To date, there have been 46 cartoons made either starring or featuring this character.

Spelling Bee:

A Spelling Bee (also sometimes a "Spelling B") is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty.

Sphere:

Mathematics: a three-dimensional surface, all points of which are equidistant from a fixed point.

The sky, appearing as a hemisphere to an observer.

A celestial body, such as a planet or star.

The extent of a person's knowledge, interests, or social position.

An area of power, control, or influence; domain.

Spice:

Any of various pungent, aromatic plant substances, such as cinnamon or nutmeg, used to flavor foods or beverages.

Something that represents or introduces zest, charm, or gusto.

Spider Diagram:

In mathematics, a unitary Spider Diagram adds existential points to an Euler or a Venn diagram. The points indicate the existence of an attribute described by the intersection of contours in the Euler diagram. These points may be joined together forming a shape like a spider. Joined points represent an "or" condition, also known as a logical disjunction.

Spiders:

An automated program which searches the Internet.

Spiel:

To play music.

To talk volubly or extravagantly; to utter, express, or describe volubly or extravagantly; a high-flown talk or speech, especially for the purpose of selling or persuading; pitch.

Spin:

In public relations, Spin is providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, "Spin" often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics. Politicians are often accused by their opponents of claiming to be honest and seek the truth while using spin tactics to manipulate public opinion.

Spin Doctor:

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public. Public relations - often referred to as PR - gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. Because public relations places exposure in credible third-party outlets, it offers a third-party legitimacy that advertising does not have. Common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the press, and employee communication.

Spin-Off:

A corporate division or subsidiary that is established as a separate corporate entity. Traditionally, the shares in a spin-off are allocated pro-rata to the shareholders of the parent company out of the which it has been spun.

Any product or development derived incidentally from the application of existing knowledge or enterprise.

A book, film, or television series derived from a similar successful book, film, or television series.

See also: remake.

Spinning:

Spinning comes from cycling. Spinning is a relatively recent phenomenon, where participants take part in a group workout on exercise bikes that typically lasts anywhere from 30-75 minutes. The classes are lead by instructors who normally guide participants through a series of phases, from warm-up to more challenging phases, to a period of peak effort followed by a cool down.

Spirit:

The vital principle or animating force within living beings.

The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death.

A person as characterized by a stated quality.

A particular mood or an emotional state characterized by vigor and animation.

Strong loyalty or dedication.

An alcohol solution of an essential or volatile substance. Often used in the plural with a singular verb: alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor.

Spiritual:

A kind of religious song originated by Blacks in the southern United States.

Spiritualism:

The belief that the dead communicate with the living, as through a medium.

Spiritualist:

Someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead.

Spitballing:

To toss ideas around with no expectation of them coming to pass, to brainstorm; to make harmless jibes or attacks; make weak accusations.

Splatter:

To spatter, especially to move or fall so as to cause splashes.

Characterized by gory violence: splatter films.

Split Commission:

The sharing of a commission between an agent who carries out a particular piece of business (a broker who handles a stock transaction, for instance) and the person who introduced the business to the agent.

Split Infinitive:

A Split Infinitive is an English-language grammatical construction in which a word or phrase, usually an adverb or adverbial phrase, comes between the marker to and the bare infinitive (uninflected) form of a verb.

Split Shift:

A shift that is broken up into two spells of work separated by a period of time for which the worker is unpaid. Split Shifts are suitable for school bus drivers, for example. They need to work in the morning when children go to school and in the afternoon when they come back, but not in between.

Spoils of War:

Goods or valuables taken by an army from an enemy.

See also: Doctrine of Laches.

Spokesman:

A person who speaks on behalf of a company, or on behalf of its products. Usually someone is employed specially for the task, a person skilled in making muck smell of musk. Occasionally, well-known personalities are adopted to act as Spokesmen, such as fashion models and athletes.

Spoken Word:

Spoken Word is a performance artistic poem that is word-basic. It often includes collaboration and experimentation with other art forms such as music, theater, and dance. However, Spoken Word usually tends to focus on the words themselves, the dynamics of tone, gestures, facial expressions, and not so much on the other art forms.

Sponcon:

The production of sponsored content (sometimes abbreviated as "Sponcon") involves inclusion of a third party along with a management company or a brand.

Native advertising, also called sponsored content, partner content, and branded journalism, is a type of paid advertising that matches, or at least blends in, with the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. In many cases it functions like an advertorial, and manifests as a video, article or editorial. The word native refers to this coherence of the content with the other media that appear on the platform.

Sponsor:

A big investor whose declared support for a particular issue of securities encourages others to buy the securities.

The subsidizing of an event by a company for the purposes of advertising. The event may be sporting or it may be a television program.

Spoofing:

Doing something not quite 100% legal, as when the police does a wire tape without a court order.

Spook:

A ghost; a specter.

A secret agent; a spy.

Spornosexual:

A neologism combining sports, porn, and metrosexual, and used to describe an aesthetic adopted by many men who consume both sports and pornography. The Spornosexual style emphasises heavy, lean musculature, and certain kinds of tattooing. The term entered the popular lexicon through a 2014 Daily Telegraph article by Mark Simpson, who also coined the term metrosexual.

Sport:

Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

Sport of Kings:

In the beginning, horse racing actually was the Sport of Kings, and the first jockey was himself a king. When horse racing started, it was racing for the royalty of the British, so that, it was called Sport of Kings.

Sportsbook:

In the United States a sportsbook is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game.

Sportsmanship:

Conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit, and grace in losing.

Sportswashing:

Sportswashing or sportwashing is the hosting of a sporting event, or owning of a team as a means for a country to improve its reputation, particularly if it has a poor record on human rights.

Spot Check:

An unannounced random check to see if work is being done correctly. Spot Checks can be used as part of a program of quality control.

Spot Market:

A market in which the prices quoted for goods and services are for immediate payment and for immediate delivery. The original commodity and currency markets are examples of spot markets.

Spot Price:

The price of something if it is bought on the spot, and for cash.

S.P.Q.R.:

S.P.Q.R. is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus PopulusQue Romanus ("The Senate and the People of Rome"), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government.

Spread:

The difference between one item and another, most frequently the difference between a buying price and a selling price. A bid-offer spread, for example, is the difference between the price that a buyer is prepared to bid for a security and the price for which a seller is prepared to offer the same security.

Spreadsheet:

A computer program consisting of the relationships between a number of mathematical variables (like prices and costs). A change in one of the variables can be fed into the program and its effect on all the others calculated immediately.

Sprechstallmeister:

Master of ceremonies in a circus.

See also: ringmaster.

Sprezzatura:

Sprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it". It is the ability of the courtier to display "an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions which hides the conscious effort that went into them". Sprezzatura has also been described "as a form of defensive irony: the ability to disguise what one really desires, feels, thinks, and means or intends behind a mask of apparent reticence and nonchalance".

The word has entered the English language; the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "studied carelessness".

Read more here: Sprezzatura - What It is, DOs & DON’Ts - "In the age of the iGent and Pitti Uomo, the casual elegance known as sprezzatura has become the Holy Grail for stylish men. But can the pursuit of casual elegance go too far and become simply outlandish? In this article, we’ll explore the limits of sprezzatura."

Spring Chicken:

A young chicken, especially one from two to ten months old, having tender meat.

Slang: a young person.

Spur of the Moment:

Occurring or made hastily on impulse; occurring or done without preparation or deliberation; impulsive.

Sputnik Moment:

A reference to the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite Sputnik 1 which caught the USA unprepared. The event ignited the Space Race during the Cold War, and led to the USA successfully completing a human landing on the Moon in 1969.

The moment when a country or a society realizes that it needs to catch up with apparent technological and scientific developments made by some other country or countries by increasing its investment into education, innovative research and development, etc.

Synonym: wake-up call.

Spyder:

The term Spyder (sometimes Spider in Italy) is a European term for a two-seater convertible or targa top (equivalent to "roadster" in American English) implying a more rugged ride and less space than in a saloon (equivalent to sedan in American English).

Spyware:

Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to collect information about a user, their computer or browsing habits without the user's informed consent.

While the term Spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits and sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software and redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software.

In response to the emergence of Spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer. The US Federal Trade Commission has placed on the Internet a page of advice to consumers about how to lower the risk of spyware infection, including a list of "do's" and "don'ts."

See also: antivirus software.

Squad:

A small group of people organized in a common endeavor or activity.

The smallest tactical unit of military personnel.

Square Bracket:

Either of a pair of symbols, [ ], used for various purposes, e.g. to enclose text inserted or replaced by an editor, to indicate various mathematical operations, and to indicate a link in MediaWiki syntax.

Square One:

The initial stage or starting point.

Squaring the Circle:

Squaring the Circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge.

Squaw:

A native American (Indian) woman, especially a wife.

Slang: a woman or wife.

Squeeze:

A time when the supply of something is scarce. In particular, the supply of money, which leads to a credit squeeze.

Squillion:

(Slang, used hyperbolically): a very large, unspecified number (of).

Squillionaire:

(Humorous): an incredibly rich person. From squillion and modelled on millionaire.

Squire:

A man who attends or escorts a woman; a gallant.

An English country gentleman, especially the chief landowner in a district.

SRAM:

Short for: Static Random Access Memory. SRAM is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike dynamic RAM (DRAM), it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit. SRAM exhibits data remanence, but is still volatile in the conventional sense that data is eventually lost when the memory is not powered.

SRI:

Short for: Socially Responsible Investments / Investing. Visit: PRI | Principles for Responciple Investment.

SRS:

SRS means "Serious".

SSD:

Short for: Solid-State Drive. SSD is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. An SSD emulates a hard disk drive interface, thus easily replacing it in most applications. An SSD using SRAM or DRAM (instead of flash memory) is often called a RAM-drive, not to be confused with a RAM disk.

SSL:

Short for: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

See also: TLS.

Staccato:

Staccato (Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music since at least 1676.

Stadium:

A large, usually open structure for open-air sports events or entertainments with tiered seating for spectators.

Staff:

In general, the employees of an organization. The origins of the word lie in military history when Staff carried out the centralized administrative functions and the line consisted of the troops who actually engaged in battle.

Stag:

A person who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a partner, especially a man who is unaccompanied by a woman.

A social gathering for men only.

An investor who speculates that a new issue of securities will be oversubscribed. Stags buy more securities than they really want in the belief that the heavy demand will cause the issue's share price to rise sharply as soon as it starts trading.

Stag Night / Party:

A party for men only, especially one held for a man before he is married.

See also: hen night.

Stage:

A raised platform especially for performing or acting on, e.g. in a theatre.

A level, degree, or period of time in the course of a process.

To arrange and carry out.

Stage Dive:

Stage Diving is the act of leaping from a concert stage onto the crowd below. It is often the precursor to crowd surfing.

Stage Name:

The pseudonym of an actor.

Stagflation:

In economics, Stagflation, a portmanteau of stagnation and inflation, is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It raises a dilemma for economic policy, since actions designed to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa.

Stagiaire:

Stage (cooking) or Stagiaire, a cook who works briefly, for free, in another chef's kitchen to learn and be exposed to new techniques and cuisines.

Stake:

Any substantial holding of shares in a company. The term comes from pioneering farmers who would put stakes in the ground around land that they laid claim to.

Sports & Games: money or property risked in a wager or gambling game.

Stakeholder:

Anyone who has a "stake" in a company, including employees, suppliers and customers as well as shareholders. Some spread the stakeholder net even wider to include the local community.

Stakhanovite:

An extremely productive or hard-working worker, especially in the former USSR, who may earn special rewards; a workaholic. Named after Alexey Grigoryevich Stakhanov (1906-77), Soviet coal miner, the worker first awarded benefits under the system in 1935.

Stalag:

In Germany, Stalag was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps.

Stalinist Principle:

"It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." - Joseph Stalin.

Stalker:

To follow or observe (a person) persistently, especially out of obsession or derangement.

Stalking Horse:

A Stalking Horse is a figure that tests a concept with someone or mounts a challenge against someone on behalf of an anonymous third party. If the idea proves viable or popular, the anonymous figure can then declare its interest and advance the concept with little risk of failure. If the concept fails, the anonymous party will not be tainted by association with the failed concept and can either drop the idea completely or bide its time and wait until a better moment for launching an attack.

In hunting, it refers to a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides when stalking game.

Stamina:

Physical or moral strength to resist or withstand illness, fatigue, or hardship; endurance.

Stamp Duty:

A tax whose payment is acknowledged by the affixing of stamps to an official document.

Stan:

A Stan is an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity.

The object of the Stan's affection is often called their "fave". Based on the 2000 song "Stan" by American rapper Eminem, the term has frequently been used to describe artist devotees whose fanaticism matches the severity of the obsessive character in the song. The word has been described as a portmanteau of "stalker" and "fan".

Stand-Alone:

A business process, or a computer workstation, that is independent of any other. In other words, a computer that is not networked to others, or a production process that is not dependent on inputs from elsewhere within the organization of which it is a part.

Stand-By:

One that can always be relied on, as in an emergency; one kept in readiness to serve as a substitute.

Ready and waiting.

Stand-By Facility:

A loan that is available to a borrower for a certain period of time if certain conditions are met. In particular, a loan from the IMF to a member country which is made available, usually for up to three years, for as long as the country meets certain economic and financial criteria.

Stand-In:

One who substitutes for an actor while the lights and camera are adjusted or during hazardous action.

See also: body double.

Stand-Up Comedy:

Stand-Up Comedy is a style of comedy, where a comedian performs, to talks to, a live audience. A person who performs Stand-Up Comedy is known as a Stand-Up Comic, Stand-Up Comedian (comedienne if female) or more informally a Stand-Up. It is usually performed by a single comedian, with the aid of a hand-held microphone. The comedian usually recites a fast-paced succession of humorous stories, short jokes (called "bits"), and one-liners, which comprise what is typically called a monologue, routine or act. Some stand-up comedians use props, music or magic tricks to enhance their acts. Stand-Up Comedy is often performed in comedy clubs, bars, colleges and theaters. However, there is no real restriction on where the craft can be performed. Many smaller venues hold "open mic" events, where amateur comedians perform comedy before a live audience, offering a way for such performers to hone their craft and possibly break into the business. In North America, many comedy clubs feature the now-iconic brick wall as the backdrop for Stand-Up performances.

Stand-Your-Ground Law:

A Stand-Your-Ground Law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) establishes a right by which a person may defend one's self or others (right of self-defense) against threats or perceived threats, even to the point of applying lethal force, regardless of whether safely retreating from the situation might have been possible. Such a law typically states that an individual has no duty to retreat from any place where they have a lawful right to be (though this varies from state to state) and that they may use any level of force if they reasonably believe the threat rises to the level of being an imminent and immediate threat of serious bodily harm and/or death.

The castle doctrine is a common law doctrine stating that persons have no duty to retreat in their home, or "castle", and may use reasonable force, including deadly force, to defend their property, person, or another. Outside of the abode, however, a person has a duty to retreat, if possible, before using deadly force. Castle doctrine and "stand-your-ground" laws are acceptable defenses for people who have been charged with criminal homicide.

Standard:

A measure of something that acts as the basis for judging other things of the same type. For example, the time that it takes a car to accelerate from stationary to 60mph is a Standard measure of acceleration.

The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city.

Music: a composition that is continually used in repertoires.

Standard Deviation:

A statistical measure of the extent to which a sample of data spread out from a central core figure (usually the average of the sample). The extent, for example, to which daily sales figures for cornflakes deviate from the average daily figure.

Standard of Living:

Standard of Living is generally measured by standards such as real (i.e. inflation adjusted) income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used.

Standardization:

The process of reducing variety in manufacturing or services to gain economic benefit. The term refers in particular to the process of introducing common specifications for the production of equipment, especially electronic equipment, so that consumers can use any type of software on any type of hardware.

Standby:

One that can always be relied on, as in an emergency.

A favorite or frequent choice.

One kept in readiness to serve as a substitute.

Standing:

Status with respect to rank, reputation, or position in society or a profession; high reputation; esteem.

Continuance in time; duration.

Standing Order:

An instruction to a financial institution to make a fixed payment to a named creditor at regular intervals, usually monthly.

Stanley Knife:

A Stanley Knife is a very sharp knife that is used to cut materials such as carpet and paper. It consists of a small blade fixed in the end of a handle.

Stanza:

One of the divisions of a poem, composed of two or more lines usually characterized by a common pattern of meter, rhyme, and number of lines.

Star:

An artistic performer or athlete whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged.

One who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.

See also: superstar.

Star Number:

A Star Number is a centered figurate number that represents a centered hexagram (six-pointed star), such as the one that Chinese checkers is played on.

Star Quality:

A special ability that makes someone seem very successful or better than other people.

Star System (filmmaking):

The Star System was the method of creating, promoting and exploiting stars in Hollywood films. Movie studios would select promising young actors and glamorise and create personas for them, often inventing new names and even new backgrounds. Examples of stars who went through the Star System include Cary Grant (born Archie Leach), Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur), and Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr.).

Staredown:

A confrontation in which each party waits for the other to yield.

Starets:

A Starets is an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher.

Starlet:

A young film actress publicized as a future star.

Stars and Stripes:

The flag of the United States of America (more commonly known simply as the American Flag) consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the fifty American states and the thirteen stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British Crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the national anthem).

Start-Up:

A business that is just beginning. Its Start-Up cost is the money that it needed for it to open its doors: to install telephones, to buy equipment and to hire staff.

State:

One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government.

A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances.

A mental or emotional condition.

Social position or rank.

State Minus:

"Netanyahu says Palestinians can have a ‘State Minus’. “What I’m willing to give the Palestinians,” the prime minister said in the weekly meeting, according to Hebrew reports, “is not exactly a state with full authority, rather a State Minus. This is why the Palestinians do not agree.”"

State of Mind:

A temporary psychological state.

The state of a person's cognitive processes.

State-of-the-Art:

The highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time.

Stately:

Dignified and impressive, as in size or proportions; majestic; lofty.

Stately Home:

A large mansion, especially one open to the public.

A mansion that is (or formerly was) occupied by an aristocratic family.

Statement:

The act of stating or declaring.

Law: a formal pleading.

An abstract of a commercial or financial account showing an amount due; a bill.

Computer Science: an elementary instruction in a programming language.

A written summary of financial transactions. They may be transactions that take place in and out of a bank account over a given period, or they may be the transactions carried out by a corporation during a given period.

Stateroom:

(US): a private cabin in a ship or train.

An apartment in a palace or great house for use on ceremonial occasions.

A superior cabin for a ship's officer or captain.

Statesman:

A man who is a leader in national or international affairs.

A male political leader regarded as a disinterested promoter of the public good.

Station:

A place or position where a person or thing stands or is assigned to stand; a post.

Social position; rank.

Stationery:

Paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes.

Writing materials and office supplies.

Statistics:

Used with a singular verb: the mathematics of the collection, organization, and interpretation of numerical datadata, especially the analysis of population characteristics by inference from sampling.

Used with a plural verb: numerical data.

Statuesque:

Suggestive of a statue, as in proportion, grace, or dignity; stately.

Stature:

An achieved level; status.

Status:

Position relative to that of others; standing.

High standing; prestige.

A state of affairs; situation.

Status Codes:

HTTP Status Codes are standard response codes given by web site servers on the Internet. The codes help identify the cause of the problem when a web page or other resource does not load properly.

See also: list of HTTP status codes.

Status Quo:

The existing condition or state of affairs.

Status Quo Ante Bellum:

The term Status Quo Ante Bellum (also statu quo ante bellum and often shortened to status quo ante) is a Latin phrase meaning "the situation as it existed before the war".

The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses territory or economic and political rights. This contrasts with uti possidetis, where each side retains whatever territory and other property it holds at the end of the war.

Status Symbol:

A Status Symbol is a perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered Status Symbols.

Statute:

Statutes are laws passed by the state legislature or U.S. Congress. Business corporation laws are Statutes. Statutes often authorize an administrative agency to declare regulations which are used to supplement the Statute. In the event of a conflict, Statutes control over regulations.

Statute of Limitations:

A statute prescribing the time period during which legal action can be taken.

Statutory Audit:

The audit of a business that is required by the laws of the country in which the business is registered.

Statutory Notice:

The amount of time decreed by law that must be allowed to pass between the announcement of an intention to end a contract and the actual ending of the contract.

Staycation:

A Staycation (a portmanteau of "stay" and "vacation"), also known as a holistay (a portmanteau of "holiday" and "stay"), is a period in which an individual or family stays home and participates in leisure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own beds at night. They might make day trips to local tourist sites, swimming venues, or engage in fun activities such as horseback riding, paintball, hiking or visiting museums. Most of the time it involves dining out more frequently than usual. Staycations achieved popularity in the U.S. during the financial crisis of 2007–2010. Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.

Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals and amusement parks. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.

Staying Power:

The ability to endure or last.

Stealth Mode:

In business, Stealth Mode is a company's temporary state of secretiveness, usually undertaken to avoid alerting competitors to a pending product launch or other business initiative. A stealth product is a product a company develops in secret, and a stealth company is a new company that avoids initial disclosure as to its existence, purpose, products, personnel, funding, brand name, or other important attributes. The term stealth innovation has been applied to individual projects and ideas that are developed in secret inside a company.

Stealth Technology:

Stealth Technology also known as LO Technology (Low Observable Technology) is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, in order to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods.

The concept of Stealth is to operate or hide without giving enemy forces any indications as to the presence of friendly forces. This concept was first explored through camouflage by blending into the background visual clutter. As the potency of detection and interception technologies (radar, IRST, surface-to-air missiles etc.) have increased over time, so too has the extent to which the design and operation of military personnel and vehicles have been affected in response. Some military uniforms are treated with chemicals to reduce their infrared signature. A modern "stealth" vehicle will generally have been designed from the outset to have reduced or controlled signature. Varying degrees of stealth can be achieved. The exact level and nature of stealth embodied in a particular design is determined by the prediction of likely threat capabilities.

Stealth Wealth:

(Informal): Monetary wealth that its owner keeps secret or discreet, rather than flaunting it.

See also: billionaire chic.

Steampunk:

A genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power.

Steganography:

Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message, a form of security through obscurity. The word Steganography is of Greek origin and means "concealed writing".

The advantage of Steganography over cryptography alone is that messages do not attract attention to themselves. Plainly visible encrypted messages—no matter how unbreakable—will arouse suspicion, and may in themselves be incriminating in countries where encryption is illegal. Therefore, whereas cryptography protects the contents of a message, Steganography can be said to protect both messages and communicating parties.

Steganography includes the concealment of information within computer files. In digital Steganography, electronic communications may include Steganographic coding inside of a transport layer, such as a document file, image file, program or protocol. Media files are ideal for Steganographic transmission because of their large size. As a simple example, a sender might start with an innocuous image file and adjust the color of every 100th pixel to correspond to a letter in the alphabet, a change so subtle that someone not specifically looking for it is unlikely to notice it.

Stem:

In linguistics, a Stem is a part of a word. The term is used with slightly different meanings.

Stem Cells:

Stem Cells may provide new ways to treat disease, and researchers can now generate the cells either with or without using embryos.

Stendhal Syndrome:

Stendhal Syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.

Read also: Stendhal syndrome: The travel syndrome that causes panic - "Affecting travellers every year, this bizarre phenomenon sees visitors to Florence suffer psychological breakdowns after being overwhelmed by the city's abundance of great art."

See also: Jerusalem syndrome & Paris syndrome.

Step Dance:

A dance in which emphasis is placed on certain steps, such as clogging or tapping, rather than body position or gesture.

Stepping Stone:

Something used as a way to progress to something or somewhere else.

Stepping-Stone Country:

A country in which a screen company is incorporated.

Stereotype:

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

Sterling:

Consisting of or relating to sterling or British money.

Made of sterling silver.

Of the highest quality.

Sterling Area:

The area in which the pound sterling is legal tender, namely the Scheduled Territories. In general, the United Kingdom does not impose restrictions on exchange transactions or payments and receipts between residents of the United Kingdom and residents of the Scheduled Territories. Exchange control applies mainly to transactions with residents of countries outside the Scheduled Territories.

Sterling Silver:

Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.

Steroid:

Any of numerous naturally occurring or synthetic fat-soluble organic compounds having as a basis 17 carbon atoms arranged in four rings and including the sterols and bile acids, adrenal and sex hormones, certain natural drugs such as digitalis compounds, and the precursors of certain vitamins.

Steward:

Originally, a person who managed the domestic affairs of a family, looking after their estates and so on. Hence a person who manages a business on behalf of its owners, or one who manages the affairs of passengers on trains, boats or planes. A company's directors can be said to be stewards of the company on behalf of its shareholders.

Stewardship:

Stewardship is personal responsibility for taking care of another person's property or financial affairs or in religious orders taking care of finances.

Sticker:

Communication: an adhesive label, poster, or paper.

Sticker Shock:

Astonishment and dismay experienced on being informed of a product's unexpectedly high price.

A condition resulting from seeing the total price of a bunch of items and realizing the damage is much greater than you originally expected. May cause a person to have second thoughts about the purchase.

The feeling people get when the realize the true price of an item that they initially thought was a bargain or at least a good buy. Often leads to buyers remorse.

Stiff Upper Lip:

An attitude of determined endurance or restraint in the face of adversity.

Stiftung:

Foundation, a legal entity established in Liechtenstein with corporate personality and founded in order to receive a permanent transfer of assets by way of settlement. Does not have shares.

Stigma:

A mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach.

A distinguishing mark of social disgrace.

A small mark; a scar or birthmark.

Stigmata:

Marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ.

Still Life:

Representation of inanimate objects, such as flowers or fruit, in painting or photography.

A painting, picture, or photograph of inanimate objects.

Stimulus:

Something causing or regarded as causing a response.

An agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity or response.

Stimulus Package:

An energizing stimulus plan which provides tax rebates directly to taxpayers.

Sting:

Slang: to cheat or overcharge.

To pierce or wound painfully with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.

Sting Operation:

A complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals).

Stinger Missile:

Visit: FIM-92 Stinger - Wikipedia.

Stipend:

A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance.

Stock:

Stock represents ownership in the corporation and is often evidenced by a stock certificate. Stock can be common or preferred, voting or nonvoting, convertible, redeemable, and so on. The articles of incorporation will determine the designations and classifications of stock.

Stock Exchange:

A place where securities are traded.

Stock-Keeping Unit | SKU:

A Stock-Keeping Unit or SKU is a number or code used to identify each unique product or item for sale in a store or other business. It is a unique identifier for each distinct product and service that can be purchased. The usage of SKU is rooted in data management, enabling the company to systematically track its inventory or product availability, such as in warehouses and retail outlets. They are often assigned and serialized at the merchant level. Each SKU is attached to an item, variant, product line, bundle, service, fee, or attachment. SKUs are often used to refer to different versions of the same product.

Stock Option:

Another term for share option.

Stock Purchase Agreement:

A Stock Purchase Agreement is an agreement between the shareholders and the corporation. It provides a mechanism to regulate the transfer and sale of corporate stock. Often, a stock purchase agreement will provide a right of first refusal in favor of the corporation or remaining shareholders in the event of a proposed sale of stock by a shareholders. A stock Purchase Agreement can also provide for a purchase upon the death, disability, retirement, discharge, resignation, or bankruptcy of a shareholder.

Stock Split:

The dividing up of a company's shares into a larger number. Each shareholder in, for example, a three-for-one split gets three shares for each one that they hold. Each of the new shares is worth one-third of the old one. No new value is created. A stock split makes shares with a high denomination more marketable. It is easier to sell three $35 shares than one $105 share.

Stockbroker:

A person or firm that acts as an agent for investors in buying and selling securities on a stock exchange.

Stockholders' Annual Meeting:

"The parliament" / "ultimate authority":
1): approves annual accounts of both profit and loss and the company’s assets and liabilities;
2): makes policy decisions on future business actions;
3): personnel decisions (president, secretary and treasurer - to be retained or replaced - the same goes for whether to retain or replace the auditors and directors;
4): constitutional issues: should the Articles of Association be modified or changed?; should quorum requirements be changed? - etc.

Stockholm Syndrome:

Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term "Stockholm Syndrome" was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast. It was originally defined by psychiatrist Frank Ochberg to aid the management of hostage situations.

Stockmarket:

An organized market in financial instruments which signify the ownership of capital - that is, in bonds, stocks and shares.

Stockpile:

To hold on to unnecessarily large quantities of something in order to benefit later from price changes or from shortages supply.

Stockroom:

The place where an organization stores its inventory.

Stoic:

One who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain.

Stone (weight):

The Stone is a unit of measure, abbreviation st which, when it ceased to be legal for trade in United Kingdom in 1985, was defined in British legislation as being a weight or mass equal to 14 pounds (about 6.35 kilograms). It was also formerly used in several Commonwealth countries.

Stone's Throw:

A short distance.

Stoning:

Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until death ensues. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the case of a judicial executioner. Slower than other forms of execution, Stoning is a form of execution by torture.

Stop Press:

Late news that is inserted into the newspaper at the last minute.

Stored-Value Card:

A Stored-Value Card refers to monetary value on a card not in an externally recorded account and differs from prepaid cards where money is on deposit with the issuer similar to a debit card. One major difference between Stored-Value Cards and prepaid debit cards is that prepaid debit cards are usually issued in the name of individual account holders, while Stored-Value Cards are usually anonymous.

Storyboard:

A panel or series of panels of rough sketches outlining the scene sequence and major changes of action or plot in a production to be shot on film or video.

Storytelling:

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images, and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and to instill moral values. Crucial elements of stories and Storytelling include plot, characters, and narrative point of view.

STP:

Short for: Straight Through Processing. STP enables the entire trade process for capital markets and payment transactions to be conducted electronically without the need for re-keying or manual intervention, subject to legal and regulatory restrictions. The concept has also been transferred into other asset classes including energy (oil, gas) trading and banking.

Straight and Narrow:

The way of proper conduct and moral integrity.

Straight From the Horse's Mouth:

Idiomatic: directly from the source; firsthand.

Straight Line:

The depreciation of an asset by an equal amount each year over the full economic life of the asset.

Stranniki:

The Russian word Stranniki means holy wanderers or religious pilgrims.

Strata:

Earth Sciences / Geological Science: a plural of stratum.

Strategic Alliance:

An alliance formed between two or more organizations with a specific strategic goal in mind.

Strategic Default:

A Strategic Default is the decision by a borrower to stop making payments (i.e. default) on a debt despite having the financial ability to make the payments.

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP):

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.

In a typical SLAPP, the plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs, or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. In some cases, repeated frivolous litigation against a defendant may raise the cost of directors and officers liability insurance for that party, interfering with an organization's ability to operate.[4] A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. SLAPPs bring about freedom of speech concerns due to their chilling effect and are often difficult to filter out and penalize because the plaintiffs attempt to obfuscate their intent to censor, intimidate, or silence their critics.

To protect freedom of speech, some jurisdictions have passed anti-SLAPP laws (often called SLAPP-back laws). These laws often function by allowing a defendant to file a motion to strike or dismiss on the grounds that the case involves protected speech on a matter of public concern. The plaintiff then bears the burden of showing a probability that they will prevail. If the plaintiffs fail to meet their burden their claim is dismissed and the plaintiffs may be required to pay a penalty for bringing the case.

Strategic Planning:

The process of drawing up a strategy.

Strategy:

A policy designed to achieve a number of specific objective. The term originates from a Greek work meaning generalship, the art of mastering the battlefield.

The art or skill of using stratagems in endeavors such as politics and business.

See also: tactic.

Stratification:

The act or process or arranging persons into classes or social strata.

Stratum:

Geology: a bed or layer of sedimentary rock having approximately the same composition throughout.

Sociology: a level of a social hierarchy that is distinguished according to such criteria as educational achievement or caste status.

Straw Man:

A person who is set up as a cover or front for a questionable enterprise.

Streaker:

Someone who takes off all their clothes and runs naked through a public place.

Streamer:

A long narrow strip of material used for ornament or decoration.

A newspaper headline that runs across a full page.

Streaming:

Computer Science: to transmit (data) in real time, especially over the Internet.

Streaming Server:

A dedicated computer system delivering streaming media or to a streaming service within a Web or application server.

Streamline:

To improve the appearance or efficiency of; modernize; contour economically or efficiently.

To construct or design in a form that offers the least resistance to fluid flow.

Street Arab:

(Dated): a homeless child who roams the streets, usually begging for handouts; a street urchin; so-called because they were nomadic, with no fixed home.

Street Cred:

Slang: acceptability or popularity, especially among young people in urban areas.

Streetcar:

A public vehicle operated on rails along a regular route, usually through the streets of a city.

Streetwise:

Having the shrewd awareness, experience, and resourcefulness needed for survival in a difficult, often dangerous urban environment.

Streisand Effect:

The Streisand Effect is the stress whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually facilitated by the Internet.

It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose attempt in 2003 to suppress photographs of her residence in Malibu, California, inadvertently generated further publicity. Similar attempts have been made, for example, in cease-and-desist letters, to suppress numbers, files and websites. Instead of being suppressed, the information receives extensive publicity and media extensions such as videos and spoof songs, often being widely mirrored across the Internet or distributed on file-sharing networks.

Mike Masnick of Techdirt coined the term after Streisand unsuccessfully sued photographer Kenneth Adelman and Pictopia.com for violation of privacy. The US$50 million lawsuit endeavored to remove an aerial photograph of Streisand's mansion from the publicly available collection of 12,000 California coastline photographs. Adelman photographed the beachfront property to document coastal erosion as part of the California Coastal Records Project, which was intended to influence government policymakers. Before Streisand filed her lawsuit, "Image 3850" had been downloaded from Adelman's website only six times; two of those downloads were by Streisand's attorneys. As a result of the case, public knowledge of the picture increased substantially; more than 420,000 people visited the site over the following month.

Stress:

The pressure on individuals to perform. Stress in the right amount is essential to good performance, on the sports field as much as in the boardroom - known as " the fertilizer of creativity". Too much Stress, however, causes physical illness and absenteeism.

Stress Management:

Stress Management is the amelioration of stress, especially chronic stress.

Strié:

Strié is a popular form of faux painting using glaze and paint brushes to create a soft natural striped texture.

Strike:

The deliberate withholding of their labour by a group of workers as a means of persuading an organization to take a particular course of action. The action usually involves an increase in their wages or an improvement in their working conditions.

Strike Price:

The price at which an option states that a security can be bought or sold in the future.

Strike Three:

Recent (beginning 1994) legislation enacted in several states (and proposed in many others, as well as possible Federal law) which makes life-terms (or extremely long terms without parole) mandatory for criminals who have been convicted of a third felony (as in California) or of three felonies involving violence, rape, use of a deadly weapon, or molestation.

Stringer (journalism):

In journalism, a Stringer is a freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work.

Strip:

The process of separating (for trading purposes) the interest payments due on a bond from the capital payments. Bonds that have been so separated are called strips, an acronym for Separate Trading of the Registered Interest and Principal of Securities.

Strong is the New Skinny:

Society's idea of beauty and health constantly changes, especially when it comes to women. For decades women have spent hours at the gym in an effort to achieve a slender - even skinny - physique.

But lately this appears to be changing. Men have been pumping iron for decades, and now it seems more women also want muscle-bound bods. They're incorporating strength training into their workouts and focusing on toning rather than getting skinny.

Stronghold:

A fortified place or a fortress.

Structure:

Something made up of a number of parts that are held or put together in a particular way.

Any building, and hence the way in which an organization builds its lines of command and communication among its various employees.

Stub:

Computer Science: a small software routine placed into a program that provides a common function. Stubs are used for a variety of purposes. For example, a Stub might be installed in a client machine, and a counterpart installed in a server, where both are required to resolve some protocol, Remote Procedure Call (RPC) or other interoperability requirement.

Wikipedia: a Stub is an article containing only a few sentences of text which is too short to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject, but not so short as to provide no useful information, and it should be capable of expansion.

Stucco:

A plaster now made mostly from Portland cement and sand and lime; applied while soft to cover exterior walls or surfaces.

Student:

One who is enrolled or attends classes at a school, college, or university.

One who studies something; an attentive observer.

Studio System:

The factory-like production system in Hollywood by which movies were made from about 1925 to 1955.

Studiolo:

With its origins in requirements for increased privacy for reading and meditation engendered by the humanist avocation of many of the Italian noble and mercantile elite in the Quattrocento, the Studiolo provided a retreat often reachable only through the, comparatively public, bedroom.

Study:

The pursuit of knowledge, as by reading, observation, or research.

A room intended or equipped for Studying or writing.

Stuffed Shirt:

Informal: a person regarded as pompous or stiff.

Stumm:

German for: mute.

Stun Gun:

See: Conductive Energy Device.

Stunt:

A feat displaying unusual strength, skill, or daring.

Something done to attract attention or publicity.

Stuntman:

A man who substitutes for a performer in scenes requiring physical daring or involving physical risk.

Sturm und Drang:

A late-18th-century German romantic literary movement whose works typically depicted the struggles of a highly emotional individual against conventional society.

Turmoil; ferment.

Style:

Comfortable and elegant mode of existence: living in Style.

A quality of imagination and individuality expressed in one's actions and tastes: does things with Style; content and expression unites at a higher level.

The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed: a Style of speech and writing.

A mode of living: the Style of the very rich.

A Style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title.

The combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.

The fashion of the moment, especially of dress; vogue.

The intangible qualities of an organization (or person) which uniquely differentiate the way in which it does things.

Styling:

To design the style of.

To treat (hair) by cutting, blow-drying, coloring, etc. in order to achieve a desired, usually fashionable, style.

To bring into accord with an accepted style, as of a publisher; normalize spelling, punctuation, etc. of.

Stylist:

An artist who is a master of a particular style.

Stylus:

A Stylus (plural: Styli or Styluses) is a writing utensil. The word is also used for a computer accessory (PDAs). It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many Styluses are heavily curved to be held more easily. Another widely-used writing tool is the Stylus used by blind users in conjunction with the slate for punching out the dots in Braille.

Sub-:

A prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin. On this model, freely attached to elements of any origin and used with the meaning: situated under or beneath; secondary in rank; subordinate; falling short of; less than or imperfectly; forming a subdivision or subordinate part of a whole.

In chemistry: indicating that a compound contains a relatively small proportion of a specified element; indicating that a salt is basic salt.

Sub Brand:

Sub Brands form part of a family of brands and they are often a means of tailoring a product or service to a particular market sector or niche.

Sub Rosa:

The Latin phrase Sub Rosa means "under the rose" and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the Chatham House Rule. The rose as a symbol of secrecy has an ancient history.

Sub Silentio:

Sub Silentio is legal latin meaning "under" or "in silence" It is often used as a reference to something that is implied but not expressly stated. Commonly, the term is used when a court overrules the holding of a case without specifically stating that it is doing so.

Subcontractor:

Any individual or firm to whom a person who has a contract to do a piece of work passes on some of that work. A Subcontractor remains legally responsible for the work being done according to the original contract.

Subculture:

Subculture, a concept from the academic fields of sociology and cultural studies, is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles.

A social group within a national culture that has distinctive patterns of behavior and beliefs.

Subito Forte:

The Italian musical term Subito, which means “quickly; suddenly,” is used alongside other musical commands to make their effects immediate and abrupt.

Subject:

One who is under the rule of another or others, especially one who owes allegiance to a government or ruler.

A course or area of study.

A basis for action; a cause.

One that experiences or is subjected to something.

Subjective:

Peculiar to a particular individual.

See also: objective.

Sublease:

A contract to lease something from someone who is already leasing it from someone else.

Sublime:

Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth; Not to be excelled; supreme.

Inspiring awe; impressive.

Sublime Porte:

The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte, was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.

Subliminal Advertising:

The presentation of advertising in such a way that the recipient is not aware that it has been presented, as, for instance, on a single frame of a film. Subliminal advertising was once considered to be dangerously subversive and was made illegal in the US. Nowadays most people are sceptical about its effects.

Submission:

The act of submitting to the power of another; the state of having submitted; surrender.

The state of being submissive or compliant; meekness.

The act of submitting something for consideration.

Subordinate Debt:

Any debt that can be settled only after other debts have been paid. Such a debt is subordinate (or junior) to the other (senior) debt.

Subpart F Income:

The section of the American tax law of 1962 containing anti-tax haven measures in relation to specified companies known as "controlled foreign corporations".

Subpoena:

Law: a writ issued by a court of justice requiring a person to appear before the court at a specified time.

Subscription Price:

The cost of buying products or services that are to be supplied at regular intervals in the future, commonly newspapers or magazines. Subscriptions are usually sold at a large discount to the face value of the products.

The price at which a new issue of securities is offered to existing shareholders in a rights issue.

Subsidiary:

A company that is more than 50% owned and controlled by another company.

Subsidiary Company:

A Subsidiary Company is a company under the control of another company through stock ownership.

Subsidy:

An economic benefit bestowed on a group of individuals or corporations by a government to encourage a particular form of economic behaviour. Governments often give subsidies to their country's exporters and to companies that invest in under-developed regions.

Substantial Holding Company:

A particular type of holding company established in the Netherlands exempted from tax on income from investments under specified conditions.

Suburb:

A residential district located on the outskirts of a city.

Suburban:

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a suburb.

Located or residing in a suburb.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of the culture, customs, and manners typical of life in the suburbs.

Subway Party:

A Subway Party is a celebration that occurs on a mass transit system. Generally, people meet at a predetermined station in their city's mass transit system, wait until their numbers have achieved critical mass, and board the train. From there, revelers may engage in many different activities, from playing music and dancing to exchanging gifts.

Succès d'Éstime:

An important but unpopular success or achievement.

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms): success, as of a book, play, etc, based on the appreciation of the critics rather than popular acclaim.

Success:

The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.

The gaining of fame or prosperity.

See also: Onassis's 10 Golden Rules for Success.

Succession Planning:

The process of preparing for another person to succeed the incumbent in a senior position. It has been suggested, rather extremely, that succession planning is the most important task of any CEO. Succession planning has traditionally proved to be particularly difficult in a family firm.

Sucker Punch:

Slang: an unexpected punch or blow.

Sudden Wealth Syndrome | SWS:

Sudden Wealth Syndrome (SWS) is a name given to adjustment problems afflicting individuals who suddenly come into large sums of money, such as those who win the lottery. Becoming suddenly wealthy can cause an individual stress. Its symptoms include: feeling isolated from former friends, guilt over their good fortune, and an extreme fear of losing all their money.

A neologism for the ennui of info-tech’s nouveau riche who suffer from self-dissatisfaction despite their wealth and possessions.

Sudoku:

A number puzzle in which the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed into a grid of cells so that each row or column contains only one of each number.

Sue Generis:

Sui Generis is a Latin phrase, meaning "of its (his, her, or their) own kind; in a class by itself; unique".

Suffix:

An affix added to the end of a word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending.

The name / abbreviation of letters after the company name to denote limited liability, for example: Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Société Anonyme (France), Société par actions (France), Sociedad Anonima, Sociedade Anonima, Stiftung (Liechtenstein), Limitada, Aktiengesellschaft (Germany), Naamloze Vennootschap (The Netherlands), Aktieselskab (Denmark), Sociedad Berhad Anonima (Western Samoa), Berhad (Labuan), Sociedad Anónima de Inversión (Uruguay), AG (Germany), ApS, A/S (Denmark), BV (The Netherlands), Corp., Est. (Liechtenstein), GmbH (Germany), Inc., KFT (Hungary), LDA, LLC, Ltd., PLC (United Kingdom), RT (Hungary), S.A., S.A.R.L. (France), S.A.F.I. (Uruguay).

Suffix (Internet Domain Name):

The three digit Suffix of a domain can be used to identity the type of organization. Possible "Suffixes" are: .com=Commercial, .edu=Educational, .int=International, .gov=Government, .mil=Military, .net=Network, .org=Organization.

Suffragette:

A woman advocate of women's right to vote (especially a militant advocate in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the 20th century).

Sugar Daddy:

A wealthy, usually older man who gives expensive gifts to a young person in return for sexual favors or companionship.

Sugarcoat:

To cause to seem more appealing or pleasant.

Suggestions Box:

A sealed place where the employees of an organization can put suggestions (anonymously if they wish) about ways in which the organization can be improved.

Sui Generis:

Latin phrase, meaning "of its own kind/genus" and hence "unique in its characteristics".

Suicide by Cop:

Suicide by Cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death.

Suit:

Law: a court proceeding to recover a right or claim.

Games: any of the four sets of 13 playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) in a standard deck, the members of which bear the same marks.

Slang: one who wears a business Suit, especially an executive.

The act or an instance of courting a woman; courtship.

Suite (hotel):

A Suite in a hotel, mostly denotes a class of luxury rooms. Many large hotels have one or more "honeymoon Suites", and sometimes the best room is called the "presidential Suite".

Suites offer more space and furniture than a basic hotel room; in addition to the standard bed and bedroom fixtures, a Suite will typically add a living room, usually with a couch that folds into a bed. Dining, office and kitchen facilities are also added in some Suites. Some hotels now offer only Suites. In addition to the luxurious Suites mentioned in the first paragraph, regular Suites are particularly aimed at business travellers who would both appreciate additional space and may use it to host small meetings or entertain clients.

Sukiyaki:

Japanese cuisine: hot pot dish with slices of beef and various vegetables, usually cooked at the table.

Summa Cum Laude:

Summa Cum Laude is Latin for: with highest honor.

Summary:

Presenting the substance in a condensed form; concise.

Summit Meeting:

A meeting of heads of governments.

Sumptuary Laws:

Sumptuary Laws (from Latin sumptuariae leges) are laws that attempt to regulate permitted consumption. Black's Law Dictionary defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc." Traditionally, they were laws that regulated and reinforced social hierarchies and morals through restrictions, often depending upon a person's social rank, on permitted clothing, food, and luxury expenditures.

Sun Protection Factor (SPF):

SPF is a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn on protected skin (i.e., in the presence of sunscreen) relative to the amount of solar energy required to produce sunburn on unprotected skin. As the SPF value increases, sunburn protection increases.

There is a popular misconception that SPF relates to time of solar exposure. For example, many consumers believe that, if they normally get sunburn in one hour, then an SPF 15 sunscreen allows them to stay in the sun 15 hours (i.e., 15 times longer) without getting sunburn. This is not true because SPF is not directly related to time of solar exposure but to amount of solar exposure. Although solar energy amount is related to solar exposure time, there are other factors that impact the amount of solar energy. For example, the intensity of the solar energy impacts the amount.

Sundial:

Timepiece that indicates the daylight hours by the shadow that the gnomon casts on a calibrated dial.

Sundowner (drink):

A Sundowner, in colloquial British English, is an alcoholic drink taken after completing the day's work, usually at sundown.

Drink during traditional cocktail hour.

Sundowner Cocktail Recipe: 1 1/2 oz coconut rum (malibu), 5 oz apple juice and 2 dashes bitters (e.g. angostura, campari).

Sunrise Industry:

An industry that is at the beginning of its economic life and is growing fast. Such industries today would include biotechnology and electronic commerce.

Sunset Clause:

In public policy, a Sunset provision or Clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law. Most laws do not have sunset clauses and therefore remain in force indefinitely, except under systems in which desuetude applies.

Sunset Industry:

An industry that is near the end of its economic life, such as the car-phone industry, which is being made extinct by the spread of mobile phone.

Super Commute:

Defined as a commute that takes 90 minutes or longer one-way.

Super Connector:

"Super Connectors are people who maintain contact with thousands of people in many different worlds and know them well enough to give them a call. Restauranteurs, headhunters, lobbyists, fundraisers, public relations people, politicians, and journalists are the best Super-Connectors because it’s their job to know EVERYONE."

Super PAC:

The term "Super PAC" is used to describe what is technically known in federal election code as an "independent expenditure-only committee" and is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions, individuals and associations. Some non-profit groups are allowed to contribute to Super PACs without disclosing where their money came from.

Super-Spreader:

A Super-Spreader is an unusually contagious organism infected with a disease. In context of a human-borne illness, a Super-Spreader is an individual who is more likely to infect others, compared with a typical infected person. Such Super-Spreaders are of particular concern in epidemiology.

Some cases of Super-Spreading conform to the 80/20 rule, where approximately 20% of infected individuals are responsible for 80% of transmissions, although Super-Spreading can still be said to occur when Super-Spreaders account for a higher or lower percentage of transmissions. In epidemics with Super-Spreading, the majority of individuals infect relatively few secondary contacts.

Read also: What are super-spreaders and how are they transmitting coronavirus? - "About one in five people transmit infections to far more people than the majority do - why?"

Super Tuesday:

In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated.

Supercar:

Supercar is a term used most often to describe an ultra-high-end "exotic" automobile, whose performance is superior to that of its contemporaries.

Supercomputer:

A Supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.

Superfood:

Superfood is a term sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content that some may believe confers health benefits as a result. For example, blueberries are often considered a Superfood (or superfruit) because they contain significant amounts of antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamin C, manganese, and dietary fiber. However, the term is not in common currency amongst dieticians and nutritional scientists, many of whom dispute the claims made that consuming particular foodstuffs can have a health benefit. There is no legal definition of the term and it has been alleged that this has led to it being over-used as a marketing tool.

List of foods that have been described as superfoods.

Superior:

One of greater rank or station or quality.

Superior Autobiographical Memory:

Superior Autobiographical Memory (hyperthymesia) is a memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic (personal experiences and specific objects, people and events experienced at particular time and place) and semantic (general knowledge and facts about the world) memory.

Superlative:

Of the highest order, quality, or degree; surpassing or superior to all others; excessive or exaggerated.

Supermarket:

A Supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments.

Supermax:

Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in some countries' prison systems. The object is to provide long term, segregated housing for inmates classified as the highest security risks in the prison system - the "worst of the worst" criminals and those who pose a threat to national security of a nation.

See also: ADX.

Supermodel:

The term Supermodel, coined in the 1980s, refers to a highly-paid élite fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term took hold in the popular culture of the 1980s and 1990s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels. They have multi-million dollar contracts, endorsements and campaigns. They have branded themselves as household names and worldwide recognition is associated with their modeling careers. They have been on the covers of various magazines. Claudia Schiffer stated, "In order to become a Supermodel one must be on all the covers all over the world at the same time so that people can recognise the girls." First-name recognition is a solid indication of Supermodel status in the fashion industry.

See also: model.

Supernova:

A rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy.

Superpower:

A Superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system and the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests; it is traditionally considered to be one step higher than a great power.

Superstar:

Superstar is a term used to refer to a celebrity who has great popular appeal and is widely-known, prominent or successful in some field. Celebrities referred to as "Superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, actresses, musicians, athletes, and other professions.

See also: diva.

Superstition:

Superstition is a credulous belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge.

Supervisory Board:

A second board required in certain countries, such as Germany. The Supervisory Board consists of a number of non-executive directors and is charged with keeping an eye on the management board (which consists of executive directors). In particular, it watches to see that the interests of shareholders and creditors are not compromised in management's pursuit of its own interests.

Superyacht:

A 60+ metres (197 feet) (sail or power) yacht. The term luxury yacht, "Superyacht" and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.

See also: mega yacht, giga yacht & shadow yacht.

Supplier:

Someone who supplies an organization with needed goods or services.

Supplier Credit:

A loan to an exporter enabling it to finance an order from a buyer in another country. The loan may be guaranteed by the export credit agency of the exporting company's country.

Supply:

The other fundamental concept in economics. The extent to which producers are prepared to manufacture goods and services at different prices.

See also: demand.

Supply Chain:

The flow of materials in and out of an organization, their movement through the organization during the production process, and their final delivery (as a product) to a point of sale.

Support:

To provide for or maintain, by supplying with money or necessities.

To give approval to (a cause, principle, etc.); subscribe to.

Supremacist:

One who believes that a certain group is or should be Supreme.

Supremo:

Chiefly British: one who is highest in authority or command, as of an organization.

Sura:

A Sura is any of the 114 chapters or sections of the Koran.

Surf:

To ride on or along (a wave) on a surfboard.

To browse (the Internet or television channels, for example).

Surprise Party:

A party of persons who assemble by mutual agreement, and without invitation, at the house of a common friend.

Surtout:

A Surtout coat is a man's frock coat, of the kind worn by cavalry officers over their uniforms in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was occasionally worn by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War (American War of Independence).

Survey:

A detailed inspection or investigation.

A general or comprehensive view.

A gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to be representative of a whole.

Survivalism:

Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who are actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, and build structures (e.g., a survival retreat or an underground shelter) that may help them survive a catastrophe.

Survivor's Guilt:

Survivor guilt (or Survivor's Guilt; also called survivor syndrome or survivor's syndrome) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not. It may be found among survivors of murder, terrorism, combat, natural disasters, epidemics, among the friends and family of those who have died by suicide, and in non-mortal situations. The experience and manifestation of Survivor's Guilt will depend on an individual's psychological profile.

Sushi:

In Japanese cuisine, Sushi is vinegar rice, usually topped with other ingredients, such as fish.

Suspense Account:

A bank account that is set up to hold funds temporarily until they can be transferred to their rightful home. Their rightful ownership may be in question, or the funds may be arriving in small amounts that are being collected until they can be transferred more economically as a single item.

Suspension:

Disciplinary action taken against an employee that falls short of dismissal. Suspension involves the employee in not turning up to work for a while, usually without pay.

Sustainability:

Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.

Sustainable Development:

Economic development that does not exhaust in the short term those resources that will enable the development to continue in the long term.

Sustainable Sushi:

Visit: sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification.

SUT:

Short for: Sport Utility Truck.

Suttee (also Sati):

The suicide of a Hindu widow by immolation on the funeral pyre of her husband in order to fulfill her true role as wife.

SUV:

Short for: Sport Utility Vehicle. A SUV is a generic marketing description for a vehicle similar to a station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis. Usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on or off-road ability.

Suzerain:

A dominant nation or state which has control over the international affairs of a subservient state which has domestic autonomy.

A feudal landowner to whom vassals were forced to pledge allegiance.

Svengali:

Svengali is a character in George du Maurier's 1895 novel Trilby.

The word "Svengali" has come to refer to a person who, with evil intent, dominates, manipulates and controls a creative person such as a singer or actor; one who manipulates or controls another as by some mesmeric or sinister influence; especially a coach, mentor or industry mogul.

Swag:

The way in which you carry yourself, talk, dress ect. Swag is made up of your overall confidence, self-confident outlook, style, and demeanor; to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence; to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner.

Promotional items, especially when given for free, considered as a group.

An ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery: "ribbon-tied swags of flowers"; arrange in or decorate with a Swag or Swags of fabric.

Slang: property obtained by theft or other illicit means; goods; valuables.

Swag (TV series): Swag was a United Kingdom prank show broadcast on Five from 2002 to 2004. The general theme of the show was to trick members of the public into committing a minor crime (usually stealing) but then get their comeuppance in one way or another.

Swag Bag:

A goodie bag that contains various useless yet irreplaceable items packed into a dufflebag, usually given at parties or by sponsors. Sometimes just useless house-hold items with a brand-name insignia on them.

Swan Song:

The Swan Song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans (Cygnus spp.) sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime.

Swank:

Imposingly fashionable or elegant; grand.

Ostentatious; pretentious.

Swap:

An exchange of one thing for another.

A transaction in which assets change hands without the intermediation of money. The assets may be financial. For example, western central banks have an agreement to Swap currencies among themselves should they need to support each other's exchange rates.

S.W.A.T.:

S.W.A.T. - short for: Special Weapons And Tactics. Law enforcement units which use specialized or military equipment and tactics in the United States. First created in the 1960s to handle riot control or violent confrontations with criminals, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the War on Drugs and later in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In the United States as of 2005, SWAT teams were deployed 50,000 times every year, almost 80% of the time to serve search warrants, most often for narcotics. SWAT teams are increasingly equipped with military-type hardware and trained to deploy against threats of terrorism, for crowd control, and in situations beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement, sometimes deemed "high-risk." Other countries have developed their own paramilitary police units (PPUs) that are also described as or compared to SWAT forces.

Swatting:

Swatting is the act of deceiving an emergency service (via such means as hoaxing an emergency services dispatcher) into sending a police and 911 response team to another person's address, based on the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage-taking or other alleged incident. The term derives from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), a specialized type of police unit in the United States and many other countries carrying military-style equipment such as door breaching weapons, submachine guns and assault rifles.

Sweatshop:

A small manufacturing plant in which cheap labor is made to work long hours at exhausting task. Sweatshops are associated in particular with the garment industry.

Swedish Death Cleaning:

Swedish Death Cleaning is not about dusting or mopping up; it is about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly.

Marie Kondo asked us to part with anything that didn’t spark joy when we touched it. The Bullet Journal turned scrapbooking into an organization system. So it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that one of these days you’ll find yourself partaking in a new cleaning exercise designed to essentially help you prepare for death.

Read more here: Swedish Death Cleaning Checklist - "Move over, Marie Kondo. Step aside, hygge. There’s a new kind of minimalism on the block. While Swedish Death Cleaning may sound like some kind of morbid crime scene cleanup, it’s actually a thoughtful and effective approach to decluttering."

Sweep under the Carpet:

To hide or ignore something.

Sweepstake:

A lottery in which the stakes of the participants constitute the prize.

Sweet 16:

Sweet 16 is for the 16th birthday, which for girls is important because it symbolizes the becoming of a woman.

A Sweet Sixteen is a coming of age party celebrating a girl's sixteenth birthday. Sweet sixteen parties are popular in the United States and Canada, as well as several other Western nations.

SWIFT:

SWIFT is short for: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, "a member-owned cooperative through which the financial world conducts its business operations with speed, certainty and confidence. More than 9,000 banking organisations, securities institutions and corporate customers in 209 countries trust us every day to exchange millions of standardised financial messages."

See also: IBAN.

Swing Producer:

The most dominant member of a cartel, and the one which is expected to support the weaker members when they have difficulty in living within the cartel's terms. The swing producer either boosts supply by adding extra production at short notice, or reduces it by withholding production. Within OPEC, the oil-producers' cartel, Saudi Arabia plays the role of swing producer.

Swinging:

Swinging, sometimes referred to as the Swinging lifestyle, is "non-monogamous sexual activity, treated much like any other social activity, that can be experienced as a couple." The phenomenon of Swinging (or at least its wider discussion and practice) may be seen as part of the sexual revolution of recent decades, which occurred after the upsurge in sexual activity made possible by the prevalence of safer sex practices during the same period. Swinging has been called wife swapping in the past, but this term has been criticized as androcentric (taking a male-oriented point of view) and inaccurately describing the full range of sexual activities in which Swingers may take part.

Swinging London:

Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.

Swipe:

Swipe is central to Tinder's design. From the compatible matches the app's algorithm provides, users swipe right to "like" potential matches and swipe left to continue on their search.

Swirl:

The shape of something rotating rapidly.

Swiss Army Knife:

A small knife with several blades and tools that you can fold away into the handle when you are not using them.

A method or system that deals with situations of all types.

Switch Selling:

(Commerce): a system of selling, now illegal in Britain, whereby potential customers are attracted by a special offer on some goods but the salesman's real aim is to sell other more expensive goods instead.

Switched On:

Someone who is switched on is alert and intelligent.

To personally know many important people in high positions that can be called upon for favors.

An intelligent person who is also on the ball.

Switched On can mean to be in love. It is used to describe the feeling someone feels when they are infatuated or turned on, it is another form of turned on. I guess it is not really in love but it can be used in a different sense than turned on.

Sword of Damocles:

Constant threat; imminent peril.

Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend: a closely impending disaster.

SWOT Analysis:

SWOT Analysis is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

SWOT Analysis (or SWOT matrix) is a strategic planning and strategic management technique used to help a person or organization identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. It is sometimes called situational assessment or situational analysis. Additional acronyms using the same components include TOWS and WOTS-UP.

This technique is designed for use in the preliminary stages of decision-making processes and can be used as a tool for evaluation of the strategic position of organizations of many kinds (for-profit enterprises, local and national governments, NGOs, etc.). It is intended to identify the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving the objectives of the venture or project. Users of a SWOT Analysis often ask and answer questions to generate meaningful information for each category to make the tool useful and identify their competitive advantage. SWOT has been described as a tried-and-true tool of strategic analysis, but has also been criticized for its limitations, and alternatives have been developed.

Sybarite:

A Sybarite is a general term for describing one fond of pleasure and luxury.

Sycophant:

A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.

Syllable:

A unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound formed by a vowel, diphthong, or syllabic consonant alone, or by any of these sounds preceded, followed, or surrounded by one or more consonants.

Syllabus:

A Syllabus is an outline and summary of topics to be covered in an education or training course. It is descriptive (unlike the prescriptive or specific curriculum). A Syllabus may be set out by an exam board or prepared by the professor who supervises or controls course quality. It may be provided in paper form or online.

Syllogism:

A Syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two or more others (the premises) of a specific form.

Logic; A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion; for example, All humans are mortal, the major premise, I am a human, the minor premise, therefore, I am mortal, the conclusion.

Reasoning from the general to the specific; deduction.

A subtle or specious piece of reasoning.

Symbol:

Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.

A printed or written sign used to represent an operation, element, quantity, quality, or relation, as in mathematics or music.

Symmetry:

An exact matching of form and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a boundary, such as a plane or line, or around a central point or axis.

Beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement.

Sympathy:

A relationship or an affinity between people or things in which whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other.

The act or power of sharing the feelings of another.

Harmonious agreement; accord.

A feeling of loyalty; allegiance.

Symphony:

Music: an extended piece in three or more movements for Symphony orchestra; an orchestral concert.

Harmony, especially of sound or color.

Symposium:

Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together") but has since come to refer to any academic conference, or a style of university class characterized by an openly discursive format, rather than a lecture and question–answer format.

Symptom:

A characteristic sign or indication of the existence of something else.

Synagogue:

A building or place of meeting for worship and religious instruction in the Jewish faith.

Sync:

Synchronization; harmony or harmonious relationship; accord.

Synchronicity:

Synchronicity is a concept, first explained by psychiatrist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship, yet seem to be meaningfully related. During his career, Jung furnished several slightly different definitions of it.

Synchronize:

To occur at the same time; be simultaneous; to operate in unison.

To cause to occur or operate with exact coincidence in time or rate.

To cause (soundtrack and action) to match exactly in a film.

Syncopate:

Grammar: to shorten (a word) by Syncope.

Music: to modify (rhythm) by Syncopation.

Syndicat:

The French word for trade union.

Syndicate:

A group of companies or individuals who get together to carry out an activity that each of them would not be prepared to carry out on their own. Financial institutions, for example, get together to give Syndicated loans to borrowers whose financial requirements are far greater than any one of the institutions would be prepared to shoulder alone.

Syndication:

Organizing into or administering as a syndicate.

Syndrome:

A group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a disease, psychological disorder, or other abnormal condition.

A distinctive or characteristic pattern of behavior

Synecdoche:

A Synecdoche (from Greek, meaning "simultaneous understanding") is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something, or vice versa.

Synergy:

The idea that companies can make 2+2=5 by combining operations in imaginative and cost-saving ways. Hence if one computer manufacturer buys another and makes savings by combining overheads (while keeping the combined sales figure of the two firms constant) it is said to have created Synergy.

Synesthesia:

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes.

Synod:

A Synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a Synod.

Synonym:

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.

A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another.

Synopsis:

A brief outline or general view, as of a subject or written work; an abstract or a summary.

Synoptic Gospels:

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording.

Synoptical:

Of or constituting a synopsis; presenting a summary of the principal parts or a general view of the whole.

Taking the same point of view.

Meteorology: of or relating to data obtained nearly simultaneously over a large area of the atmosphere.

Syntactic:

Of, relating to, or conforming to the rules of syntax.

Syntax:

The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.

Computing: the rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.

Synth:

Informal: a synthesizer.

A style of light popular music made with synthesizers.

Synthesis:

The combining of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole.

Philosophy: reasoning from the general to the particular; logical deduction.

Synthetic:

Chemistry: produced by synthesis, especially not of natural origin.

Prepared or made artificially; not natural or genuine; artificial or contrived.

System:

The orderly arrangement of parts into a single whole; generally, a single whole that has a single purpose. Hence the human central nervous System is an arrangement of body parts designed to gather and transmit messages to and from the nerves. Likewise, a computer System.

Systemically Important Financial Institution:

A Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis.

A System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole.

See also: too big to fail.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- T -

T-Shirt:

A T-Shirt (or Tee Shirt) is a shirt which is pulled on over the head to cover most of a person's torso. A T-Shirt is usually buttonless, collarless, and pocketless, with a round neck and short sleeves. The sleeves of the T-Shirt extend at least slightly over the shoulder but not completely over the elbow (in short-sleeve version). A shirt that is either longer or shorter than this ceases to be a T-Shirt. T-Shirts are typically made of cotton or polyester fibers (or a mix of the two), knitted together in a jersey stitch that gives a T-Shirt its distinctive soft texture. T-Shirts can be decorated with text and/or pictures, and are sometimes used to advertise.

Tab:

A projection, flap, or short strip attached to an object to facilitate opening, handling, or identification.

Informal: a bill or check, such as one for a meal in a restaurant.

Table d'Hôte:

In restaurant terminology a Table d'Hôte menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may also be called prix fixe ("fixed price"). The terms set meal and set menu are also used. This is because the menu is set; the cutlery on the table may also already be set for all of the courses.

See also: à la carte & prix fixe.

Tableau:

A group of people attractively arranged (as if in a painting).

A vivid or graphic description.

Tableau Vivant:

A Tableau Vivant, French for 'living picture', is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. It thus combines aspects of theatre and the visual arts.

Tablescraps:

A lady that your friend or acquaintance has hooked up with and you hook up with it afterwards.

Tablet PC:

Generically, a Tablet PC refers to a laptop or slate-shaped mobile computer, equipped with a touchscreen or graphics tablet/screen hybrid to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse.

This form factor offers a more mobile way to interact with a computer. Tablet PCs are often used where normal notebooks are impractical or unwieldy, or do not provide the needed functionality.

Specifically, Tablet PC refers to a product announced in 2001 by Microsoft, and defined by Microsoft to be a pen-enabled computer conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of the "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition" operating system or a derivative thereof.

See also: laptop, netbook, notebook and PC.

Tabloid:

A newspaper of small format giving the news in condensed form, usually with illustrated, often sensational material.

See also: broadsheet newspaper and rag.

Taboo:

A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion.

Tabu:

A prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature.

Tabula Rasa:

Tabula Rasa refers to the epistemological idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Proponents of Tabula Rasa generally disagree with the doctrine of Innatism which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Generally, proponents of the Tabula Rasa theory also favor the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate when it comes to aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behavior, knowledge and sapience.

The mind before it receives the impressions gained from experience.

A need or an opportunity to start from the beginning; a clean slate.

Tacky:

Slightly adhesive or gummy to the touch; sticky.

Lacking style or good taste; tawdry; distasteful or offensive; tasteless.

Tact:

Acute sensitivity to what is proper and appropriate in dealing with others, including the ability to speak or act without offending.

Tactic:

One of a series of short-term steps that must be taken to fulfill a longer-term strategy.

Taedium Vitae:

Profound ennui or weariness of one's life.

Tag:

A strip of leather, paper, metal, or plastic attached to something or hung from a wearer's neck to identify, classify, or label.

A label assigned to identify data in memory (computer science).

A sequence of characters in a markup language used to provide information, such as formatting specifications, about a document (computer science).

Tai Chi:

A Chinese martial art that features slow, rhythmic movements, deep breathing, and concentration to condition the body and clarify the mind.

Tail Male:

The limitation of the succession of property or title to male descendants.

Tail Number:

Because airplanes typically display their registration numbers on the aft fuselage just forward of the tail, in earlier times more often on the tail itself, the registration is often referred to as the "Tail Number". In the United States, the registration number is also referred to as an "N-number", as it starts with the letter N.

Visit also: aircraft registration.

Taily Day:

April 2 is Taily Day (Scotland), when you're not only allowed, but encouraged, to focus your attention on the posteriors of others. The infamous "kick me" sign most likely originated as an early Taily Day joke.

Take-Away:

A meal sold for consumption away from the premises.

See also: take-out.

Take-Home Pay:

The amount of pay that employees actually take home; that is, their gross pay net of tax, national insurance and other deductions that are made in advance of payment.

Take No Prisoners:

An informal military term for give no quarter.

Take Off:

To release.

To deduct as a discount.

To achieve wide use or popularity.

To rise into the air or begin flight.

To withhold service due, as from one's work.

Take-Out:

Food cooked and sold by a restaurant or store to be eaten elsewhere.

See also: take-away.

Take Out the Trash Day:

(Idiomatic): to announce something hoping it will not get much publicity at a time when it is not likely to be noticed by the news media, for instance on election day or late on Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.

Read also: Take Out the Trash Day – the perfect opportunity to bury bad news - The Guardian.

Take Public:

Securities markets: to sell shares in a company to the general public.

Take the Waters:

To attend a spa with healing thermal waters.

Takeover:

The formal process whereby one company buys another. In the case of a quoted company this involves following the often complex rules of the stock exchange on which the company is quoted.

Takfir:

Takfir is an Arabic word that literally means "pronouncement of unbelief against someone," and can be translated as "excommunication."

Takfir is the notion that an unbeliever, even a Muslim, may be excommunicated the moment that individual does not follow Sharia, or Islamic law, in its strictest sense. Merely fulfilling Islam's five pillars isn't enough, and may well be a cover for otherwise un-Islamic behavior if the individual is still susceptible to Western, Christian, Jewish, "Zionist" influences

See also: Takfir methodology - YouTube.

Taking the Fifth:

Taking the Fifth, the act of refusing to testify under oath in a court of law on the grounds that the answers that would be given would incriminate the person under oath.

Taking the Waters:

The centuries-old act of bathing, soaking, or ingesting mineral-rich spring or seawater to cure a broad range of ailments, such as arthritis, rheumatism, and various aches and pains.

Talent:

A marked innate ability, as for artistic accomplishment.

Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.

Innate ability, aptitude, or faculty, especially when unspecified; above average ability.

Talion:

See: eye for an eye.

Talisman:

An object marked with magic signs and believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

Something that apparently has magic power.

Talk of the Town:

Idle gossip or rumor.

Talk Show:

A television or radio show in which noted people, such as authorities in a particular field, participate in discussions or are interviewed and often answer questions from viewers or listeners.

Talking Point:

Something, such as an especially persuasive point, that helps to support an argument or a discussion.

Tall Poppy Syndrome:

The Tall Poppy Syndrome describes the cultural phenomenon of mocking people who think highly of themselves, "cutting down the tall poppy". Common in Australia and New Zealand, it is seen by many as self-deprecating and by others as promoting modesty.

Tallit:

A Tallit is a fringed garment traditionally worn by religious Jews. The Tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the "beged" (lit. garment) and is usually made from wool or cotton, although silk is sometimes used for a Tallit gadol.

Tamagotchi:

A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game for people of all ages. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. Most Tamagotchis are housed in a small egg-shaped computer with an interface usually consisting of three buttons, although the number of buttons may vary for different variations.

Tandem:

An arrangement of two or more objects or persons one behind another.

A two-wheeled carriage drawn by horses harnessed one before the other.

Tang Ping:

Tang Ping (Chinese: lit. 'lying flat') is a lifestyle choice and social protest movement in China by some young people in China who reject societal pressures for hard work or even overwork (such as the 996 working hour system, which is generally regarded as a rat race with ever diminishing returns), and instead choose to "lie down flat and get over the beatings" via a low-desire, more indifferent attitude towards life. Novelist Liao Zenghu described "lying flat" as a resistance movement, and The New York Times called it part of a nascent Chinese counterculture.

Read also: China's new 'Tang Ping' trend aims to highlight pressures of work culture.

Tangible Asset:

Literally, an asset that can be touched. Buildings, machines and cash are all tangible assets.

Tangible Net Worth:

The net worth of an organization minus its intangible assets, things like goodwill and the value of patents. Tangible net worth gives a more immediately realizable value of the organization.

Tank Man:

Tank Man (also known as the Unknown Protester or Unknown Rebel) is the nickname of an unidentified Chinese man who stood in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, the day after the Chinese military had suppressed the Tiananmen Square protests by force. As the lead tank maneuvered to pass by the man, he repeatedly shifted his position in order to obstruct the tank's attempted path around him. The incident was filmed and smuggled out to a worldwide audience. Internationally, it is considered one of the most iconic images of all time. Inside China, the image and the events leading up are subject to heavy state censorship.

Tanorexia:

Tanning addiction is a rare syndrome where an individual appears to have a physical and/or psychological addiction to sunbathing or the use of tanning beds.

Tantième:

(Payment made to a writer, composer, inventor etc.) royalty.

Tantrum:

A childish fit of rage; outburst of bad temper.

Tapas:

Tapas is the name of a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as puntillitas, which are battered, fried baby squid).

Taqiyya:

In Islam Taqiyya is a form of religious dissimulation, or a legal dispensation whereby a believing individual can deny his faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts while they are at risk of significant persecution.

This practice was emphasized in Shi'a Islam whereby adherents may conceal their religion when they are under threat, persecution, or compulsion. Taqiyya was developed to protect Shi'ites who were usually in minority and under pressure. In the Shi'a view, taqiyya is lawful in situations where there is overwhelming danger of loss of life or property and where no danger to religion would occur thereby.

Tarento:

Tarento is a Japanese rendering (Wasei-eigo) of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous for being famous" because many that fall into this career line have no discernible talent outside being featured on television.

Target:

Something aimed or fired at.

An object of criticism or attack.

A desired goal.

Target Market:

The specific market at which a company aims its products; for example, teenagers, elderly widows, product does not have a target. It hopes that everybody will buy its merchandise.

Tariff:

An ad valorem tax imposed on imported goods, often as a form of protectionism.

A schedule of prices.

Tarmac:

A Tarmacadam road or surface, especially an airport runway.

Tartan:

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven cloth, but now they are used in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have Tartan patterns.

Task:

A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.

Task Force:

A temporary grouping of military units or forces under one commander for the performance of a specific operation or assignment.

A temporary grouping of individuals and resources for the accomplishment of a specific objective.

Taste:

To eat or drink a small quantity of.

To partake of, especially for the first time; experience.

The faculty of discerning what is aesthetically excellent or appropriate.

The sense of what is proper, seemly, or least likely to give offense in a given social situation.

Tattletale:

An informer or talebearer.

A scandalmonger or gossip.

Tattoo:

Military: (formerly) a signal by drum or bugle ordering the military to return to their quarters; a military display or pageant, usually at night.

A design made on the skin with a temporary dye such as henna or ink.

Tautology (rhetoric):

In rhetoric, a Tautology is a logical argument constructed in such a way, generally by repeating the same concept or assertion using different phrasing or terminology, that the proposition as stated is logically irrefutable, while obscuring the lack of evidence or valid reasoning supporting the stated conclusion.

Tavern:

An establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises.

An inn for travelers.

Taverna:

A café or small restaurant in Greece.

Tax:

The due that are levied on individuals and corporations to pay for the running of governments.

Tax Assessment:

A formal agreement between a taxpayer and a government as to how much tax is due from the taxpayer for a particular period.

Tax Avoidance:

Lawful agreement, or re-arrangement, of the affairs of an individual or company intended to avoid liability to tax.

See also: tax evasion.

Tax Bracket:

The marginal tax rate that an individual pays for a certain income tax level.

Tax Deductible:

Any expense which can be paid for out of untaxed income without incurring a tax liability.

Tax Evasion:

Fraudulent or illegal arrangements made with the intention of evading tax, e.g. by failure to make full disclosure to the revenue authorities.

One of United States's most famous income tax evasion convictions is that of Alphonse 'Al' Capone on October 17, 1931.

See also: tax avoidance.

Tax Haven:

The term Tax Haven is generally used to refer to a jurisdiction: 1) where there are no relevant taxes; 2) where taxes are levied only on internal taxable events, but not at all, or at low tax rates, on profits from foreign sources; or 3) where special tax privilege are granted to certain types of taxable persons or events. Such special tax privileges may be accorded by the domestic internal tax system or may derive from a combination of domestic and treaty provisions. (Where tax benefits are part of an economic development programme the term tax incentives is usually used).

Simply stated, a Tax Haven is any country whose laws, regulations, traditions, and, in some cases, treaty arrangements make it possible for one to reduce his over all burden.

Tax Holiday:

Exemption from taxation for a designated period of time.

Tax Incentives:

The term Tax Incentives is used when tax benefits are part of an economic development programme. Most tax incentive measures fall into one or more of the following categories: tax exemption (tax holiday); deduction from the taxable base; reduction in the rate of tax; tax deferment.

Tax Loophole:

An unintended benefit permitted under the tax laws of a country when previously the Government unknowingly approved legislation that encourages a tax-payer to take advantage of a tax reduction or exemption which the legislators had foreseen.

Tax-Loss Company:

A company that has accumulated losses which are not allowed for income tax purposes but may be attractive to another company so that a takeover or merger of the company suffering a loss will place the latter on a profitable basis. In this way the losses are used to reduce or eliminate the tax liability of the resulting company when it subsequently shows profits.

Tax Planning:

See International Tax Planning.

Tax Return:

The form on which the details of a taxpayer's income, expenditure and capital gains are sent to the tax authorities.

Tax Shelters:

The term "Tax Shelters" is sometimes employed to refer to those jurisdictions where taxes are levied only on internal taxable events, but not at all, or at very low rates, on profits from foreign sources.

In domestic tax law the term applies to a variety of devices which allow taxpayers to deduct certain artificial losses, i.e. losses which are not really economis losses but represent losses which are available as deductions under the current tax laws. These artificial losses may be offset not only against income from the investment out of which they arise, but also against the taxpayer’s other income, usually from his regular business or professional activity.

Tax Sparing:

The sphere of application of a tax incentive may be extended by way of a tax sparing clause in a treaty between a capital importing country and a capital exporting country. Such clauses allow residents of the capital exporting country a credit against domestic tax for profits or gains derived in the developing country in respect of which all or specified taxes are subject to exemption or reduction in the latter country.

Normally tax treaties are not concluded between high tax jurisdictions and tax havens. In line with this approach certain tax treaties specifically exclude from their scope entities which benefit from specially favoured tax treatment (e.g. the exclusion of Luxembourg holding companies from the provisions of tax treaties concluded with Luxembourg). However, certain colonies or former colonies of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands benefit from extensions (with or without modification) of treaties concluded respectively by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The existence of such treaty links may be of considerable value with regard to tax haven operations taking place in jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles.

Tax Treaties:

Tax Treaties are international agreements or conventions concluded with the object of eliminating double taxation by the contracting states. International double taxation may be loosely defined as the imposition of comparable taxes in two (or more) states on the same taxpayer in respect of the same subject matter and for identical or overlapping periods. The most harmful effects of double taxation are on the exchange of goods and services and on the movement of capital and persons.

Taxonomy:

The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships.

The science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics; division into ordered groups or categories.

TBA:

TBA - short for: To Be Announced (used to say that flight departure times have not yet been decided.

TBC:

Short for: to be confirmed.

TBD:

TBD is an abbreviation often meaning in ordinary writing "to be discussed", "to be done", "to be defined", "to be decided", "to be determined", etc.

Tchotchke:

A small piece of worthless crap, a decorative knick knack with little or no purpose.

Tea Party:

An afternoon social gathering at which tea and light refreshments are served.

A disillusioned group of U.S. citizens that blindly oppose whatever legislative and/or government policy they perceive as being leftist, but said legislation/policy is actually in their own best interest.

Teabagging:

Teabagging is a slang term for the sexual act of a man placing his scrotum in the mouth of his sexual partner for pleasure, or onto the face or head of another person, sometimes as a comedic device.

Team:

Group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project.

Team Building:

Techniques for improving the ways in which individuals work together in teams. Team Building aims to make teams more than the sum of their parts.

Team Player:

One who subordinates personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other members of a group, or team, in striving for a common goal.

Team Spirit:

Willingness to cooperate as part of a team.

Teamwork:

Work that is done in teams. An increasing amount of workplace activity consists of Teamwork.

"Tears of Wine":

See: Marangoni effect.

Teaser:

A short advertisement that does not name the product being advertised, but merely hints at more advertising to come. Teasers are often used to launch new products.

Tech Shame:

The tech company HP coined the phrase “Tech Shame”, to define how overwhelmed young people felt using basic office tools.

Read more here: ‘Scanners are complicated’: why Gen Z faces workplace ‘Tech Shame’ - "They may be digital natives, but young workers were raised on user-friendly apps - and office devices are far less intuitive".

Techlash:

Year in a Word: Techlash. The growing public animosity towards large Silicon Valley platform technology companies and their Chinese equivalents.

Read also: Platform Economy, A Policymaker’s Guide to the 'Techlash' - What It Is and Why It’s a Threat to Growth and Progress & A brutal year: how the 'techlash' caught up with Facebook, Google & Amazon - "Privacy scandals and antitrust issues dogged social media giants and the online retailer saw a rise in employee organizing."

Technical Terminology:

Technical Terminology is the specialized vocabulary of any field, not just technical fields.

Technicality:

Something meaningful or relevant only to a specialist.

Technique:

The systematic procedure by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished.

Technocracy:

Technocracy is a hypothetical form of government or social system controlled by technicians, especially scientists and technical experts.

Technology:

The use of science and scientific methods to improve performance.

Technology Evangelist:

A Technology Evangelist is a person who builds a critical mass of support for a given technology, and then establishes it as a technical standard in a market that is subject to network effects. An evangelist promotes the use of a particular product or technology through talks, articles, blogging, user demonstrations, recorded demonstrations, or the creation of sample projects. The word evangelism is taken from the context of religious evangelism due to the similarity of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs with the intention of converting the recipient. There is some element of this although most would argue it's more of showcasing the potential of a technology to lead someone to want to adopt it for themselves.

Technology Transfer:

The transfer of a company's technology in return for access to a market. Technology transfer is frequently promised by western companies as a way of gaining access to developing-country markets.

Teddy Bear Test:

There’s a curious gauge of New York residency tied to the location of items "near and dear" to the taxpayer - often called the "Teddy Bear Test." Where you leave your teddy bear is home, basically.

Read more here: The Teddy Bear Test and other challenges facing the rich who try to flee high-tax states - Los Angeles Times.

Teddy Boy:

The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly British subculture of young men wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after the Second World War.

Teetotaller:

One who abstains completely from alcoholic beverages.

Teflon:

Visit: teflon - Wikipedia.

Facetious: denoting the ability to evade blame.

Teleconference:

A prolonged telephone conversation between more than two people situated in more than two places. Teleconferences are a substitute for meetings in cases where the participants cannot easily get together in the same room at the same time.

Telemarketing:

The use of the telephone as a channel for marketing goods and services.

Teleology:

A Teleology is an account of a given thing's purpose.

Telepathy:

Communication through means other than the senses, as by the exercise of an occult power.

Telephone Booth Indian:

A destitute Telephone Booth Indian could always restore his situation with the aid of a telephone, a phone book, and a list of horses in tomorrow’s race. The Indian would telephone a number, say Joe Brown’s, at random. The Indian, before Mr. Brown can speak, thanks “good old Joe” effusively for the great favor Joe did him last time they met. It was so great a favor that he is calling now to pass on a hot tip. . . . The Indian gives the name of the first horse on tomorrow’s list; it is, he says, a certainty. No thanks are required, but if Joe does want to do anything—well, just put on five bucks extra and send the winnings to the following address. The Indian rings off, leaving a puzzled but hopefully acquisitive citizen at the other end.

He then goes through the whole field in the same way, and having done so starts again. He may tip each horse to five, even ten “old friends.” Some of them will assume that it is the Indian who is making a mistake, and will follow up tips with bets. A diligent Indian should thus be able to get enough money—none of it his own—working to cover the whole field. In that case, one “investor” at least must win, and will thus be delighted with his good fortune. He will then send the winnings or five dollars to the address given by the Indian: not out of gratitude, but on the theory that this will make another such “error” more likely, with profitable results to himself.

TelePrompTer:

A trademark used for a device employed in television to show an actor or a speaker an enlarged line-by-line reproduction of a script, unseen by the audience.

Television Ratings:

An audience measurement technique.

Teleworker:

The practice of working at a distance from a head office or workstation via modem links and telecommunications.

Telex:

An out-of date method of transmitting typed messages via telephone lines. The telex was largely made redundant by the fax machine.

Temp:

Someone who is temporarily employed by an organization to do a set task, often secretarial, for a short time.

Tempera:

Tempera, also known as egg Tempera, is a permanent fast drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the first centuries AD still exist. Egg Tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting. A version of Tempera consisting pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint.

Temperament:

An individual's character, disposition, and tendencies as revealed in his reactions.

Excitability, moodiness, or anger, especially when displayed openly.

Psychology: the characteristic way an individual behaves, esp towards other people.

Music: equal temperament.

See also: four temperaments.

Temperature:

Physics / General Physics: a measure of this degree of hotness, indicated on a scale that has one or more fixed reference points.

The degree of heat in the body of a living organism, usually about 37.0°Celsius (98.6°Fahrenheit) in humans; an abnormally high condition of body heat caused by illness; a fever.

Template:

A web page design, document or spreadsheet that contains all the required formatting for a particular style of document. This master can be used over and over again.

Temptation Bundling:

Temptation Bundling works by linking an action you want to do with an action you need do. In Byrne's case, he bundled watching Netflix (the thing he wanted to do) with riding his stationary bike (the thing he needed to do). Businesses are masters at Temptation Bundling.

Read more here: Temptation Bundling: A Simple Way to Boost Your Willpower - "How to Stop Procrastinating and Boost Your Willpower by Using 'Temptation Bundling'".

Tempura:

Japanese cuisine: fish and vegetables deep-fried in a light batter.

Tenant:

Somebody who holds a right to occupy land or buildings that are owned by somebody else.

Tender:

Law: to make an offer (in writing) to do a certain specified piece of work for a specified price.

Nautical: a vessel attendant on other vessels, especially one that ferries supplies between ship and shore.

Tender Offer:

An offer to buy a specified number of securities at a specified price. If fewer than the specified number of securities are offered, the person making the offer is not obliged to buy any of them.

Tendon:

Japanese cuisine: tempura served over a bowl of rice.

Tepee:

A portable dwelling of certain Native American peoples, especially on the Great Plains, consisting of a conical framework of poles covered with skins or bark.

Tension Myositis Syndrome:

Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), also known as tension myoneural syndrome, is a name given by John E. Sarno to a condition he describes as characterized by psychogenic musculoskeletal and nerve symptoms, most notably back pain. Sarno, a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and Attending Physician at The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center, has described TMS in four books, and has stated that the condition may be involved in other pain disorders as well. The treatment protocol for TMS includes education, writing about emotional issues, resumption of a normal lifestyle and, for some patients, support meetings and/or psychotherapy. In 2007, David Schechter (a medical doctor and former student and research assistant of Sarno's) published a peer-reviewed study of TMS treatment showing a 54% success rate for chronic back pain. In terms of statistical significance and success rate, the study outperformed similar studies of other psychological interventions for chronic back pain.

Tent-Pole (entertainment):

In broadcast programming and motion pictures, a Tent-Pole or tentpole is a program or film that supports the financial performance of a film studio or television network. It is an analogy for the way a strong central pole provides a stable structure to a tent. A Tent-Pole film may be expected to support the sale of tie-in merchandise.

Read also: A Marketers Guide to Tentpole Marketing.

Teppanyaki:

Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food.

Terabyte:

A Terabyte (derived from the prefix tera- and commonly abbreviated TB) is a measurement term for data storage capacity. The value of a terabyte based upon a decimal radix (base 10) is defined as one trillion (short scale) bytes, or 1000 gigabytes.

An example: the largest library in the world Library of Congress would only need 12 terabytes to store all their books.

See also: gigabyte and megabyte.

Teraflop:

Computing: a unit of computing power equal to 1000 (or 1024) gigaflops.

Term:

A word or group of words having a particular meaning.

A limited period of time; a period of time that is assigned to a person to serve; a point in time at which something ends; termination; a deadline, as for making a payment.

One of the elements of a proposed or concluded agreement; a condition.

The period of time during which the conditions of a contract apply.

The conditions themselves, as in "Terms and Conditions".

Term Loan:

Any loan which has to be repaid in full within a stated period of time.

Termagant:

Termagant or Tervagant was the name given to a god which Christians believed Muslims worshipped.

Terminal:

The interface between a computer network and an individual computer user.

Terminology:

Terminology is the study of terms and their use.

Terms of Trade:

The ratio of a country's export prices to its import prices. The prices are calculated as an index based on an arbitrary starting point. Terms of trade thus measure changes over time rather than absolute values.

Terra Firma:

A Latin phrase meaning firm ground, used to mean the land as opposed to the sea.

Terra Incognita:

Terra Incognita or terra ignota (Latin "unknown land"; incognita is stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or documented.

Terra Nullius:

Terra Nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "nobody's land", which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished sovereignty.

Terrace:

A porch or walkway bordered by colonnades.

A platform extending outdoors from a floor of a house or apartment building; an open, often paved area adjacent to a house serving as an outdoor living space; a patio.

A row of buildings erected on raised ground or on a sloping site; a section of row houses.

Terracotta:

A hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction; ceramic wares made of this material.

Territory:

An area of land; a region.

The land and waters under the jurisdiction of a government.

A political subdivision of a country; a geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government.

A subdivision of the United States that is not a state and is administered by an appointed or elected governor and elected legislature.

An area for which a person is responsible as a representative or agent.

Terrorism:

The term "Terrorism" comes from French Terrorisme, from Latin Terror, "great fear", "dread", related to the Latin verb Terrere, "to frighten".

Tertulia:

A Tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberia or in Latin America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc. The word is originally Spanish (borrowed by Catalan and Portuguese), but it has only moderate currency in English, used mainly in describing Latin cultural contexts.

Terza Rima:

Terza Rima is a rhyming verse stanza form that consists of an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme. It was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Terzo Incomodo:

Latin: Third wheel.

Tessellation:

A Tessellation of a flat surface is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, Tessellations can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety of geometries.

Test:

A procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something; a trial.

A series of questions, problems, or physical responses designed to determine knowledge, intelligence, or ability.

A basis for evaluation or judgment.

A physical or chemical change by which a substance may be detected or its properties ascertained.

Test Market:

To try out a new product or service by launching it initially in a limited area.

Testament:

Something that serves as tangible proof or evidence; a statement of belief; a credo.

Law: a written document providing for the disposition of a person's property after death; a will.

Testimonial:

A statement by a respected source vouching for the high quality of a product or a person.

A written affirmation of another's character or worth; a personal recommendation.

Something given in appreciation of a person's service or achievement; a tribute.

Tête-à-Tête:

Private conversation; familiar interview or conference of two persons.

Tetragrammaton:

The term Tetragrammaton refers to the Hebrew theonym transliterated to the Latin letters YHWH. It may be derived from the verb that means "to be", and is considered in Judaism to be a proper name of the God of Israel used in the Hebrew Bible.

While YHWH is the usual transliteration of the tetragrammaton in English academic studies, the alternatives YHVH, JHVH and JHWH are also used. The most widely accepted pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is Yahweh, though Jehovah is used in many Bibles, but in few modern ones. The Samaritans understood the pronunciation for the Tetragrammaton to be Iabe. Some patristic sources give evidence to a Greek pronunciation Iao. As Jews are forbidden to say or write the Tetragrammaton in full, when reading the Torah they use the term Adonai. Christians do not have any prohibitions on vocalizing the Tetragrammaton; in most Christian translations of the Bible, "LORD" is used in place of the Tetragrammaton after the Hebrew Adonai, and is written with small capitals (or in all caps) to distinguish it from other words translated "Lord".

TEU:

The Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long shipping container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains and trucks. A related unit, the forty-foot equivalent unit (often FEU or feu) is defined as two TEU.

One TEU represents the cargo capacity of a standard shipping container 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. One source of ambiguity is the lack of standardization in container heights. The height of a TEU can range from a low of 4.25 feet (1.30 m) to the most common 8.5 feet (2.6 m) to 9.5 feet (2.9 m). Also, it is common to designate 45-foot containers as 2 TEU, rather than 2.25 TEU.

Texas Hold 'Em:

Texas Hold 'Em (also hold'em, holdem) is the most popular poker game in the casinos and poker card rooms across North America and Europe, as well as online. Hold 'em is a community card game where each player may use any combination of the five community cards and the player's own two hole cards to make a poker hand, in contrast to poker variants like stud or draw where each player holds a separate individual hand.

Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down, with the player in the small blind receiving the first card and the player in the button seat receiving the last card dealt. (Like most poker games, the deck is a standard 52-card deck, no jokers.) These cards are the player's hole or pocket cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown, making Texas hold 'em a closed poker game.

The hand begins with a "pre-flop" betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has folded, put in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. See betting for a detailed account. Note that the blinds are considered "live" in the pre-flop betting round, meaning that they contribute to the amount that the blind player must contribute, and that, if all players call around to the player in the big blind position, that player may either check or raise.

After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop, three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round. This and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player to the dealer's left and continue clockwise.

After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.

See also: poker and poker terms.

Text Message:

Text Messaging, or Texting, is a brief, electronic message (less than 160 characters) sent and received via a wireless network and viewed on any number of mobile or handheld devices.

See also: SMS.

TGV:

The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, French for "High-Speed Train") is France's high-speed rail service. It was developed during the 1970s by GEC-Alsthom (now Alstom) and SNCF, the French national rail operator, and is now operated primarily by SNCF. Following the inaugural TGV service between Paris and Lyon, in 1981, the TGV network, centered on Paris, has expanded to connect cities across France and in adjacent countries. It set the record for the fastest wheeled train, having reached 574.8 km/h (357 mph) on 3 April 2007, and also holds the world's highest average speed for a regular passenger service.

Thanatos:

In Greek mythology Thanatos was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person.

Thank One's Lucky Star:

To be thankful for one's luck; to feel lucky or grateful that you have avoided an unpleasant situation.

Thanks for Nothing:

Retort used to indicate displeasure with someone's lack of help.

Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada.

Thaumaturgy:

Thaumaturgy is the capability of a magician or a saint to work magic or miracles. Isaac Bonewits defined Thaumaturgy as "The use of magic for nonreligious purposes; the art and science of 'wonder working;' using magic to actually change things in the physical world." It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking. A practitioner of Thaumaturgy is a thaumaturge, thaumaturgist or miracle-worker.

The Al Capone Method:

The Al Capone Method is named after the American gangster of the 1930s. While police were apparently unable to jail him for his illegal activities, they eventually managed to put him in prison on tax evasion charges.

The American Dream:

An American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire.

The notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual.

The widespread aspiration of Americans to live better than their parents did.

The American Way of Life:

The most accurate definition was written down by Thomas Jefferson and is still just as valid today as it was over 200 years ago:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

The Backwards Law:

The acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience! “The desire for a more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.” wrote Mark Manson in his latest New York Times Bestselling book.

Those very words written in 2016 seem indirectly congruent with those of Prophet Muhammad, 1400 years ago: “appreciate whatever God bestows upon you and you’ll be the richest of people”, “your fear of impoverishment positions you in a state of impoverishment”, “You expecting a catastrophe is a bigger catastrophe”. The modern philosopher Alan Watts referred to this as “The Backwards Law” which is “the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place. The more you desperately want to be rich, the more poor and unworthy you feel, regardless of how much money you actually make. The more desperately you want to be sexy and desired, the uglier you come to see yourself, regardless of your actual physical appearance. The more you desperately want to be happy and loved, the lonelier and more afraid you become, regardless of those who surround you.” This is no enticement to stop people from pursuing their dreams because numerous people will critically read what’s written and plausibly ask: Aren’t these words an impediment to the growth and development of any individual? Aren’t they an excuse to just stop being ambitious? Aren’t they a reason to refrain from running after our aspirations? That can be one way to construe the words above. However, it’s important to know that these words urge us to be grateful souls and for those interested in scientific research, giving gratitude can make you happier as one Harvard study (goo.gl/RbSBhw) concluded.

The Big Apple (New York City, Ny, USA):

The Big Apple is a nickname or moniker for New York City.

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the world's most populous urban areas. It is a leading global city, exerting a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment. The city is also an important center for international affairs, hosting the United Nations headquarters.

Located on the Atlantic coast of the Northeastern United States, the city consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. It is the most densely populated major city in the United States, with an estimated 8,274,527 people occupying just under 305 square miles (790 km2). The New York metropolitan area's population is also the nation's highest, estimated at 18,815,988 people over 6,720 square miles (17,400 km2).

The Big Bang:

The Big Bang is the cosmological model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the Universe that is supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific evidence and observation. As used by cosmologists, the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the Universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past (best available measurements in 2009 suggest that the initial conditions occurred around 13.3 to 13.9 billion years ago), and continues to expand to this day.

The Big Easy (New Orleans, La, USA):

Nickname for New Orleans. The city is named after Philippe II, Duc d'Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is well known for its multicultural and multilingual heritage cuisine, architecture, music (particularly as the birthplace of jazz),and its annual Mardi Gras and other celebrations and festivals. The city is often referred to as the "most unique" city in America.

The Big Picture:

A long-range or overall view or account of some complex matter.

The Buck Stops Here:

Popularized by US president Harry Truman. The phrase is based on the metaphorical expression passing the buck, derived from poker gameplay, that came to mean "passing blame", or absolving oneself of responsibility or concern by denying authority or jurisdiction over a given matter.

A statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities.

The Bund:

The Bund is a waterfront area in central Shanghai. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road (East-1 Zhongshan Road) within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. Building heights are restricted in this area.

The Butler Did It

The phrase "The Butler Did It", which has become a cliché, came from Mary Roberts Rinehart's novel The Door , in which the butler actually did do it, although that exact phrase does not appear in the work.

The Cambridge Five:

The Cambridge Five, also known as the Cambridge Four, was a ring of spies in the UK who passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and into the early 1950s. It has been suggested they may also have passed Soviet disinformation to the Nazis. The ring included Kim Philby (cryptonym: Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean (cryptonym: Homer), Guy Burgess (cryptonym: Hicks), Anthony Blunt (cryptonym: Johnson), and John Cairncross (cryptonym: Liszt) - identified as the 'fifth man' in the Cambridge spy ring by Oleg Gordievsky.

Several other persons have been accused of being members over the years. Their name refers to the fact that all members became committed Communists while attending Cambridge University in the 1930s. There is some conjecture as to the precise dates they were recruited to Soviet intelligence; Anthony Blunt claimed that it did not happen until after they had graduated. Both Burgess and Blunt were Apostles - a secret, elite debating society based around Trinity and King's Colleges. It is not believed they were recruited by Blunt, though he was an active recruiter and Apostle as well as being Fellow at Trinity where the others were undergraduates. John Cairncross, another Apostle, suspected by many of being the so-called 'Fifth Man', was not formally identified as such until 1990. Other Apostles accused of spying for the Soviets included Michael Whitney Straight, Nathaniel Rothschild, research fellow Lewis Daly, and Guy Liddell.

The Circle City (Indianapolis, In, USA):

Nickname(s): The Circle City, Indy, Naptown, The Crossroads of America, The Racing Capital of the World, Amateur Sports Capital of the World, Railroad City, Capital City, The Indy City.

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. The United States Census estimated the city's population, excluding the included towns, at 795,458 in 2006. It is Indiana's largest city and is the 14th largest city in the U.S., the third largest city in the Midwest (behind Chicago and Detroit), and the second most populous state capital (behind Phoenix, Arizona). It is one of two state capitals that share its name with its state.

The City of Angels (Los Angeles, Ca, USA):

Nickname for Los Angeles the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta world city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 km²) in Southern California. Additionally, the Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nearly 12.9 million residents, who hail from all over the globe. Los Angeles is the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most diverse counties in the United States. Its inhabitants are known as "Angelenos" or "Angelinos" when using the proper Spanish language spelling.

Los Angeles was founded September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola). It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, Los Angeles and California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States; Mexico retained the territory of Baja California. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.

The Dan Sullivan Question:

"Sometimes a great question changes everything. A great question can provide an exciting new perspective on a specific challenge or opportunity you are facing. Dan Sullivan, founder of The Strategic Coach, asks this question in his book The Dan Sullivan Question: Ask it and Transform Anyone's Future:

'If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?'

Asking yourself this question has power for a number of reasons. First, it encourages you to project yourself into your future. You have to imagine yourself in a brighter future and look back to the present. Your mind then gets to paint a picture of what you worked on or accomplished in that space between the present and your future.

Second, it helps you simplify and see the big picture in your life or your business. It helps you zero in on what really matters. What will really moves the needle for you.

Third, at the core of the question is the belief that your future should be brighter than your past. Or at least, that should be your goal. It taps into the hope that motivates and inspires us to always work on becoming better at what we do." - Source: The Dan Sullivan Question - Philip Campbell's Blog.

Read also: Your Future Should Be Bigger Than Your Past. Here’s How to Do It - The New York Times.

The Devil is in the Detail:

The idiom "The Devil is in the Detail" refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details, and derives from the earlier phrase "God is in the detail" expressing the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.

The Dynamic Duo:

A nickname for Batman and Robin.

The Elephant Curve:

The Elephant Curve, also known as the Lakner-Milanovic graph or the global growth incidence curve, is a graph that illustrates the unequal distribution of income growth for individuals belonging to different income groups. The original graph was published in 2013 and illustrates the change in income growth that occurred from 1988 to 2008. The x axis of the graph shows the percentiles of the global income distribution. The y axis shows the cumulative growth rate percentage of income. The main conclusion that can be drawn from the graph is that the global top 1% experienced around a 60% increase in income, whereas the income of the global middle class increased 70 to 80%. The graph is most commonly cited as a representation of the global income inequality that has occurred in part due to globalization.

The Emperor's New Clothes:

Something obvious and embarrassing that is politely ignored or that goes unacknowledged.

"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes invisible to those unfit for their positions or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

The Establishment:

The Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation.

The term is most often used in Britain, where it includes leading politicians, senior civil servants, the most important financiers and industrialists, governors of the BBC, and the Royal Court.

The Eternal Jew:

See: wandering jew.

The Finger:

In Western culture, The Finger (as in giving someone The Finger or 'the bird'), also known as the middle finger or flipping someone off, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" ("screw off"), "fuck you" ("screw you") or "up yours". It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards. In a more common and less obscene use, extending the finger is the universal symbol of contempt.

See also: bras d'honneur.

The Firm:

Nickname for the British Royal Family by Prince Philip.

The First Hundred Days:

During their First Hundred Days, all new U.S. presidents try to harness the carryover energy of a successful campaign by at least starting to implement the main programs and promises coming from the primaries and debates.

The Five Fingers | Les cinq doigts:

Les Cinq Doigts is a 1921 piano composition by Igor Stravinsky. Subtitled 8 mélodies très faciles sur 5 notes ("8 very easy melodies on 5 notes"), the work comprises eight short pieces in which the right hand generally plays only five notes, remaining in essentially the same position at the keyboard throughout the work.

Of his Les cinq doigts (The Five Fingers), Stravinsky said that he "found it rather amusing, with these very much restricted means, to try to awaken in the child a taste for melodic design in its combination with a rudimentary accompaniment." Written in the winter of 1921 for Stravinsky's youngest children, the eight pieces of Les cinq doigts take less than eight minutes to play, thus putting them well within the attention span of a very young piano student. Stravinsky designed them so that "the five fingers of the right hand, once on the keys, remain in the same position sometimes even for the whole length of the piece, while the left hand, which is accompanying the melody, executes a harmonic or contrapuntal pattern of the utmost simplicity."

The eight pieces are 1. "Andantino," 2. "Allegro," 3. "Allegretto," 4. "Larghetto," 5. "Moderato," 6. "Lento," 7. "Vivo," and 8. "Pesante." The pieces have been described as recalling either Fauré or The Firebird in the "Larghetto," or the Russian popular style or Petrushka in the "Lento." In fact, they are deliberately melodic, purposefully simple, and even regularly constructed pieces intended, as Stravinsky, said to appeal in their artlessness to children.

The Force:

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together." - Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The Four Hundred:

The social elite of New York City in the late 19th century; term coined by Ward McAllister, supposedly the number of people Mrs William Backhouse Astor, Jr's ballroom could accommodate.

The Four Hundred (sometimes The Four Hundred Club) a phrase meaning the wealthiest, most famous, or most powerful social group, leading to the generation of such lists as the Forbes 400. To be a member of The Four Hundred, a family must be able to trace its wealth and lineage at least three generations without being tainted by any work.

McAllister coined the phrase "the Four Hundred". According to him, this was the number of people in New York who really mattered; the people who felt at ease in the ballrooms of high society. ("If you go outside that number," he warned, "you strike people who are either not at ease in a ballroom or else make other people not at ease.") The number was popularly supposed to be the capacity of Mrs William Backhouse Astor Jr.'s ballroom.

The Garden State:

The official nickname of the State of New Jersey in the United States.

The Giving Pledge:

The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage the wealthiest people in the world to make a commitment to give most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. The campaign specifically focuses on billionaires (or those who would be billionaires if not for their philanthropy) and was made public in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

The Golden Rule:

See: golden rule.

The Good Samaritan:

A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus and is mentioned in only one of the Canonical gospels. According to the Gospel of Luke 10:25-37 a Jewish traveler is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured Jew. Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to a question regarding the identity of the "neighbour" which Leviticus 19:18 says should be loved.

The Holy Grail:

See: Holy Grail.

The Keys to The City:

The Keys to The City were symbols of the residents’ right to self-determination. If a city had to surrender to an attacking army, this was symbolized by the keys to the city being turned over to the conquerors.

Getting the key to the city definition according to the NYC: "The "Key to the City" is bestowed upon distinguished persons and honored guests of the City of New York. The practice of presenting a key to an individual may be traced back to medieval times, when admission into a city was hampered by many legal restrictions, as well as by walls and locked gates. The key symbolized free entry. In New York, the act of giving the Key of the City is symbolic, since the city has no gates to unlock. Today, the presentation honors outstanding civic contributions of the recipients.

In early days, New York City honored esteemed persons with the "Freedom of the City," the custom of granting to distinguished residents or visitors the "privileges connected with mutual citizenship." To symbolize this, a recipient of the honor would receive a gold box containing mementos or gifts from city leaders. Next to election to public office, the presentation of the "Freedom of the City" was considered the highest form of municipal honor.

The first such gift was presented on June 27, 1702, when the Mayor Philip French executed a "Freedom of the City" for the Viscount Cornbury. In conjunction with this gift, all those in the city who were too poor to purchase their freedoms were made "Freemen of the City (sic) Gratis." By the middle 1800's, it became customary to give a key to the City as a direct symbol of the city's intention that the recipient is as free to come and go at will."

The King Can Do No Wrong:

The principle is called Sovereign Immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune to civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, stronger rule as regards foreign courts is named state immunity.

In its older sense, Sovereign Immunity is the original forebear of state immunity based on the classical concept of sovereignty in the sense that a sovereign could not be subjected without his or her approval to the jurisdiction of another.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!:

The King is Dead, Long Live the King! (French: Le roi est mort, vive le roi !; Spanish: El rey ha muerto, ¡viva el rey!), or simply Long live the king!, is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch in various countries. In modern times, it has become a popular snowclone.

The Knowledge:

The taxicab driver in London is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, relying on satellite navigation or asking a controller by radio. Consequently, The Knowledge is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is claimed that the training involved ensures that London taxi drivers are experts on London, and have an intimate knowledge of the city.

It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least twelve 'appearances' (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination.

The Last Supper:

See: Last Supper.

The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name:

The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name is a phrase from the last line of the poem "Two Loves" by Lord Alfred Douglas, written in September 1892 and published in the Oxford magazine The Chameleon in December 1894. It was mentioned at Oscar Wilde's gross indecency trial and is usually interpreted as a euphemism for homosexuality (although Wilde denied that it was).

The Missing Link:

See: missing link.

The More the Merrier:

It is more fun with more people; a greater amount of something is better.

The Net:

Colloquialism for the Internet.

The New Black:

The New Black is a snowclone used to indicate the sudden popularity or versatility of an idea at the expense of the popularity of a second idea.

The new rage; the latest fad or trend, especially in fashion.

The Next Big Thing:

The new rage; the latest fad or trend, especially in a particular field.

The Penny Drops:

If you say The Penny Drops, you mean that you have finally understood something; understanding is reached, one comprehends.

The Philosopher's Beard:

In Greco-Roman antiquity the beard was "seen as the defining characteristic of the philosopher; philosophers had to have beards, and anyone with a beard was assumed to be a philosopher." While one may be tempted to think that Socrates and Plato sported "Philosopher's Beard", such is not the case. Shaving was not widespread in Athens during fifth & fourth-century BCE and so they would not be distinguished from the general populace for having a beard. The popularity of shaving did not rise in the region until the example of Alexander the Great near the end of the fourth century BCE. The popularity of shaving did not spread to Rome until the end of the third century BCE following its acceptance by Scipio Africanus. In Rome shaving's popularity grew to the point that for a respectable Roman citizen it was seen almost as compulsory.

The idea of the Philosopher's Beard gained traction when in 155 BCE three philosophers arrived in Rome as Greek diplomats: Carneades, head of the Platonic Academy; Critolaus of Aristotle's Lyceum; and the head of the Stoics Diogenes of Babylon. "In contrast to their beautifully clean-shaven Italian audience, these three intellectuals all sported magnificent beards." Thus the connection of beards and philosophy caught hold of the Roman public imagination.

The Pledge:

A vow to abstain from alcoholic liquor.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black:

"The Pot Calling the Kettle Black" is a proverbial idiom that seems to be of Spanish origin, versions of which began to appear in English in the first half of the 17th century. It is glossed in the original sources as being used of a person who is guilty of the very thing of which they accuse another and is thus an example of psychological projection.

The Progress Principle:

The Progress Principle states that progress contributes to positive inner work life, which contributes to progress, creating an upward spiral of creativity, engagement, and performance.

Read also: The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work - Forbes.

The Ratpack:

The Rat Pack was a supergroup of jazz musicians originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early-1960s, including the movie Ocean's Eleven.

Despite its reputation as a masculine group, the Rat Pack did have female participants, including movie icons Shirley MacLaine, Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickinson, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland.

The Real McCoy:

"The Real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's The Real McCoy".

"The Sky is The Limit":

When people say that "the Sky is The Limit", they think that there are no limits to the possibilities something could have.

The Square Mile:

The City of London is widely referred to as the City (often written on maps as "City" and differentiated from the phrase "the city of London" by capitalising the word City) or the Square Mile as it is 1.12 sq mi (2.90 km²) in area. These terms are also often used as metonyms for the United Kingdom's financial services industry, which continues a notable history of being largely based in the City.

The Stuff that Dreams are Made of:

The Stuff that Dreams are Made of is a famous movie quote from the film The Maltese Falcon.

(Almost) similar quote from Shakespeare's The Tempest, act 4, scene 1, 148-158: Such stuff as dreams are made on.

The saying means that you can accomplish anything you can imagine. Also refers to something that is as beautiful (and probably unattainable) as something you dream of. This is a very nice inspirational saying, but it should not be taken as literal fact.

The Sword in the Stone:

A weapon in the Arthurian legend of Excalibur, which only the rightful king of Britain can pull from the stone.

The System:

The prevailing social order; the establishment.

The Toyota Way:

The Toyota Way has been called "a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work" The 14 principles of The Toyota Way are organized in four sections:

1. Long-Term Philosophy
2. The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results
3. Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People
4. Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning

The two focal points of the principles are continuous improvement and respect for people. The principles for a continuous improvement include establishing a long-term vision, working on challenges, continual innovation, and going to the source of the issue or problem. The principles relating to respect for people include ways of building respect and teamwork.

The Zulu Principle:

The Zulu Principle: Making Extraordinary Profits from Ordinary Shares is an investment guide written by English accountant and investor Jim Slater, first published by Orion in 1992. Slater named his approach to investment when he observed that after reading a short article on the Zulu people in the Reader's Digest his wife was better informed on the subject than he himself was. He went on to consider that if his wife read all the books she could find on the subject of Zulus, coupled with a visit to South Africa to meet them for herself, then in a relatively short period of time she could become one of the leading authorities on that "clearly defined and narrow area of knowledge".

The Windy City (Chicago, Il, USA):

The city of Chicago has been known by many nicknames, but it is most widely recognized as the "Windy City". There are three main possibilities to explain the city's nickname: the weather, as Chicago is near Lake Michigan; the World's Fair; and the rivalry with Cincinnati. It has been suggested that politicians are largely responsible for the nickname sticking.

Theism:

Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists. In a more specific sense, Theism is commonly a monotheistic doctrine concerning the nature of a deity, and that deity's relationship to the universe. Theism, in this specific sense, conceives of God as personal, present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe. As such Theism describes the classical conception of God that is found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism and some forms of Hinduism. The use of the word Theism to indicate this classical form of monotheism began during the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century in order to distinguish it from the then-emerging deism which contended that God, though transcendent and supreme, did not intervene in the natural world and could be known rationally but not via revelation.

Theme:

A topic of discourse or discussion.

A subject of artistic representation.

The principal melodic phrase in a composition, especially a melody forming the basis of a set of variations.

Then More Power To You!:

Means: I couldn't care less!; That's Your problem!; You're on your own!; Face the consequences!; You are unreasonable!

See also: more power to you!

Theodicy:

In the philosophy of religion, a Theodicy, meaning 'vindication of God' in Greek, is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when omnipotence, omnibenevolence, and omniscience are all simultaneously ascribed to God. Unlike a defence, which merely tries to demonstrate that the coexistence of God and evil is logically possible, a Theodicy additionally provides a framework wherein God's existence is considered plausible. The German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz coined the term "Theodicy" in 1710 in his work Théodicée, though numerous attempts to resolve the problem of evil had previously been proposed.

Theology:

Christian Religious Writings / Theology: the systematic study of the existence and nature of the divine and its relationship to and influence upon other beings.

Theophilus (biblical):

Theophilus is the name or honorary title of the person to whom the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are addressed (Luke 1:3, Acts 1:1).

Theophoric Name:

A Theophoric Name (from Greek: theophoros, literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the name of a god, both invoking and displaying the protection of that deity.

Theorem:

An idea that has been demonstrated as true or is assumed to be so demonstrable.

Mathematics: a proposition that has been or is to be proved on the basis of explicit assumptions.

Theory:

A system of rules, procedures, and assumptions used to produce a result.

Abstract knowledge or reasoning.

A speculative or conjectural view or idea.

An ideal or hypothetical situation.

A set of hypotheses related by logical or mathematical arguments to explain and predict a wide variety of connected phenomena in general terms.

Theory of Everything:

The Theory of Everything (TOE) is a putative theory of theoretical physics that fully explains and links together all known physical phenomena.

Theory of relativity and E = mc²:

In his paper on mass–energy equivalence Albert Einstein produced

E = mc²

where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light.

Theory Z:

Theory Z is a name for various theories of human motivation built on Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. Theories X, Y and various versions of Z have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior, organizational communication and organizational development.

Theosophy:

Theosophy is a collection of mystical and occultist philosophies concerning, or seeking direct knowledge of, the presumed mysteries of life and nature, particularly of the nature of divinity and the origin and purpose of the universe. Theosophy is considered part of Western esotericism, which believes that hidden knowledge or wisdom from the ancient past offers a path to enlightenment and salvation.

Therapy:

Treatment of illness or disability.

Psychotherapy.

Healing power or quality.

"There's No Smoke Without Fire":

Something that you say which means that if people are saying that someone has done something bad but no one knows whether it is true, it probably is true.

Also: "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

Thermopylae:

Thermopylae of bad taste - Edith Wharton quote.

Thesaurus:

A Thesaurus is a work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms), in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations. The largest Thesaurus in the world is the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, which contains more than 920,000 words and meanings.

Thesis:

A proposition that is maintained by argument.

A dissertation advancing an original point of view as a result of research, especially as a requirement for an academic degree.

A hypothetical proposition, especially one put forth without proof.

Thigh Gap:

A Thigh Gap is a space between the inner thighs of some people when standing upright with feet touching.

Beginning around 2013, the Thigh Gap had become an aspect of physical attractiveness in the Western world and has been associated with fragility and femininity, although it is also seen as desirable by some men as a sign of fitness. In the United States, it had been reported that among teenage girls, a gap had become a beauty ideal. Many women and men have found it difficult to achieve a Thigh Gap, leading some to resort to extreme dieting or even surgery in order to try to obtain it. The Thigh Gap craze has also been criticized as physically unnatural and a mostly unachievable body shape goal and as a cause of eating disorders.

Think Tank:

A Think Tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economy, science or technology issues, industrial or business policies, or military advice. Many Think Tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the US and Canada provide with tax exempt status. While many think tanks are funded by governments, interest groups, or businesses, some think tanks also derive income from consulting or research work related to their mandate.

Thinking Outside the Box:

Thinking Outside the Box (also thinking out of the box or thinking beyond the box) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. The term is thought to derive from management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the "nine dots" puzzle, whose solution requires some lateral thinking.

Third Degree:

(Law) Informal: mental or physical torture used to obtain information or a confession from a prisoner.

Third Eye:

The Third Eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring to a speculative invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In certain dharmic spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, the Third Eye refers to the ajna, or brow, chakra. In Theosophy it is related to the pineal gland. The Third Eye refers to the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. In New Age spirituality, the Third Eye often symbolizes a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance. The Third Eye is often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe chakras and auras, precognition, and out-of-body experiences. People who are claimed to have the capacity to utilize their Third Eyes are sometimes known as seers.

Third Party:

Someone invited to play a role in a contract or agreement who is not one of the two parties to the agreement; an outsider with an independent view.

Third World:

The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Communist Bloc. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the First World, while the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and their allies represented the Second World. This terminology provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the Earth into three groups based on political and economic divisions.

Thirteenth:

In music or music theory, a Thirteenth is the interval between the sixth and first scale degrees when the sixth is transposed up an octave, creating a compound sixth, or Thirteenth.

Thread Count:

Thread Count is a measure of the coarseness or fineness of fabric. It is measured by counting the number of threads contained in one square inch of fabric or one square centimeter, including both the length (warp) and width (weft) threads. The Thread Count is the number of threads counted along two sides (up and across) of the square inch, added together. It is used especially in regard to cotton linens such as bed sheets, and has been known to be used in the classification of towels.

Three-Age System:

The Three-Age System is the periodization of history into time periods divisible by three; for example: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age; although it also refers to other tripartite divisions of historic time periods. In history, archaeology and physical anthropology, the three-age system is a methodological concept adopted during the 19th century by which artifacts and events of late prehistory and early history could be ordered into a recognizable chronology. It was initially developed by C. J. Thomsen, director of the Royal Museum of Nordic Antiquities, Copenhagen, as a means to classify the museum’s collections according to whether the artifacts were made of stone, bronze, or iron.

Three Commas Club:

Three commas to implie a billion dollars as $1,000,000,000 has 3 commas.

Three-Finger Salute:

Control-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl+Alt+Del, also known as the "Three-Finger Salute") is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible computers, invoked by pressing the Delete key while holding the Control and Alt keys: Ctrl+Alt+Delete. The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function. For instance, in pre-boot environment (before an operating system starts) or in DOS, Windows 3.0 and earlier version of Windows or OS/2, the key combination reboots the computer. Starting with Windows 3.1, the command invokes a task manager or security related component that facilitates ending a Windows session.

See also: Bill Gates: Control-Alt-Delete was a mistake.

Three-Hand Effect:

The Three-Hand Effect (or three-hand technique) is a means of playing on the piano with only two hands, but producing the impression that one is using three hands. Typically this effect is produced by keeping the melody in the middle register, with accompanying arpeggios in the treble and bass registers.

Three-Piece Suit:

A business suit consisting of a jacket and vest and trousers.

Three Second Rule:

The First Rule of human food consumtion. The rule that says if you drop a piece of food on the floor it is ok to eat if you pick it up in three seconds. Usually the 'three seconds' is more like 10 but it is still the three second rule.

The three seconds rule (also referred to as the Three-Second Rule or three in the key, with a breach often termed a lane violation) requires that in basketball, a player shall not remain in the opponents' restricted area for more than three consecutive seconds while his or her team is in control of a live ball in the frontcourt and the game clock is running.

Read also: The three second rule fact or fiction? - Daily Mail.

Three Strikes Law:

Three Strikes Laws are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States (beginning 1994) which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became very popular in the 1990s. Twenty four states have enacted some form of habitual offender laws. There is no visible difference in the crime rate decline between states with three strike laws, and those that do not.

Three Wise Monkeys:

The Three Wise Monkeys are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The Three Monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru, symbolizes the principle of "do no evil". He may be shown crossing his arms.

There Is No Alternative (TINA):

"There Is No Alternative" (TINA) is a slogan strongly associated with the policies and persona of the Conservative British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

In a speech to the Conservative Women's Conference on 21 May 1980, Thatcher appealed to the notion saying, "We have to get our production and our earnings into balance. There's no easy popularity in what we are proposing but it is fundamentally sound. Yet I believe people accept There's No real Alternative." Later in the speech, she returned to the theme: "What's the alternative? To go on as we were before? All that leads to is higher spending. And that means more taxes, more borrowing, higher interest rates more inflation, more unemployment."

Thrift:

Wise economy in the management of money and other resources; frugality.

Thriller:

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A Thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome.

The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, and fight and chase scenes are common methods in all of the Thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own unique characteristics and methods.

Throw Under the Bus:

"To Throw (Someone) Under the Bus" is an idiomatic phrase in American English meaning to betray a friend or ally for selfish reasons. It is typically used to describe a self-defensive disavowal and severance of a previously-friendly relationship when the relationship becomes controversial or unpopular or inconvenient.

Thrupple:

A three-way sexual relationship with three partners.

Thumbnail:

Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. In the age of digital images, visual search engines and image-organizing programs normally use Thumbnails, as do most modern operating systems or desktop environments, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, KDE, and GNOME.

Ticker:

Slang: A watch.

Slang: A person's heart.

A telegraphic instrument that receives news reports and prints them on paper tape; any of various devices that receive and display similar information, such as stock market quotations, electronically.

Ticker Symbol:

A stock symbol or Ticker Symbol is a short abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both.

Ticker-Tape Parade:

A Ticker-Tape Parade is a parade to honor a person or persons, held in New York City, during which people in the tall buildings of Manhattan throw large quantities of paper, confetti, paper ribbons, or the like onto the parading group. The name comes form the ticker tape originally thrown onto the parade when it passed stockbrokers' offices in lower Manhattan, before stock tickers became obsolete; in subsequent years other types of waste paper were used to serve the honorary function, as well as paper tape distributed specifically for the purpose of being thrown in such a parade.

Ticket Pocket:

A Ticket Pocket is a small pocket usually found at the top of the right front pocket in jeans, and often mistakenly referred to as a money pocket. Ticket Pockets were first introduced around 1860 for carrying one's train ticket in.

Ticket Scalping:

To engage in the reselling of something, such as tickets, at a price higher than the established value.

Tifo:

Tifo, originally the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team, is mostly used as a name for any spectacular choreography displayed by supporters on the terraces of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly an association football match.

Tiger Mother:

Definition: the idea of mothering to over program and micro manage children into achievement inspired by Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Publisher: Penguin Press HC.

Tikkun Olam:

Tikkun Olam (lit. 'repair of the world') is a concept in Judaism, interpreted in Orthodox Judaism as the prospect of overcoming all forms of idolatry, and by other Jewish denominations as an aspiration to behave and act constructively and beneficially.

The earliest use of the term Tikkun Olam comes in the phrase mip'nei tikkun ha-olam, "for the sake of repairing the world", which appears in the Mishnah with the meaning of amending the law in order to keep society well-functioning. More generally, tikkun can mean improvement, establishment, repair, prepare, and more. In the Mishnaic context it refers to practical legal measures taken in the present to ameliorate social conditions.

Tilden's Extract:

Tilden’s Extract was a 19th-century medicinal cannabis extract, first formulated by James Edward Smith of Edinburgh.

Tiling Window Manager:

In computing, a Tiling Window Manager is a window manager with an organization of the screen into mutually non-overlapping frames, as opposed to the more popular approach of coordinate-based stacking of overlapping objects (windows) that tries to fully emulate the desktop metaphor.

Time:

Time is a dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future, and also the measure of durations of events and the intervals between them.

Time and a Half:

The payment to an employee of 1.5 times their normal hourly rate for working at an anti-social time outside their normal working hours; in particular, the rate paid in the West for working in the early evening or on Saturdays.

Time and Motion:

An old-fashioned system of measuring the time taken and the motions required to carry out particular industrial tasks. Time and Motion studies were designed as a way of measuring changes in individual employees' productivity.

"Time is Money":

Benjamin Franklin quote.

Time-Lapse Photography:

Time-Lapse Photography is a technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. For example, an image of a scene may be captured once every second, then played back at 30 frames per second. The result is an apparent 30-times speed increase. Time-lapse photography can be considered the opposite of high speed photography or slow motion.

Time Lock:

A lock, as for a bank vault, containing a mechanism that prevents its being opened before a fixed time.

Time Management:

A systematic way of managing the use of time, particularly in the workplace, based on the idea that time is money. One popular Time-Management tool is called a diary.

Time of Flight (ToF):

Time of Flight (ToF) is the measurement of the time taken by an object, particle or wave (be it acoustic, electromagnetic, etc.) to travel a distance through a medium. This information can then be used to establish a time standard (such as an atomic fountain), as a way to measure velocity or path length, or as a way to learn about the particle or medium's properties (such as composition or flow rate). The traveling object may be detected directly (e.g., via an ion detector in mass spectrometry) or indirectly (e.g., by light scattered from an object in laser doppler velocimetry).

Read also: Apple’s future iPhone might add a time-of-flight camera - here’s what it could do - The Verge.

Time Out:

Time Out - respite: a pause from doing something (as work). In sports, a time-out refers to a stoppage in the match for a short amount of time.

Time Poverty:

Money-Rich, Time-Poor is an expression used to describe groups of people who have relatively little leisure time despite having a high disposable income through well-paid employment. Time Poverty has also been coined as a noun for the phenomenon. It arose in Britain at the end of the 20th century.

Many people accept Time Poverty as a necessary condition of employment; others have sought to solve the problem through downshifting or through adoption of flexible working arrangements. The problem affects both salaried workers who work long hours even though they might be well compensated as well as hourly low-wage workers who work long hours to earn more money.

Time Travel:

Time Travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space.

Time Travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the need for the traveler to experience the intervening period (at least not at the normal rate). Any technological device – whether fictional, hypothetical or actual – that would be used to achieve Time Travel is commonly known as a time machine.

Time Zones:

Any of the 24 longitudinal divisions of the earth's surface in which a standard time is kept, the primary division being that bisected by the Greenwich meridian. Each zone is 15° of longitude in width, with local variations, and observes a clock time one hour earlier than the zone immediately to the east.

Each Time Zone is measured relative to Greenwich, England. There are both civilian designations which are typically three letter abbreviations (e.g. EST) for most time zones. In addition there are military designations. These use each letter of the alphabet (except 'J') and are known by their phonetic equivalent. E.G. Greenwich Mean Time (civilian) or Z = Zulu (military and aviation).

Visit: time zones.

Timeline:

A schedule of activities or events; a timetable.

A sequence of related events arranged in chronological order and displayed along a line (usually drawn left to right or top to bottom).

Timer:

One who keeps track of time; a timekeeper.

A timepiece, especially one used for measuring and signaling the end of time intervals, as on a stove.

A switch or regulator that controls or activates and deactivates another mechanism at set times.

Timeshare:

A Timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time (typically one week, and almost always the same time every year) in which they may use the property. Units may be on a part-ownership or lease/"right to use" basis, in which the sharer holds no claim to ownership of the property.

Timeslot:

A time assigned on a schedule or agenda.

Part of a time segment bought by an advertiser for the airing of a commercial on radio or television.

#TimesUp:

Time's Up is a movement against sexual harassment founded on January 1, 2018 by Hollywood celebrities in response to the Weinstein effect and #MeToo.

Read also: Hollywood Women Launch Time’s Up to End Sexual Harassment. Here’s Their Plan - TIME.

Timing:

The time when something happens.

The regulation of occurrence, pace, or coordination to achieve a desired effect, as in music, the theater, athletics, or mechanics.

Tin Foil Hat:

A Tin Foil Hat is a hat made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil, or a piece of conventional headgear lined with foil, worn in the belief it shields the brain from threats such as electromagnetic fields, mind control, and mind reading.

The notion of wearing homemade headgear for protection has become a popular stereotype and byword for paranoia, persecutory delusions, and belief in conspiracy theories.

Tinhorn:

Someone, especially a gambler, who pretends to be important but actually has little money, influence, or skill.

Tinker, Taylor:

"Tinker Tailor" is a counting game, nursery rhyme and fortune telling song traditionally played in England, that can be used to count cherry stones, buttons, daisy petals and other items.

TINKS:

Short for: Two Incomes, No Kids.

Tinseltown:

An informal name for Hollywood.

Tip:

A Tip (also called a gratuity) is a voluntary extra payment made to certain service sector workers in addition to the advertised price of the transaction. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. Though by definition a tip is never legally required, and its amount is at the discretion of the patron being served, in some circumstances failing to give an adequate tip when one is expected may be considered very miserly, a violation of etiquette, or unethical. In some other cultures or situations, giving a tip is not expected and offering one would be considered condescending or demeaning. In some circumstances (such as tipping government workers), tipping is illegal. See also: tipping.

A piece of confidential, advance, or inside information.

A helpful hint.

Tipo:

Dude or brother or similar terms to describe someone or a friend.

Tipping:

In the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, many other Western countries and parts of the Middle East, it is customary for customers to pay a tip to a server after a meal. 15% is considered standard in the U.S., with a possible range from 15% to 30% depending on the level and quality of service. In some situations, a tip or "service charge" will be included on the restaurant bill in the U.S. Also called a gratuity, a "service charge" will be automatically applied, e.g. for large tables, parties of 4 or more, or other situations where the restaurant management imposes this to ensure that the servers working in such situations earn their usual tip income. Such service charges are usually around 18%; an additional voluntary tip is sometimes given. There is some debate in the U.S. whether a "minimum tip" exists as a convention; some argue that 15% or 20% is a minimum tip or that it is extremely rude to not leave at least $1, even if the service was not up to standard. However, some people also believe that a "minimum tip" is a way for employers to shift the responsibility of paying employee wages onto the customer. These issues are regional, cultural, and very subjective.

Visit: Worldwide Tipping Guide.

Tit for Tat:

Tit for Tat (or tit-for-tat) is an English saying dating to 1556, from "tip for tap", meaning "blow for blow," i.e., retaliation in kind—or more broadly, an equivalent to an action given in return. It has related meanings and use as a concept in biology, social psychology, business, as well as in the mathematical area of game theory. The concept in its various forms has found use in the real world in attempting to explain a form of reciprocated altruism in animal communities, and as a strategy for managing activities in technology areas.

Title:

The right to the ownership of property. If someone has "good title" to a property, it means that there is no dispute about their ownership of that property.

An identifying name given to a book, play, film, musical composition, or other work.

A name or epithet signifying rank, office, or function.

An appellation designating nobility.

Tivoli:

A city of central Italy east-northeast of Rome (Tibur is the ancient name). Tivoli contains the ruins of several ancient Roman villas and is also noted for its waterfalls.

Tivoli is also a famous recreational and cultural garden center in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A game resembling bagatelle, played on a special oblong board or table (Tivoli board / table), which has a curved upper end, a set of numbered compartments at the lower end, side alleys, and the surface studded with pins and sometimes furnished with numbered depressions or cups.

TLC:

Short for: If someone or something needs some TLC, they need to be treated in a kind and caring way. TLC is an abbreviation for 'tender loving care.'

TLD:

Short for: Top-Level Domain. A Top-Level Domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the label that follows the last dot of a fully qualified domain name. For example, in the domain name www.example.com, the top-level domain is com, or COM, as domain names are not case-sensitive. Management of most top-level domains is delegated to responsible organizations by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ( ICANN), which operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and is in charge of maintaining the DNS root zone.

Visit: IANA TLD List.

ICANN offers three main areas of information about New Top Level Domains, click here to learn more.

TL;DR:

TL;DR, short for "too long; didn't read", is Internet slang to say that some text being replied to has been ignored because of its length. In slang it can also stand for "Too lazy; didn't read". It is also used as a signifier for a summary of an online post or news article.

Said whenever a nerd makes a post that is too long to bother reading.

Frequently used acronym by lazy, ignorant people in Internet Forums, where their urge to type something exceeds their ability to read something or if they generally lack semantic ability to either comprehend or respond to a post due to underdeveloped brain.

TLS:

Short for: Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), are cryptographic protocols that provide security and data integrity for communications over networks such as the Internet. TLS and SSL encrypt the segments of network connections at the Transport Layer end-to-end.

To-Do List:

A list of errands and other tasks - often written on a piece of paper as a memory aid - that one needs or intends to accomplish.

See also: checklist.

To Earn One's Spurs:

To achieve something that proves that you are skilled in a particular type of activity and to therefore win the respect of other people.

To Have a Fool for a Client:

This proverb is based on the opinion, probably first expressed by a lawyer, that self-representation in court is likely to end badly.

To Set the Bar:

To establish a level of comptetence or an expectation.

To Spend A Penny:

British idiom means to urinate.

To Swallow a Camel:

To fuss about trifles while ignoring more serious matters.

To the Manner Born:

Accustomed to a position, custom, or lifestyle from or as if from birth.

Refers to a noble, or "upper crust" birth and heritage.

To Whom It May Concern:

Used as a salutation in a letter when the writer does not know who will read the letter.

Toast:

The act of raising a glass and drinking in honor of or to the health of a person or thing.

A person receiving much attention or acclaim.

Sliced bread heated and browned.

Toaster:

Someone who proposes a toast; someone who drinks to the health of success of someone or some venture.

Toastmaster:

A man who proposes the toasts and introduces the speakers at a banquet.

Toff:

In British English slang, a Toff is a derogatory stereotype for someone with an aristocratic background or belonging to the landed gentry, particularly someone who exudes an air of superiority.

Tofu:

Tofu, also called bean curd, is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is a component in many East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. There are many different varieties of Tofu, including fresh Tofu and Tofu that has been processed in some way. Tofu has a subtle flavor and can be used in savory and sweet dishes. It is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish.

Toga:

A loose one-piece outer garment worn in public by male citizens in ancient Rome.

Toggle:

Computing: to alternate between two or more electronic, mechanical, or computer-related options, usually by the operation of a single switch or keystroke.

Token:

An individual instance of a type of symbol.

An indication, warning, or sign of something.

Business / Commerce: a gift voucher that can be used as payment for goods of a specified value.

Tokenization (data security):

Tokenization, when applied to data security, is the process of substituting a sensitive data element with a non-sensitive equivalent, referred to as a token, that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The token is a reference (i.e. identifier) that maps back to the sensitive data through a Tokenization system. The mapping from original data to a token uses methods which render tokens infeasible to reverse in the absence of the Tokenization system, for example using tokens created from random numbers. The Tokenization system must be secured and validated using security best practices applicable to sensitive data protection, secure storage, audit, authentication and authorization. The Tokenization system provides data processing applications with the authority and interfaces to request tokens, or detokenize back to sensitive data.

Tolerance:

The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

The capacity to endure hardship or pain.

Toll:

A fixed charge or tax for a privilege, especially for passage across a bridge or along a road; A charge for a service, such as a long-distance telephone call.

An amount or extent of loss or destruction, as of life, health, or property.

Toll-Free:

Having no toll levied for its use.

Toll-Free Number:

A telephone number where the receiver pays for the calls rather than the caller. Toll-Free Numbers are widely used in certain forms of marketing.

Tombola:

A type of lottery, especially at a fête, in which tickets are drawn from a revolving drum.

Tomboy:

A girl considered boyish or masculine in behavior or manner.

A girl who acts or dresses in a boyish way, liking rough outdoor activities.

Tombstone (advertising):

A Tombstone is a particular type of print advertisement appearing in a newspaper or magazine. Tombstone ads are typically unadorned text, black on white, often enclosed in a simple box, with a centered headline and a number of lines in the body of the ad, usually also centered. The name originates from their similarity in appearance to the text on a Tombstone (headstone) grave marker.

Besides underwriters in a securities offering, fine art dealers and some traditional luxury goods vendors sometimes also use the Tombstone form.

Tomgirl:

The "girlish boy" sense was formed as an antonym of tomboy; the "boyish girl" sense is perhaps an alteration of "tomboy" to reinforce that the referent is a girl.

Tome:

One of the books in a work of several volumes.

A book, especially a large or scholarly one.

Tone-Deaf:

Unable to distinguish differences in musical pitch.

Unable to appreciate or understand the concerns or difficulties of others; out-of-touch.

Tongue-in-Cheek:

Tongue-in-Cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply a statement or other production is intended ironically and not to be taken at face value.

Tongue-Twister:

A Tongue-Twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Some Tongue-Wwisters produce results which are humorous (or humorously vulgar) when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their amusement value.

Read also: 50 Tongue Twisters to improve pronunciation in English.

Tonsure:

Tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp, as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word t?ns?ra (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in medieval Catholicism, abandoned by papal order in 1972. Tonsure can also refer to the secular practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy, or to designate mourning. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.

Tontine:

A Tontine is an investment plan for raising capital, devised in the 17th century and relatively widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries. It combines features of a group annuity and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up.

Tonto:

Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and television series and other presentations of the characters' adventures righting wrongs in 19th century western United States.

Too Big To Fail:

"Too Big To Fail" is a colloquial term in describing certain financial institutions that are so large and so interconnected that their failure is widely held to be disastrous to the economy, and which therefore must be supported by government when they face difficulty.

Defined as: "Financial institutions whose distress or disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption to the wider financial system and economic activity. To avoid this outcome, authorities have all too frequently had no choice but to forestall the failure of such institutions through public solvency support. As underscored by this crisis, this has deleterious consequences for private incentives and for public finances."

See also: SIFI | Systemically Important Financial Institution.

Too Big To Fuck With (TBTFW):

Acronym TBTFW, short for Too Big To Fuck With. Quote from the tv series Billions Season 3 Episode 8 "All the Wilburys".

Too Big To Jail:

When a well connected industry, such as the banking and finance industry makes such huge political donations that they become impervious to criminal prosecution. They can be so well connected that they in effect pick the prosecutor, and Attorney General, Treasury Secretary that makes the case for saving the very criminals that almost destroyed the Country. In return for their donations and related criminal activities they get bailed out by the government and then take huge bonuses, without an arrest or prosecution. While the common and outraged citizens grass root organizers such as Occupy Wall Street protestors are arrested in mass, and brutalized.

Too Much Information (TMI):

TMI means "Too Much Information." The abbreviation TMI is used in conversations when someone is giving more detail than is comfortable to hear or talking about subject which is cringeworthy.

When TMI is spoken it should be considered a cue to cease the current line of conversation and change the subject to something which makes the recipient less uncomfortable.

Tooth Fairy:

A Fairy supposed to leave money under a child's pillow in place of a baby tooth that has just fallen out.

Top of the Line:

The best (most expensive) in a given line of merchandise.

Top Secret (TS):

Top Secret is the highest level of classified information. Information is further compartmented so that specific access using a code word after Top Secret is a legal way to hide collective and important information. Such material would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if made publicly available. Prior to 1942, the United Kingdom and other members of the British Empire used Most Secret, but this was later changed to match the United States' category name of Top Secret in order to simplify Allied interoperability.

Topiary:

Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful.

Topography:

Detailed, precise description of a place or region.

Graphic representation of the surface features of a place or region on a map, indicating their relative positions and elevations.

A description or an analysis of a structured entity, showing the relations among its components.

Topology:

Topographic study of a given place, especially the history of a region as indicated by its topography.

Tornado:

A Tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust.

Most Tornados have wind speeds between 40 mph (64 km/h) and 110 mph (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (75 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. Some attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than a mile (1.6 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Toroid:

In mathematics, a Toroid is a doughnut-shaped object, such as an O-ring. It is a ring form of a solenoid. Its annular shape is generated by revolving a plane geometrical figure about an axis external to that figure which is parallel to the plane of the figure and does not intersect the figure.[1] When a rectangle is rotated around an axis parallel to one of its edges, then a hollow cylinder (resembling a piece of straight pipe) is produced.

Torrent:

A Torrent can have two meanings. The first meaning is when you download/share a file via the bittorrent protocol, that file is called a Torrent.

A Torrent is also a small file that when used with a bittorrent client, tells the client how to find the and download the software it corresponds to.

Click here for more information about Torrents and bittorrent.

Torrid Zone:

The central latitude zone of the Earth, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Torture:

Torture is the practice or act of deliberately inflicting severe physical pain and possibly injury on a person, though psychological and animal Torture also exist. Torture has been carried out or sanctioned by individuals, groups and states throughout history from ancient times to modern day, and forms of Torture can vary greatly in duration from only a few minutes to several days or even longer. Reasons for Torture can include punishment, revenge, political re-education, deterrence, interrogation or coercion of the victim or a third party, or simply the sadistic gratification of those carrying out or observing the Torture. The torturer may or may not intend to kill or injure the victim, but sometimes Torture is deliberately fatal and can accompany forms of murder or capital punishment. The aim may also be to inflict pain but without causing fatal injury, or sometimes any injury at all. In other cases, the torturer may be indifferent to the condition of the victim. There is also Torture that can be fatal eventually, but where attempts are made not to kill the victim quickly to prolong the length of time of the suffering.

Tory:

A member of a British political party, founded in 1689, that was the opposition party to the Whigs and has been known as the Conservative Party since about 1832.

Total Look:

A Total Look refers to styling where just one color or print is worn to create your look. It is a bold fashion trend that has triumphed on the catwalks and many celebrities are hooked.

It comes from the 80s when women's fashion was full of prints and bold combinations, but with the arrival of the 90s, fashion gave way to minimalism and simpler lines. Now, the 21st century has revived the Total Look by adapting it to new uses to create an edgy and very feminine look.

Total Unaddressable Markets (TUM):

Starry-eyed venture capitalists love to talk about how promising startups might capture a chunk of a giant total addressable market (TAM). This concept can also work in reverse, though. New anti-obesity drugs have the potential to transform public health, while obliterating demand for products and services from the medical, food and fitness industries. Think of them as Total Unaddressable Markets (TUM). Drugs developed by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly appear to be the first truly effective diet treatments. They work by targeting receptors in the brain that reduce appetite and help people feel fuller for longer.

Totem:

An animal, plant, or natural object serving among certain tribal or traditional peoples as the emblem of a clan or family and sometimes revered as its founder, ancestor, or guardian; a representation of such an object; a social group having a common affiliation to such an object.

A venerated emblem or symbol.

Totemism:

Totemism is a belief in which each human is thought to have a spiritual connection or a kinship with another physical being, such as an animal or plant, often called a "spirit-being" or "totem." The totem is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol.

Totum Pro Parte:

Totum Pro Parte is Latin for "the whole for a part"; it refers to a kind of metonymy. The plural is tota pro partibus, "wholes for parts". When used in a context of language it means that something is named after something of which it is only a part (or only a limited characteristic, in itself not necessarily representative for the whole).

Touch:

To cause or permit a part of the body, especially the hand or fingers, to come in contact with so as to feel.

To press or push lightly; tap.

To deal with, especially in passing; treat briefly or allusively.

Slang: to wheedle a loan or handout from,

A facility; a knack; a characteristic way of doing things.

Touch Wood:

See: knock on wood.

Touché:

Used to acknowledge a hit in fencing or a successful criticism or an effective point in argument.

Touchdown:

Football: an act of carrying, receiving, or gaining possession of the ball across the opponent's goal line for a score of six points.

The contact, or moment of contact, of a landing aircraft or spacecraft with the landing surface.

Touchpad:

A Touchpad (also Trackpad) is a pointing device consisting of specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. They are a common feature of laptop computers and also used as a substitute for a computer mouse where desk space is scarce. Touchpads vary in size but are rarely made larger than 40 square centimeters (about 6 square inches). They can also be found on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and some portable media players.

Touchscreen:

A Touchscreen is a display which can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touch or contact to the display of the device by a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen, the term Touchscreen is generally not applicable. The ability to interact directly with a display typically indicates the presence of a Touchscreen.

The Touchscreen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact with what is displayed directly on the screen, where it is displayed, rather than indirectly with a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device, again, such as a stylus that needs to be held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games.

Touchstone (metaphor):

As a metaphor, a Touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested. It is similar in use to an acid test, litmus test in politics, or, from a negative perspective, a shibboleth where the criterion is considered by some to be out-of-date.

Tour:

A trip with visits to various places of interest for business, pleasure, or instruction.

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience.

Tour de Force:

A feat requiring great virtuosity or strength, often deliberately undertaken for its difficulty.

Tour d'Horizon:

A broad general survey or summary of an argument or event.

Tourbillon:

A Tourbillon (meaning: whirlwind) is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement. Invented in 1795 by French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, a tourbillon counters the effects of gravity by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, ostensibly in order to negate the effect of gravity when the timepiece (and thus the escapement) is rotated. Originally an attempt to improve accuracy, tourbillons are still included in some expensive modern watches as a novelty and demonstration of watchmaking virtuosity. The mechanism is usually exposed on the watch's face to show it off.

Tourette Syndrome:

Tourette's was once considered a rare and bizarre syndrome, most often associated with the exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks (coprolalia). However, this symptom is present in only a small minority of people with Tourette's.

Tourism:

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited".

Tourist:

A person who travels for pleasure, usually sightseeing and staying in hotels.

Tournament:

A series of contests in which a number of contestants compete and the one that prevails through the final round or that finishes with the best record is declared the winner.

A medieval martial sport in which two groups of mounted and armored combatants fought against each other with blunted lances or swords.

Tout Lasse, Tout Casse, Tout Passe et Tout Se Remplace:

French: Everything passes, everything weary, everything breaks and everything replaced.

Tout Paris:

See: le tout Paris.

Tout Passe, Tout Lasse, Tout Casse et Tout se Remplace:

French proverb: Everything passes, everything weary, everything breaks and everything replaced.

Towelhead:

A derogatory term for one of Middle Eastern descent, especially a male. It comes from their custom of wearing a turban.

Tower of Strength:

A person who can be relied on to give a great deal of support and comfort.

Town and Gown:

Town and Gown are two distinct communities of a university town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh and St Andrews, although the term is also used to describe modern university towns as well as towns with a significant public school. The metaphor is historical in its connotation but continues to be used in the literature on urban higher education and in common parlance.

Town Crier:

A Town Crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of the court who makes public pronouncements as required by the court.

The town crier can also be used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dress elaborately, by a tradition dating to the 18th century, in a red and gold coat, white breeches, black boots and a tricorne hat.

Township:

A subdivision of a county in most northeast and Midwest U.S. states, having the status of a unit of local government with varying governmental powers.

A public land surveying unit of 36 sections or 36 square miles; an ancient administrative division of a large parish in England.

A racially segregated area in South Africa established by the government as a residence for people of color.

Toy Boy:

A much younger boyfriend or husband of an older woman. In male-male relationships, a Toy Boy (sometimes Toy Boi) characterizes the one who is (and usually enjoys being) used for sexual gratification.

See also: cougar.

TPP:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed trade agreement between several Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy. Among other things, the TPP seeks to lower trade barriers such as tariffs, establish a common framework for intellectual property, enforce standards for labour law and environmental law, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. The goal of the agreement is to "enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation and retention of jobs." TPP is considered by the United States government as the companion agreement to TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a broadly similar agreement between the United States and the European Union.

TQM:

Short for: Total Quality Management, the idea that quality management should infuse every single process in a company's operations.

Tracer:

An investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods.

Medicine: any radioactive isotope introduced into the body to study metabolic processes, absorption, etc., by following its progress through the body with a gamma camera or other detector.

Military: a projectile that can be observed when in flight by the burning of chemical substances in its base.

Tracht:

Tracht refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian and Austrian garments, many other peoples of Germany have them.

Track Record:

A record of actual performance or accomplishment.

Tract:

A leaflet or pamphlet containing a declaration or appeal, especially one put out by a religious or political group.

Trade:

To buy and sell goods and services, usually across national boundaries.

A profession or skill. For example: "He's in the meat trade."

Trade Barrier:

Something that hinders the free flow of trade, especially import duties and things which make imported goods less competitive vis-à-vis domestically produced goods.

Trade Discount:

A discount given by one member of a trade to another; for example, by a wholesaler of garments to the owner of a fashion boutique.

Trade Dress:

Trade Dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade Dress is a form of intellectual property.

Read also: Trade Dress Basics.

Trade Fair:

A large organized event at which producers of a defined range of goods and services (often from a number of different countries) show off their wares to potential customers and to each other.

Trade Mission:

An organized trip abroad by a group of businessmen designed to introduce them to potential customers, representatives, politicians, and so on, in the foreign country.

Trade Name:

A Trade Name, trading name, or business name, is a name that a business uses for trading commercial products or services. A business may also use its registered, legal name for contracts and other formal purposes. In English writing, Trade Names are generally treated as proper nouns. Businesses use Trade Names mostly to help market their products or promote their brand.

Trade Off:

Yielding one asset to gain another. For example, selling a building to realize a tax loss that can then be set off against the year's trading profit.

Trade Secret:

Any proprietary way of conducting a trade (or profession) that enables its practitioner to be more competitive than its rivals. No firm wants its trade secrets to be discovered by anybody else.

Trade Union:

A group of workers who organize themselves to promote the rights of employees and to improve conditions in the workplace. In particular, a union is able to use the collective bargaining power of all its members when negotiating with employers on matters such as wage increases.

Tradecraft:

Tradecraft, within the intelligence community, refers to the techniques used in modern espionage and generally, the activity of intelligence. This includes general topics or techniques (dead drops, for example), or the specific techniques of a nation or organization (the particular form of encryption used by the NSA, for example).

Trademark:

The unique mark that a manufacturer puts on to its products to distinguish them from any other manufacturer's products; for example, the label on a pair of Levi jeans. To help protect them from being copied, manufacturers can have their Trademarks officially registered in most of the world's leading industrial countries. To enjoy the protection of registration, however, a manufacturer must demonstrate that its mark is both distinctive and in continuous use.

A distinctive characteristic by which a person or thing comes to be known.

Trademark Symbol:

The Trademark Symbol, designated by ™ (the letters TM written in superscript style), is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. Use of this symbol does not mean that the trademark has been registered as registered trademarks are indicated using the registered trademark symbol (®).

Tradition:

The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication.

A body of unwritten religious precepts.

A time-honored practice or set of such practices.

Tradwife:

A Tradwife (a neologism for traditional wife or traditional housewife) typically denotes a woman who believes in and practices traditional gender roles and marriages. Some may choose to take a homemaking role within their marriage, or to leave their careers to focus instead on meeting their family's needs in the home.

According to Google Trends, online searches of the term "Tradwife" began to rise in popularity around mid-2018 and reached high levels during the early 2020s. The traditional housewife aesthetic has since spread throughout the Internet in part through social media featuring women extolling the virtues of behaving as the ideal woman.

Trafficking:

The commercial exchange of goods; trade; illegal or improper commercial activity.

Tragedy:

A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

A play, film, television program, or other narrative work that portrays or depicts calamitous events and has an unhappy but meaningful ending.

A disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life.

See also: greek tragedy and comedy.

Trail:

A track or mark left by something that has passed.

Trailblazing:

Suggestive of one that blazes a trail; setting out in a promising new direction; pioneering or innovative.

Trailer:

A short filmed advertisement for a movie; a preview.

A furnished vehicle drawn by a truck or automobile and used when parked as a dwelling or office.

Trailer Park:

A Trailer Park is a neighborhood consisting of an area of land where travel trailers rest. The term may also be used to refer to mobile home parks or manufactured home communities.

Trailer Park Trash:

Trailer trash (or Trailer Park Trash) is a derogatory North American English term for poor people living in a trailer or a mobile home. It is particularly used to denigrate white people living in such circumstances and can be considered to fall within the category of racial slurs. The term has increasingly replaced “white trash” in public and television usage as the latter expression became more politically incorrect.

Trainee:

A person in the process of being trained how to do a particular job. If a trainee fails to pick up the necessary skills within a certain time, he or she may not be taken on by the company as a full-time employee.

Trait:

A distinguishing feature, as of a person's character.

Trajectory:

The path of a projectile or other moving body through space.

A chosen or taken course.

Mathematics: a curve that cuts all of a given family of curves or surfaces at the same angle.

Tramp:

A person who travels from place to place on foot in search of work or as a vagrant or beggar; a low life; some one who gets around town; a promiscuous woman; a prostitute.

Trance:

A hypnotic, cataleptic, or ecstatic state.

Detachment from one's physical surroundings, as in contemplation or daydreaming.

A semiconscious state, as between sleeping and waking; a daze.

Trans Fat:

Trans Fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid(s). Trans Fats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated but never saturated.

Unsaturated fat is a fat molecule, containing one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms. Since the carbons are double-bonded to each other, there are fewer bonds available for hydrogen, so there are fewer hydrogen atoms, hence "unsaturated". Cis and trans are terms that refer to the arrangement of chains of carbon atoms across the double bond. In the cis arrangement, the chains are on the same side of the double bond, resulting in a kinked geometry. In the trans arrangement, the chains are on opposite sides of the double bond, and the chain is straight overall.

Transaction:

Something transacted, especially a business agreement or exchange.

Comunication involving two or more people that affects all those involved; personal interaction.

A record of business conducted at a meeting; proceedings.

Transaction Cost:

The cost of carrying out a transaction; for example, the cost of clearing a check, or of buying something at an auction.

Transactional Marriage:

A Transactional Marriage is when couples treat marriage as a business deal. Kind of like someone brings home the bacon, and the other partner cooks it, sets the table, wash the dishes, while the breadwinner watches football. Traditional gender roles are excellent examples of transactional relationships.

In any business deal, a transactional relationship is focused on benefits. Generally, the people inside the partnership are thinking what the hell am I getting out of this. Couples in transactional relationships give and take, but they care about getting more than what they bargained for. True marriages don’t care about those things.

Read also: America, Home of the Transactional Marriage & Melania Trump has a transactional marriage, says former aide.

Transactionalism:

Transactionalism is a pragmatic philosophical approach to questions such as: what is the nature of reality; how we know and are known; and how we motivate, maintain, and satisfy our goals for health, money, career, relationships, and a multitude of conditions of life through mutually cooperative social exchange and ecologies. It involves the study and accurate thinking required to plan and utilize one's limited resources in the fundamental mechanics of social exchange or trans-action. To transact is learning to beat the odds or mitigate the common pitfalls involved with living a good and comfortable life by always factoring in the surrounding circumstances of people, places, things and the thinking behind any exchange from work to play.

Transfer:

Cause to change ownership.

Transfer Fee:

In association football, a Transfer is the action taken whenever a player moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one club to another.

Transfer Payment:

A payment by a government to its citizens that is not made as a reward for the supply of goods or services - for example, unemployment benefit.

Transfer Pricing:

The shifting of profit from one part of a group to another by the charging of artificial (non-market) prices for the provision of goods or services between the parts. Transfer Pricing is used to move taxable profits from a high-tax jurisdiction to a low-tax one.

Transfer Window:

In association football, the Transfer Window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff.

Transference:

Transference is a phenomenon characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another.

Transformer Company:

A licensed insurer which transforms insurance risks of insurance companies into capital market transactions. In Bermuda, Transformer Companies are frequently used, generally by Class 4 insurance companies which segregate the risk of insurance and reinsurance obligations.

Transhumanism:

Transhumanism (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international and intellectual movement that aims to transform the human condition by developing and creating widely available technologies to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics of using such technologies. The most common thesis is that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with abilities so greatly expanded as to merit the label posthuman.

Transistor:

A small electronic device containing a semiconductor and having at least three electrical contacts, used in a circuit as an amplifier, detector, or switch.

Transnational:

A company which straddle national boundaries. A Transnational company is not a multinational. The latter's business operations work independently of each other. The many different and far-flung operations of a Transnational are inextricably linked with each other.

Transparency (behavior):

Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability.

The principle of making company accounts as clear as possible so that their readers can see for themselves the transactions that underlie them.

Transponder:

A radio or radar transmitter-receiver activated for transmission by reception of a predetermined signal.

Transshipment:

The practice of unloading a cargo at one place (a port or an airport, for example) so that it can be transferred to another mode of transport that will take it on to its final destination.

Transubstantiation:

Transubstantiation is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the change of substance by which the bread and the wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during the Mass, become, in reality, the body and blood of Jesus the Christ.

Transversal:

A set containing exactly one member of each of several other sets; a line that intersects two or more lines at different points.

Trappists:

The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.: Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae) is a Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monastics who follow the Rule of St. Benedict. A branch of the Cistercian Order, they have communities of both monks and nuns, commonly referred to as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively.

Trash-Talk:

Trash-Talk is a form of insult usually found in sports events and insulting people. It is often used to intimidate the opposition, but can also be used in a humorous spirit. Trash-Talk is often characterized by use of hyperbole or figurative language, such as, "Your team can't run! You run like honey on ice!" Puns and other wordplay are commonly used.

Trattoria:

An informal restaurant or tavern serving simple Italian dishes.

Trauma:

A serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident.

An emotional wound or shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to the psychological development of a person, often leading to neurosis.

An event or situation that causes great distress and disruption.

Travel Bubble:

A "Travel Bubble", or corridor, that will allow the quarantine-free flow of people between the two neighbours.

Travel Shaming:

Travel Shaming is the subtle but often times very overt manner in which one attempts to make another feel guilty or inferior for not traveling (or for not wanting to travel) to the popular destination(s) of the day.

Read also: Travel shame, travel virtue - Travel Weekly.

Traveler's Check:

A means of enabling travelers to make payments when abroad. The traveler's check, now over 100 years old, relies on the simple security device of the double signature. Owners sign once when they buy the check, and again when they sell it. If they lose the check in between signatures they can get it replaced by the issuer.

Travelogue (films):

Travelogue films are exploratory and ethnographic films that were used to provide the general public with a means of observing different countries and cultures since the late 19th century. Travelogues are considered to be a form of virtual tourism or travel documentary and were often presented as lectures narrating accompanying films and photos.

Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP):

The Travelling Salesman Problem (also called the traveling salesperson problem or TSP) asks the following question: "Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, what is the shortest possible route that visits each city exactly once and returns to the origin city?" It is an NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization, important in theoretical computer science and operations research.

Travesty:

A comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations.

Treadmill:

An exercise device consisting of an endless belt on which a person can walk or jog without changing place.

A dreary round or routine.

Treasure Hunt:

Treasure Hunting is the physical search for treasure which has been a notable human activity for millennia.

A game in which the players attempt to find hidden articles by means of a series of clues.

Treasure Trove:

Treasure of unknown ownership found hidden (usually in the earth); any collection of valuables that is discovered.

Treasurer:

The (senior) manager within a company who is responsible for the safekeeping of all the money that comes into the business, and for the wise spending of the money that goes out of it.

Treatise:

A systematic, usually extensive written discourse on a subject.

Treaty:

A formal agreement between two or more states, as in reference to terms of peace or trade; the document in which such an agreement is set down.

A contract or agreement.

Tree Blind:

Many of us suffer from an insidious condition called “Tree Blindness.” We barely notice trees, can rarely identify them and find them incomparably inert. Just naming trees might sound a bit like a parlor trick to impress your friends. But it’s also a way to start paying attention. Recommended reading: Cure Yourself of Tree Blindness - The New York Times.

Tree Hugger:

Derogatory term for environmentalists who support restrictions on the logging industry and the preservation of forests.

Trek:

A journey or leg of a journey, especially when slow or difficult.

Trenchcoat:

A belted raincoat in a military style, having straps on the shoulders and deep pockets.

Trend:

The general direction in which something tends to move.

Trend-Setter:

Someone who popularizes a new fashion.

Trendy:

Of or in accord with the latest fad or fashion.

Trespass:

A wrongful interference with the possession of property (personal property as well as realty), or the action instituted to recover damages.

Treuhänderschaft:

A Liechtenstein form of a trust.

Treuunternehmung:

Another Liechtenstein form of registered trust, designed to undertake commercial activities.

Triad:

Triad is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations based in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia and Mainland China, and also in Western countries and cities with significant Chinese populations.

See also: mafia.

Trial by Ordeal:

Trial by Ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. Classically, the test was one of life or death and the proof of innocence was survival. In some cases, the accused was considered innocent if they escaped injury or if their injuries healed.

Trial Offer:

A special promotion that allows a consumer to try a product for a period of time before deciding whether or not to buy it.

Triangulation:

In trigonometry and geometry, Triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly (trilateration). The point can then be fixed as the third point of a triangle with one known side and two known angles.

Triathlon:

A triathlon is an endurance sports event consisting of running, biking, and swimming over various distances. As a result, proficiency in swimming, cycling, or running alone is not sufficient to guarantee a triathlon athlete a competitive time, trained triathletes have learned to race each stage in a way that preserves their energy and endurance for subsequent stages. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed back-to-back in immediate sequence and a competitor's official time includes the time required to "transition" between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes.

Tribalism:

The customs, life, and organization of a tribal society.

A strong feeling of identity with and loyalty to one's tribe or group.

Tribe:

A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.

A group of people sharing an occupation, interest, or habit.

Tribute:

A gift, payment, declaration, or other acknowledgement of gratitude, respect, or admiration.

Evidence attesting to some praiseworthy quality or characteristic.

Trick:

An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means.

A special skill; a knack.

A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse.

Games: all the cards played in a single round, one from each player.

Trick-or-Treating:

Trick-or-Treating is a custom for children on Halloween. Children proceed in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy, or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" is an idle threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property, such as eggs and flour being thrown at householders' windows if no treat is given.

In the United States and Canada, Trick-or-Treating is now one of the main traditions of Halloween and it has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for Trick-or-Treaters.

Trick Question:

A question which makes you believe you should answer it in one way, when the question you are really meant to answer is hidden within it.

Trickle Down Economics & Effect:

"Trickle-Down Economics", also referred to as Trickle-Down theory, is an economic theory that advocates reducing taxes on businesses and the wealthy in society as a means to stimulate business investment in the short term and benefit society at large in the long term. It is a form of laissez-faire capitalism in general and more specifically supply-side economics. Whereas general supply-side theory favors lowering taxes overall, Trickle-Down theory more specifically targets taxes on the upper end of the economic spectrum.

The term "Trickle-Down" originated as a joke by humorist Will Rogers and today is often used to criticize economic policies which favor the wealthy or privileged, while being framed as good for the average citizen. In recent history, it has been used by critics of supply-side economic policies, such as "Reaganomics". David Stockman, who as Ronald Reagan's budget director championed Reagan's tax cuts at first, but then became critical of them, told journalist William Greider that the "supply-side economics" is the Trickle-Down idea:

"It's kind of hard to sell Trickle Down,' so the supply-side formula was the only way to get a tax policy that was really 'Trickle Down.' Supply-side is 'Trickle-Down' theory." - David Stockman, The Atlantic.

The Trickle-Down Effect is a model of product adoption in marketing that affects many consumer goods and services.

It states that fashion flows vertically from the upper classes to the lower classes within society, each social class influenced by a higher social class. Two conflicting principles drive this diffusion dynamic. Lesser social groups seek to establish new status claims by adopting the fashions of higher social groups in imitation, whilst higher social groups respond by adopting new fashions to differentiate themselves. This provokes an endless cycle of change, driving fashion forward in a continual process of innovation.

Due to this dynamic, initially a product may be so expensive that only the wealthy can afford it. Over time, however, the price will fall until it is inexpensive enough for the general public to purchase.

Read also: Trickle Down Economics: Theory, Effect, Does It Work? & Warren Buffett on the failure of 'Trickle Down' economics.

Trifecta:

A variation of the perfecta in which a bettor wins by selecting the first three finishers of a race in the correct order of finish.

Trigger Price:

The price of imported goods below which predetermined restrictions on imports come into effect. The restrictions are aimed at preventing cheap imports from flooding the market and damaging domestic producers.

Trigger Warning:

A phrase posted at the beginning of various posts, articles, or blogs. Its purpose is to warn weak minded people who are easily offended that they might find what is being posted offensive in some way due to its content, causing them to overreact or otherwise start acting like a dipshit. Popular on reddit SRS or other places that social justice warriors like to hang out.

Trigger Warnings are unnecessary 100% of the time due to the fact that people who are easily offended have no business randomly browsing the internet anyways. As a result of the phrases irrelevance, most opinions that start out with this phrase tend to be simplistic and dull since they were made by people ridiculous enough to think that the internet is supposed to cater to people who can't take a joke.

Read also: Why I Use Trigger Warnings - The New York Times.

Trilogy:

A group of three dramatic or literary works related in subject or theme.

Trinket:

A small or worthless ornament or piece of jewellery.

A trivial object; trifle.

Trinity:

A group consisting of three closely related members.

Theology: in most Christian faiths, the union of three divine persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one God.

Triptych:

A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together.

A hinged writing tablet consisting of three leaves, used in ancient Rome.

Triple step:

Triple Step is a generic term for dance step patterns that describes three steps done on two main beats of music. Usually they are two quick steps and one slow one, i.e., often they are counted as "quick-quick-slow", "one-and-two", "three-and-four", etc.

Some dances have a pattern known as such: "triple step". In some other dances it is referred to as the shuffle step.

Tripos:

At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos is any of the undergraduate examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by an undergraduate to prepare.

Tristan Chord:

The Tristan Chord is a chord made up of the notes F, B, D# and G#. More generally, it can be any chord that consists of these same intervals: augmented fourth, augmented sixth, and augmented ninth above a root. It is so named as it is heard in the opening phrase of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde as part of the leitmotif relating to Tristan.

Triumvirate:

A group of three men responsible for classpublic administration or civil authority.

Trivia:

Unimportant, trifling things or details, especially obscure and useless knowledge.

Trivia Game:

A Trivia Game or competition is one where the competitors are asked questions about interesting but unimportant facts in many subjects.

Trivium:

The lower division of the seven liberal arts in medieval schools, consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

Troglodyte:

Cave-dweller.

Troika:

Troika (from Russian) meaning "a set of three", or triumvirate, or three of a kind).

Trojan Horse (computing):

The Trojan Horse, also known as Trojan, in the context of computing and software, describes a class of computer threats (malware) that appears to perform a desirable function but in fact performs undisclosed malicious functions that allow unauthorized access to the host machine, giving them the ability to save their files on the user's computer or even watch the user's screen and control the computer.

Trojan Horses (not technically a virus) can be easily and unwittingly downloaded. For example, if a computer game is designed such that, when executed by the user, it opens a back door that allows a hacker to control the computer of the user, then the computer game is said to be a Trojan Horse. However, if the computer game is legitimate, but was infected by a virus, then it is not a Trojan Horse, regardless of what the virus may do when the game is executed. The term is derived from the classical story of the Trojan Horse.

Troll (Internet):

In Internet slang, a Troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

While the word Troll and its associated verb Trolling are associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels subjective, with Trolling describing intentionally provocative actions and harassment outside of an online context. For example, mass media has used Troll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."

Trolley Problem:

The Trolley Problem is a thought experiment in ethics. The general form of the problem is this:

You see a runaway trolley moving toward five tied-up (or otherwise incapacitated) people lying on the tracks. You are standing next to a lever that controls a switch. If you pull the lever, the trolley will be redirected onto a side track and the five people on the main track will be saved. However, there is a single person lying on the side track. You have two options:

1. Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.
2. Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.

Which is the more ethical option?

Beginning in 2001, the Trolley Problem and its variants have been used extensively in empirical research on moral psychology. Trolley Problems have also been a topic of popular books. The problem often arises in the discussion of the ethics of the design of autonomous vehicles.

Read also: Human Perspective on moral decisions made by machine intelligence, such as self-driving cars.

Trolley Suitcase:

Trolley Suitcases typically have two fixed wheels on one end with the handle located on the opposite for vertical movement.

Trompe l'Oeil:

A painting rendered in such great detail as to deceive the viewer concerning its reality.

Trooper:

Anyone who exhibits extreme perseverence, fortitude, and tenacity.

Trope:

A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor.

A word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies.

Trophy:

A prize or memento, such as a cup or plaque, received as a symbol of victory, especially in sports.

A specimen or part, such as a lion's head, preserved as a token of a successful hunt.

A memento, as of one's personal achievements.

The spoils of war, dedicated in classical antiquity with an inscription to a deity and set up as a temporary monument on or near a battlefield, placed in an existing temple, or housed in a permanent, new structure.

Trophy Wife:

The term Trophy Wife appears in a 1950 issue of The Economist magazine. It refers to the historical practice of warriors capturing the most beautiful women during battle to bring home as wives, even if most modern Trophy Wives are acquired through other means.

Although it often has a pejorative spin, the term originally meant a corporate titan's second (or third) wife, who was younger and beautiful. As used by Fortune magazine, a Trophy Wife was almost always highly accomplished in her own right and was quite intelligent. This important point is usually ignored by the popular media, and in popular usage, a Trophy Wife is usually considered to be unintelligent, sometimes even a bimbo; in any case, a woman who is said to be drawn to her husband mainly because of his money and status.

Tropic of Cancer:

The parallel of latitude 23°27 north of the equator, the northern boundary of the Torrid Zone, and the most northerly latitude at which the sun can shine directly overhead.

Tropic of Capricorn:

The parallel of latitude 23°27 south of the equator, the southern boundary of the Torrid Zone, and the most southerly latitude at which the sun can shine directly overhead.

Tropics:

Either of two parallels of latitude on the Earth, one 23°27 north of the equator and the other 23°27 south of the equator, representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone.

The part of the Earth's surface between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn; characterized by a hot climate.

Troubadour:

One of a class of 12th-century and 13th-century lyric poets in Southern France, northern Italy, and northern Spain, who composed songs in Langue d'oc often about courtly love.

A strolling minstrel.

Troubleshooter:

A person who goes into trouble companies at a senior level in order to solve specific short-term problems.

Trousseau:

The possessions, such as clothing and linens, that a bride assembles for her marriage.

Troy Ounce:

A unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a pound.

True and Fair:

The accountants' mantra: that the figures in a company's accounts should represent a true and fair view of the company's affairs. The idea is subject to individual interpretation.

Truism:

A self-evident, obvious truth.

Trump:

Games: a suit in card games that outranks all other suits for the duration of a hand. Often used in the plural.

A key resource to be used at an opportune moment.

Trump Card:

Games: a card in the trump suit, held in reserve for winning a trick.

Trump Effect:

The Trump Effect is a almost proven theory that every law or bill that Donald trump puts through will add another 100 protesters to the streets.

When Trump hadn't even assumed office yet but people are buying more and business is already getting better.

Read also: What is the Trump Effect? - Psychology Today.

Trumpspeak:

A series of two or more sentences devoid of any real substance or insight, in which all subsequent sentences are just a rephrasing of the first.

When he said, "I am very highly educated. I know words. I have the best words." Is the typical Trumpspeak I hear every time he talks.

"I don't hate mexicans. I love mexicans. I employ thousands of mexicans and by the way mexicans love me. They respect me. Everyone loves me."

Read also: It’s time to use Trumpspeak against him - The Awl.

Trunk:

Luggage consisting of a large strong case used when traveling or for storage.

The main stem of a tree.

The body excluding the head and neck and limbs.

Compartment in an automobile that carries luggage or shopping or tools.

A long flexible snout as of an elephant.

Trunk Show:

A Trunk Show is an event in which vendors present merchandise directly to store personnel or customers at a retail location or another venue such as a hotel room. In many cases it allows store personnel to preview and/or purchase merchandise before it is made available to the public. Typically, clients view the merchandise, place orders, and then wait for the vendor to manufacture and deliver the goods. If the merchandise has a designer, the vendor may choose to have the designer present at the event to add to the customers' experience. Prototypes, samples, remnants and leftover items from runway shows are also sometimes offered at Trunk Shows. Trunk Shows may be open to the general public and advertised in the mass media or may be confined to special customers or those on a mailing list.

Trust:

The concept of a Trust dates back to the time when the Norman’s conquered England in the middle of the 11th century. The Trust concept has been developed over the centuries, and has now become one of the most effective tax and estate planning techniques available today.

The word "Trust" refers to the duty or aggregate accumulation of obligations that a person (known as the settlor) rest upon a person described as a trustee by transferring his assets to this third party. The responsibilities are in relation to property held by him or under his control. The trustee is obliged to administer the Trust property in the manner lawfully prescribed by the Trust instrument (Trust or Settlement Deed, Declaration of Trust), or in the absence of specific provision, in accordance with equitable principles or statute law. The administration will thus be in such a manner that the consequential benefits and advantages accrue, not to the trustee, but to the beneficiary(ies).

There are three basic types of Trust: 1) an 'Interest in Possession' Trust allows for a particular beneficiary, often the settlor, to have a distinct right to income from part of the Trust’s capital assets; 2) An 'Accumulation and Maintenance' Trust allows for income to accumulate until a class of beneficiaries reach a certain age; 3) A 'Discretionary' Trust vests discretion with the trustees to decide how both income and capital are distributed.

It is also possible to appoint an individual who is known as the 'protector'. The protector’s main function is to ensure that the trustees administers and manages the Trust assets in accordance with the trust deed and he is often vested with the power to appoint and remove trustees.

A Trust does not have shares.

Trust Company:

A company that is in business to act as a trustee for individuals and other businesses.

Trust Deed:

(aka Settlement Deed, Declaration Of Trust Or Trust Instrument). The document that lays down the foundations of how the trustees are to administer and manage the trust assets and how they are to distribute and dispose of trust assets during the lifetime of the trust.

Trust Services:

A large number of banks located in tax havens offer trust services. In addition there are trust companies specifically offering trust services. Most tax haven jurisdictions have enacted legislative provisions and set up administrative authorities to control the of such banks and trust companies. Services offered by banks and trust companies normally include a fairly wide range of trusteeship, management and related services. The trusteeship services involve not merely acting as trustee of settlements, but many other services such as acting as trustee for debenture holders or as custodian trustee for pension funds, attending to statutory requirements and the maintenance of financial records. Often nominee shareholders, directors and other officers are furnished. Investment services are normally provided.

Trustafarian:

(Slang): A young person with the fashion sensibilities of a hippie, or any other countercultural trend, especially anarchism, Maoism, or punk rock, who subscribes to an unemployed, shiftless life of hedonism based upon an unlimited amount of funds (a trust fund).

Trustee:

Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in accordance with a trust deed and for the benefit of the beneficiary(ies).
See trust.

Trustee in Bankruptcy:

A person appointed as a trustee by a court in a case of bankruptcy. The Trustee in Bankruptcy takes title to the bankrupt company's assets while they are being disposed of.

Trustor:

The person who transfer his property to the benefit of a beneficiary under a trust deed or declaration is called Trustor or settler. By the trust deed he disowns his right in the property specified in the trust deed. A Trustor can also become a beneficiary under the trust formed by him.

Truth or Dare:

A game where players take it in turn to perform a dare set by the other players, or answer a question truthfully put forth by them.

Truthiness:

Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions.

The concept of truthiness has emerged as a major subject of discussion surrounding U.S. politics during the 1990s and 2000s because of the perception among some observers of a rise in propaganda and a growing hostility toward factual reporting and fact-based discussion.

American television comedian Stephen Colbert coined the term Truthiness in this meaning as the subject of a segment called "The Wørd" during the pilot episode of his political satire program The Colbert Report on October 17, 2005. By using this as part of his routine, Colbert satirized the misuse of appeal to emotion and "gut feeling" as a rhetorical device in contemporaneous socio-political discourse. He particularly applied it to U.S. President George W. Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court and the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Tryst:

A prearranged meeting or assignation, now especially between lovers to meet at a specific place and time.

Tsunami:

A Tsunami is a series of waves that is created when a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. The Japanese term is literally translated into "(great) harbor wave."

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (detonations of nuclear devices at sea), landslides, bolide impacts, and other mass movements above or below water all have the potential to generate a Tsunami. Due to the immense volumes of water and energy involved, the effects of tsunamis can be devastating.

The Greek historian Thucydides was the first to relate Tsunami to submarine quakes, but understanding of the nature of Tsunami remained slim until the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing research.

Many early geological, geographical, and oceanographic texts refer to Tsunamis as "seismic sea waves."

Tsundoku:

It means buying books and letting them pile up unread. "Tsundoku" (n.) is the condition of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them. "Tsundoku" originated as Japanese slang "tsun-doku". Came from "tsunde-oku" (to pile things up ready for later and leave) and "dokusho" (reading books). It is also used to refer to books ready for reading later when they are on a bookshelf. As currently written, the word combines the characters for "pile up".

A. Edward Newton is quoted as saying: "Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity ... we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access reassurance."

TTIP:

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. Proponents say the agreement would result in multilateral economic growth, while critics say it would increase corporate power and make it more difficult for governments to regulate markets for public benefit. The American government considers the TTIP a companion agreement to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After a proposed draft was leaked in March 2014, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a limited set of clauses and in January 2015 published parts of an overview.

TTP | Trusted Third Party:

In cryptography, a Trusted Third Party (TTP) is an entity which facilitates interactions between two parties who both trust the third party; the Third Party reviews all critical transaction communications between the parties, based on the ease of creating fraudulent digital content. In TTP models, the relying parties use this trust to secure their own interactions. TTPs are common in any number of commercial transactions and in cryptographic digital transactions as well as cryptographic protocols, for example, a certificate authority (CA) would issue a digital identity ceritificate to one of the two parties in the next example. The CA then becomes the Trusted-Third-Party to that certificates issuance. Likewise transactions that need a Third Party recordation would also need a third-party repository service of some kind or another.

Tu Quoque:

Tu Quoque (Latin for "you also") or the appeal to hypocrisy is an informal fallacy that intends to discredit the opponent's argument by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusion(s).

Tulipmania:

Used to refer to large economic bubbles.

Tulipmania originally came from a historical period in the Netherlands during which demand for tulip bulbs reached such a peak that enormous prices were charged for a single bulb. Tulipmania occurred in the first part of the 17th century. The tulip was introduced to Europe in the middle of the 16th century. Shortly afterward, tulips became extremely popular in Holland. The middle class would compete to possess the rarest tulips. Competition escalated until prices reached an unsustainable level and the bubble burst.

Tundra:

A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.

Tunic:

A loose-fitting garment, sleeved or sleeveless, extending to the knees and worn by men and women especially in ancient Greece and Rome.

A long, plain, close-fitting jacket, usually having a stiff high collar and worn as part of a uniform.

A long, plain, sleeved or sleeveless blouse.

Tuning Fork:

A small two-pronged metal device that when struck produces a sound of fixed pitch that is used as a reference, as in tuning musical instruments.

Tunnel Vision:

Vision in which the visual field is severely constricted, as from within a tunnel looking out.

An extremely narrow point of view; narrow-mindedness.

Turbo-(charge):

To inject extra force and energy into (an activity, undertaking, etc.).

Turing Test:

The Turing Test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. In the original illustrative example, a human judge engages in natural language conversations with a human and a machine designed to generate performance indistinguishable from that of a human being. All participants are separated from one another. If the judge cannot reliably tell the machine from the human, the machine is said to have passed the test. The test does not check the ability to give the correct answer to questions; it checks how closely the answer resembles typical human answers. The conversation is limited to a text-only channel such as a computer keyboard and screen so that the result is not dependent on the machine's ability to render words into audio.

The test was introduced by Alan Turing in his 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," which opens with the words: "I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?'" Because "thinking" is difficult to define, Turing chooses to "replace the question by another, which is closely related to it and is expressed in relatively unambiguous words." Turing's new question is: "Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game?" This question, Turing believed, is one that can actually be answered. In the remainder of the paper, he argued against all the major objections to the proposition that "machines can think".

Read also: What is the Turing test? And are we all doomed now? - The Guardian.

Turkey Illusion:

Turkey Illusion is a cognitive bias, which was first introduced by Bertrand Russell. It describes the surprise through trend breaks, if one does not know the causes or the framework conditions for this trend. Relevant disciplines for this term are psychology and behavioral economics.

Turkish Delight:

A candy usually consisting of jellylike cubes covered with powdered sugar, typically flavored with rose water.

Turn Off:

Slang: to affect with dislike, displeasure, or revulsion; to affect with boredom; to lose or cause to lose interest; withdraw; to cease paying attention to.

Turn On:

To begin to display, employ, or exude.

To excite or become excited sexually.

Turnaround:

A space, as in a driveway, permitting the turning around of a vehicle.

The act or an instance of turning about and facing or moving in the opposite direction; a reversal.

A shift or change in opinion, loyalty, or allegiance.

Turnkey Project:

A large-scale building project where the contractor agrees to see to every detail of the project. The purchaser has only to turn the key when the project is finished in order to take possession.

Turnover:

The total amount of money obtained by an organization for the goods and services that it has sold, less the money that it has paid back for returns.

Tutor:

A private instructor; one that gives additional, special, or remedial instruction.

A teacher or teaching assistant in some universities and colleges having a rank lower than that of an instructor.

Law: the legal guardian of a minor and of the minor's property.

T-V Distinction:

In sociolinguistics, a T–V Distinction (from the Latin pronouns tu and vos) is a contrast, within one language, between various forms of addressing one's conversation partner or partners that are specialized for varying levels of politeness, social distance, courtesy, familiarity, age or insult toward the addressee. Many languages lack this type of distinction, instead relying on more explicit wording to convey these meanings. The morphosyntactic T–V Distinction, though, is found in a variety of languages around the world.

TV Wife:

A TV Wife is a woman who you recruit to pretend to be your wife for the purposes of immigration, taxes, revenge or one-upmanship.

Twang:

To emit a sharp, vibrating sound, as the string of a musical instrument does when it is plucked.

To resound with a sharp, vibrating sound.

To speak in a strongly nasal tone of voice.

Tweed:

Tweed is a rough, coarse, unfinished woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern. Subdued, interesting color effects (heather mixtures) are obtained by twisting together differently coloured woolen strands into a two- or three-ply yarn.

Tweeds are desirable for informal outerwear, being moisture-resistant and durable. Once worn in, Tweeds are commonly worn for outdoor activities such as shooting and hunting, in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. "Lovat" is the name given to the green used in traditional Scottish Tweed. In Ireland, Tweed manufacturing is most associated with Magee of Donegal, a world-famous company based in County Donegal in the Province of Ulster. Tweed has recently come back into fashion with many high street shops and designers adopting the material.

Tween:

A child between middle childhood and adolesence, usually between 8 and (10-)12 years old.

Tweener:

Something that falls between two categories.

Tweep:

A Twitter user.

Tweet:

A Tweet is a post or status update on Twitter, a microblogging service. Because Twitter only allows messages of 140 characters or less, "Tweet" is as much a play on the size of the message as it is on the audible similarity to Twitter.

Twelve-Step Program:

A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles (accepted by members as 'spiritual principles,' based on the approved literature) outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems. Originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism, the Twelve Steps were first published in the book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism in 1939. The method was then adapted and became the foundation of other twelve-step programs. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, the process involves the following:

admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion;
recognizing a higher power that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;
helping others who suffer from the same addictions or compulsions.

Twenty-Twenty:

Having good vision and able to see without glasses; meeting a standard of normal visual acuity.

Marked by facilely accurate discernment, judgment, or assessment.

Twerking:

Twerking is a type of dancing in which the dancer, usually a woman, shakes her hips in an up-and-down bouncing motion, causing the dancer's buttocks to shake, "wobble" and "jiggle". According to the Oxford Dictionary Online, to twerk is "to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance".

Twin Towns and Sister Cities:

Twin Towns or Sister Cities are a form of legal or social agreement between towns, cities, counties, oblasts, prefectures, provinces, regions, states, and even countries in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties. The modern concept of town twinning, conceived after the Second World War in 1947, was intended to foster friendship and understanding between different cultures and between former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation, and to encourage trade and tourism. In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities.

Twinning:

The bearing of twins; a pairing or union of two similar or identical objects.

Mineralogy: the formation of twin crystals.

Twiplomacy:

The study on Twiplomacy found that there were 264 Twitter accounts of heads of state and government and their institutions in 125 countries world-wide and that only 30 leaders tweet personally.

See also: digital diplomacy.

Twisties:

“Like the ‘yips’ in golf or a ‘pop’ in figure skating, the ‘Twisties’ are a kind of mental block - except instead of resulting in a wonky swing of the golf club or a skid across the ice, a gymnast loses their ability to judge where they are in the air. When Simone Biles is completing unprecedented skills with multiple rotations on two separate axes, a seemingly benign affliction with a cutesy name like the ‘Twisties’ can lead to catastrophic consequences.”

Two Birds With One Stone:

Any two things that were performed or completed at the same time by one action.

Two-Factor Authentication:

See: multi-factor authentication.

Two-Tier Board:

Any company board that is divided into two parts; as, for instance, in Germany where public companies have both a management board and a supervisory board.

Two-Timing:

To be unfaithful to (a spouse or lover).

To deceive; double-cross.

Tycoon:

A successful entrepreneur.

Someone with fast cars, pretty girls and big cigars as standard accountrements, typified by the hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Love of the Last Tycoon: A Western (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald) novel about Hollywood in the 1930s.

Used formerly as a title for a Japanese shogun.

Tympanum:

In architecture, a Tympanum (plural, tympana) is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element. In ancient Greek and Roman and in Christian architecture Tympana usually contain religious imagery, when on religious buildings. A Tympanum over a doorway is very often the most important, or only, location for monumental sculpture on the outside of a building. In classical architecture, and in classicising styles from the Renaissance onwards, major examples are usually triangular; in Romanesque architecture they have a semi-circular shape, or that of a thinner slice from the top of a circle, and in Gothic architecture they have a more vertical shape, coming to a point at the top. These shapes naturally influence the typical compositions of any sculpture within the Tympanum.

Type:

A number of people or things having in common traits or characteristics that distinguish them as a group or class.

A person or thing having the features of a group or class.

An example or a model having the ideal features of a group or class; an embodiment.

A figure, representation, or symbol of something to come, such as an event in the Old Testament that foreshadows another in the New Testament.

Printing: a small block of metal or wood bearing a raised letter or character on the upper end that leaves a printed impression when inked and pressed on paper.

Typeface:

In typography, a Typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are a thousands of different Typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly.

Some of the most common and popular Typefaces in use are: Comic Sans, Gotham, Helvetica and Times New Roman.

See also: sans serif and serif.

Typo:

A typographical error.

Typography:

The craft of composing type and printing from it.

Typology:

Typology is a composite measure that involves the classification of observations in terms of their attributes on multiple variables.

Tyrant:

An absolute ruler who governs without restrictions.

Tzimmes:

Tzimmes, tsimmes, and other spelling variants is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish sweet stew typically made from carrots and dried fruits such as prunes or raisins, often combined with other root vegetables. Some cooks add chunks of meat (usually flanken or brisket). The dish is cooked slowly over low heat and flavored with honey or sugar and sometimes cinnamon or other spices.

"To make a big Tzimmes over something" is a Yinglish expression that means to make a big fuss, perhaps because of all the slicing, mixing, and stirring that go into the preparation of the dish.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- U -

U-Turn:

A turn, as by a vehicle, completely reversing the direction of travel.

A complete change in direction of political or other policy.

UAV:

Short for: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a remotely piloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight planes using more complex dynamic automation systems. Currently, UAVs perform reconnaissance as well as attack missions. They are also used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as firefighting. UAVs are often preferred for missions that are too "dull, dirty, or dangerous" for manned aircraft.

Visit: MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.

U(e)ber:

The term "Über / Uber" with literal meaning of "above" in German. "...Deutschland über Alles..." (Germany above All Things).

The ultimate, above all, the best, top, something that nothing is better than.

Ueber-Yacht:

See: mega yacht.

UFAANG:

Acronym invented by Morgan Stanley for: Uber, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google.

UFO:

Short for: Unidentified Foreign Object: an (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown; especially those considered to have extraterrestrial origins.

Ugg Boots:

Ugg Boots (sometimes referred to as Uggs or Ug Boots) are a style of sheepskin boot, with wool as the inner lining and a tanned outer surface worn by both men and women. Ugg boots often have a synthetic sole, although this is not universal. Uggs have been identified as a fashion trend since the early 2000s.

Ugly American:

"Ugly American" is a pejorative term used to refer to perceptions of loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant, and ethnocentric behavior of American citizens mainly abroad, but also at home. Although the term is usually associated with or applied to travelers and tourists, it also applies to U.S. corporate businesses in the international arena.

Uhlan:

Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies.

UHNWI:

Short for: Ultra-High Net Worth Individual. UHNWI is defined as someone who has financial assets of more than US$30 million.

See also: millionaire and high net worth individual.

Ukase:

A proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law.

Ukulele:

A small four-stringed guitar popularized in Hawaii.

ULEZ:

Short for: Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Ultimatum:

A final statement of terms made by one party to another.

A statement, especially in diplomatic negotiations, that expresses or implies the threat of serious penalties if the terms are not accepted.

Ultra-High Net Worth Individual:

See: UHNWI.

Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ):

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is an area in London, England, where an emissions standard based charge is applied to non-compliant road vehicles. Plans were announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson in March 2015 for the zone to come into operation in September 2020. Sadiq Khan, the subsequent mayor, introduced the zone early on 8 April 2019. The zone initially covered Central London, the same area as the existing London congestion charge.

Ultra-Processed Food (UPF):

An Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) (also referred to as predigested food) is an industrially formulated edible substance derived from natural food or synthesized from other organic compounds. The resulting products are designed to be highly profitable, convenient, and hyperpalatable, often through food additives such as preservatives, colourings, and flavourings. UPFs have often undergone processes such as moulding/extruding, hydrogenation or frying.

Ultra-Rich:

People with more than US$30 million to invest.

See also: rich.

Ultra Vires:

An action that goes beyond the powers of the organization undertaking it.

Ultrabook:

The terms Ultrabook is an Intel specification defining a category of thin and lightweight ultraportable laptops.

Ultramarathon:

An Ultramarathon (also called ultra distance) is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres (26.2188 mi).

There are two types of Ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time (with the winner covering the most distance in that time). The most common distances are 50 and 100 miles, or 50 and 100 kilometers. Other distances / times include double marathons, 24-hour races, and multiday races of 1000 miles or even longer.

See also: marathon.

Umami:

Umami, also referred to as savoriness, and Taste No 5, but is, in fact, a distinct flavor from savory, is one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue.

Inasmuch as it describes the flavor common to savory products such as meat, cheese, and mushrooms, Umami is similar to Brillat-Savarin's concept of osmazome, an early Western attempt to describe the main flavoring component of meat as extracted in the process of making stock.

See also: basic tastes.

Umbrella Review:

In medical research, an Umbrella Review is a review of systematic reviews or meta-analyses. They may also be called overviews of reviews, reviews of reviews, summaries of systematic reviews, or syntheses of reviews. Umbrella Reviews are among the highest levels of evidence currently available in medicine.

By summarizing information from multiple overview articles, Umbrella Reviews make it easier to review the evidence and allow for comparison of results between each of the individual reviews. Umbrella Reviews may address a broader question than a typical review, such as discussing multiple different treatment comparisons instead of only one. They are especially useful for developing guidelines and clinical practice, and when comparing competing interventions.

UMD:

Short for: Universal Media Disc. An UMD is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data. It is the first optical disc format to be used for a handheld video game system.

Umbrella Organization:

An organization that coordinates the activities of a number of member organisations and hence promotes a common purpose.

Umbrella Term:

An Umbrella Term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category.

Umpire:

Sports: a person appointed to rule on plays, especially in baseball.

A person appointed to settle a dispute that mediators have been unable to resolve; an arbitrator.

UMTS:

Short for: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.

UNABOMBER:

Short for: UNiversity and Airline BOMBER. Visit: Ted Kaczynski.

Unboxing:

Unboxing is the unpacking of new products, especially high tech consumer products. The product's owner captures the process on video and later uploads it to the web. The term has been labeled a new form of "geek porn." (A nerd's version of peeling off a girl's panties for the first time).

The oldest video on YouTube using the name "Unboxing" is the opening of a boxed Nokia E61 smartphone, uploaded on June 12, 2006. There are, however, older videos on the site that show the same activity but using other names such as "opening" or "unpacking". Some videos, such as one dating from 1992, register the opening of a Panasonic Super VHS unit.

According to Google Trends, searches for the term "Unboxing" began to surface in the final quarter of 2006.

The Internet trend of showing photos or video from the unpacking of a retail box of some desirable product, such as the latest laptop or portable music player.

Unbundling:

The disentangling of businesses within a conglomerate so that each is run separately as an individual unit.

Uncanny Valley:

In aesthetics, the Uncanny Valley is a hypothesized relationship between the degree of an object's resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to such an object. The concept of the Uncanny Valley suggests that humanoid objects which appear almost, but not exactly, like real human beings elicit uncanny, or strangely familiar, feelings of eeriness and revulsion in observers. Valley denotes a dip in the human observer's affinity for the replica, a relation that otherwise increases with the replica's human likeness.

Examples can be found in robotics, 3D computer animations, and lifelike dolls among others. With the increasing prevalence of virtual reality, augmented reality, and photorealistic computer animation, the 'valley' has been cited in the popular press in reaction to the verisimilitude of the creation as it approaches indistinguishability from reality.

Read also: The Concept of the 'Uncanny Valley' Dates to 1970. The Phenomenon Is Thousands of Years Older - TIME Magazine.

Uncle Sam:

The government of the United States, often personified by a representation of a tall, thin man having a white beard and wearing a blue tailcoat, red-and-white-striped trousers, and a tall hat with a band of stars.

The American nation or its people.

Uncle Tom:

Informal derogatory: a Black person who is regarded as being humiliatingly subservient or deferential to white people.

UNCTAD:

The acronym for United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, an arm of the UN that aims, in particular, to increase trade between developing countries and the rest of the world.

Under Lock and Key:

(US, UK, idiomatic); imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up; safely guarded; locked away.

Under the Influence:

Idiom: intoxicated, especially with alcohol.

Under the Radar:

When someone is in a situation where very little or no attention is drawn to them.

Another way of saying underground. the opposite of mainstream. Usually referring to an artist or song that is undiscovered.

Undercapitalized:

The provision of insufficient capital for a business to operate without financial strain.

Undercover:

Engaged or employed in spying or secret investigation.

Performed or occurring in secret.

Underdog:

One that is expected to lose a contest or struggle, as in sports or politics; one that is at a disadvantage.

Underground:

A clandestine, often nationalist, organization fostering or planning hostile against, or the overthrow of, a government in power, such as an occupying military government.

Chiefly British: a subway system.

An avantgarde movement or publication.

Underground Economy:

Part of an economy that is unrecorded by the tax authorities. It may be unrecorded because it involves a barter transaction, for example, or because it is attempting to evade tax.

Underwrite:

To assume the risk involved in a new issue of securities. The people who do this (usually banks) are called underwriters.

To take on an insurance risk in return for a premium.

Une Jolie Laide:

French: good-looking ugly woman. A woman who is attractive though not conventionally pretty.

Unearned Income:

Any income that is not earned from employment, such as dividends, interest payments and lottery prizes. Some governments treat unearned income for tax purposes.

Unemployed:

People who are not employed but would like to be. The long-term unemployed are people who have been unemployed for a continuous period of more than a year.

Unfair Dismissal:

Terminating someone's contract of employment without good cause. Employees thus dismissed have the right to sue their employers for damages.

Unfair Trade:

Trade in goods that have been subsidized in ways that break the rules of one of the international trading agreements.

Unfriend:

To stop being the friend of; to defriend; to remove from one's friends list (e.g. on a social networking website).

Unicorn (finance):

Unicorn is a term in the investment industry, and in particular the venture capital industry, which denotes a start-up company whose valuation has exceeded (the somewhat arbitrary) US$1 billion dollars.

A new buzzword, decacorn, is now used for companies valued over US$10 billion, which includes companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox, Pinterest, Snapchat, Uber and WhatsApp. In the Canadian venture capital industry, a "narwhal" is a Canadian company worth $1 billion Canadian dollars.

Uniform:

A distinctive outfit intended to identify those who wear it as members of a specific group.

Conforming to one principle, standard, or rule; consistent; always the same, as in character or degree; unvarying.

Union:

The state of being joined or united or linked. A combination so formed, especially an alliance or confederation of people, parties, or political entities for mutual interest or benefit.

Unique Selling Point:

The unique selling proposition (USP) or Unique Selling Point is a marketing concept first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern in successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. The USP states that such campaigns made unique propositions to customers that convinced them to switch brands. The term has been used to describe one's "personal brand" in the marketplace. Today, the term is used in other fields or just casually to refer to any aspect of an object that differentiates it from similar objects.

Unisex:

Unisex refers to things that are suitable for either gender, but can also be another term for gender-blindness.

The term was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. Though the combining form uni- is from the Latin unus meaning one, the term seems to have been influenced by words such as united and universal where the uni- prefix takes on the sense of shared. In this sense, it can be seen as meaning shared by both sexes.

Hair stylists and beauty salons that serve both men and women are often referred to as Unisex. This is also typical of other services and products that traditionally separated the sexes, such as clothing shops, beauty products or a public toilet.

Unit:

An individual, group, structure, or other entity regarded as an elementary structural or functional constituent of a whole.

A precisely specified quantity in terms of which the magnitudes of other quantities of the same kind can be stated.

Unit Cost:

The cost of producing one unit of a product or service.

Unitary Tax:

A revolutionary form of tax system pioneered by the US state of California. Under a Unitary Tax system a company is taxed on a percentage of its worldwide profit rather than on the profit which the company claims arose within the fiscal authority's jurisdiction. The percentage may be based on the share of the company's sales that took place in the jurisdiction.

Unity:

The state or quality of being in accord; harmony; singleness.

The combination or arrangement of parts into a whole; unification.

Universal Bank:

A bank that is allowed to carry out a wide range of financial services, almost without limit. In most countries banks are restricted by law as to the sort of services they can offer.

Universal Basic Income (UBI):

A basic income (also called basic income guarantee, Citizen's Income, unconditional basic income, universal basic income, or universal demogrant) is a form of social security in which all citizens or residents of a country regularly receive an unconditional sum of money, either from a government or some other public institution, in addition to any income received from elsewhere.

An unconditional income transfer of less than the poverty line is sometimes referred to as a partial basic income.

Read also: Why Should We Support the Idea of Universal Basic Income? - The Huffington Post & Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Idea Whose Time May Finally Have Arrived - TIME Magazine.

Universe:

Everything that exists anywhere.

University:

An institution for higher learning with teaching and research facilities constituting a graduate school and professional schools that award master's degrees and doctorates and an undergraduate division that awards bachelor's degree.

The buildings and grounds of such an institution.

Unknown Known:

There are at least two interpretations of Unknown Knowns. The first is that they are things that we knew but have forgotten. The other is that they are the things that we know, but are unaware of knowing. The coining of the term is attributed to Slovenian Philosopher Slavoj Žižek and it refers to the unconscious beliefs and prejudices that determine how we perceive reality and intervene in it.

Žižek first used the term as a response to former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's statement at a press briefing given on February 12, 2002:
"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know."

Žižek argues that if Rumsfeld thinks that the main dangers in the confrontation with Iraq were the "unknown unknowns," that is, the threats from Saddam Hussein whose nature we cannot even suspect, then the Abu Ghraib scandal shows that the main dangers lie in the "Unknown Knowns" - the disavowed beliefs, suppositions and obscene practices we pretend not to know about, even though they form the background of our public values.

"Known knowns, Known unknowns, and Unknown unknowns" - Donald Rumsfeld on YouTube. Rumsfeld used the quote in the title of his autobiography Known and Unknown: A Memoir.

Unlimited Company:

A company that does not have the protection of limited liability. The directors of the company are personally liable for all its obligations, without limit.

Unlisted Securities Market:

A market in securities that are not listed on a recognized stock exchange. Such securities are traded informally, and individual buyers generally have to be matched with sellers.

Unquoted Company:

A company whose shares are not quoted on a recognized stock exchange. When there is no quoted market price for a company's shares, marketing them is not easy.

UPC:

Short for: Universal Product Code.

Upcycling:

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.

UPF:

Short for: Ultra-Processed Food.

Upfront:

Straightforward; frank.

Paid or due in advance.

Upgrade:

To do something that improves the quality or performance of something that already exists; for example, buying more memory for a computer, or improving the credit rating of a company's debt.

Upmarket:

A marketing term based on a theoretical division of markets into a top, a middle and a bottom. A product aimed to appeal to the top end of the market is said to be Upmarket. The division of markets can be based on social class, wealth or lifestyle.

Upper Class:

See: high society.

Upper Middle Class:

The Upper Middle Class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class.

UPS:

Short for: Uninterrupted Power Supply.

Upscale:

Of, intended for, or relating to high-income consumers.

Upskirting:

UpskirtingUpskirting is the act of taking a photograph of underneath a person’s skirt without their consent.

It is often performed in a public place such as on public transport or on an escalator, with crowds of people making it harder to spot people taking these photos.

Upstairs / Downstairs:

An antonym meaning belonging to the upper class or lower classes, or similar comparisons.

Upstart:

A person of humble origin who attains sudden wealth, power, or importance, especially one made immodest or presumptuous by the change; a parvenu.

Upstream:

An activity that is close to the original raw materials used in a process (particularly in oil refining). Drilling in the desert, for example, is more Upstream than the manufacture of petrochemicals.

Urban:

Of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city.

Origin: Latin urbanus, from urbs city.

Urban Exploration:

Urban Exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby and, although it may sometimes involve trespassing onto private property, this is not always the case. Urban Exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. It may also be referred to as draining (when exploring drains), urban spelunking, urban rock climbing, urban caving, or building hacking.

The nature of this activity presents various risks, including both physical danger and the possibility of arrest and punishment. Some activities associated with Urban Exploration may violate local or regional laws and certain broadly interpreted anti-terrorism laws or be considered trespassing or invasion of privacy.

Urban Gardening:

Urban Gardening is the process of growing plants of all types and varieties in an urban environment. Urban Gardening, which is also known as Urban Horticulture or Urban Agriculture, encompasses several unique gardening concepts, including:
Container Gardening: Common for people with small patios, yards, or balconies. Container Gardening makes use of a variety of containers – buckets, old tires, raised beds, windowboxes, kiddie pools, barrels, shoes, and watering cans – for growing all manner of plants for food or beauty.
Indoor Gardening: When no patios, decks, yards, or balconies are available, Indoor Gardening can also be an effective Urban Gardening method. Plants can be grown in containers similar to those in Container Gardening, as well as in indoor greenhouses or solariums (sunrooms).
Community Gardening: This is a method of using outdoor public or private spaces to cultivate gardens for food or pleasure as a group and is a great choice for those with no yard or outdoor space.
Guerilla Gardening: A more subversive form of urban gardening, Guerilla Gardening is a way of adding plants to public spaces that don’t technically belong to the gardener such as a vacant lot, median, beside a highway, or in little strips of dirt.
Greenroofs: Roofs designed with a growing medium for the purpose of cultivating plants are also a form of Urban Gardening and can be used to grow food, trees, and many other types of plants.

Urban Legend:

An Urban Legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true. As with all folklore and mythology, the designation suggests nothing about the story's veracity, but merely that it is in circulation, exhibits variation over time, and carries some significance that motivates the community in preserving and propagating it.

Urbanism:

The way of life of people who live in a large city.

The study of the physical needs of urban societies.

Urbi et Orbi:

Latin: To The City (Rome) And The World: the form of address of papal bulls.

Urgency Effect:

In everyday life, people are often faced with choices between tasks of varying levels of urgency and importance. How do people choose? Normatively speaking, people may choose to perform urgent tasks with short completion windows, instead of important tasks with larger outcomes, because important tasks are more difficult and further away from goal completion, urgent tasks involve more immediate and certain payoffs, or people want to finish the urgent tasks first and then work on important tasks later. The current research identifies a mere Urgency Effect, a tendency to pursue urgency over importance even when these normative reasons are controlled for. Specifically, results from five experiments demonstrate that people are more likely to perform unimportant tasks (i.e., tasks with objectively lower payoffs) over important tasks (i.e., tasks with objectively better payoffs), when the unimportant tasks are characterized merely by spurious urgency (e.g., an illusion of expiration). The mere Urgency Effect documented in this research violates the basic normative principle of dominance—choosing objectively worse options over objectively better options. People behave as if pursuing an urgent task has its own appeal, independent of its objective consequence.

Read also: Why Your Brain Tricks You Into Doing Less Important Tasks - The New York Times.

URI:

Short for: Uniform Resource Identifier, the generic term for all types of names and addresses that refer to objects on the World Wide Web. A URL is one kind of URI.

URL:

Short for: Universal Resource Locator. URL is a means of identifying an exact location on the Internet. For example, http://www.webtrends.com/html/info/default.htm is the URL which defines the use of HTTP to access the web page default.htm in the /html/info/ directory on the WebTrends Corporation web site). As the previous example shows, a URL is comprised of four parts: Protocol Type (HTTP), Machine Name (webtrends.com), Directory Path (/html/info/), and File Name (default.htm).

USB:

Short for: Universal Serial Bus. USB is a serial bus standard to connect devices to a host computer. USB was designed to allow many peripherals to be connected using a single standardized interface socket and to improve plug and play capabilities by allowing hot swapping; that is, by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer or turning off the device. Other convenient features include providing power to low-consumption devices, eliminating the need for an external power supply; and allowing many devices to be used without requiring manufacturer-specific device drivers to be installed.

USB is intended to replace many varieties of serial and parallel ports. USB can connect computer peripherals such as mice, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, personal media players, flash drives, and external hard drives. For many of those devices, USB has become the standard connection method. USB was designed for personal computers, but it has become commonplace on other devices such as PDAs and video game consoles, and as a power cord between a device and an AC adapter plugged into a wall plug for charging. As of 2008, there are about 2 billion USB devices sold per year, and about 6 billion total sold to date.

USB Dongle:

A security key. This is a little hardware device that plugs into the serial or USB port of a computer. Its purpose is to ensure that only authorized users can use certain software applications. If you have never seen a dongle, don't be surprised. They are only used with expensive, high-end software programs that most people have never heard of, much less use. When a program that comes with a dongle runs, it checks the dongle for verification as it is loading. If it doesn't find the dongle, the computer explodes. Well, not really -- usually the program just quits. If more than one application requires a dongle, multiple dongles using the same port can be daisy-chained together. Basically, if you ever find yourself daisy-chaining multiple dongles together, you must be doing pretty well in life.

A laptop Ethernet card adapter. This is a little connector that attaches to a PC card in a laptop on one end, and to an Ethernet cable on the other end. Since most PC (or PCMCIA) network interface cards are too small to connect directly to a standard RJ-45 Ethernet cable, they need this little adapter that connects the card to the cable. (3Com cards that use an "X-Jack" connector do not need a dongle.) As far as why the name dongle is used, I have no idea.

USB Flash Drive:

A USB Flash Drive consists of a NAND-type flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, much smaller than a floppy disk, and most weigh less than an ounce (30 g). Storage capacities can range from 64 MB to 256 GB with steady improvements in size and price per capacity. Some allow 1 million write or erase cycles and have 10-year data retention, connected by USB 1.1 or USB 2.0.

USB flash drives offer potential advantages over other portable storage devices, particularly the floppy disk. They have a more compact shape, operate faster, hold much more data, have a more durable design, and operate more reliably due to their lack of moving parts. Additionally, it has become increasingly common for computers to be sold without floppy disk drives. USB ports, on the other hand, appear on almost every current mainstream PC and laptop. These types of drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other Unix-like systems. USB drives with USB 2.0 support can also operate faster than an optical disc drive, while storing a larger amount of data in a much smaller space.

Nothing actually moves in a flash drive: the term drive persists because computers read and write flash-drive data using the same system commands as for a mechanical disk drive, with the storage appearing to the computer operating system and user interface as just another drive.

A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board protected inside a plastic, metal, or rubberized case, robust enough for carrying with no additional protection—in a pocket or on a key chain, for example. The USB connector is protected by a removable cap or by retracting into the body of the drive, although it is not likely to be damaged if exposed (but it may damage other items, for example a bag it is placed in). Most flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection allowing plugging into a port on a personal computer, but drives for other interfaces also exist.

Use-It-Or-Lose-It:

Used to describe something that you must use by a particular date, or you will lose the opportunity or right to have it.

Useful Idiot:

Useful Idiot is often used as a pejorative term for those who are seen to unwittingly support a malign cause through their 'naive' attempts to be a force for good.

In political jargon, the term useful idiot was used to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries. The implication is that though the person in question naïvely thinks themselves an ally of the Soviets or other ideologies, they are actually held in contempt by them, and were being cynically used. The term is now used more broadly to describe someone who is perceived to be manipulated by a political movement, terrorist group, hostile government, or business, whether or not the group is Communist in nature.

Despite often being attributed to Lenin by American conservatives, in 1987, Grant Harris, senior reference librarian at the Library of Congress, declared that "We have not been able to identify this phrase among [Lenin's] published works."

Useful Life:

The length of time during which an asset produces more than the cost of its upkeep. An indicator of the period over which the asset should be depreciated.

Usenet:

Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system.

User Experience (UX):

"User Experience (UX)" encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

User Group:

A group of consumers who are brought together by a company's marketing department to examine and discuss their attitudes to the company's products and to those of its rivals. A sophisticated form of market research.

User Guide:

A User Guide or user's guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication document intended to give assistance to people using a particular system. It is usually written by a technical writer, although user guides are written by programmers, product or project managers, or other technical staff, particularly in smaller companies.

User Guides are most commonly associated with electronic goods, computer hardware and software.

Most User Guides contain both a written guide and the associated images. In the case of computer applications, it is usual to include screenshots of how the program should look, and hardware manuals often include clear, simplified diagrams. The language used is matched to the intended audience, with jargon kept to a minimum or explained thoroughly.

Username:

A sequence of characters, different from a password, that is used as identification and is required when logging on to a multiuser computer system.

USP:

Short for: Unique Selling Proposition, something a product has which differentiates it from all its rivals. Its USP then becomes a central focus of the product's advertising campaign.

Usque Ad Finem:

Latin: To the very end. Often used in reference to battle, implying a willingness to keep fighting until you die.

Ussie:

(Slang): a photographic group portrait, especially one taken manually (not using a timer, tripod etc.) with a small camera or mobile phone by a member of the group.

See also: selfie.

Usury:

The charging of exorbitant rates of interest for loans. Most developed countries now have laws against usury, although credit-card companies manage to escape them. In Europe such laws can be traced back to the 15th century.

Uti Possidetis:

Uti Possidetis (Latin for "as you possess") is a principle in international law that territory and other property remains with its possessor at the end of a conflict, unless otherwise provided for by treaty; if such a treaty does not include conditions regarding the possession of property and territory taken during the war, then the principle of Uti Possidetis will prevail.

Utility:

Any company that provides services which are essential to the comfortable running of homes and offices, such as electricity, gas and water.

Utility Belt:

A flexible band, as of leather or cloth, worn around the waist to support clothing, secure tools or weapons, or serve as decoration.

UTM:

Short for: Universal Transverse Mercator. UTM coordinate system is a grid-based method of specifying locations on the surface of the Earth that is a practical application of a 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. It is used to identify locations on the earth, but differs from the traditional method of latitude and longitude in several respects.

Utopia:

Utopia is a name for an ideal community or society, that is taken from Of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia, a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempted to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature.

UV:

Short for: Ultraviolet. UV light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV. It is so named because the spectrum consists of electromagnetic waves with frequencies higher than those that humans identify as the color violet.

UV light is found in sunlight and is emitted by electric arcs and specialized lights such as black lights. As an ionizing radiation it can cause chemical reactions, and causes many substances to glow or fluoresce. Most people are aware of the effects of UV through the painful condition of sunburn, but the UV spectrum has many other effects, both beneficial and damaging, on human health.

UWO:

Short for: Unexplained wealth orders.

Uxorious:

Overly devoted or submissive to one's wife.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- V -

Vacuum:

Absence of matter.

A state of emptiness; a void.

Valedictorian:

Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony (called a valedictory). Valedictorians are usually the student with the highest ranking among his or her graduating class. The term is an anglicized derivation of the Latin vale dicere ("to say farewell"), historically rooted in the valedictorian's traditional role as the final speaker at the graduation ceremony. The valedictory address generally is considered a final farewell to classmates, before they disperse to pursue their individual paths after graduating. The term is most often used in the USA, Canada, and The Philippines. Its equivalent in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Iceland, and Scotland is dux. Its equivalent in France is "Major de promotion".

Valentine's Day:

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD.

Valet:

Valet and Varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.

Valet Tray:

A Valet Tray is a device (as a rack or tray) for holding clothing or personal effects.

In the United States, the term is frequently used to refer to a non-freestanding cabinet or tray for holding small personal items such as watches, cuff links, keys, or a cell phone. In this sense, it is a men's jewelry box.

Valhalla:

Norse Mythology: the great hall of Odin where warriors who die as heroes in battle dwell eternally.

Valkyrie:

Mythology: any of Odin's handmaidens who conducted the souls of the slain to Valhalla.

Valley of Josaphat:

The Valley of Josaphat (variants: Valley of Jehoshaphat and Valley of Yehoshephat) is a Biblical place mentioned by name in Joel 3:2 and Joel 3:12: "I will gather together all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: "Then I will enter into judgment with them there", on behalf of my people and for My inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up My land."; "Let the nations be roused; Let the nations be aroused And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side". This location is also referred to as the Valley of Decision.

Valleywood:

Nickname for Silicon Valley.

Value:

A subjective measure of worth; what something is worth to its owner; something that is a valuable piece of information to one person may be worthless to the next.

Value Added:

The value that a process adds to the goods and services it is processing; the amount by which it increases their worth in a market. That is, the price fetched for the output from the process minus the cost of the inputs put into the process.

Value Chain:

The interlinking activities that take place within an organization in the process of converting its inputs into its outputs. Identifying these activities and finding ways to perform them more efficiently is a way for companies to gain competitive advantage over their rivals.

Value for Money:

Value for Money is one definition of quality that judges the quality of provision, processes or outcomes against the monetary cost of making the provision, undertaking the process or achieving the outcomes.

Vamping:

The behaviour of one who vamps.

Camping by vampires.

Vandal:

One who willfully or maliciously defaces or destroys public or private property.

Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable.[1] The term also includes criminal damage such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner.

Vanderbuilding:

Expression meaning to 'outbuild' one's neighbor.

Vanguard:

The foremost position in an army or fleet advancing into battle.

The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement.

Vanilla Sex:

A generic term for standard sexual activity, which differs according to the group being surveyed. For heterosexual couples, conventional sex would generally involve penile, vaginal, oral, and for some, anal activity. For homosexual couples, conventional sex is limited to mutual masturbation, oral and anal sex. Conventional sex does not include group, BDSM, kinky or fetish activities.

Vanishing Point:

The point at which parallel lines receding from an observer seem to converge; the point in linear perspective at which all imaginary lines of perspective converge.

The point at which a thing disappears or ceases to exist.

Vanity:

The quality or condition of being vain; excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.

Vanity Case:

A small handbag or case used by women for carrying cosmetics or toiletries; a woman's compact.

Vanity Plate:

A Vanity Plate or personalized plate (U.S.), prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration (UK) or custom plate or personalised plate (Australia and New Zealand) is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle. The owner of the vehicle will have paid extra money to have his or her own choice of numbers or letters, usually forming a recognisable phrase, slogan, or initialism on their plate.

Vanity Press:

A Vanity Press or vanity publisher is a publishing house that publishes books at the author's expense.

Vantablack:

Vantablack is a brand name for a class of super-black coatings with total hemispherical reflectances (THR) below 1.5% in the visible spectrum. The coatings were invented by Ben Jensen and commercialised by the scientific team from Surrey NanoSystems. The original Vantablack coating was grown from a chemical vapour deposition process (CVD) and is claimed to be the "world's darkest material", absorbing up to 99.965% of visible light perpendicular to the material at 663 nm. The coatings are unique in that they are not only super-black but that they retain uniform light absorption from almost all viewing angles. Original CVD Vantablack is no longer manufactured for commercial applications as it has been superseded by Vantablack spray coatings that offer similar optical performance in key parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The name is a combination of the acronym VANTA (vertically aligned nanotube arrays) and the color black. As of 2022 Vantablack coatings are very costly, and cannot be supplied to private individuals, and samples are only available for applications considered "valid" by the supplier.

Check this Vantablack Rolls-Royce out: Top Gear Drives the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge - "In this new video from Top Gear, you get to see the blackest-spec'd Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge in history."

Vaporware:

In the computer industry, Vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually manufactured nor officially cancelled. Use of the word has broadened to include products such as automobiles.

Vaporware is often announced months or years before its purported release, with few details about its development being released. Developers have been accused of intentionally promoting vaporware to keep customers from switching to competing products that offer more features.

Variable:

Likely to change or vary; subject to variation; changeable.

Mathematics: having no fixed quantitative value.

Variable Cost:

A cost that varies in line with the volume of production. For example, the cost of steel is a variable cost in the production of automobiles; the cost of heating the factory is not.

Variable Rate:

A rate of interest which changes in line with some benchmark figure. The extent and frequency with which the rate changes is laid down (for example, no more than once every six months, and then by less than two percentage points). Contrast with floating rate, which has no limits to its fluctuation.

Varsity Jacket:

A Varsity Jacket, or letterman jacket, is a jacket traditionally worn by high school and college students in the United States to represent school and team pride as well as to display personal awards earned in athletics, academics or activities. Letterman jackets are also known as "varsity jackets" in some places.

See also: letterman.

Varsity Letter:

A Varsity Letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A Varsity Letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.

The award letter is usually made in the colors and initials representing the school that the awardee attends. The letter patch is primarily constructed of chenille and felt materials. Standard sizes range from 4 to 8 inches. While 4” and 5” usually denote Junior Varsity achievements, 6" to 8" would denote Varsity. The stitching style used for creating the chenille look is called a moss stitch. While the outlining sew down is called a chain stitch. The letters are made by both hand and automated machine depending on the company manufacturing the emblem. It is a wide spread commonality that the chenille made on hand machines produce a finer and tighter knap as compared to the automated machines. Automated machines tend to leave the chenille looking like a grid and are used in low quality emblems.

See also: letterman.

Vassal:

A person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance.

A bondman; a slave; a subordinate or dependent.

VAT:

Short for: Value Added Tax.

Vaudeville:

Stage entertainment offering a variety of short acts such as slapstick turns, song-and-dance routines, and juggling performances.

A light comic play that often includes songs, pantomime, and dances.

A popular, often satirical song.

Vault 7:

Vault 7 is a series of documents that WikiLeaks began to release on 7 March 2017, that detail activities and capabilities of the United States Central Intelligence Agency to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare. The files, dated from 2013–2016, include details on the agency's software capabilities, such as the ability to compromise smart TVs, web browsers (including Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge), and the operating systems of most smartphones (including Apple's iOS and Google's Android), as well as other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Veblen Good:

In economics, Veblen Goods are a group of commodities for which people's preference for buying them increases as a direct function of their price, as greater price confers greater status, instead of decreasing according to the law of demand. A Veblen Good is often also a positional good.

Some types of high-status goods, such as high-end wines, designer handbags and luxury cars, are Veblen Goods. The Veblen effect is named after the economist Thorstein Veblen, who first pointed out the concepts of conspicuous consumption and status-seeking.

For an in-depth insight, read Thorstein Veblen's book: The Theory of the Leisure Class.

Vector:

Mathematics: a quantity, such as velocity, completely specified by a magnitude and a direction; a one-dimensional array.

A force or influence.

Veganism:

Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a Vegan are ethical commitment or moral conviction concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern to many Vegans are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources for animal farming.

Vegetable:

A plant cultivated for an edible part, such as the root of the beet, the leaf of spinach, or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower.

The edible part of such a plant.

Offensive Slang: one who is severely impaired mentally and physically, as by brain injury or disease.

Vegetarianism:

Vegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. Vegetarians do not eat meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, or products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived gelatin and rennet.

Vehicle:

A conveyance that transports people or objects.

A medium through which something is transmitted, expressed, or accomplished.

Velcro:

Velcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers: a "hook" side, which is a piece of fabric covered with tiny hooks, and a "loop" side, which is covered with even smaller and "hairier" loops. When the two sides are pressed together, the hooks catch in the loops and hold the pieces together. When the layers are separated, the strips make a characteristic "ripping" sound.

Velcro Effect:

Quite often in mainstream schools, classroom assistants and teachers can do too much for a child – known as the Velcro Effect – when in reality it might be better to stand back and observe from a distance and support the child in a different way.

Veld:

Veld, also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Velina:

Showgirl - a beautiful young woman who hangs around dancing, being provocative, helping to present the show, sometimes saying a few lines, or really doing nothing on Italian television.

Vellum:

A fine parchment made from calfskin, lambskin, or kidskin and used for the pages and binding of books.

Vendetta:

A feud between two families or clans that arises out of a slaying and is perpetuated by retaliatory acts of revenge; a blood feud.

A bitter, destructive feud.

Venn Diagram:

A Venn Diagram or set diagram is a diagram that shows all possible logical relations between a finite collection of different sets. Venn Diagrams were conceived around 1880 by John Venn. They are used to teach elementary set theory, as well as illustrate simple set relationships in probability, logic, statistics, linguistics and computer science.

Ventriloquism:

The art of projecting one's voice so that it seems to come from another source, as from a wooden figure.

Venture:

An undertaking that is dangerous, daring, or of uncertain outcome.

A business enterprise involving some risk in expectation of gain.

Venture Capital:

Money that is put up by a financial institution or wealthy individual to back a risky project, either in its early stages or when it needs a new injection of capital. Because of the high risk involved, Venture Capital expects a higher rate of return than that obtained from normal equity.

Venue:

Law: the locality where a crime is committed or a cause of action occurs; the clause within a declaration naming the locality in which a trial will be held.

The scene or setting in which something takes place; a locale; a place for large gatherings, as a sports stadium.

Verandah:

A porch or balcony, usually roofed and often partly enclosed, extending along the outside of a building.

Verbal Contract:

A Verbal Contract is any contract which is expressed in words (written or spoken).

People can mean two different things by the term "Verbal Contract." In one sense, people use it to describe an oral contract, in which people make a spoken agreement but the agreement is not formalized with a written contract. In another, more technical sense, a Verbal Contract is any contract which is expressed in words, whether they are written or oral.

The confusion with the sense of "oral contract" stems from the fact that many people use the word "verbal" to describe spoken words. In fact, any written contract is also a Verbal Contract, because it contains words. Hence, when people are talking about a spoken agreement, they should really use "oral contract" to make sure that people understand what they mean, as otherwise someone may believe that the contract was written.

In a Verbal Contract, the expectations of the contract are clearly spelled out, and all parties have agreed to the terms. Some written Verbal Contracts are made with basic forms which provide blanks for people to fill in specifics, while in other cases, they may be crafted by a lawyer to meet the needs of a particular situation. The enforceability of such a contract varies whether it is oral or written, depending on the terms of the contract and other factors.

When a breach of Verbal Contract occurs, there are several potential recourses. If the contract was oral, it can be hard to enforce without a reliable witness, and ideally there should be several witnesses. Written contracts are easier to enforce because a clear record of the agreement exists and it cannot be disputed.

Verbatim:

Using exactly the same words; corresponding word for word.

Verbiage:

Overabundance of words.

(US): the manner in which something is expressed in words.

Verfremdung:

The distancing effect, more commonly known (earlier) by John Willett's 1964 translation the alienation effect or (more recently) as the estrangement effect (German: Verfremdungseffekt), is a performing arts concept coined by playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht first used the term in an essay on "Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting" published in 1936, in which he described it as "playing in such a way that the audience was hindered from simply identifying itself with the characters in the play. Acceptance or rejection of their actions and utterances was meant to take place on a conscious plane, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience's subconscious".

Vergleich:

Germany's version of chapter 11, a breathing space for companies in financial difficulty. Vergleich allows them to write off some of their debts if they meet payment terms agreed with their creditors.

Vermeil:

Vermeil is a combination of sterling silver, gold, and other precious metals, commonly used as a component in jewelry.

Vernacular:

The standard native language of a country or locality.

An idiomatic word, phrase, or expression.

The common, nonscientific name of a plant or animal.

Vernal Equinox:

In the northern hemisphere, the Vernal Equinox (March) conventionally marks the beginning of spring in most cultures and is considered the New Year in the Persian calendar or Iranian calendars as Nouroz (means new day), while the autumnal equinox (September) marks the beginning of autumn. In the southern hemisphere, the Vernal Equinox occurs in September and the autumnal equinox in March.

Vernissage:

A private showing held before the opening of an art exhibition.

Version:

A description or account from one point of view, especially as opposed to another.

A particular form or variation of an earlier or original type.

An adaptation of a work of art or literature into another medium or style.

Vertex:

The highest point; the apex or summit.

Anatomy: the highest point of the skull.

Astronomy: the highest point reached in the apparent motion of a celestial body.

Mathematics: the point at which the sides of an angle intersect; the point on a triangle or pyramid opposite to and farthest away from its base.

Vertical Integration:

The integration of businesses whose activities follow each other sequentially. If a garment manufacturer were to buy a spinning mill or a garment shop, it would be an example of Vertical Integration. Likewise, a food manufacturer that buys a chain of grocers.

Verve:

Energy and enthusiasm in the expression of ideas, especially in artistic performance or composition; vitality; liveliness.

Vesper:

A late afternoon or evening worship service.

Archaic: evening.

Vestibule (architecture):

A Vestibule is an anteroom (antechamber) or small foyer leading into a larger space, such as a lobby, entrance hall, passage, etc., for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing space for outwear, etc. The term applies to structures in both modern and historical architecture since the Ancient Rome times. In modern architecture, Vestibule typically refers to a small room next to the outer door and connecting it with the interior of the building. In ancient Roman architecture, Vestibule (Latin: vestibulum) referred to a partially enclosed area between the interior of the house and the street.

Vestry:

A room in or attached to a church where the clergy put on their vestments and where these robes and other sacred objects are stored; a sacristy.

Veteran:

A person who is long experienced or practiced in an activity or capacity.

A serviceman who has seen considerable active service.

Veto:

The vested power or constitutional right of one branch or department of government to refuse approval of measures proposed by another department, especially the power of a chief executive to reject a bill passed by the legislature and thus prevent or delay its enactment into law.

VGA:

Short for: Video Graphics Array. VGA refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution itself. While this resolution has been superseded in the personal computer market, it is becoming a popular resolution on mobile devices.

Via:

By way of; by means of.

Via Dolorosa:

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem. Since the 18th century, it has been traditionally held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. It is currently marked by nine Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Vibe:

A distinctive emotional aura experienced instinctively.

A feeling or flavour of the kind specified.

Vicious Circle:

A sequence of events, each of which leads on inevitably to a worse situation, and each of which triggers another such event. Late payment by a customer, for instance, might lead to the need for a new bank loan, which might lead to an unfavorable credit rating, which might lead to a vicious circle. Contrast with virtuous circle.

Victim Blaming:

Victim Blaming is blaming the victim for a crime they didn't commit. Victim blaming is being blamed for somebody else's actions. Assign responsibility for harm, injury, or misfortune to the person who has suffered it.

Victorian:

A person who lived during the reign of Victoria (1819-1901), queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901) and empress of India (1876-1901) named the Victorian era.

Vicuna Wool:

The Vicuña (Vicugna Vicugna) or Vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fiber. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every 3 years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's fur is very soft and warm. It is understood that the Inca raised vicuñas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuña garments.

Video:

Of or relating to television, especially televised images; of or relating to videotaped productions or videotape equipment and technology.

Computer Science: of or relating to the production of images on video displays.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR):

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the head referee.

Video Game Console:

A Video Game Console is an interactive entertainment computer or modified computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a video game.

Video On Demand:

Video On Demand (VOD) or audio and video on demand (AVOD) are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand. IPTV technology is often used to bring video on demand to televisions and personal computers.

Television VOD systems either stream content through a set-top box, a computer or other device, allowing viewing in real time, or download it to a device such as a computer, digital video recorder (also called a personal video recorder) or portable media player for viewing at any time. The majority of cable- and telco-based television providers offer both VOD streaming, including pay-per-view and free content, whereby a user buys or selects a movie or television program and it begins to play on the television set almost instantaneously, or downloading to a DVR rented from the provider, or downloaded onto a PC, for viewing in the future. Internet television, using the Internet, is an increasingly popular form of Video On Demand.

See also: flow television.

Video Storage Formats:

The term video (from Latin: "I see") commonly refers to several storage formats for moving eye pictures: digital video formats, including DVD, QuickTime, and MPEG-4; and analog videotapes, including VHS and Betamax. Video can be recorded and transmitted in various physical media: in magnetic tape when recorded as PAL or NTSC electric signals by video cameras, or in MPEG-4 or DV digital media when recorded by digital cameras.

Videoconference:

A way of communicating between groups of people in remote places via the telephone and television. A videoconference has the added bonus, compared with a teleconference, of allowing the participants to see each other in real time as well as to hear each other.

Viel Geschrei und wenig Wolle:

German saying: "Viel Geschrei und wenig Wolle", (much cry and little wool) said the farmer as he sheared his pig - meaning: much ado about nothing.

Viennoiserie:

Viennoiseries (French etymological sense: 'things of Vienna') are baked goods made from a yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread, or from puff pastry, but with added ingredients (particularly eggs, butter, milk, cream and sugar) giving them a richer, sweeter character, approaching that of pastry. The dough is often laminated. Viennoiseries are typically eaten at breakfast or as snacks.

View:

An examination or inspection.

A sight; a look.

A systematic survey; coverage.

An individual and personal perception, judgment, or interpretation; an opinion.

Vigilante:

One who takes or advocates the taking of law enforcement into one's own hands.

Vignette (literature):

In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a Vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, idea, setting, or object. This type of scene is more common in recent postmodern theater, where less emphasis is placed on adhering to the conventions of theatrical structure and story development. Vignettes have been particularly influenced by contemporary notions of a scene as shown in film, video and television scripting.

A blog can provide a form of Vignette.

Village Idiot:

The Village Idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity, but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person. The term is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled. It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual.

In 1555, Nostradamus wrote: Come the millennium, month 12, in the home of greatest power, the Village Idiot will come forth to be acclaimed the leader.

Vintage:

The yield of wine or grapes from a vineyard or district during one season.

Wine, usually of high quality, identified as to year and vineyard or district of origin.

The year or place in which a wine is bottled.

Characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal; classic.

Vintage Clothing:

Vintage Clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g. "Vintage Clothing store." It can also be used as an adjective: "This dress is vintage."

Vintage Company:

See also: Shelf Company.

VIP:

Short for: Very Important Person.

A person of great importance or influence, especially a dignitary who commands special treatment.

Viral:

Viral phenomena are objects or patterns able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them.

Viral Marketing:

The buzzwords Viral Marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet.

Virtual:

Creating the attributes of something without actually creating the thing itself. A Virtual office, for example, does not exist in an office building. It exists in a traveling salesman's hotel room when he links up his computer to his colleagues' and starts working as if he were in an office. A Virtual corporation is a company with a large turnover, virtually no premises and few staff.

Virtual Assistant:

A Virtual Assistant (typically abbreviated to VA, also called a virtual office assistant) is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office. Because Virtual Assistants are independent contractors rather than employees, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance or benefits, except in the context that those indirect expenses are included in the VA's fees. Clients also avoid the logistical problem of providing extra office space, equipment or supplies. Clients pay for 100% productive work, and can work with Virtual Assistants, individually, or in multi-VA firms to meet their exact needs. Virtual Assistants usually work for other small businesses. but can also support busy executives. It is estimated that there are as few as 5,000-10,000 or as many as 25,000 Virtual Assistants worldwide.

Virtual Office:

A Virtual Office or V.O. is typically a managed telephone answering or email response service that receives and routes telephone or email messages on behalf of a small business and may provide some initial scripted response to a query. The business that uses this service typically does not have fixed office premises or employ regular reception or customer contact staff - and so the V.O. provides a means of receiving and passing on calls and messages when not available to deal with a customer inquiry. The prime objective of the V.O. is to assure that customer contact is captured and able to be followed up by whomever the call is relevant or important to.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC):

A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a private cloud computing environment contained within a public cloud.

Virtual Reality:

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, whether that environment is a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world. Most current Virtual Reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special or stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. Some advanced, haptic systems now include tactile information, generally known as force feedback, in medical and gaming applications. Users can interact with a virtual environment or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove, the Polhemus boom arm, and omnidirectional treadmill. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world, for example, simulations for pilot or combat training, or it can differ significantly from reality, as in VR games. In practice, it is currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity Virtual Reality experience, due largely to technical limitations on processing power, image resolution and communication bandwidth. However, those limitations are expected to eventually be overcome as processor, imaging and data communication technologies become more powerful and cost-effective over time.

Virtual Reality is often used to describe a wide variety of applications, commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, 3D environments. The development of CAD software, graphics hardware acceleration, head mounted displays, database gloves and miniaturization have helped popularize the notion. In the book The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, Michael Heim identifies seven different concepts of Virtual Reality: simulation, interaction, artificiality, immersion, telepresence, full-body immersion, and network communication. The definition still has a certain futuristic romanticism attached. People often identify VR with Head Mounted Displays and Data Suits.

Virtuoso:

A musician with masterly ability, technique, or personal style.

A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

Exhibiting the ability, technique, or personal style of a Virtuoso.

Virtuous Circle:

A sequence of events which leads from good to better. Each of the events triggers another which improves things even more. Contrast with vicious circle.

Virtuous Circle:

A sequence of events which leads from good to better: Each of the events triggers another which improves things even more. Contrast with vicious circle.

Virus:

A computer program which destroys computer data and other programs. Viruses can be introduced into a computer via any link with the outside world: a floppy disk, a modems link, or a CD.

Vis-à-Vis:

Face-to-Face with; literally 'face to face'.

A person or thing having the same function or characteristics as another.

Visa:

A stamp or endorsement usually placed in a passport by a consulate allowing a person to enter a country for a certain period of time.

Visible Trade:

Trade between countries in manufactured goods; things that can be seen, such as cars and computers, rather than insurance policies and room service.

Vision:

Unusual competence in discernment or perception; intelligent foresight.

A lofty and far-seeing aspiration that a company puts in writing in order to inspire its employees into working for something above and beyond their daily wages.

Vision Statement:

A Vision Statement outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria.

Visitation:

A visit of punishment or affliction or of comfort and blessing regarded as being ordained by God.

Visitor Visa:

Visa that allows a tourist to enter a country for the purpose of travel.

Vista:

A distant view or prospect, especially one seen through an opening, as between rows of buildings or trees; an avenue or other passage affording such a view.

Visual arts:

The Visual Arts are art forms that create works that are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video, filmmaking and architecture.

Vita Ante Acta:

A life done before.

Vivat Ribbons:

Vivat Ribbons (German: Vivatbänder) were silk ribbons with printed patriotic messages popular in Germany and Austria during World War I. They celebrated various battles and important events, as well as royalty and the military leaders. They were designed by many famous German artists of the period. Their name was derived from word "Vivat!" ("Long live!") printed on most of ribbons.

Vive la Différence:

French: "long live the difference" (used to express appreciation of diversity).

Viz.:

Viz. (also rendered viz without a full stop) and the adverb videlicet are used as synonyms for "namely", "that is to say", and "as follows".

Viz. is an abbreviation of videlicet, which itself is a contraction from Latin of videre licet meaning "it is permitted to see".

Vlogging:

Video Blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video. Entries are made regularly and often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata.

VO2 Max:

VO2 Max is the maximum volume (V) of oxygen (O2) your body can process. A VO2 Max score is a little like horsepower in a car—it’s a measure of the capacity your body (engine) has to use oxygen when exercising. If you have a high VO2 max, you have a big engine. VO2 Max has three primary components:
Lung capacity and heart volume: The more oxygen your lungs can intake and the more oxygenated blood your heart can pump, the higher your VO2 score.
Capillary delivery: The more oxygenated blood your circulatory system can transport to your muscles, the higher your VO2 score.
Muscle efficiency: The more your muscles can extract and use oxygen from your blood, the higher your VO2 score.

Also read: How to Measure and Improve Your VO2 Max.

Vocabulary:

All the words of a language.

The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person or group.

A list of words and often phrases, usually arranged alphabetically and defined or translated; a lexicon or glossary.

Vocation:

A regular occupation, especially one for which a person is particularly suited or qualified.

An inclination, as if in response to a summons, to undertake a certain kind of work, especially a religious career; a calling.

Vogue:

The prevailing fashion, practice, or style.

Voice Actor:

Voice Acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television series, animated shorts, and video games) and radio and audio dramas and comedy, doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.

A list of voice acting by one voice actor, one director, or on one subject, is sometimes called a voxography.

Voice Mail:

A telephone system which allows each individual within an organization to have a phone that can receive recorded messages from incoming callers when individuals are away from their desks. A sort of networked answer phone.

Voice-Over:

The voice of an unseen commentator during a film, television programme, etc.or which is added to a filmed advertisement, in a recording studio, after the film has been made.

Voice Recognition:

The ability of an electronic device to distinguish the sound of an individual human voice. Voice-Recognition technology has many potential uses, such as accessing bank accounts and computers.

Voilà:

Used to call attention to or express satisfaction with a thing shown or accomplished.

VOIP:

Short for: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB), broadband telephony, and broadband phone.

Voir Dire:

A preliminary examination of prospective jurors or witnesses under oath to determine their competence or suitability.

Volapük:

Volapük is a constructed language, created in 1879–1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest in Baden, Germany.

Volatility:

The extent to which something is liable to fluctuate violently and frequently, especially the price of shares, currencies and loans.

Volière:

Aviary; birdcage; a house, enclosure, large cage, or other place for keeping birds confined; a bird house.

Volte-Face:

Volte-Face is a total change of position, as in policy or opinion; an about-face.

In the context of politics a Volte-Face is, in modern English, often referred to as a U-turn or a flip-flop in the UK and the US respectively.

Volume Discount:

A discount given to a buyer that is related to the volume of goods that the buyer purchases. For example, if a single item costs $100, but buying ten of the items costs only $900, there is a Volume Discount of 10%.

Voluptuous:

Giving, characterized by, or suggesting ample, unrestrained pleasure to the senses.

Volvelle:

A Volvelle or wheel chart is a type of slide chart, a paper construction with rotating parts. It is considered an early example of a paper analog computer. Volvelles have been produced to accommodate organization and calculation in many diverse subjects. Early examples of Volvelles are found in the pages of astronomy books.

Volvo Driver:

Volvo drivers are people who value quality and safety over ostentation. They are often liberal, well educated, and upper middle class. Although the cars are pricey to buy and maintain, Volvo drivers see them as works of art--well-made machinery that protects their passengers, other drivers, and even pedestrians from the hazards of the road. Volvo drivers appreciate the cars' understated comfort and the manufacturer's concern for the environment. Even so, Volvo drivers have become easy targets for disparagement among those who think that a car that isn't flashy isn't worth owning or who envy the financial means of those who can afford them. Phrases like "tree-hugging, latte-sipping, Volvo-driving liberal elitists" seek to belittle people who care about their safety, their environment, and the value of Scandinavian engineering. An important point is that Volvos are not yuppie cars. Yuppies like flashier, head-turning cars that announce their owners' wealth. Volvos are preppy cars, generally favored by suburban WASPs, although the S40 is popular with younger, urban drivers. Like their drivers, Volvos are conservative and understated. If the cars are well cared for, they can last forever.

Voodoo:

A religion practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, syncretized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of slaves from West Africa, in which a supreme God rules a large pantheon of local and tutelary deities, deified ancestors, and saints, who communicate with believers in dreams, trances, and ritual possessions. Also called Vodoun.

A charm, fetish, spell, or curse holding magic power for adherents of Voodoo.

Deceptive or delusive nonsense.

Voodoo Economics:

Politics: an economics hypothesis, proposed by President Ronald Reagan, that large cuts in tax rates would so stimulate the economy that the tax revenue on the increases in business and personal income would offset the anticipated tax revenue losses, so that such tax cuts would not increasing the federal budget deficit. Its believers do not consider the actual massive deficit increases subsequent to the 1982-83 tax cut as being caused by the tax cut itself, but by other governmental policies. This hypothesis was graphically illustrated by the Laffer curve.

Vortex:

A spiral motion of fluid within a limited area, especially a whirling mass of water or air that sucks everything near it toward its center.

A place or situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it.

Voting or Pooling Agreement:

A Voting or Pooling Agreement is an agreement, preferably in writing, of two or more shareholders to vote their shares in a certain manner. The most common use of this agreement would be to pool voting strength for the election of directors.

Voting Rights:

Rights enabling the holder of a share in a company to vote on issues raised at the company's general meetings.

Voting Trust:

A Voting Trust is an agreement among the shareholders of the corporation. Under a voting trust, shareholders transfer their shares of stock to a trustee in exchange for voting trust certificates. The trustee votes the shares in the manner directed in the voting trust agreement. Voting trusts are often used to preserve control of the corporation.

Voucher:

A written authorization or certificate, especially one exchangeable for cash or representing a credit against future expenditures.

Vox Populi:

Vox Populi, a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".

Vox Populi, Vox Dei:

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is Latin for "the voice of the people is the voice of God." The phrase was used as the title of a Whig tract of 1709, which was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations.

Voyeur:

A person who derives sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others, especially from a secret vantage point.

An obsessive observer of sordid or sensational subjects.

VPN:

Short for: Virtual Private Network. VPN is a technology for using the Internet or another intermediate network to connect computers to isolated remote computer networks that would otherwise be inaccessible. A VPN provides varying levels of security so that traffic sent through the VPN connection stays isolated from other computers on the intermediate network, either through the use of a dedicated connection from one "end" of the VPN to the other, or through encryption. VPNs can connect individual users to a remote network or connect multiple networks together.

VRBO:

Vrbo, pronounced 'ver-boh', is an American vacation rental online marketplace originally known as Vacation Rentals by Owner or VRBO.

Vranyo:

White lies or half-lies in Russian culture, told without the intention of (maliciously) deceiving, but as a fantasy, suppressing unpleasant parts of the truth.

In Russian culture a distinction is drawn between two kinds of lies, Vranyo and lozh which do not have exact parallels in English. Vranyo has been claimed as uniquely Russian, and seems to consist of telling untrue but credible stories, a practice not condemned by those who recognize what is going on. Indeed, for success in Vranyo-telling, there must be a listener who pretends to believe in the truth of what is being said. [...] lozh, on the other hand, implies a conscious intention to deceive. The distinction between Vranyo and lozh can be subtle, but it is important. Vranyo in its pure form is an art, an exercise in imagination, a tall tale told for the joy of it, not in an effort to gain advantage at the expense of the listener.

VSOP:

Short for: Very Superior / Special Old Pale (cognac).

Vulgar:

Deficient in taste, delicacy, or refinement; marked by a lack of good breeding; boorish.

Vuvuzela Horn:

An elongated brightly-coloured plastic trumpet, usually about a metre long, that South African football fans blow to make a loud trumpeting noise.

Vystopia:

Existential crisis experienced by vegans, arising out of an awareness of the trance-like collusion with a dystopian world. Awareness of the greed, ubiquitous animal exploitation, and speciesism in a modern dystopia.

The word Vystopia was originally coined in 2017 by Australian vegan psychologist Clare Mann.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- W -

Wabi-Sabi:

In traditional Japanese aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence, specifically impermanence, suffering and emptiness or absence of self-nature.

Characteristics of the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

Wader:

Waterproof hip boots or trousers worn especially while fishing.

WAF:

Wife Acceptance Factor, Wife Approval Factor, or Wife Appeal Factor (WAF), are design elements that increase the likelihood a wife will approve the purchase of expensive consumer electronics products such as high-fidelity loudspeakers, home theater systems and personal computers. Stylish, compact forms and appealing colors are commonly considered WAF. The term is a tongue-in-cheek play on electronics jargon such as "form factor" and "power factor" and derives from the gender stereotype that men are predisposed to appreciate gadgetry and performance criteria whereas women must be wooed by visual and aesthetic factors.

Wag the Dog:

To 'Wag the Dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.

The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would 'Wag the Dog'. The expression 'Wag the Dog' was elaborately used as theme of the movie. 'Wag the Dog', a 1997 film starring Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman, produced and directed by Barry Levinson.

Wage:

The monetary reward for labor.

Wage Freeze:

The halting (or limited) by a government of wage increases throughout an economy, once a popular way of attempting to control inflation.

WAGs:

WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym, used particularly by the British tabloid press, to describe the Wives And GirlfriendS of high-profile footballers, originally the England national football team. The term came into common use during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although it had been used occasionally before that. The acronym has since been used by the media in other countries to describe the wives and girlfriends of sportsmen in general. The term may also be used in the singular form, "WAG", to refer to a specific female partner / life partner.

Wagyu Meat:

Wagyu refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. The meat from Wagyu cattle is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and thus a high market value. Several areas in Japan are famous for the quality of their Wagyu cattle, and ship beef bearing their areas' names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima and Ohmi beef.

The Wagyu cattle's genetic predisposition yields a beef that contains a higher percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than typical beef. The increased marbling also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats.

Waiver:

Intentional relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege.

A dispensation, as from a rule or penalty.

Wake (ceremony):

A Wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing. It is often a social rite which highlights the idea that the loss is one of a social group and affects that group as a whole.

Wake-Up Call:

A telephone call that one requests to occur at a specific time in order to be woken up, especially in a hotel.

A sign or warning that alerts one to negative or dangerous behavior or circumstances.

Waldo:

A gadget for manipulating objects by remote control. Named after Waldo Farthingwaite-Jones, inventor in a science-fiction story by Robert A. Heinlein.

Walk in Sheep's Clothing:

Visit: Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.

Walk and Talk:

Walk and Talk is a storytelling-technique used in filmmaking and television production in which a number of characters have a conversation en route. The most basic form of Walk and Talk involves a walking character that is then joined by another character. On their way to their destinations, the two talk. Variations include interruptions from other characters and Walk and Talk relay races, in which new characters join the group and one of the original characters leaves the conversation, while the remaining characters continue the Walking and Talking.

Walk in the Park:

An undertaking that is easy.

Walkabout:

Walkabout historically refers to a rite of passage during which Indigenous male Australians would undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditional transition into manhood. Walkabout has come to be referred to as "temporal mobility" because its original name has been used as a derogatory term in Australian culture, demeaning its spiritual significance.

Walker:

A woman's escort at a social event.

Walkie-Talkie:

A battery-powered portable sending and receiving radio set.

Walkout:

An organized stoppage of work by a group of employees in an attempt to obtain improved working conditions and/or wages.

Walkover:

Something that is easy and presents no difficulties, especially an easily won sports contest.

A horserace with only one horse entered, won by the mere formality of walking the length of the track.

Wall of Sound:

The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s. Working with such audio engineers as Larry Levine and the session musicians who became known as The Wrecking Crew, Spector created a dense, layered, reverberant sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes popular in the era. He created this sound by having a number of electric and acoustic guitarists perform the same parts in unison, adding musical arrangements for large groups of musicians up to the size of orchestras, then recording the sound using an echo chamber.

Wall Street:

The street on Manhattan Island where the New York Stock Exchange is situated, a name that has become a synonym for financial markets in general, and for American capitalism in particular.

Wallah:

By Allah (Arabic: Wallah) is Arabic expression meaning "[I promise] by God" used to make a promise or express great credibility on an expression. It is considered a sin among Muslim to use this phrase and follow it up with a lie. Also, some Muslims argue that this is one of the few valid ways of making a promise, the variant "I promise on myself" or "I promise on my own soul" not being allowed, in contrast to "I promise by the one who holds my soul", i.e. God. Another meaning is "Really?", "Is that so?" (referring to "Do you swear on it?", used in spoken Arabic), "By God!" (this meaning has been adopted by Modern Hebrew slang as well).

Wallflower:

In social situations, a Wallflower is a shy or unpopular individual who doesn't socialize or participate in activities at social events. He or she may have other talents but usually does not express them in the presence of other individuals. The term comes from the image of a person isolating themselves from areas of social activities at ballroom dances and parties, where the people who did not wish to dance (or had no partner) remained close to the walls of the dance hall.

Wallraffing:

When a language expert uncritically uses urban dictionary as a source.

Also read about Günter Wallraff, a German writer and undercover journalist.

Walter Mitty:

Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World and Welcome to It in 1942. Thurber loosely based the character on his friend, Walter Mithoff.

Mitty is a meek, mild man with a vivid fantasy life: in a few dozen paragraphs he imagines himself a wartime pilot, an emergency-room surgeon, and a devil-may-care killer. The character's name has come into more general use to refer to an ineffectual dreamer, appearing in several dictionaries. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Walter Mitty as "an ordinary, often ineffectual person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs". The most famous of Thurber's inept male protagonists, the character is considered "the archetype for dreamy, hapless, Thurber Man".

Although the story has humorous elements, there is a darker and more significant message underlying the text, leading to a more tragic interpretation of the Mitty character. Even in his heroic daydreams, Mitty does not triumph, several fantasies being interrupted before the final one sees Mitty dying bravely in front of a firing squad. In the brief snatches of reality that punctuate Mitty's fantasies the audience meets well-meaning but insensitive strangers who inadvertently rob Mitty of some of his remaining dignity.

Walter Mitty Syndrome:

Walter Mitty Syndrome is when you daydream about yourself being in another life as much as or even more than you pay attention to your real life. The name comes from a short story where the main character thinks up exciting scenarios for himself in his head when he's bored.

WAM-V:

Short for: Wave Adoptive Modular Vessel.

Visit: Proteus.

Wampum:

Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts, formerly used by certain Native American peoples as currency and jewellery or for ceremonial exchanges between groups. Also called peag.

Informal: money.

Wandering Eye:

When a certain person in a relationship sees someone he or she is mentally or physically attracted to other then his significant other.

Wandering Jew:

A Jew of medieval legend condemned to wander until the Day of Judgment for having mocked Jesus on the day of the Crucifixion.

Wanderlust:

Wanderlust is a loanword from German to English that designates a strong desire for or impulse to wander, or, in modern usage, to travel and to explore the world.

Wandervogel:

Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as migratory bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom.

Wangiri:

Wangiri (literally, "One (ring) and cut") is a phone fraud that originated in Japan. The scam involves a computer dialing a large number of mobile phone numbers at random. The numbers appear as missed calls on the recipients' phones. Believing a legitimate call was cut off, or simply curious, users are enticed to call back. The numbers are either premium rate, or contain advertising messages.

Wannabe (also Wannabee):

One who aspires to a role or position.

One who imitates the behavior, customs, or dress of an admired person or group.

A product designed to imitate the qualities or characteristics of something.

WAP:

Short for: Wireless Application Protocol. WAP gives your mobile phone access to the Internet.

War Paint:

War Paint is a form of make-up applied before going to battle. It is also a slang term for make-up worn by women to improve attractiveness as they go out to do metaphorical battle during courtship.

Informal: Cosmetics such as lipstick, rouge, or mascara.

War Reparations:

War reparations refers to the monetary compensation intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.

War Room:

A command center; a single location which serves as the point of coordination for military activities; by extension, a single location from which any activity is directed.

Ward:

Law: a minor or incompetent person placed under the care or protection of a guardian or court.

An open court or area of a castle or fortification enclosed by walls.

A room in a hospital usually holding six or more patients.

Wardrobing:

Wardrobing is a form of return fraud. It is the practice of purchasing an item, using it, and then returning it to the store for a refund. It is most often done with expensive clothing - hence the name - but the practice is also common with tools, electronics, and even computers. To prevent this practice, some stores make certain items, such as wedding dresses or Christmas decorations, unreturnable. Some observers classify Wardrobing as a form of shoplifting.

Warehouse:

The physical place where a company stores its stock (inventory). Such places are usually on the outskirts of big towns, where property prices are low, but close to arterial transport routes.

To buy shares in a company in the names of nominees in order to disguise the fact that a connected group of investors is building up a large stake.

Warrant:

A certificate entitling its holder to buy shares in a company at a future date and at a prescribed price.

Warranty:

A guarantee given by a seller of goods that the goods will perform as promised. Warranties have a finite life and do not cover damage that is not the fault of the manufacturer.

Warts and All:

(Idiomatic, often hyphenated): of or pertaining to a description or other depiction which reveals the full range of characteristics of a person or thing, including the shortcomings and imperfections.

Wasabi:

An herb (Eutrema Wasabi) of the crucifer family, with greenish roots that are grated and used like horseradish in Japanese dishes.

Washa:

To use as a language in front of woman or guys, or as a way of saying: nice, done deal, high five, right on, approve, way to go man, she is fine, or as a cheer to others.

Washington Monument Syndrome:

The Washington Monument Syndrome, also known as the Mount Rushmore Syndrome, or the firemen first principle, is a term used to describe the phenomenon of government agencies in the United States cutting the most visible or appreciated service provided by the government when faced with budget cuts. It has been used in reference to cuts in popular services such as national parks and libraries or to valued public employees such as teachers and firefighters. This is done to put pressure on the public and lawmakers to rescind budget cuts. The term can also refer to claims by lawmakers that a proposed budget cut would hinder "essential" government services (firefighters, police, education, etc.).

WASP:

Short for: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry.

A white, usually Protestant member of the American upper social class.

Waste Management:

The systematic management of the waste products created by an industrial process; that is, products which are surplus to the process in question. Some waste products can be recycled into different manufacturing processes; others can be used directly as by-products; and others need to be broken down into biodegradable substances.

Wasting Asset:

A fixed asset with a finite useful life, such as a machine that eventually wears out, or a gold mine that is eventually exhausted.

Watchdog:

An officially appointed body (or person) that watches over the activity of an industry to see that it is not, for instance, anti-competitive or in some other way against the public interest.

Water Carrier:

(Intransitive, idiomatic): to do someone's bidding; to serve someone's interests; in politics, a "Water Carrier" is considered to be a campaign organization.

Water Cooler Effect:

A Water Cooler Effect is a phenomenon, occurring when employees at a workplace gather around the office water cooler and chat. It is a synonym for gathering and connecting people in a certain environment (e.g. the office). When a television program, like a soap-opera or series, is talked about among many people (mostly related to guessing what will happen in the next episode) it can be said that the program has a Water Cooler Effect.

Water Torture:

Water Torture is torture using water, which can take several forms. Because no external marks are left on victims of water torture, it has been a favoured method of torture in various countries and political regimes.

The torture has notably been used against political prisoners.

Water Under the Bridge:

A past occurrence, especially something unfortunate, that cannot be undone or rectified.

Bygone: past events to be put aside; "let bygones be bygones".

Waterboarding:

Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing the victim on his or her back with the head inclined downwards, and then pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. By forced suffocation and inhalation of water the subject experiences drowning and is caused to believe they are about to die. It is considered a form of torture by legal experts, politicians, war veterans, intelligence officials, military judges, and human rights organizations. As early as the Spanish Inquisition it was used for interrogation purposes, to punish and intimidate, and to force confessions.

In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, Waterboarding precipitates a gag reflex almost immediately. The technique does not inevitably cause lasting physical damage. It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, ultimately, death. Adverse physical consequences can start manifesting months after the event; psychological effects can last for years.

In 2007 it was reported that CIA the was using Waterboarding on extrajudicial prisoners and that the United States Department of Justice had authorized the procedure, a revelation that sparked a worldwide political scandal. Al-Qaeda suspects upon whom the CIA is known to have used Waterboarding include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

Watering Hole:

A social gathering place, such as a bar or saloon, where drinks are served.

Waterloo Teeth:

The onset of the Napoleonic wars changed the way dentures were made forever. The high death toll led to an influx of teeth on the dental market in London as it became routine for the battlefields to be scavenged for items of value which included teeth. Tooth hunters followed the armies, moving in as soon as the living had left the field as most corpses were young and healthy with teeth of a generally good standard.

The dentures made with these teeth become known as Waterloo Teeth (Napoleon teeth) and were worn with a great deal of pride – real human teeth set in an ivory base. Only the most affulent members of society could afford them and they became something of a ‘must-have’ accessory for the toothless fashion-conscious, worn as something like trophies by elderly dandies.

Watermark:

A mark showing the greatest height to which water has risen.

A translucent design impressed on paper during manufacture and visible when the paper is held to the light.

The metal pattern that produces this design.

Watermelon Effect:

"You’re the CIO of a large enterprise. Your outsourced service provider has been reporting outstanding performance to you on their service level agreements. And you just got off the phone with your key business stakeholder who expressed extreme frustration with the quality of service from enterprise IT. You just experienced the Watermelon Effect. Watermelons are green on the outside and red on the inside. In this case, your service provider has green on their dashboards, but you are experiencing red within the organization."

Watt:

An International System unit of power equal to one joule per second named after British engineer and inventor James Watt who made fundamental improvements in the steam engine, resulting in the modern high-pressure steam engine.

Waybill:

A document accompanying a shipment of goods that sets out the route that is to be followed by the goods and the cost of the shipment.

Wealth:

An abundance of valuable material possessions or resources; riches.

All goods and resources having value in terms of exchange or use.

A great amount; a profusion.

See also: How Much Money Do You Need To Be Wealthy?.

Wearable Computer:

Wearable Computers, also known as body-borne computers are miniature electronic devices that are worn by the bearer under, with or on top of clothing. This class of wearable technology has been developed for general or special purpose information technologies and media development.

Web:

See: Internet.

Web 2.0

The term "Web 2.0" (2004–present) is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with other users or to change website content, in contrast to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them.

The term is closely associated with Tim O'Reilly because of the O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but rather to cumulative changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the Web. Whether Web 2.0 is qualitatively different from prior web technologies has been challenged by World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who called the term a "piece of jargon" - precisely because he intended the Web to embody these values in the first place.

See also: Gov 2.0.

Web Application:

See: application.

Web Banner:

A Web Banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement known as a "click through." In many cases, banners are delivered by a central ad server.

Web Browser:

A Web Browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

Most popular Browsers: Windows 8, FireFox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, Linux.

Web Feed:

A Web Feed (or news feed) is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a Web Feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. Making a collection of Web Feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation, which is performed by an Internet aggregator. A Web Feed is also sometimes referred to as a syndicated feed.

In the typical scenario of using Web Feeds, a content provider publishes a feed link on their site which end users can register with an aggregator program (also called a feed reader or a news reader) running on their own machines; doing this is usually as simple as dragging the link from the web browser to the aggregator. When instructed, the aggregator asks all the servers in its feed list if they have new content; if so, the aggregator either makes a note of the new content or downloads it. Aggregators can be scheduled to check for new content periodically. Web Feeds are an example of pull technology, although they may appear to push content to the user.

The kinds of content delivered by a Web Feed are typically HTML (webpage content) or links to webpages and other kinds of digital media. Often when websites provide Web Feeds to notify users of content updates, they only include summaries in the Web Feed rather than the full content itself.

Web Page:

A Web Page or Webpage is a document or resource of information that is suitable for the world wide web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a computer screen.

Web Server:

See: server.

Web Site:

An electronic site on the world wide web where a company, or an individual, lays out information about itself. Each Web Site has a unique address. Individuals with access to the internet can key in to that address and gain access to the information on the site.

Webbased Phone Service:

A software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and, in some countries, to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing. Visit: Skype, for example.

Webcam:

A Webcam is a video capture device connected to a computer or computer network, often using a USB port or, if connected to a network, ethernet or Wi-Fi.

Webcast:

A Webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. A Webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webcasting is “broadcasting” over the Internet.

Webinar:

A seminar or other presentation that takes place on the Internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions, and sometimes answer polls.

Webisode:

A Webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial. A webisode can be an episode especially of a TV show that may or may not have been telecast but can be viewed at a Web site.

Weblog:

A Blog (a contraction of the term Weblog) is a type of web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Create your free blog here and start sharing your thoughts, photos, and more with your friends and the world.

Webumentary:

A web-based documentary utilizing elements specific to the Web (links, images, audio, video, flash, etc.) in conjunction with standard documentary composition elements.

Wedding-Cake Style:

In architecture, a "Wedding-Cake Style" is an informal reference to buildings with many distinct tiers, each set back from the one below, resulting in a shape like a wedding cake, and may also apply to buildings that are richly ornamented, as if made in sugar icing.

WEIRD:

Short for: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic.

Read more here: How the West became WEIRD - "In his new book Joe Henrich looks at how the West became psychologically peculiar and prosperous. The book argues these cultures make people more analytical, individualistic, impersonal."

Wellington Boots:

The Wellington Boot, also known as galoshes, rubber-boots, wellies, topboots, gumboots, or rainboots are a type of boot based upon leather Hessian boots. It was worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. This novel "Wellington" boot then became a fashionable style emulated by the British aristocracy in the early 19th century. The boot thus became known, in British English, by its proponent: Wellington.

Wellness:

Wellness is an interactive process of becoming aware of and practicing healthy choices to create a more successful and balanced lifestyle.

Weltklasse:

German for: world class. To be world class; to be great; fantastic; of the highest class, as in international competition.

Weltschmerz:

Weltschmerz (from the German, meaning world-pain or world-weariness) is a term coined by the German author Jean Paul and denotes the kind of feeling experienced by someone who understands that physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind. This kind of pessimistic world view was widespread among several romantic authors such as Lord Byron, Giacomo Leopardi, François-René de Chateaubriand, Alfred de Musset, Nikolaus Lenau, Herman Hesse, and Heinrich Heine.

Werther Effect:

The massive wave of emulation suicides after a widely publicized suicide is known as the Werther Effect, following Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.

Western Hemisphere:

The half of the earth comprising North America, Central America, and South America.

Wet Behind the Ears:

(Idiomatic): inexperienced; not seasoned; new; just beginning; immature, especially in judgment.

Wet-Bulb Temperature (WBT):

The Wet-Bulb Temperature (WBT) is the temperature read by a thermometer covered in water-soaked (water at ambient temperature) cloth (a wet-bulb thermometer) over which air is passed. At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal to the air temperature (dry-bulb temperature); at lower humidity the wet-bulb temperature is lower than dry-bulb temperature because of evaporative cooling.

Wet Dream:

A nocturnal emission or Wet Dream is a type of spontaneous orgasm, involving either erection and/or ejaculation during sleep for a male, or lubrication of the vagina for a female; an erotic dream accompanied by ejaculation of semen.

WFH:

WFH (short for: Work From Home) is a concept where the employee can do their job outside of the office. This could be either work done from home, or work done remotely on the road. WFH offers the flexibility to achieve company goals, while supporting a healthy work/life balance, cutting down on commuting time and costs, as well as fostering a comfortable work environment.

Read also: How to Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind - "No matter why you're WFH, snack breaks and boundaries are your friends."

Whale:

Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea.

Informal: an impressive example; an exceptionally large, fine, etc., example of a (person or thing).

To strike or hit repeatedly and forcefully; thrash; to attack vehemently.

Slang: a gambler who has the capacity to win and lose large sums of money in a casino.

Whale Mugging:

An all-purpose term marine biologists use to describe whales that choose to swim within close proximity of a boat.

Whale Tail:

Whale Tail is the Y-shaped waistband of a thong or G-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise jeans, shorts, or a skirt that resembles a Whale's Tail.

Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma'am!:

The act of having sex without even bothering to try to get the woman to orgasm. Usually lasts for about five seconds.

What-If?:

Analysis: the study of how model output varies with changes in input.

WhatsAppitis:

WhatsAppitis is a neologism that referes to the medical condition caused by excessive use of text messaging. Excessive chatting or texting on WhatsApp messenger can damage your health and lead to a new disorder WhatsAppitis, says report published in Lancet.

WHDI:

Short for: Wireless Home Digital Interface. The WHDI standard is a new standard for multi-room audio, video and control connectivity. The WHDI standard will define the method by which HD source devices such as BD, DVD player, STBs and PC can deliver wirelessly uncompressed video content to HD display devices, such as LCD TVs, within the home.

Wheeler-Dealer:

Informal: a shrewd, and often unscrupulous, person who advances his own interests by scheming; a hustler; political or commercial shady operator.

"When in Rome...":

The full phrase is "When in Rome, do as the Roman's do." But it has become shortened so often, some people don't get it anymore. It's an analogy making use of the strict rule of the ancient Roman empire, and synonomous with "Going with the flow," or doing something because everyone else is doing it.

Something to say when you don't understand what someone is trying to tell you. Similar to touché.

When Push Comes to Shove:

Fig.: when things get a little pressed; when the situation gets more active or intense; when all the easy solutions to a problem have not worked, and something must be done.

"When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play":

Meaning: without supervision, people will do as they please, especially in disregarding or breaking rules.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!":

Famous Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. quote.

"Where there's smoke, there's fire":

See also: "There's no smoke without fire".

Where There is a Will, There is a Way:

If one really wants to do something, one can.

Whig:

A member of an 18th- and 19th-century British political party that was opposed to the Tories.

A supporter of the war against England during the American Revolution.

Whigger:

A disparaging term used to describe a Caucasian person that mimics ghetto and urban vernacular.

Whip:

An instrument, either a flexible rod or a flexible thong or lash attached to a handle, used for driving animals or administering corporal punishment.

A call issued to party members in a lawmaking body to ensure attendance at a particular time.

Whip (acronym):

Acronym for: Women who are Hot, Intelligent and in their Prime.

Whiplash:

Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension, although the exact injury mechanisms remain unknown. The term "Whiplash" is a colloquialism. "Cervical acceleration–deceleration" (CAD) describes the mechanism of the injury, while the term "Whiplash associated disorders" (WAD) describes the injury sequelae and symptoms.

Whipping Boy:

A Whipping Boy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling.

Whipping Boys were some of the earliest "fall guys". The other parallel is the scapegoat, a practice in the early Middle East, and one referred to in the Old Testament, where one goat was sacrificed, but another was sent out to bear the burden of sins.

Whisky Throttle:

The real Whiskey Throttle is when you give to much throttle and you start to slip off the back of the bike/4 wheeler and your hand just pulls the throttle more and you go out of control!

Whistleblower:

An employee who alerts the authorities to the fact that his or her employer is engaged in illegal activity. Whistleblowers sometimes have special protection under the law.

White Album:

The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed, which was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's previous LP Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

White Collar:

A term used to refer to those workers in an organization who wear a White Collar, that is, a smart shirt and tie rather than a set of overalls. It is a similar distinction to that between staff and line workers.

Of or relating to workers whose work usually does not involve manual and who are often expected to dress with a degree of formality.

White Collar Crime:

A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.

White Elephant:

A rare, expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain; something of dubious or limited value.

White Goods:

Electrical consumer goods that are traditionally encased in white enamel, such as refrigerators and washing machines.

White Guilt:

White Guilt is the individual or collective guilt felt by some white people for harm resulting from racist treatment of ethnic minorities by other white people both historically and currently. White Guilt has been described as one of the psychosocial costs of racism for white individuals along with empathy (sadness and anger) for victims of racism and fear of non-whites.

White Hat (computer security):

The term "White Hat" in Internet slang refers to an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security expert, who specializes in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization's information systems. Ethical hacking is a term coined by IBM meant to imply a broader category than just penetration testing. White-Hat hackers may also work in teams called "sneakers", red teams, or tiger teams.

White House Potential:

White House Potential is when you do something really good like having sex with a bunch of ladies or scoring lots of A+'s.

If you have White House Potential you are highly respected and you have a lot of power... it means that you have the potential to become USA's president.

White Hunter:

White Hunter is a literary term used for professional big game hunters of European or North American backgrounds who plied their trade in Africa, especially during the first half of the 20th century. The activity continues in the dozen African countries which still permit big-game hunting. White Hunters derived their income from organizing and leading safaris for paying clients, or from the sale of ivory.

The popular term Great White Hunter emphasizes the racial and colonial aspects of the profession, as well as its colorful aspects. Depending on the author and intention, the term can be used straightforwardly, in parody, or as a criticism.

White Knight:

An investor who comes to the rescue of a company that is subject to a hostile takeover.

White Knuckles:

A terminology used to describe when someone is holding onto something extremely tight, due to a stressful or otherwise tense situation.

Also a synonym for someone feeling stressed, or tense about life.

White Label Product:

A White Label Product or service is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it.

White Lie:

White Lies are minor lies which could be considered to be harmless, or even beneficial, in the long term. White Lies are also considered to be used for greater good. A common version of a White Lie is to tell only part of the truth, therefore not be suspected of lying, yet also conceal something else, to avoid awkward questions. White Lies are also often used to shield someone from a hurtful or emotionally damaging truth, especially when not knowing the truth is completely harmless.

White Man's Burden:

The supposed responsibility of European people to govern and care for their colonial subjects.

White Noise:

In signal processing, White Noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, including physics, acoustic engineering, telecommunications, and statistical forecasting. White Noise refers to a statistical model for signals and signal sources, rather than to any specific signal. White Noise draws its name from white light, although light that appears white generally does not have a flat power spectral density over the visible band.

White Pages:

A volume or section of a telephone directory that alphabetically lists the names of people and sometimes businesses.

White Paper:

A White Paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them.

White Shoe Firm:

White Shoe Firm is a sometimes racially/culturally tinted phrase used to describe leading professional services firms in the United States, particularly firms that have been in existence for more than a century and represent Fortune 500 companies. It typically—but not always—refers to banking, law, and management consulting firms, especially those based in New York and Boston.

White Tie:

White Tie (or evening dress, full evening dress; slang top hat and tails or White Tie and tails, tailsuit, tails) is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings. The chief components for men are the black dress coat commonly known as an evening tailcoat, white bow tie, white waistcoat and starched wing collar shirt, while women wear a suitable dress for the occasion, such as a evening gown.

As evening dress, White Tie is traditionally considered correct only after 6 p.m. although some etiquette authorities allow for it anytime after dark even if that means prior to 6 p.m. The equivalent formal attire for daytime events is called morning dress. The less formal evening counterpart of White Tie is black tie.

White Trash:

White Trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, especially in the rural South, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards. The term suggests outcasts from respectable society living on the fringes of the social order who are seen as dangerous because they may be criminal, unpredictable, and without respect for authority whether it be political, legal, or moral.

White Trouser Fella (WTF):

For the devoted WTF (White Trouser Fella) - Mick Jagger, Paul Weller, Brad Pitt, Prince Harry, Steve McQueen, JFK, Matt Damon, Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds et al - white jeans are the very essence of summer. Sunny, fresh, versatile, sporty, preppy and fabulously Euro-sprezzaturian. White jeans speak of Blue Note album covers, old Ralph Lauren advertisements, Gitanes-smoking modernists, sailors and Cote d’Azur lotharios.

White Whale:

A White Whale is something you cant get ...like seeing a white whale would be rare.

term used to describe an opponent / nemesis who is extremely difficult to defeat. The term can also apply to miscellaneous games or events which are difficult to master.

Something you obsess over to the point that it nearly or completely destroys you. An obsession that becomes your ultimate goal in life; one that your life now completely encircles and defines you.

Whitewash:

To Whitewash is to gloss over or cover up vices, crimes, or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data.

Whitewash also means an overly optimistic but sometimes incorrect description of a concept. An example in politics is to describe a tax or penalty as a fee.

Whiz Kid:

A person who is pushing, enthusiastic, and outstandingly successful for his or her age.

Whodunit:

A Whodunit or Whodunnit (for "Who done [did] it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the book. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric amateur or semi-professional detective.

Wholesale:

The purchasing of large volumes of goods direct form manufacturers in order to sell them in smaller volumes to retailers.

Whore of Babylon:

The Whore of Babylon or Babylon the Great is a Christian figure of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Her full title is given as "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth." The phrase is widely thought to symbolize some unstated evil power in the real world of the time, such as the Roman Empire or Jerusalem (among various proposed interpretations).

Wicked Problem:

In planning and policy, a Wicked Problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fixed, where there is no single solution to the problem; and "wicked" denotes resistance to resolution, rather than evil. Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point". Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a Wicked Problem may reveal or create other problems.

Widget:

A small mechanical device or control.

A program that performs some simple function, such as providing a weather report or stock quote, and can be accessed from a computer desktop, web page, mobile phone or subscription television service.

Wi-Fi:

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

The term Wi-Fi is often used by the public as a synonym for wireless LAN (WLAN); but not every wireless LAN product has a Wi-Fi certification, which may be because of certification costs that must be paid for each certified device type.

Wi-Fi is supported by most personal computer operating systems, many game consoles, laptops, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals.

Wiki:

A Wiki is a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known Wikis.

Wiki-wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick.

Wild Card:

An athlete or team selected to compete in a tournament or playoff from among those who did not qualify by meeting the regular requirements.

An unpredictable or unforeseeable factor.

Wild Guess:

Shot in the dark; fall of the cards; flip of the coin.

Wild West:

The western United States during the period of its settlement, especially with reference to its lawlessness.

Wildcat Strike:

A sudden and unofficial strike by a group of employees that is not recognized by the employees' trade union. A Wildcat Strike may begin with a walkout.

Will:

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.

Diligent purposefulness; determination; self-control; self-discipline.

A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death; a legally executed document containing this declaration.

Willpower:

The strength of will to carry out one's decisions, wishes, or plans.

Wimp:

A subatomic particle that has a large mass and interacts with other matter primarily through gravitation.

Informal: a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy.

Win-Win Situation:

Of or being a situation in which the outcome benefits each of two often opposing groups.

Winchellism:

The term "Winchellism" is named after American newspaper and radio gossip commentator Walter Winchell (1897-1972). Though its use is extremely rare and may be considered archaic, the term has two different usages.

One definition is a pejorative judgment that an author's works are specifically designed to imply or invoke scandal and may be libelous.

The other definition is "any word or phrase compounded brought to the fore by the columnist Walter Winchell" or his imitators. Looking at his writing's effect on the language, an etymologist of his day said, "there are plenty of... expressions which he has fathered and which are now current among his readers and imitators and constitute a flash language which has been called Winchellese. Through a newspaper column which has nation-wide circulation, Winchell has achieved the position of dictator of contemporary slang." Winchell invented his own phrases that were viewed as slightly racy at the time. Some of the expressions for falling in love used by Winchell were: "pashing it", "sizzle for", "that way, go for each other", "garbo-ing it", "uh-huh"; and in the same category, "new Garbo, trouser-crease-eraser", and "pash". Some Winchellisms for marriage are: "middle-aisle it", "altar it", "handcuffed", "Mendelssohn March", "Lohengrin it", and "merged".

Wind Chimes:

An arrangement of small suspended pieces, as of glass, metal, or ceramic, hung loosely together so that they tinkle pleasingly when blown by the wind.

Wind Chill:

Wind Chill or windchill, (popularly wind chill factor) is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air.

Wind Chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature, the heat index is used instead.

Windfall:

A sudden, unexpected piece of good fortune or personal gain.

Windfall Profit:

A sudden and unexpected profit that is not a result of the conscious effort of the beneficiary. For example, the compulsory purchase of waste land by a government for the purposes of road building might result in a Windfall Profit for the landowner.

Windjammer:

A Windjammer is a collective name for a general class of large sailing ship built to carry bulk cargo for long distances in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Windjammers were the largest of merchant sailing ships, with three to five tall masts and square sails, giving them a characteristic profile.

Winding Up:

The process of closing down a company, selling off its assets and removing it from official records.

Window Dressing:

The deliberate starting up of a company's accounts to make them look as attractive as possible to investors, employees and others. Window Dressing need not be illegal. For a number of items that appear in accounts there is no single correct method of valuation.

A showy misrepresentation intended to conceal something unpleasant.

Window of Opportunity:

A short period of time in which the conditions for carrying out a particular task are highly favorable. There may, for example, be a Window of Opportunity for a company to issue new shares; a time when the stock market is briefly able to fetch a high price for the shares.

Window Shopping:

To look at merchandise in store windows or showcases without making purchases.

WiPower:

WiPower is a technology start-up company that has used the principles of inductive coupling to develop a near-field wireless energy transfer system. The technology makes use of two components that are typical of all inductive power systems: a transmitter and a receiver. The WiPower system uses directed and controlled magnetic fields to replace traditional power cords.

Wire:

A usually pliable metallic strand or rod made in many lengths and diameters, sometimes clad and often electrically insulated, used chiefly for structural support or to conduct electricity.

An open telephone connection.

Slang: a hidden microphone, as on a person's body or in a building.

A telegraph service.

Sports: the finish line of a racetrack.

Wireless:

Wireless communication is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not connected by an electrical conductor.

Having no wires.

Chiefly British: of or relating to radio or communication by radiotelegraphy or radiotelephony.

A radio telegraph or radiotelephone system.

A message transmitted by wireless telegraph or telephone.

Wirtschaftswunder:

The term Wirtschaftswunder (German for "economic miracle") describes the rapid reconstruction and development of the economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II.

Wisenheimer:

(Chiefly US, informal): a self-assertive and arrogant person; a know-it-all or smart aleck.

Wit:

The natural ability to perceive and understand; intelligence.

Keenness and quickness of perception or discernment; ingenuity. Often used in the plural: living by one's Wits.

The ability to perceive and express in an ingeniously humorous manner the relationship between seemingly incongruous or disparate things.

One noted for this ability, especially one skilled in repartee.

A person of exceptional intelligence.

See also: irony.

Witching Hour:

Witching Hour is a term in occult belief that refers to the time at which creatures such as witches, demons, and ghosts are thought to appear and to be at their most powerful. Black magic is thought to be most effective at this time. The period lasts from 3AM to 4AM, when there are no Catholic church services and prayers, as marked by the Canonical hours.

Adversely, the term Devil's hour applies to the hour of 3 AM or 3:15, the suggestion being that this is an inversion of the time at which Christ died at Calvary.

Withholding Tax:

Tax required to be deducted at source by companies paying interest, dividends or royalties, but which may in certain circumstances be reclaimed by the recipient or be reduced under a double taxation agreement/tax treaties.

Witness:

A Witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses (e.g. seeing, hearing, smelling, touching) and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A Witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness.

Witness Protection Program:

The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a Witness Protection Program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial.

Wizard:

One who practices magic; a sorcerer or magician.

A skilled or clever person. Archaic: a sage.

WLAN:

Short for: Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method (typically spread-spectrum or OFDM radio), and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider Internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network.

WLTP | Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure:

WLTP is short for the snappily titled Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure and is the name for the EU's new fuel efficiency ratings for all petrol, diesel, electric and hybrid cars.

Instead of relying on less realistic laboratory tests alone, the new procedure supplements lab rigs with additional real-world testing. Its creators claim these are the world's first official fuel economy tests undertaken on the open road.

The new tests measure fuel consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulates by mass and number (PM and PN). So far, so familiar. The big change is in the methodology.

WMD:

Short for: Weapons of Mass Destruction.

In his 2002 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett dubbed derivative securities as "financial weapons of mass destruction".

See also: CBRN.

WOD:

Short for: Workout Of the Day.

Wørd:

See: truthiness.

Woke:

Woke is a term that refers to awareness of issues that concern social justice, political relevancy and racial justice. It is sometimes used in the African-American Vernacular English expression stay Woke. ("Stay Woke up", used in a social context, is first known to have appeared in print in 1942.) Woke resurfaced in 2014 during the Black Lives Matter movement as a label for vigilance and activism concerning racial inequalities and other social disparities such as discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants and or other marginalized populations.

Woke Washing:

Woke Washing is the appropriation of ethical and progressive values as a form of advertising just to make more profit while hiding the dark side of conventional capitalistic business management. Historically, it might resemble the 1980s concept of “greenwashing” or a form of corporate social responsibility, but it is on a whole other level. It is not a business self-regulation policy, but a trend.

Read also: Woke-washing: how brands are cashing in on the culture wars.

Wolf-Whistling:

Wolf-Whistling or finger whistling is a type of whistling in which fingers are inserted in the mouth to produce a louder and more penetrating tone.

Women's Clothing Size Conversions:

Visit: Women's Clothing Size Conversions.

Word Clouds:

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

Word of Mouth:

Word of Mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication.

Grapevine: gossip spread by spoken communication.

Word Play:

Word Play or wordplay is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names (such as in The Importance of Being Earnest; 'Ernest' is a name that is phonetically identical to the adjective 'earnest') are common examples of word play.

Word Processor:

A simple sort of computer that carries out the functions of a typewriter, but more quickly.

Word Salad:

Jumble of incoherent speech as sometimes heard in schizophrenia.

Wordsmith:

A fluent and prolific writer, especially one who writes professionally.

An expert on words.

Work in Progress:

All the semi-finished goods that exist within a business and are on their way towards becoming finished goods. Also, the value of all those goods which is shown in the company's accounts as an asset. Referred to in the United States as work in process.

Work-Life Balance:

Work–Life Balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation). This is related to the idea of lifestyle choice.

Read also: 6 Tips For Better Work-Life Balance - Forbes.

Work Out:

To engage in strenuous exercise for physical conditioning.

To find a solution for; solve.

To discharge (an obligation or debt) with labor in place of money.

Work Permit:

An official permit given by a government to people who are not citizens of that government's country, allowing them to take up formal paid employment within the country.

Work-to-Rule:

A refusal by employees to do work that falls outside the terms of their contract, strictly interpreted. This means, for instance, that they refuse to work overtime. The work-to-rule is a common tactic used in industrial disputes.

Workaholic:

One who has a compulsive and unrelenting need to work.

Worker Bee:

A Worker Bee is any female (eusocial) bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen, as well. Worker Bees occur in many bee species other than honey bees, but this is by far the most familiar colloquial use of the term.

Job title for people who do all of the hard work but get none of the credit.

Workforce:

The total of all employees in either an industry or an individual company. The same as labor force.

Working Capital:

A firm's current assets minus its current liabilities.

Working From Home (WFH):

Working From Home: used to refer to a person doing their job in their home rather than travelling to an office, etc.

Working Poor:

The Working Poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line. Depending on how one defines "working" and "poverty," someone may or may not be counted as part of the working poor. For example, discussions in the United States about defining working poverty often fall on different sides based mainly on the two-party distinction. In nations with multiple parties, the discussions may be more refined, but a variety of opinions exist how the working poor compare to the nonworking poor.

Working Rich:

Working rich - defined having a net worth of between US$1 million and US$10 million and still working for a living (2008).

Workload:

A quantitative measure of the amount of work that an individual is expected to do in a particular job during a fixed period of time.

Workout:

A session of exercise or practice to improve fitness, as for athletic competition.

Workstation:

A place within an office or a home that is equipped with the tools needed to do a particular job, especially one that requires the use of a computer, modem and telephone. A workstation can also be the place where a carpenter does his work.

World Class:

Ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international standard of excellence; of the highest order.

Great, as in importance, concern, or notoriety.

World Geodetic System:

The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard coordinate frame for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface (the datum or reference ellipsoid) for raw altitude data, and a gravitational equipotential surface (the geoid) that defines the nominal sea level.

The latest revision is WGS 84 (dating from 1984 and last revised in 2004), which will be valid up to about 2010. WGS 84 is the reference coordinate system used by the Global Positioning System.

World Order:

The political, economic, or social situation in the world at a particular time and the effect that this has on relationships between different countries.

World Wide Web:

The computer software that allows a person sitting in front of a PC to gain instantaneous access to electronic information provided by organizations thousands of miles away via the Internet proposed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee on March 13, 1989.

Visit the website of the world's first-ever web server http://info.cern.ch.

Worship:

The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.

The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.

Worst-Case

Most unfavorable; being or involving the worst possibility.

Worst-Case Scenario:

The most unpleasant or serious thing that could happen in a situation.

WOW Factor:

A set of properties belonging to an that pleasantly surprise a watcher. From commercials to cool electronics, the WOW Factor is an important thing to consider when designing it.

Aan aspect of something that is very impressive or exciting; the quality something has of being very impressive or surprising to people.

WOW Moment:

A WOW! Moment is an unexpected act of courtesy and kindness that can make you smile or brighten your day.

Wreath:

A Wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring.

Writ:

Law: a written order issued by a court, commanding the party to whom it is addressed to perform or cease performing a specified act.

Write Down:

To reduce the value of an asset in the books of a company.

Write Off:

To reduce to zero the value of an asset in the books of a company.

Writer's Block:

A usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing.

Written in Stone:

To make something permanent and incapable of being changed, typically a plan or idea; permanently fixed or firmly established; incapable of being changed. Often used in the negative.

Wrong Foot:

(General Sporting Terms) Sport to play a shot in such a way as to cause (one's opponent) to be off balance.

To take by surprise so as to place in an embarrassing or disadvantageous situation.

WTF:

Short for: What The Fuck?

WTI:

Short for: Western Texas Intermediate. Also known as Texas Light Sweet, is a type of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing and the underlying commodity of New York Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts.

See also: Brent Crude Oil.

WTO:

Short for World Trade Organization (WTO), a Geneva-based organization that acts as a kind of watchdog for the world's trading system. It oversees the enforcement of the (GATT).

Wunderkind:

A child prodigy.

A person of remarkable talent or ability who achieves great success or acclaim at an early age.

Wuxia:

Wuxia s a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists set in ancient China. Although Wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to different art forms like Chinese opera, manhua (Chinese comics), films, television series, and video games. Wuxia is a component of popular culture for many Chinese-speaking communities worldwide.

WWW:

Short for: World Wide Web. The computer software that allows a person sitting in front of a PC to gain instantaneous access to electronic information provided by organizations thousands of miles away via the Internet proposed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee on March 13, 1989.

Visit the website of the world's first-ever web server http://info.cern.ch.

Wykehamist:

An undergraduate, graduate or fellow of Winchester CollegeWinchester College.

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X Factor:

A special quality, especially one that is essential for success and is difficult to describe.

X Factor is a British television singing competition contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions, which started in September 2004. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise.

Xanadu:

An idyllic, beautiful place. (After Xanadu, a place in "Kubla Khan", a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.)

Xenia:

Xenia (Greek: meaning "guest-friendship") is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host expressed in both material benefits (such as the giving of gifts to each party) as well as non-material ones (such as protection, shelter, favors, or certain normative rights).

Xenophobia:

A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.

XML:

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a set of rules for encoding documents electronically.

XOXO:

Hugs and kisses. O=hug. X=kiss.

If you look at each letter like it was representing two people from a bird's eye view, the "O" represents the arms of those persons hugging each other while the "X" is evocative of two people kissing each other.

X-Ray:

Electromagnetic radiation of short wavelength produced when high-speed electrons strike a solid target.

XXX:

The definition of XXX is "Kisses".

The first mention in literature of XXX for kisses at the bottom of a letter was in 1901, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

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Y Chromosome:

The Y Chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in most mammals, including humans. The human Y chromosome is composed of about 60 million base pairs. DNA in the Y Chromosome is passed from father to son, and Y-DNA analysis may thus be used in genealogy research.

Yacht:

A Yacht is a recreational boat or ship. Yacht lengths generally range from 8 metres (26 feet) up to dozens of metres (hundreds of feet). A luxury craft smaller than 12 metres (39 feet) is more commonly called a cabin cruiser or simply "cruisers." A mega yacht generally refers to any Yacht (sail or power) above 30 m (98 feet) and a super yacht generally refers to any yacht over 60 metres (197 feet).

See also: superyacht, mega yacht, giga yacht & shadow yacht.

Yahoo:

A member of a race of brutes in Swift's Gulliver's Travels who have the form and all the vices of humans.

boorish, crass, or stupid person.

Yakitori:

Japanese cuisine: chicken pieces grilled on a skewer.

Yakuza:

A loose alliance of Japanese criminal organizations and illegal enterprises.

A Japanese gangster.

Yalla:

Yalla, with variants Yallah and Yala, is a common expression denoting "come on", "let's get going", and mostly meaning "hurry up" in the Arabic language. It comes from and is an abbreviation of classical (traditional) Arabic words "Ya Allah" literally meaning "Dear God".

Yarmulke:

A kippah (also kipah, kipa, kippa, plural kippot; Yiddish: Yarmlke, Yarmulke, Yarmulka, Yarmelke, less commonly called kapel; English: skullcap, cap of maintenance) is a thin, usually slightly-rounded cloth cap worn by observant Jews (usually men, but not always). Kipot range in size from 4 inches in diameter to 9.5 inches (100 mm to 240 mm) or larger.

Year 10,000 Problem:

The Year 10,000 problem (also known as the Y10K problem or the deca-millennium bug) is the class of all potential time formatting and storage bugs that would emerge when the need to express years with five digits arises. The problem can have discernible effects today, but is also sometimes mentioned for humorous effect as in RFC 2550.

Year-End:

The last day of an accounting period, the day on which the books are brought to a close. Transactions before that day are taken into accounts; transactions after it are (by and large) not.

Yearbook:

A usually bound publication compiled by the graduating class of a school or college, recording the year's events and typically containing photographs of students and faculty.

A documentary, memorial, or historical book published every year, containing information about the previous year.

Yellow Canary:

An allusion to caged canaries (birds) that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.

(Idiomatic): something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.

Yellow Journalism:

Yellow Journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering or sensationalism. By extension, the term Yellow Journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.

Yellow Pages:

A volume or section of a telephone directory that lists businesses, services, or products alphabetically according to field.

Yellow Ribbon:

The Yellow Ribbon is used for various purposes. It may be worn on a person, placed on a vehicle, around a tree, or for a neck tie.

Yeshiva:

Yeshiva is a Jewish institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study.

Yeti:

The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. It is believed to be taller than an average human and is similar to Bigfoot.

Yiddish:

Yiddish is the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a High German-based vernacular fused with elements taken from Hebrew and Aramaic as well as from Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages. Yiddish is written with a fully vocalized alphabet based on the Hebrew alphabet.

Yield:

The rate of output of any of the factors of production (that is, of land, labor or capital). Land yields, for example, are measured by the amount of crop produced per hectare; the yield on share capital is measured by the amount of dividend paid.

Yield Curve:

A graph showing the different yields that are obtained from financial instruments of the same quality but of different maturity. A yield curve plots the yield of the instruments against their maturity.

Yin and Yang:

In Chinese philosophy, the concept of Yin Yang is used to describe how seemingly disjunct or opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn. The concept lies at the heart of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine, and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan, and qigong. Many natural dualities — e.g. dark and light, female and male, low and high - are viewed in Chinese thought as manifestations of Yin and Yang.

Yin and Yang Contracts:

Having two contracts on one project to avoid being taxed fully, with the official one showing a fraction of the actual earnings.

Yippie:

A member of a group of politically radical hippies, active especially during the late 1960s. Members of Youth International Party were commonly called Yippies.

Yippee-ki-yay:

Visit: The greatest one-liner in movie history.

Yo:

Slang: used as a greeting or to attract someone's attention.

Although often used as a greeting, Yo may come at the end of a sentence, often to direct focus onto a particular individual or group or to gain the attention of another individual or group. It may specify that a certain statement that was previously uttered is more important, or may just be an "attention grabber".

Yodel:

A songlike cry in which the voice fluctuates rapidly between the normal voice and falsetto.

Yoga:

Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India.

Yoko Ono Problem:

A woman that interferes with or disrupts the relationship between male band members or friends. A woman who commands so much time from her boyfriend that he can no longer spend time with his friends. Can be shortened to "Yoko."

Someone precious impossible to hold. The keeper of the wishing well. A rebel but peaceful wind that will make your heart breathe.

YOLO:

Short for: You Only Live Once.

Yom Kippur:

Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is one of the holiest days of the year for the Jewish people. Leviticus 23:27-28.

You Break It, You Buy It:

The old rule of “You Break It, You Buy It.” If you break a product on display, can the owner really make you pay for the damage? Yes - even if the shop hasn’t posted a warning sign.

You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It:

You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It (Too) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means "you cannot both possess your cake and eat it". Once the cake is eaten, it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot or should not have or want more than one deserves or can handle, or that one cannot or should not try to have two incompatible things. The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds." Conversely, in the positive sense, it refers to "having it both ways" or "having the best of both worlds."

Young Turks:

Young Turks was a Turkish nationalist party in the early 20th century that consisted of Ottoman exiles, students, civil servants, and army officers. They favoured the replacement of the Ottoman Empire's absolute monarchy with a constitutional government.

YouTuber:

A YouTuber, also known as a YouTube personality, YouTube celebrity, or YouTube Content Creator, is a type of internet celebrity and videographer who has gained popularity from their videos on the video-sharing website, YouTube. Networks sometimes support YouTube celebrities. Some YouTube personalities have corporate sponsors who pay for product placement in their clips or production of online ads. As of June 2018, PewDiePie is the most subscribed YouTuber, with 65 million subscribers.

YoYo:

A toy consisting of a flattened spool wound with string that is spun down from and reeled up to the hand by motions of the wrist.

Informal: one that undergoes frequent abrupt shifts or reversals, as of opinion or emotion; a vacillator.

Slang: a stupid or objectionable person.

Yuccie:

Short for: Young Urban Creative. "Yuccies are the cultural offspring of yuppies and hipsters. We’re intent on being successful like yuppies and creative like hipsters. We define ourselves by our purchases, just like both cohorts, sure. But not by price or taste level; we identify by price and taste level: $80 sweatpants, $16 six-packs of craft beer, trips to Charleston, Austin and Portland. How much it costs (high or low) is immaterial if the material bought validates our intellect." The Yuccie has the same burning desire for individuality, self-expression, and creativity as hipsters, but with the craving for success and, most importantly, validation that marks a yuppie. Yuccies are a combination of “the yuppie’s new money thirst for yachts and recognition with the hipster’s anti-ambition, smoke-laced individualism, [and]... millennial entitlement.” Yuccies may be cynical, but unlike hipsters, they don’t pretend to be unconcerned with money. As Business Insider put it, they are defined by their wishes for jobs that ”stimulate their minds and their senses and their passion - but also pay the bills with a little left over.” The Yuccie is constantly on the lookout for a job that they find fulfilling and provides dental insurance. So how do I spot a Yuccie?

Also read: The hipster is dead, and you might not like who comes next.

Yuppie:

Yuppie (short for: Young Urban Professional or Young Upwardly-Mobile Professional) is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession.

Refers to an 1980s and early 1990s term for financially secure, middle class young people in their 20s and early 30s. Joseph Epstein is credited for coining the term in 1982.

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Z:

Medieval Latin symbol for: -et.

Zaibatsu:

Huge industrial conglomerates built up in Japan as the engine of the country's industrial revolution, groups such as Mitsubishi and Sumitomo. Each Zaibatsu invariably embraces a bank and a sogo shosha. Although disbanded after the second world war, many Zaibatsu have been reformed since.

Zap:

The practice of using a remote-control device to switch from one television channel to another, particularly to avoid having to watch advertisements. Zapping has a powerful influence on the effectiveness of television advertising.

Zealot:

A member of an ancient Jewish sect in Judea in the first century who fought to the death against the Romans and who killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans.

A fanatically committed person.

Zeitgeist:

The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation.

Zen:

A school of Mahãyãna Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion and that is practiced mainly in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Also called Zen Buddhism.

Zenith:

Astronomy: the point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer; the upper region of the sky.

The point of culmination; the highest point; peak; acme.

Zero-Base Budgeting:

A method of drawing up a budget which starts from zero; that is, it assumes that there was not budget at all in previous years. This avoids the trap of slavishly following what was decreed to be a correct figure in a previous period, and then updating it by adding 10%.

Zero-Coupon Bond:

A bond which does not pay any interest. A Zero-Coupon Bond is sold at a deep discount to its face value. The owner's gain comes from the gradual appreciation of the bond. On maturity it will be redeemed at its face value.

Zero Defects:

To have no errors in a product or process - a common aim of TQM.

Zero Gravity:

The condition of apparent weightlessness occurring when the centrifugal force on a body exactly counterbalances the gravitational attraction on it.

Zero-Sum Game:

Any game in which the gains to the winner (or winners) are equal and opposite to the losses of the loser (or losers). Gambling is a Zero-Sum Game; business is not. A new entrant to a market can have the effect of increasing the size of the market in such a way that all the participants in it benefit.

Zero Tolerance:

The policy or practice of not tolerating undesirable behavior, such as violence or illegal drug use, especially in the automatic imposition of severe penalties for first offenses.

Zing:

The new term for owned, said after saying something witty to someone in an insulting manner.

A brief high-pitched humming or buzzing sound, such as that made by a swiftly passing object or a taut vibrating string.

To attack verbally; criticize sharply; to strike suddenly.

ZIP (file format):

The ZIP (meaning "speed") file format is a data compression and archive format. A ZIP file contains one or more files that have been compressed to reduce file size, or stored as-is. The ZIP file format permits a number of compression algorithms.

Zip Code:

A trademark used for a system designed to expedite the sorting and delivery of mail by assigning a series of numbers to each delivery area in the United States.

The US equivalent of postcode.

Zircon:

Zircon (including hyacinth or yellow zircon) is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. Hafnium is almost always present in quantities ranging from 1 to 4%. The crystal structure of zircon is tetragonal crystal system. The natural color of zircon varies between colorless, yellow-golden, red, brown, and green.

Colorless specimens that show gem quality are a popular substitute for diamond; these specimens are also known as "Matura diamond". It is not to be confused with cubic zirconia, a synthetic substance with a completely different chemical composition.

Zodiac:

Astronomy: a band of the celestial sphere extending about 8° to either side of the ecliptic that represents the path of the principal planets, the moon, and the sun.

In astrology, this band divided into 12 equal parts called signs, each 30° wide, bearing the name of a constellation for which it was originally named but with which it no longer coincides owing to the precession of the equinoxes.

A diagram or figure representing the Zodiac.

A complete circuit; a circle.

Zombie:

A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States.

A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse; a corpse revived in this way.

One who looks or behaves like an automaton.

A tall mixed drink made of various rums, liqueur, and fruit juice.

ZOMO:

Fomo has been replaced by Zomo, aka the lockdown form of social anxiety, prompted when you wake up to screengrabs on other people’s Instagram Stories of a Zoom quiz/locktail hour you weren’t invited to.

Zone:

An area or a region distinguished from adjacent parts by a distinctive feature or characteristic.

Zoom Face:

The look on someone’s face after having been on a Zoom/Google Meets meeting for way too long. Usually twitchy, blood-shot eyes, intent on murdering the next person who says hello to them.

Read also: Zoom Face: How To Look (and Feel) Your Best On Those Constant Video Calls.

Zoom Shirt:

A clean shirt or blouse that's kept on the back of your desk chair to quickly be presentable for video conferences.

Zoom Shirts are likely here to stay since more and more people are working from home due to Covid-19

Read also: 'The Zoom Shirt': how the pandemic changed work dress codes - "Home working has relaxed work attire but even as many return to the office some trends could be here to stay."

Zugzwang:

Zugzwang is a situation in a chess game in which a player is forced to make an undesirable or disadvantageous move.

Zumping:

Dumping a romantic partner via Zoom or similar app.