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Talk Talk - Communication terms Category: General technical and industrial Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK Words: 18630

Mendoza
Capital of Mendoza federal district, western Argentina, in the foothills of the Andes, 760 m/2,500 ft above sea level; population (2001) 111,000. It is the commercial centre of an irrigated wine-producing and fruit-growing region. The city has an important university, and because of a nearby oilfield, a growing industrial base. The ...

Mencken, H(enry) L(ouis)
US essayist and critic. He was known as `the sage of Baltimore`. His unconventionally phrased, satiric contributions to the periodicals The Smart Set and American Mercury (both of which he edited) aroused controversy

Memphis
(Egypt) Ruined city beside the Nile, 19 km/12 mi southwest of Cairo, Egypt. Once the centre of the worship of Ptah, it was the earliest capital of a united Egypt under King Menes in about 3050 BC, and acted intermittently as capital until around 1300 BC. Memphis was later used as a stone q...

Melanesia
Islands in the southwestern Pacific between Micronesia to the north and Polynesia to the east, embracing all the islands from the New Britain archipelago to the Fiji Islands

Medway
River of southeast England; length about 96 km/60 mi. It rises in Sussex and flows through Kent and Medway Towns unitary authority, becoming an estuary at Rochester, before entering the Thames at Sheerness. In local tradition it divides the `Men of Kent`, who live to the east, from the `Kentish Men`, who live to the west...

Medina
Saudi Arabian city, about 355 km/220 mi north of Mecca; population (2004) 918,900. It is the second holiest city in the Islamic world after Mecca, and contains the tomb of Muhammad, a focus for Muslim pilgrims during the hajj (annual pilgrimage). History In ancient times, Medina was known as Yathrib. In the early Christian centuries it was ...

Medellín
Industrial city and capital of Antioquia department, northwest Colombia; situated at 1,538 m/5,048 ft above sea level in the Aburrá Valley, Central Cordillera of the Andes; population (2005) 2,187,400. It is the second city and a leading industrial centre of Colombia, producing over 80% of the country's total textile output...

mechanics
Branch of physics dealing with the motions of bodies and the forces causing these motions, and also with the forces acting on bodies in equilibrium. It is usually divided into dynamics and statics. Quantum mechanics is the system based on quantum theory, which has superseded Newtonian mechanics in th...

mean
In mathematics, a measure of the average of a number of terms or quantities. The simple arithmetic mean is the average value of the quantities, that is, the sum of the quantities divided by their number. The weighted mean takes into account the frequency of the terms that are summed; it is calculated by multiplying each term by the number of ti...

Melaka
(state) State of west Peninsular Malaysia; area 1,700 sq km/656 sq mi; population (2000 est) 602,900 (about 70% Chinese). The capital is Melaka. Rubber is the leading export of the state, though the output of coconuts and fruit, especially pineapples, is also commercially signi...

methyl alcohol
Common name for methanol

methylated spirit
Alcohol that has been rendered undrinkable, and is used for industrial purposes, as a fuel for spirit burners or a solvent. Its consumption can lead to blindness and eventually death. One of the poisonous substances in it is methanol, or methyl alcohol, and this gives it its name. (The `alcohol` of alcoholic drinks is ethanol.)

Mercury
(astronomy) Closest planet to the Sun. Its mass is 0.056 that of Earth. On its sunward side the surface temperature reaches over 400°C/752°F, but on the `night` side it falls to -170°C/-274...

medlar
Small shrub or tree native to southeastern Europe. It is widely cultivated for its fruits, resembling small brown-green pears or quinces. These are palatable when they have begun to decay. (Mespilus germanica, family Rosaceae.)

melon
Any of several large, juicy (95% water), thick-skinned fruits of trailing plants of the gourd family. The muskmelon (Cucumis melo), of which the honeydew melon is a variety, and the large red watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) are familiar edible varieties. (Family Cucurbitaceae.) Thought to have originate...

meiosis
In biology, a process of cell division in which the number of chromosomes in the cell is halved. It only occurs in eukaryotic cells, and is part of a life cycle that involves sexual reproduction because it allows the genes of two parents to be combined without the total number of chromosomes increasi...

membrane
In living things, a continuous layer, made up principally of fat molecules, that encloses a cell or organelles within a cell. Small molecules, such as water and sugars, can pass through the cell membrane by diffusion. Large molecules, such as proteins, are transported across the membrane via special channels, a process often involving energy input....

Mersey beat
Pop music of the mid-1960s that originated in the northwest of England. It was also known as the Liverpool sound or beat music in the UK. It was almost exclusively performed by all-male groups, the most popular being the Beatles

meerschaum
Aggregate of minerals, usually the soft white clay mineral sepiolite, hydrous magnesium silicate. It floats on water and is used for making pipe bowls

mean free path
In physics, the average distance travelled by a particle, atom, or molecule between successive collisions. It is of importance in the kinetic theory of gases

mechanical equivalent of heat
In physics, a constant factor relating the calorie (the c.g.s. unit of heat) to the joule (the unit of mechanical energy), equal to 4.1868 joules per calorie. It is redundant in the SI system of units, which measures heat and all forms of energy in joules

metallurgy
The science and technology of producing metals, which includes extraction, alloying, and hardening. Extractive, or process, metallurgy is concerned with the extraction of metals from their ores and refining and adapting them for use. Physical metallurgy is concerned with their properties and application. Metallography establishes the microscopic st...

meter
Any instrument used for measurement. The term is often compounded with a prefix to denote a specific type of meter: for example, ammeter, voltmeter, flowmeter, or pedometer. Some meters not only indicate but also integrate (that is, combine and summarize) and/or record measurements

metric system
System of weights and measures developed in France in the 18th century and recognized by other countries in the 19th century. In 1960 an international conference on weights and measures recommended the universal adoption of a revised International System (Système International d'Unités, or SI), with seven prescribed `base units&#...

merchant navy
The passenger and cargo ships of a country. Cargo ships include tramps, tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers, categorized by capacity, weight, and dimensions. Most shipping is owned by private companies. To circumvent national regulations on safety and employment, many ships are registered under `flags of convenience`, that is, fla...

Merit, Order of
British order (see knighthood, order of), instituted in 1902 and limited in number to 24 men and women of eminence. It confers no precedence or knighthood

metamorphism
Geological term referring to the changes in rocks of the Earth's crust caused by increasing pressure and temperature. The resulting rocks are metamorphic rocks. All metamorphic changes take place in solid rocks. If the rocks melt and then harden, they are considered igneous rocks

mental disability
Arrested or incomplete development of mental capacities. It can be very mild, but in more severe cases is associated with social problems and difficulties in living independently. A person may be born with a mental disability (for example, Down's syndrome) or may acquire it through brain damage. Between 90 and 130 million people in the world su...

medieval art
Click images to enlargePainting and sculpture of the Middle Ages in Europe and parts of the Middle East, dating roughly from the 3rd century to the emergence of the Renaissance in Italy in the 1400s. This includes early Christian, Byzantine, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Carolingian art. The Romanesque style was the first ...

mezzo-soprano
Female singing voice with an approximate range of A4–F5, between contralto and soprano. It is commonly abbreviated to just `mezzo`

melody
In music, a recognizable series of notes of different pitches played or sung one after the other. It could also be described as the tune. Melody is one of the three main elements of music, along with rhythm and harmony. In Western music a melody is usually formed from the notes of a scale or mode. A melody, with or without accompaniment, may be a c...

metre
(science) SI unit of length, equivalent to 1.093 yards or 39.37 inches. It is defined by scientists as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second

megaton
One million (10⁶) tons. Used with reference to the explosive power of a nuclear weapon, it is equivalent to the explosive force of one million tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT)

Method
US adaptation of Stanislavsky's teachings on acting and direction, in which importance is attached to the psychological building of a role rather than the technical side of its presentation. Emphasis is placed on improvisation, aiming for a spontaneous and realistic style of acting. One of the principal exponents of the Method was the US actor ...

Mexico
Click images to enlargeCountry in the North American continent, bounded north by the USA, east by the Gulf of Mexico, southeast by Belize and Guatemala, and southwest and west by the Pacific Ocean; population (2000 est) 13,083,400 It is the northernmost country in Latin America. Government Mexico is a federal republic...

metaphysical poets
Group of early 17th-century English poets whose work is characterized by ingenious, highly intricate wordplay and unlikely or paradoxical imagery. They used rhetoric and literary devices, such as paradox, hyperbole (exaggeration), and elaborately developed conceits (far-fetched comparisons), ...

Merchants Adventurers
English trading company founded in 1407, which controlled the export of cloth to continental Europe. It comprised guilds and traders in many northern European ports. In direct opposition to the Hanseatic League, it came to control 75% of English overseas trade by 1550. In 1689 it lost its charter for furthering the traders' own interests at...

Mexican Empire
Short-lived empire 1822–23 following the liberation of Mexico from Spain. The empire lasted only eight months, under the revolutionary leader Agustín de Iturbide. When the French emperor Napoleon I put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in 1808, links between Spain and its colonies weakened and an independence movement grew in M...

mercury fulminate
Highly explosive compound used in detonators and percussion caps. It is a grey, sandy powder and extremely poisonous

Mendoza, Antonio de
First Spanish viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) (1535–51). He attempted to develop agriculture and mining and supported the church in its attempts to convert the Indians. The system he established lasted until the 19th century. He was subsequently viceroy of Peru (1551–52)

mean deviation
In statistics, a measure of the spread of a population from the mean

metropolitan
In the Christian church generally, a bishop who has rule over other bishops (termed suffragans). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a metropolitan has a rank between an archbishop and a patriarch

mead
Alcoholic drink made from honey and water fermented with yeast, often with added spices. It was known in ancient times and was drunk by the Greeks, Britons, and Norse

meat
Flesh of animals taken as food, in Western countries chiefly from domesticated herds of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Major exporters include Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, and Denmark (chiefly bacon). The practice of cooking meat is at least 600,000 years old. More than 40% of the world's grain is now fed to animal...

menthol
Pungent, waxy, crystalline alcohol C₁₀H₁₉OH, derived from oil of peppermint and used in medicines and cosmetics

Medici, Giovanni de'
Italian entrepreneur and banker, with political influence in Florence as a supporter of the popular party. He was the father of Cosimo de' Medici

Medici, Cosimo de'
(politician and banker) Italian politician and banker. Regarded as the model for Machiavelli's The Prince, he dominated the government of Florence from 1434 and was a patron of the arts. He was succeeded by his inept son Piero de' Medici (1416–1469)

Medici, Cosimo de'
(ruler of Florence) Italian politician, ruler of Florence; duke of Florence from 1537 and 1st grand duke of Tuscany from 1569

Medici, Ferdinand de'
Italian politician, grand duke of Tuscany from 1587

ME
(language) Abbreviation for Middle English, the period of the English language from 1050 to 1550

MEP
Abbreviation for member of the European Parliament

merchant bank
Financial institution that specializes in corporate finance and financial and advisory services for business. Originally developed in the UK in the 19th century, merchant banks now offer many of the services provided by the commercial banks

merger
The linking of two or more companies, either by creating a new organization by consolidating the original companies or by absorption by one company of the others. Unlike a takeover, which is not always a voluntary fusion of the parties, a merger is the result of an agreement

Merckx, Eddy
Belgian cyclist known as `the Cannibal`. He won the Tour de France a joint record five times (1969–72 and 1974). Career highlights Tour de France 1969–72, 1974 Tour of Italy 1968, 1970, 1972–74 Tour of Spain 1973 World Professional Road Race Championship 1967, 1971, 1974 World amateur champion 1964

ME
(medicine) Abbreviation for myalgic encephalomyelitis, a popular name for chronic fatigue syndrome

metalloid
Any chemical element having some of but not all the properties of metals; metalloids are thus usually electrically semiconducting. They comprise the elements germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium. Metalloids are found in the periodic table of the elements between metals and non-metals

methyl benzene
Alternative name for toluene

menhir
Click images to enlargePrehistoric tall, upright stone monument or megalith. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths or in groups. They have a wide geographical distribution in the Americas (mainly as monoliths), and in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and belong to many different periods. Most European examples were erected in...

menorah
Seven-branched candlestick symbolizing Judaism and the state of Israel. The lowest candle, the shummash or `servant`, is used to light the others. A nine-branched version, the hanukkiah, is used during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The hanukkiah commemorates the occasion when the lamp in the Temple of Jerusal...

memory
(psychology) Ability to store and recall observations and sensations. Memory does not seem to be based in any particular part of the brain; it may depend on changes to the pathways followed by nerve impulses as they move through the brain. Memory can be improved by regular use as the conne...

mega-
Prefix denoting multiplication by a million. For example, a megawatt (MW) is equivalent to a million watts

mercenary
Soldier hired by the army of another country or by a private army. Mercenary military service originated in the 14th century, when cash payment on a regular basis was the only means of guaranteeing soldiers' loyalty. In the 20th century mercenaries have been common in wars and guerrilla activity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Most famous o...

mesosphere
Layer in the Earth's atmosphere above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It lies between about 50 km/31 mi and 80 km/50 mi above the ground

Mende
(people) A West African people living in the rainforests of central east Sierra Leone and western Liberia. They number approximately 1 million. The Mende are farmers as well as hunter-gatherers, and each of their villages is led by a chief and a group of elders. The Mende language belongs ...

Melanesian
The indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia; any of the Pacific peoples of Melanesia. The Melanesian languages belong to the Austronesian family

mental illness
Disordered functioning of the mind. Since normal working cannot easily be defined, the borderline between mild mental illness and normality is a matter of opinion (not to be confused with normative behaviour). It is broadly divided into two categories: neurosis, in which the patient remains in touch with reality; and psychosis, in which per...

merengue
Latin American dance music with a lively 2/4 beat. Accordion and saxophone are prominent instruments, with ethnic percussion. It originated in the Dominican Republic and became popular in New York in the 1980s

Mersey
River in northwest England; length 112 km/70 mi. Formed by the confluence of the Goyt and Tame rivers at Stockport, it flows west through the south of Manchester, is joined by the Irwell at Flixton and by the Weaver at Runcorn, and enters the Irish Sea at Liverpool Bay. It drains large areas of the Lancashire and Cheshire plains. The Mersey...

Medan
Seaport and capital of North Sumatra province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, on the River Deli; population (2000) 1,703,900. The largest city on the island, its industries include tobacco and tea processing, motor vehicle assembly, and the manufacture of machinery, rope, ceramics, bricks, tiles, and soap. Some of its products are rubber, ...

metre
(poetry) In poetry, the recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse. The unit of metre is a foot. Metre is classified by the number of feet to a line: a minimum of two and a maximum of eight. A line of two feet is a dimeter. They are then named, in order, trim...

Mephistopheles
Another name for the devil, or an agent of the devil, associated with the Faust legend

melaleuca tree
Tropical tree belonging to the myrtle family. The leaves produce cajuput oil, which is used in medicine. (Melaleuca leucadendron, family Myrtaceae.) In favourable conditions, such as in the Florida Everglades, the tree reproduces rapidly. Attempts are being made to root out and destroy it because in a forest fire its crown become...

mechanical advantage
In physics, the ratio by which the load moved by a machine is greater than the effort applied to that machine. In equation terms: MA = load/effort. The exact value of a working machine's MA is always less than its theoretical value because there will always be some frictional resistan...

melting point
Temperature at which a substance melts, or changes from solid to liquid form. A pure substance under standard conditions of pressure (usually one atmosphere) has a definite melting point. If heat is supplied to a solid at its melting point, the temperature does not change until the melting process is complete. The melting point of ice is 0°C o...

Mendes, Chico
(Filho Francisco) Brazilian environmentalist and labour leader. Opposed to the destruction of Brazil's rainforests, he organized itinerant rubber tappers into the Workers' Party (PT) and was assassinated by Darci Alves, a cattle rancher's son. Of 488 similar murders in land conflic...

Menem
(Akil) Argentine politician, president 1989–99; leader of the populist Perónist Partido Justicialista (PJ; Justicialist Party). Although gaining electoral support from the poor, he introduced sweeping privatization and cuts in public spending in an attempt to tackle Argentina...

Mengistu, Haile Mariam
Ethiopian soldier and socialist politician, head of state 1977–91 (president 1987–91). He seized power in a coup, and instituted a regime of terror to stamp out any effective opposition. Confronted with severe problems of drought and secessionist uprisings, he survived with help from the USSR and the West until his violent overthrow by re...

megabyte
In computing, a unit of memory equal to 1,024 kilobytes. It is sometimes used, less precisely, to mean 1 million bytes

Mellon, Andrew William
US financier who donated his art collection to found the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, in 1937. He was secretary of the Treasury 1921–32, pursuing tax-cutting policies. His son Paul Mellon was president of the National Gallery of Art 1963–79. He funded Yale University's Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, an...

Menelaus
In Greek mythology, a king of Sparta; son of Atreus; brother of Agamemnon; husband of Helen, and father of Hermione. With his brother he ousted Thyestes from the throne of Mycenae and was joint leader of the Greek expedition against Troy

Mentor
In Homer's Odyssey, an old man, adviser to Telemachus in the absence of his father Odysseus. His form is often taken by the goddess Athena

Meier, Richard Alan
US architect. His white designs spring from the poetic modernism of the Le Corbusier villas of the 1920s. Originally one of the New York Five, a group of young architects known for their Modernist approach, Meier has remained closest to its purist ideals. His abstract style is at its most mature in the Museum für Kunsthandwerk (Museum of Arts ...

Meskhetian
A community of Turkish descent that formerly inhabited Meskhetia, on the then Turkish–Soviet border. They were deported by Stalin in 1944 to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and have campaigned since then for a return to their homeland. In June 1989 at least 70 were killed in pogroms directed against their community in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekist...

Mek'ele
Capital of Tigré region, northern Ethiopia; population (2006 est) 169,200. It trades in salt, incense, and resin. It is the centre of Ethiopia's inland salt trade, based on the Danakil Plain

Mehta, Zubin
Indian-born US conductor. He specializes in robust, polished interpretations of 19th- and 20th-century repertoire, including contemporary US composers. He was music director of the Montréal Symphony 1961–67 and of the Los Angeles Philharmonic 1962–78, thus becoming the first person to direct two North American symphony or...

methyl orange
Orange-yellow powder used as an acid–base indicator in chemical tests, and as a stain in the preparation of slides of biological material. In solution, its colour changes with pH; below pH 3.1 it is red, above pH 4.4 it is yellow

meltdown
The melting of the core of a nuclear reactor, due to overheating. To prevent such accidents all reactors have equipment intended to flood the core with water in an emergency. The reactor is housed in a strong containment vessel, designed to prevent radiation escaping into the atmosphere. The result of a meltdown would be an area radioactively conta...

mezuzah
In Judaism, a small box containing a parchment scroll inscribed with a prayer, the Shema from Deuteronomy (6:4–9; 11:13–21), which is found in the upper third of the right doorpost of every home and every room in a Jewish house, except the bathroom. Jews are commanded by the Shema to keep the mezuzah `as a sign upon the d...

meson
In physics, a group of unstable subatomic particles made up of a quark and an antiquark. They are found in cosmic radiation, and are emitted by nuclei under bombardment by very high-energy particles. The mesons form a subclass of the hadrons and include the kaons and pions. Their existence was predicted in 1935 by Japanese physicist Hideki Yuka...

meniscus
In physics, the curved shape of the surface of a liquid in a thin tube, caused by the cohesive effects of surface tension (capillary action). When the walls of the container are made wet by the liquid, the meniscus is concave, but with highly viscous liquids (such as mercury) the meniscus is convex. ...

Meiji, Mutsuhito
Emperor of Japan from 1867, under the regnal era name Meiji (`enlightened`). During his reign Japan became a world industrial and naval power. His ministers abolished the feudal system and discrimination against the lowest caste, established state schools, reformed the civil service, and introduced conscription, the Western calendar, and ...

means test
Method of assessing the amount to be paid in social security benefits (for example, the income support and housing benefits), which takes into account all sources of personal or family income. In 1931 an act was passed in the UK Parliament that restricted the use of the employment insurance fund to the payment of limited, short-term benefits. T...

Memphis
(USA) Industrial city and port on the Mississippi River, in southwestern Tennessee, USA, linked by a bridge with West Memphis, Arkansas, across the river; seat of Shelby County; population (2000 est) 650,100. It is a major cotton market, and one of the leading centres in the USA for th...

melamine
Thermosetting polymer based on urea–formaldehyde. It is extremely resistant to heat and is also scratch-resistant. Its uses include synthetic resins

metallic bond
Force of attraction operating in a metal that holds the atoms together in a metallic structure. In metallic bonding, metal atoms form a close-packed, regular arrangement. The atoms lose their outer-shell electrons to become positive ions. The outer electrons become a `sea` of mobile...

metallic character
Chemical properties associated with those elements classed as metals. These properties, which arise from the element's ability to lose electrons, are: the displacement of hydrogen from dilute acids; the formation of basic oxides; the formation of ionic chlorides; and their reducing reaction, as in the thermite process (see reduc...

megavitamin therapy
The administration of large doses of vitamins to combat conditions considered wholly or in part due to their deficiency. Developed by US chemist Linus Pauling in the 1960s, and alternatively known as `orthomolecular psychiatry`, the treatment has been claimed to be effective against addictions, schizophrenia, and depression

medical ethics
Moral guidelines for doctors governing good professional conduct. The basic aims are considered to be doing good, avoiding harm, preserving the patient's autonomy, telling the truth, and pursuing justice. Ethical issues provoke the most discussion in medicine where these five aims cannot be simultaneously achieved – for example, what is &#...

metre
(music) In music, refers to the number and value of the beats in a bar of music. It is also known as time. Metre is different from rhythm in that it is regular (although the number can change as in the additive metres of African music and the works of Olivier Messiaen), whereas rhythm is irreg...

Meo
Another name (sometimes considered derogatory) for the Hmong, a Southeast Asian people