Friday, December 31, 2010

supercompensation


In sports science theory, supercompensation is the post training period during which the trained function/parameter has a higher performance capacity than it did prior to the training period.

The fitness level of a human body in training can be broken down into four periods: initial fitness, training, recovery, and supercompensation. During the initial fitness period, the target of the training has a base level of fitness (shown by the first time sector in the graph). Upon entering the training period, the target's level of fitness decreases (training is a catabolic process, shown by the second time sector in the graph). After training, the body enters the recovery period during which level of fitness increases up to the initial fitness level (shown by the third time sector in the graph). Because the human body is an adjustable organism, it will feel the need to adjust itself to a higher level of fitness in anticipation of the next training session.

Accordingly, the increase in fitness following a training session does not stop at the initial fitness level. Instead the body enters a period of supercompensation during which fitness surpasses the initial fitness level (shown by the fourth time sector in the graph). If there are no further workouts, the body's fitness level will slowly decline back towards the initial fitness level (shown by the last time sector in the graph).

If the next workout takes place during the recovery period, Overtraining may occur. If the next workout takes place during the supercompensation period, the body will advance to a higher level of fitness. If the next workout takes place after the supercompensation period, the body will remain at the base level.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

crore

A crore (Hindi: करोड़) (often abbreviated cr) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to ten million (10,000,000; 107), or 100 lakh. It is widely used in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan. It was 500,000 in the now-obsolete Persian number system.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

humanzee

The humanzee (also known as the Chuman or Manpanzee) is a hypothetical chimpanzee/human hybrid. Chimpanzees and humans are very closely related (95% of their DNA sequence, and 99% of coding DNA sequences are in common), leading to contested speculation that a hybrid is possible, though no specimen has ever been confirmed.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Amblyopia

Amblyopia, otherwise known as lazy eye, is a disorder of the visual system that is characterized by poor or indistinct vision in an eye that is otherwise physically normal, or out of proportion to associated structural abnormalities. It has been estimated to affect 1–5% of the population.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010

backdraft

A backdraft is a situation which can occur when a fire is starved of oxygen; consequently combustion ceases but the fuel gases and smoke remain at high temperature. If oxygen is re-introduced to the fire, eg. by opening a door to a closed room, combustion can restart often resulting in an explosive effect as the gases heat and expand (see also flashover).

Thursday, December 23, 2010

brigade


A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a separate brigade and operate independently from the traditional division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 troops. However, in Switzerland and Austria, the numbers could go as high as 11,000 troops.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Broadsiding


Broadsiding is the method used in motorcycle speedway for travelling round the bends on the speedway track. The rider skids his rear wheel by spinning it at such a speed that it sets up a gyroscopic action and this opposes the natural tendencies of centrifugal force. Then he controls the slide by throttle control to maintain, increase or decrease the rate of which the rear wheel spins. Motorcycle speedway bikes have no brakes or suspension. The rider can scrub-off speed while still providing the drive to power the bike forward and around the bend.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Meshawah

Meshawah is the traditional dish in the UAE made out of dried fish and mix of spices with water and salt that is kept in the sun for the period of 30 days. It is eaten with bread or rice and usually mixed with onions.

The dish is common among United Arab Emirates people out of Irani origin.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

jimmies


Sprinkles (also known as jimmies or hundreds-and-thousands, or by many other names) are very small pieces of confectionery used as a decoration or to add texture to desserts – typically cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, and some puddings. The candies, which are produced in a variety of colors, are usually too small to be eaten individually and are in any case not intended to be eaten by themselves, being nearly flavorless.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

homothety

In mathematics, a homothety (or homothecy or non-rotating dilation) is a transformation of space which takes each line into a parallel line (in essence, a similarity that allows reflection in a single point, but otherwise preserves orientation). All homotheties form a group in either affine or Euclidean geometry. Congruent examples of homotheties are translations, reflections, and the identity transformation.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tchochke

Tchochke—originally from a Slavic word for "toys" (Ukrainian цяцька, tsyatska; Polish cacka, tsatska; Russian цацки, tsatski)—adapted to Yiddish טשאַטשקע tshatshke, "trinket", are small toys, gewgaws, knickknacks, baubles, trinkets, or kitsch. The term has a connotation of worthlessness or disposability, as well as tackiness, and was long used in the Jewish-American community and in the regional speech of New York City.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Ganjuro


Ganguro (ガングロ; "Black Face Girls") is an alternative fashion trend of blonde or orange hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000, but remains evident today. The purpose is to elicit the iconic look of tanned, blonde girls of California, USA or Chavs/Neds of the UK. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo are the center of ganguro fashion.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Scoopwheel


A Scoop wheel or Scoopwheel pump is similar in construction to a water wheel, but works in the opposite manner: a waterwheel is water-powered and used to drive machinery, a scoop wheel is engine-driven and is used to lift water from one level to another. Principally used for land drainage, early scoop wheels were wind-driven but later steam-powered beam engines were used. It can be regarded as a form of pump.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Lavaka


Lavaka, the Malagasy word for "hole", is a type of erosional feature common in Madagascar. They are most abundant in the central highlands of Madagascar, where there are deep laterites developed on in steep terrain in a monsoonal climate. Lavakas form where hard laterites overlie thick (tens of meters) saprolite, on steep (35 to 55 degree) slopes, in areas that have a hot dry season and a warm wet season.

Lavakas are not landslides. They are a type of gully, formed via groundwater sapping. Associated erosion is usually rapid, producing a sediment yield on the order of 8000 cubic metres over several months.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

ultralight


During the late 1970s and early 1980s, many people sought to be able to fly affordably. As a result, many aviation authorities set up definitions of lightweight, slow-flying aeroplanes that could be subject to minimum regulation. The resulting aeroplanes are commonly called ultralight or microlight, although the weight and speed limits differ from country to country.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

movator


A moving walkway, moving sidewalk, moving pavement (elsewhere), autopedescalator, walkalator, travelator, autowalk, horizontal escalator, slidewalk or movator is a slow conveyor belt that transports people horizontally or on an incline in a similar manner to an escalator. In both cases, passengers can walk or stand. The walkways are often installed in pairs, one for each direction.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Megaminx


The Megaminx is a dodecahedron-shaped puzzle similar to the Rubik's Cube. It has a total of 50 movable pieces to rearrange, compared to the 20 of the Rubik's cube.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Arbitration


Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. It is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.

Other forms of ADR include mediation (a form of settlement negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party) and non-binding resolution by experts. It is more helpful, however, simply to classify arbitration as a form of binding dispute resolution, equivalent to litigation in the courts, and entirely distinct from the other forms of dispute resolution, such as negotiation, mediation, or determinations by experts, which are usually non-binding. Arbitration is most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, particularly in the context of international commercial transactions. The use of arbitration is far more controversial in consumer and employment matters, where arbitration is not voluntary but is instead imposed on consumers or employees through fine-print contracts, denying individuals of their right to access the courts.

Image is by Public Citizen.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Patina


Patina (pronounced /ˈpætənə/ or /pəˈtiːnə/) is a film on the surface of bronze or similar metals (produced by oxidation over a long period); a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure. On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides or carbonates formed on the surface during exposure to the elements (weathering). Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and colour that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture over time.

Friday, December 3, 2010

décollement

A décollement horizon in tectonics is a surface that acts as a gliding plane between two masses in a thrust fault relationship. A décollement horizon can either form due to a low bulk modulus between bodies (usually in lithologies such as marls, shales and evaporites), or can form along planes of high pore pressures.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Teutobod

Teutobod (or Theudobod) was King of the Teutons. In the late 2nd century BCE, together with their neighbours, allies and possible relatives, the Cimbri, the Teutons migrated from their original homes in southern Scandinavia and on the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, south into the Danube valley, southern Gaul and northern Italy. Here they began to intrude upon the lands of Rome (Julius Caesar, in his Gallic Wars account De Bello Gallico, reports that the Boii were they who had attacked Noricum).

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Josephinism


Josephinism is the term used to describe the domestic policies of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II of Austria (1765-1790). During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg empire (1780-1790), he attempted to legislate a series of drastic reforms to remodel Austria in the form of the ideal Enlightened state. This provoked severe resistance from powerful forces within and outside of his empire, but ensured that he would be remembered as an “enlightened ruler.”

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Bauhaus


Bauhaus ("House of Building" or "Building School") is the common term for the Staatliches Bauhaus, a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.

The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. In spite of its name, and the fact that its founder was an architect, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during the first years of its existence. Nonetheless it was founded with the idea of creating a 'total' work of art in which all arts, including architecture would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tsunokakushi


Tsunokakushi (角隠し tsunokakushi) is a traditional Japanese wedding headwear.

This is traditionally worn to veil the bride's horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness. It also symbolized the bride's resolve to become a gentle and obedient wife.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

flat-twin


A flat-twin is a two cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders arranged on opposite sides of the crankshaft. It is part of the class of flat engines, sub-type "boxer", and shares most characteristics of those engines.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Supersessionism


Supersessionism and replacement theology are uniquely Christian interpretations of New Testament claims, viewing God's relationship with Christians as being either the "replacement" or "completion" of the promise made to the Jews (or Israelites) and Jewish Proselytes. Biblical expressions of God's relationships with people are known as covenants, so the contentious element of supersessionism is the idea that the New Covenant with the Christians and the Christian Church somehow "replaces" or "completes" the Mosaic Covenant (or Torah) with the Israelites and B'nei Noah.

Friday, November 26, 2010

amygdala


The amygdalae (Latin, also corpus amygdaloideum, singular amygdala, from Greek αμυγδαλή, amygdalē, 'almond', 'tonsil', listed in the Gray's Anatomy as the nucleus amygdalæ) are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

fadge

fadge

1. to agree
2. to succeed
n - a package of wool in a wool-bale that weighs less than 100 kilograms

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Paedogeddon

Paedogeddon



Conjunction of the words paedophile and armageddon first used by Chris Morris in the 2001 Brass eye special "paedogeddon" to satorise the media hype surrounding paedophilia issues of the time.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Balut


A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines. They are common, everyday food in some other countries in Southeast Asia, such as in Laos (where it is called Khai Luk), Cambodia (Pong tea khon in Cambodian), and Vietnam (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese). Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation.

Monday, November 22, 2010

bergamot



The bergamot Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia (Risso & Poit.) synonym (Citrus bergamia Risso) is the size of an orange, with a yellow color similar to a lemon, and has a pleasant fragrance. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. Because of the required weather conditions, citrus bergamot is only commercially grown in Calabria (Italy). Bergamot grows on small trees which blossom during the winter. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea, though the juice of the fruit has also been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine as an herbal remedy for malaria and its essential oil is popular in aromatherapy applications.

The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs of the same name, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

singlet


A wrestling singlet (or simply singlet) is a one-piece, tight-fitting, coloured uniform, usually made of spandex, lycra, or nylon, used in amateur wrestling. The uniform is tight fitting so as not to get grasped accidentally by one's opponent, and allows the referee to see each wrestler's body clearly when awarding points or a pin. Unlike judo, it is illegal to grasp an opponent's clothing in all styles of amateur wrestling.

Friday, November 19, 2010

unitard



A unitard is a skin-tight one-piece garment with long legs and sometimes long sleeves. It differs from a leotard in that a leotard does not have long legs. The garment can be considered to be a combination of a leotard and tights. It should not be confused with a wrestling singlet.

Unitards are worn by acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, equestrian vaulters and circus performers as well as others who require overall body coverage without impeded flexibility. Superheroes in comics and films are generally depicted wearing unitards.

Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen, was known for wearing checkered unitards and spandex during their concerts in the late 1970s. In 1985, it was widely reported when Anne White wore a white unitard for the first two sets of a match in the Women's Singles Championship at Wimbledon.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Anthotype

An Anthotype is a image created using photosensitive material from plants. This process was originally invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. An emulsion is made from crushed flower petals or any other light-sensitive plant, fruit or vegetable. A coated sheet of paper is then dried, exposed to direct full sun-light until the image is bleached out.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

cay


A cay (also spelled caye or key; pronounced as "key," IPA: /kiː/) is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef), where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people. Their surrounding reef ecosystems also provide food and building materials for island inhabitants.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Agronomy


Agronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber.

Monday, November 15, 2010

barachois


A barachois is a term used in Atlantic Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to describe a coastal lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Salt water may enter the barachois during high tide.

The sand bar often is formed as a result of sediment deposited in the delta region of a river or - as is the case in Miquelon - by a tombolo.

The term comes from a Basque word, “barratxoa”, meaning “little bar”. The popular derivation from the French “barre à choir” is without historical merit.

In Newfoundland English, the word has become written and pronounced as 'barasway.'

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bradyphrenia

Bradyphrenia is a neurological term referring to the slowness of thought common to many disorders of the brain.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Dispersion

Dispersion occurs when a soil is sodic. When a sodic soil is wetted the clay particles are forced apart. This is generally a major cause of erosion.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Erotomania

Erotomania is a type of delusion in which one believes that another person is in love with onesself. The illness often occurs during psychosis, especially in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania. In one case, erotomania was reported in a patient who had undergone surgery for a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. During an erotomanic psychosis, the patient believes that a "secret admirer" is declaring his or her affection to the patient, often by special glances, signals, telepathy, or messages through the media. Usually the patient then returns the perceived affection by means of letters, phone calls, gifts, and visits to the confused recipient.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Zydretae

The Zydretae (Zudrêtai or Zudreitai) were an ancient people of Colchis recorded by the Classical accounts as dwelling on the coast of the Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea), on the southern side of the Apsarus river (modern-day Çoruh/Chorokhi in the borderlands of Turkey and Georgia), and between the Machelonoi and the Lazi tribes.

Monday, November 8, 2010

cascan

In fortification, cascans, or cascanes, are holes, or cavities in the form of wells, made in the terreplein, near a rampart; from which a gallery, dug in a similar manner underground, is conveyed, to give air to the enemy's mine.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

Person from Porlock

The Person from Porlock was an unwelcome visitor to Samuel Taylor Coleridge who called by during his composition of the oriental poem Kubla Khan. Coleridge claimed to have perceived the entire course of the poem in a dream (possibly an opium-induced haze), but was interrupted by this visitor from Porlock (a town in the South West of England, near Exmoor) while in the process of writing it. Kubla Khan, only 54 lines long, was never completed. Thus "Person from Porlock", "Man from Porlock", or just "Porlock" are literary allusions to unwanted intruders.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

endorheic


An endorheic basin (from the Greek: ἔνδον, éndon, "within" and ῥεῖν, rheîn, "to flow"; also terminal or closed basin) is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. Normally the water accruing in drainage basins flows out through surface rivers or by underground diffusion through permeable rock to the oceans. However, in an endorheic basin, rain (or other precipitation) that falls within it does not flow out but may only leave the drainage system by evaporation and seepage. The bottom of such a basin is typically occupied by a salt lake or salt pan. Endorheic basins are also called internal drainage systems.

Endorheic regions, in contrast to exorheic regions which flow to the ocean in geologically defined patterns, are closed hydrologic systems. Their surface waters drain to inland terminal locations where the water evaporates or seeps into the ground, having no access to discharge into the sea. Endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest saline body of water cut off from the ocean.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tintern


The name Tintern has been given to a type of blended mature creamy Cheddar cheese flavoured with fresh chives and shallots, made by Abergavenny Fine Foods. Typically produced in wheels of 2.25kg, it is sold in a distinctive lime green wax covering.

Monday, November 1, 2010

bignay


Antidesma bunius is a species of fruit tree in the spurge family. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and northern Australia. Its common names include bignay and currant tree. This is a variable plant which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 meters in height. It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimeters long and seven wide.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Heterosis


Heterosis is a term used in genetics and selective breeding. The term heterosis, also known as hybrid vigor or outbreeding enhancement, describes the increased strength of different characteristics in hybrids; the possibility to obtain a genetically superior individual by combining the virtues of its parents.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Peijainen


In Finland, Peijainen is the ritual burial of a bear that has been communally brought down and has died. A bear was never "hunted"; it was merely brought down. A single man could claim to have hunted and killed a bear, but in a community effort, the bear simply died.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Fulminate


Fulminates are chemical compounds which include the fulminate ion. The fulminate ion, CNO is a pseudohalic ion, acting like a halogen with its charge and reactivity. Due to the instability of the ion, fulminate salts are friction-sensitive explosives. The best known is mercury fulminate, which has been used as a primary explosive in detonators. Fulminates can be formed from metals, such as silver and mercury, dissolved in nitric acid and reacted with ethanol. It is largely the presence of the weak single nitrogen-oxygen bond which leads to its instability. Nitrogen very easily forms a stable triple bond to another nitrogen atom, forming gaseous nitrogen.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Rodenticide

Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents.

Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill.

Rodents are difficult to kill with poisons because their feeding habits reflect their place as scavengers. They will eat a small bit of something and wait, and if they don't get sick, they continue. An effective rodenticide must be tasteless and odorless in lethal concentrations, and have a delayed effect.

Monday, October 25, 2010

K-Kill


A Catastrophic kill, K-Kill or complete kill refers to damage inflicted on a vehicle by a weapon that renders it both unusable and unrepairable. Typically a catastrophic kill results in the ignition of any fuel the vehicle may be carrying as well as the detonation of its ammunition resulting in an explosion. A catastrophic kill does not preclude the survival of the vehicle's crew, for example the crew of an aircraft might bail out or eject.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Tasman

Tasman is the name of a layout engine developed by Microsoft, introduced with the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5, a new feature in the development of Internet Explorer for Mac (IE mac versions extended back to IE 2). Tasman was an attempt to improve support for web standards, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. At the time of its release, Tasman was seen as the layout engine with the best support for web standards such as HTML and CSS. Internet Explorer for Mac is no longer supported, but newer versions of Tasman are incorporated in some other current Microsoft products.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Reactivity


Reactivity refers to the rate at which a chemical substance tends to undergo a chemical reaction in time. In pure compounds, reactivity is regulated by the physical properties of the sample. For instance, grinding a sample to a higher specific surface area increases its reactivity. In impure compounds, the reactivity is also affected by the inclusion of contaminants. In crystalline compounds, the crystalline form can also affect reactivity. However in all cases, reactivity is primarily due to the sub-atomic properties of the compound.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Ornithology


Ornithology (from Greek: ὄρνις, ὄρνιθος, ornis, ornithos, "bird"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. Most marked among these is the extent of studies undertaken by amateurs working within the parameters of strict scientific methodology.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Urðarbrunnr


Urðarbrunnr (Old Norse "Well of Urðr"; either referring to a Germanic concept of fate—urðr—or the norn named Urðr) is a well in Norse mythology. Urðarbrunnr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, the well lies beneath the world tree Yggdrasil, and is associated with a trio of norns (Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld). In the Prose Edda, Urðarbrunnr is cited as one of three wells existing beneath three roots of Yggdrasil that reach into three distant, different lands; the other two wells being Hvergelmir, located beneath a root in Niflheim, and Mímisbrunnr, located beneath a root near the home of the frost jötnar. Scholarly theory and speculation surrounds the well.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

cupola

In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like structure, on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from the lower Latin cupula (classical Latincupella from the Greek kypellon) small cup (lat. cupa) indicating a vault resembling an upside down cup. Cupolas often appear as small buildings in their own right. They often serve as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere above a main roof. In other cases they may crown a tower, spire, or turret. The chhatri, seen in Indian architecture, fits the definition of a cupola when it is used atop a larger structure.

lordosis

  Lordosis is historically defined as an abnormal inward curvature of the lumbar spine.