The International Man's Glossary: A-Z

"Something about everything!"

Created and maintained by KIM WEISS. As of Monday, December 9, 2024: 10,542 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.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS):

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.

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 b