seaplane tender

A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.

Desalination

Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from water. More generally, desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals, as in soil desalination.

Water is desalinated in order to convert salt water to fresh water so it is suitable for human consumption or irrigation. Sometimes the process produces table salt as a by-product. Desalination is used on many seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of fresh water is, or is becoming, limited.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.

Amanuensis

Amanuensis is a Latin word adopted in various languages, including English, for certain persons performing a function by hand, either writing down the words of another or performing manual labour. The term is derived from a Latin expression which may be literally translated as "manual labourer".

Hussar

Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century.

cinquefoil

In knot theory, the cinquefoil knot, also known as Solomon's seal knot or the pentafoil knot, is one of two knots with crossing number five, the other being the three-twist knot. It is listed as the 5₁ knot in the Alexander-Briggs notation, and can also be described as the (5,2)-torus knot. The cinquefoil is the closed version of the double overhand knot.

The cinquefoil is a prime knot. Its writhe is 5, and it is invertible but not amphichiral.

Verisimilitude (or truthlikeness) is the quality of realism in something (such as film, literature, the arts, etc). The property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality, realism

arepa

An arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar to the Mesoamerican tortilla and even more to the Salvadoran pupusa. Arepas can also be found in Panama, Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands.

Dubtitle

Dubtitle is a term for a show recorded in which the subtitles are merely transcriptions of the new alternative dialogue spoken on the dubbed soundtrack rather than a translation of the original dialogue and was popularized by anime and kung fu film fans to refer to this practice.

yooper

yooper

Yoopers, people from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the "UP")

kayfabe

In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature. Referring to events or interviews as being a "chore" means that the event/interview has been "kayfabed" or staged, or is part of a wrestling angle while being passed off as legitimate. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the realm of the general public.

Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, angles, and gimmicks, in a similar manner with other forms of entertainment such as soap opera or film.

biostitute

biostitute

a biologist who supports environmentally deleterious activities.

Venin

Venin is the French word for venom, the toxic substance found in venomous animals.

Gyrojet

The Gyrojet is a family of unique firearms developed in the 1960s named for the method of gyroscopically stabilizing its projectiles. Gyrojets fire small rockets, rather than inert bullets, which have little recoil and do not require a heavy barrel to resist the pressure of the combustion gases. Velocity on leaving the tube was very low, but increased to around 1,250 feet per second (380 m/s) at 30 feet (9.1 m). The result is a very lightweight weapon with excellent ballistics.

Long out of production, today they are a coveted collector's item with prices for even the most common model ranging above $1,000. They are, however, rarely fired; ammunition, when available at all, can cost over $100 per round.

Promethium

Promethium is a chemical element with the symbol Pm and atomic number 61. It is notable for being the only exclusively radioactive element besides technetium that is followed by chemical elements with stable isotopes.

muchacho

muchacho m (plural muchachos, feminine singular muchacha, feminine plural muchachas)

1. boy
2. young man
3. young person, youngster
4. teenager

Usage notes

The noun muchacho is like several other Spanish nouns with a human referent. The masculine forms are used when the referent is known to be male, a group of males, a group of mixed or unknown gender, or an individual of unknown or unspecified gender. The feminine forms are used if the referent is known to be female or a group of females.

Punycode

In computing, Punycode is an instance of a general encoding syntax (Bootstring) by which a string of Unicode characters is transformed uniquely and reversibly into a smaller, restricted character set.

Castanets

Castanets are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks. They are traditionally made of hardwood, although fibreglass is becoming increasingly popular.

Lipofuscin

Lipofuscin is the name given to finely granular yellow-brown pigment granules composed of lipid-containing residues of lysosomal digestion. It is considered one of the aging or "wear-and-tear" pigments, found in the liver, kidney, heart muscle, adrenals, nerve cells, and ganglion cells. It is specifically arranged around the nucleus, and is a type of Lipochrome.

sans voir

Blindfold chess (also known as sans voir) is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation.

Blindfold chess was considered miraculous for centuries, but it is now accepted that any strong player today can play blindfolded, and many can keep track of more than one simultaneous blindfolded game. In simultaneous blindfold play, an intermediary usually relays the moves between the players.

idioticon

idioticon (plural idioticons)

1. A dictionary of a peculiar dialect, or of the words and phrases peculiar to one part of a country; a glossary

citharede

A citharede (Greek: κιθαροιδός, Latin: citharoedus; British English citharoede) or, in modern usage, citharist, refers to a classical Greek professional performer of the cithara (or sometimes lyre), especially one who used the cithara to accompany singing. Famous citharedes included Terpander and Arion.

"Citharede" was also an epithet of Apollo (Apollo Citharede), and the term is used to refer to statues which portray Apollo with his lyre.

Payasam

Payasam (Sanskrit: क्षीर/Ksheer)(Hindi: खीर, Punjabi: ਖੀਰ, Khiri (ଖିରି) in Oriya, Urdu: کھیر/kheer) also known as Payasam (Tamil: பாயசம்) or Payesh (Bengali) (Malayalam: പായസം) (Kannada:ಪಾಯಸ) (Telugu:పాయసం) is a rice pudding, which is a traditional South Asian sweet dish. It is made by boiling rice or broken wheat with milk and sugar, and flavored with cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashewnuts, pistachios or almonds. It is typically served during a meal or also consumed alone as a dessert.

Coulrophobia

Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns. The term is of recent origin, probably dating from the 1980s, and according to one analyst, "has been coined more on the Internet than in printed form because it does not appear in any previously published, psychiatric, unabridged, or abridged dictionary," however the author later notes, "regardless of its less-than-verifiable etymology, coulrophobia exists in several lists". The condition is a specific phobia (DSM-IV Code 300.29).

Scamp

Scamp - a first rough or mockup usually used in artworking terms (scamp up a design during a design brief).

hypovolemia

In physiology and medicine, hypovolemia (also hypovolaemia) is a state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma. It is thus the intravascular component of volume contraction (or loss of blood volume due to things such as hemorrhaging or dehydration), but, as it also is the most essential one, hypovolemia and volume contraction are sometimes used synonymously.

Hypovolemia is characterized by salt (sodium) depletion and thus differs from dehydration, which is defined as excessive loss of body water.

euphonium

The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" (eu means "well" or "good" and phonos means "of sound", so "of good sound"). The euphonium is a valved instrument; nearly all current models are piston valved, though rotary valved models do exist.

Cymatics

Cymatics (from Greek: κῦμα "wave") is the study of visible sound and vibration, a subset of modal phenomena. Typically the surface of a plate, diaphragm, or membrane is vibrated, and regions of maximum and minimum displacement are made visible in a thin coating of particles, paste, or liquid. Different patterns emerge in the exitatory medium depending on the geometry of the plate and the driving frequency.

The apparatus employed can be simple, such as a Chladni Plate or advanced such as the CymaScope, a laboratory instrument that makes visible the inherent geometries within sound and music.

litotes

In rhetoric, litotes is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical effect when an idea is expressed by a denial of its opposite, principally via double negatives. For example, rather than saying that something is attractive (or even very attractive), one might merely say it is "not unattractive."

Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent."

The use of litotes appeals specifically to certain cultures including the northern Europeans and is popular in English, Russian, and French. They are features of Old English poetry and of the Icelandic sagas and are a means of much stoical restraint.

e.g. not bad means good.

clarion

The clarion or claro is a type of cylindrical brass instrument dating from the 11th to 14th centuries. It is the ancestor to the trumpet and was used by cavalries in camp and as a signal during war. It had a narrower, and perhaps shorter, tube and produced a more acute and shrill tone than the modern trumpet.

nebulous

nebulous (comparative more nebulous, superlative most nebulous)

1. In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
2. Vague or ill-defined.
3. Relating to a nebula or nebulae.

Torofluxus

The Torofluxus or Toroflux is a toy that was invented in mid-1990s by Jochen Valett. It is a 27-foot-long (8.2 m) ribbon of steel which is woven into a torus spring. It is often sold pre-attached to a larger plastic ring. The spring flows downwards along the plastic ring, creating a shimmering effect like a silver bubble. The spring tension in the steel tightens the inner spiral core, causing it to cling to the plastic ring.

discussant

discussant (plural discussants)

A participant in a formal discussion, as in a symposium or academic conference, especially one who has been assigned a particular role or topic.

Legionellosis

Legionellosis is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by Gram negative, aerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. Over 90% of legionellosis cases are caused by Legionella pneumophila, a ubiquitous aquatic organism that thrives in temperatures between 25 and 45 °C (77 and 113 °F), with an optimum around 35 °C (95 °F).

Legionellosis takes two distinct forms:

• Legionnaires' disease, also known as "Legion Fever", is the more severe form of the infection and produces high fever and pneumonia.
• Pontiac fever is caused by the same bacteria but produces a milder respiratory illness without pneumonia that resembles acute influenza. Pontiac fever also has a spontaneous resolution.

Binturong / Asian Asscat

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong), also known as the Asian Asscat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civets and genets. It is the only member of its genus. The binturong is not a bear, and the real meaning of the original name has been lost, as the local language that gave it that name is now extinct. Its natural habitat is in trees of forest canopy in rainforest of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It is nocturnal and sleeps on branches. It eats primarily fruit, but also has been known to eat eggs, shoots, leaves, and small animals, such as rodents or birds. Deforestation has greatly reduced its numbers. When cornered, the Binturong can be vicious. The Binturong can make chuckling sounds when it seems to be happy and utter a high-pitched wail if annoyed. The Binturong can live over 20 years in captivity; one has been recorded to have lived almost 26 years.

Hendiadys

Hendiadys (a Latinized form of the Greek phrase ἓν διὰ δυοῖν, hèn dià duoîn, "one through two") is a figure of speech used for emphasis — "The substitution of a conjunction for a subordination". The basic idea is to use two words linked by a conjunction to express a single complex idea.

English names for hendiadys include two for one and figure of twinnes.

cultivar

A cultivar is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation. Most cultivars have arisen in cultivation but a few are special selections from the wild. Popular ornamental garden plants like roses, camellias, daffodils, rhododendrons and azaleas are cultivars produced by careful breeding and selection for flower colour and form. Similarly the world's agricultural food crops are almost exclusively cultivars that have been selected for characters like improved yield, flavor, and resistance to disease: very few wild plants are now used as food sources. Trees used in forestry are also special selections grown for their enhanced quality and yield of timber.

Cultivars form a major part of Liberty Hyde Bailey's broader grouping, the cultigen, defined as a plant whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. Cultivar was coined by Liberty Hyde Bailey and it is generally regarded as a portmanteau of "cultivated" and "variety", but could also be derived from "cultigen" and "variety".

polymorphism

In computer science, polymorphism is a programming language feature that allows values of different data types to be handled using a uniform interface. The concept of parametric polymorphism applies to both data types and functions. A function that can evaluate to or be applied to values of different types is known as a polymorphic function. A data type that can appear to be of a generalized type (e.g., a list with elements of arbitrary type) is designated polymorphic data type like the generalized type from which such specializations are made.

Example:

program Adhoc;
function Add( x, y : Integer ) : Integer;
begin
 Add := x + y
end;

function Add( s, t : String ) : String;
begin
 Add := Concat( s, t )
end;

Longitude

Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ).

Points with the same longitude lie in lines running from the North Pole to the South Pole. By convention, one of these, the Prime Meridian, which passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England, establishes the position of zero degrees longitude. The longitude of other places is measured as an angle east or west from the Prime Meridian. Specifically, it is the angle between a plane containing the Prime Meridian and a plane containing the North Pole, South Pole and the location in question. If the direction of longitude (east or west) is not specified, positive longitude values are east of the Prime Meridian, and negative values are west of the Prime Meridian. This forms a right-handed coordinate system with the z axis (right hand thumb) pointing from the Earth's center toward the North Pole and the x axis (right hand index finger) extending from Earth's center through the equator at the Prime Meridian.

pokeweed

The pokeweeds, also known as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, poke sallet, polk salad, polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand. The generic name is derived from the Greek word φυτόν (phytos), meaning "plant," and the Latin word lacca, a red dye. Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous to mammals. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin because the small seeds with very hard outer shells remain intact in the digestive system and are eliminated whole.

unpliant

unpliant

not pliant

sexton

A sexton is a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger. In larger buildings, such as cathedrals, a team of sextons may be employed.

Historically in North America and the United Kingdom the "sexton" was sometimes a minor municipal official responsible for overseeing the town graveyard. In the United Kingdom the position still exists today, related to management of the community's graveyard, and the sexton is usually employed by the town/parish or community council.

ergosphere

The ergosphere is a region located outside a rotating black hole. Its name is derived from the Greek word ergon, which means “work”. It received this name because it is theoretically possible to extract energy and mass from the black hole in this region. The radius of ergosphere at equator corresponds to Schwarzschild radius of non-rotating black hole and with minimum radius at poles (down to a half of Schwarzschild radius for maximally rotating black hole)

The ergosphere is ellipsoidal in shape and is situated so that at the poles of a rotating black hole it touches the event horizon and stretches out to a distance that is equal to the radius of the event horizon. Within the ergosphere, spacetime is dragged along in the direction of the rotation of the black hole at a speed greater than the local speed of light in relation to the rest of the universe. This process is known as the Lense-Thiring effect or frame-dragging. Because of this dragging effect, objects within the ergosphere are not stationary with respect to the rest of the universe unless they travel faster than the speed of light, which is impossible based on the laws of physics. But in truth, particles are not moving with that speed, it is the spacetime of the ergosphere that moves with a speed higher than the speed of light. A suspended plumb, held stationary outside the ergosphere, will experience infinite/diverging radial pull as it approaches the static limit. At some point it will start to fall, resulting in gravitomagnetically induced spinward motion. Another result of this dragging of space is the existence of negative energies within the ergosphere.

lagomorphs

The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families, the Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and the Ochotonidae (pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Greek lagos (λαγος, "hare") and morphē (μορφή, "form").

enantiomer

In chemistry, an enantiomer (from the Greek ἐνάντιος, opposite, and μέρος, part or portion) is one of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other that are "non-superposable" (not identical), much as one's left and right hands are "the same" but opposite (It can be clearly understood if you try to place your hands one over the other without touching the back or palm of the left to the same of the right. You observe that the thumb of one is always over the little-finger of the other, thus explaining the non-superimposable or non-coincident property known as chirality.)

buycott

A buycott is the opposite of a boycott; that is, an active campaign to buy the products or services of a particular company or country.

For example, various buycott organizations in support of Israel have been set up around the world, in order to oppose the many Boycott Israel campaigns.

Tonsilloliths

Tonsilloliths, also known as a tonsil stones, are clusters of calcified material that form in the crevasses of the tonsils. While they occur most commonly in the palatine tonsils, they may also occur in the lingual tonsils. Tonsilloliths have been recorded weighing from 300 mg to 42 g. They are composed mostly of calcium, but may contain other minerals such as phosphorus and magnesium, as well as ammonia and carbonate.

Protruding tonsilloliths may feel like foreign objects lodged in the tonsil crypt. They may be a nuisance and difficult to remove, but are usually not harmful. They are a cause of halitosis (bad breath).

EPIRB

EPIRB, are tracking transmitters which aid in the detection and location of boats, aircraft, and people in distress. Strictly, they are radiobeacons that interface with worldwide offered service of Cospas-Sarsat, the international satellite system for search and rescue (SAR). When manually activated, or automatically activated upon immersion, such beacons send out a distress signal. The signals are monitored worldwide and the location of the distress is detected by non-geostationary satellites, and can be located by trilateration in combination with triangulation, respecting the varying quality of the signal received.

Dastar

A Dastar (Punjabi: ਦਸਤਾਰ, dastār, from Persian: دستار) or Pagṛi (Punjabi: ਪਗੜੀ) is a mandatory headgear for Sikhs. Dastar is very clearly associated with Sikhism and is an important part of the Sikh culture. Wearing a Sikh turban is mandatory for all Amritdhari (baptized) Sikhs (also known as Khalsa).

Among the Sikhs, the turban is an article of faith that represents honour, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. The Khalsa Sikhs, who adorn the Five Ks, wear the turban partly to cover their long, uncut hair (kesh). The turban is mostly identified with the Sikh males, although some Sikh women also wear turban. The Khalsa Sikhs regard the turban as an important part of the unique Sikh identity. They are easily recognizable by their distinctive turbans.

marbits

marbits are the marshmallow bits that come in boxes of breakfast cereal.

Mecoptera

Mecoptera (from the Greek: meco- = "long", -ptera = "wings") are an order of insects with about 550 species in nine families worldwide. Mecoptera are sometimes called scorpionflies after their largest family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitals that look similar to the stinger of a scorpion. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are a prominent family of elongate insects known for their elaborate mating rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey offered by various males.

While modern mecoptera are overwhelmingly predators or consumers of dead organisms, early ones might have played an important role before the evolution of other insects in pollinating extinct gymnosperms.

Chronostratigraphy

Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that studies the age of rock strata in relation to time.

The ultimate aim of chronostratigraphy is to arrange the sequence of deposition and the time of deposition of all rocks within a geological region, and eventually, the entire geologic record of the Earth.

The standard stratigraphic nomenclature is a chronostratigraphic system based on palaeontological intervals of time defined by recognised fossil assemblages (biostratigraphy). The aim of chronostratigraphy is to give a meaningful age date to these fossil assemblage intervals and interfaces.

Kaymakam

Qaim Maqam or Qaimaqam or Kaymakam (also spelled kaimakam and caimacam) (Arabic قائم مقام ) (English: sub-governor) is the title used for the governor of a provincial district in the Republic of Turkey, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and in Lebanon; additionally, it was a title used for roughly the same official position in the Ottoman Empire.

degu

The degu (Mapudungun dewü, mouse, rat) (Octodon degus) is a small caviomorph rodent that is endemic to central Chile.

It is sometimes referred to as the brush-tailed rat, and is also called the common degu, to distinguish it from the other members of the genus Octodon. Other members are also called degus, but they are distinguished by additional names. The name "degu" on its own, however, indicates either the genus Octodon or, more usually, O. degus. Degus are in the parvorder Caviomorpha of the infraorder Hystricognathi, along with the chinchilla and guinea pig.

Zorbing

Zorbing (globe-riding, sphereing, orbing) is the recreation of rolling downhill in an orb, generally made of transparent plastic. Zorbing is generally performed on a gentle slope, but can also be done on a level surface, permitting more rider control. In the absence of hills some operators have constructed inflatable, wooden or metal ramps. There are two types of orbs, harnessed and non-harnessed. Non-harness orbs carry up to three riders, while the harness orbs are constructed for one to two riders. Double-harness spheres have different slope requirements, and must only be operated in specific locations. The longer runs are approximately half a mile. The first zorbing site was established in Rotorua, New Zealand, by David and Andrew Akers.

artlang

An artistic language (commonly called artlang) is a constructed language designed for aesthetic pleasure. Unlike engineered languages or auxiliary languages, artistic languages usually have irregular grammar systems, much like natural languages. Many are designed within the context of fictional worlds, such as J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Others represent fictional minority languages in a world not patently different from the real world, or have no particular fictional background attached.
There are several different schools of artlang construction. The most prominent is the naturalist school, which seeks to imitate the complexity and historicity of natural languages. Others do not attempt to imitate the natural evolution of languages, but follow a more abstract style.

gack

gack

1. (often repeated several times) The sound of a cat coughing up a hairball.
2. Also used of similar noises, particularly one made to show disgust or disapproval.

kibosh

kibosh (uncountable)

1. (slang) A checking or restraining element.

Scientifiction

Scientifiction is another name for the genre science fiction. It was proposed as a name for this genre in 1926 but was superseded by science fiction; the term is now only seen in early science fiction magazines and fandom.

Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 199.6± 0.6 Mya (million years ago) to 145.5± 4 Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era, also known as the Age of Reptiles. The start of the period is marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. However, the end of the Jurassic Period did not witness any major extinction event. The start and end of the period are defined by carefully selected locations; the uncertainty in dating arises from trying to date these horizons.

The chronostratigraphic term "Jurassic" is directly linked to the Jura Mountains. Alexander von Humboldt recognized the mainly limestone dominated mountain range of the Jura Mountains as a separate formation that was not at the time included in the established stratigraphic system defined by Abraham Gottlob Werner and named it “Jurakalk” in 1795. The name “Jura” is derived from the celtic root “jor” which was Latinised into “juria”, meaning forest (i.e. “Jura” is forest mountains).

concordance

Concordance as used in genetics usually means the presence of the same trait in both members of a pair of twins. However, the strict definition is the probability that a pair of individuals will both have a certain characteristic, given that one of the pair has the characteristic. For example, twins are concordant when both have or both lack a given trait. Ideally, concordance includes that of identical twins.

concordance

A concordance is an alphabetical list of the principal words used in a book or body of work, with their immediate contexts. Because of the time and difficulty and expense involved in creating a concordance in the pre-computer era, only works of special importance, such as the Vedas, Bible, Qur'an or the works of Shakespeare, had concordances prepared for them.

Gravamen

Gravamen (from Lat. gravare, to weigh down; gravis, heavy), a complaint or grievance, the ground of a legal action, and particularly the more serious part of a charge against an accused person. In legal terms, the essential element of a lawsuit.

In English the term is used chiefly in legal submissions and judicial opinions. The word is commonly misspelled gravaman.

motorjet

A motorjet is a rudimentary type of jet engine which is sometimes referred to as thermojet, a term now commonly used to describe a particular and completely unrelated pulsejet design.

Reinheitsgebot

The Reinheitsgebot, literally "purity order"), sometimes called the "German Beer Purity Law" or the "Bavarian Purity Law" in English, was a regulation concerning the production of beer in Germany. In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer were water, barley and hops. The law has since been repealed but many German and American beers, for marketing purposes, continue to claim to abide by the rule.

The law originated in the city of Ingolstadt in the duchy of Bavaria on 23 April 1516, although first put forward in 1487, concerning standards for the sale and composition of beer.

gules

In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation.

Mestizo

Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent. The term originated as a racial category in the Casta system that was in use during the Spanish empire's control of their American colonies; it was used to describe those who had one European-born parent and one who was a member of an indigenous American population. In the Casta system mestizos had fewer rights than European born persons called "Peninsular", and "Criollos" who were persons born in the New World of two European-born parents, but more rights than "Indios" and "Negros".

Sepak takraw

Sepak takraw, or kick volleyball, is a sport native to the Malay-Thai Peninsula. Sepak takraw differs from the similar sport of volleyball in its use of a rattan ball and only allowing players to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball. It is a popular sport in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Philippines.

Anosognosia

Anosognosia is a condition in which a person who suffers disability seems unaware of the existence of his or her disability. Unlike denial, which is a defense mechanism, anosognosia is rooted in physiology (for example, damage to the frontal or parietal lobe due to illness and disease). This may include unawareness of quite dramatic impairments, such as blindness or paralysis. It was first named by the neurologist Joseph Babinski in 1914, although relatively little has been discovered about the cause of the condition since its initial identification. The word comes from the Greek words "nosos" disease and "gnosis" knowledge (an- / a- is a negative prefix).

Cavitation

Cavitation is the formation and then immediate implosion of cavities in a liquid – i.e. small liquid-free zones ("bubbles") – that are the consequence of forces acting upon the liquid. It usually occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low.

Cavitation is a significant cause of wear in some engineering contexts. When entering high pressure areas, cavitation bubbles that implode on a metal surface cause cyclic stress. This results in surface fatigue of the metal causing a type of wear also called "cavitation". The most common examples of this kind of wear are pump impellers and bends when a sudden change in the direction of liquid occurs. Cavitation is usually divided into two classes of behaviour: inertial (or transient) cavitation and non-inertial cavitation.

kerf

kerf (plural kerfs)

The groove or slit created by cutting a workpiece; an incision; the width of the groove made while cutting.

deuteragonist

In literature, the deuteragonist (from Greek: δευτεραγωνιστής, deuteragonistes, second actor) is the second most important character, after the protagonist and before the tritagonist. The deuteragonist may switch from being with or against the protagonist depending on the deuteragonist's own conflict/plot.

Quasicrystals

Quasicrystals are structural forms that are ordered but not periodic. They form patterns that fill all the space though they lack translational symmetry. While crystals, according to the classical crystallographic restriction theorem, can possess only 2, 3, 4, and 6-fold rotational symmetries, the Bragg diffraction pattern of quasicrystals shows sharp peaks with other symmetry orders, for instance 5-fold.

Fartburglar

Fartburglar A person who farts right after you and steals your thunder, so to speak, claiming they are responsible for the horrible smell when it is really you.