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


mechanized infantry combat vehicle
Tracked military vehicle designed to fight as part of an armoured battle group; that is, with tanks. It is armed with a quick-firing cannon and one or more machine guns. MICVs have replaced armoured personnel carriers. They are also known as Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The US Army's MICV is the Bradley and the British Army's equival...

media
(computing) In computing, the collective name for materials on which data can be recorded. For example, paper is a medium that can be used to record printed data; a floppy disk is a medium for recording magnetic data

medulla
Central part of an organ. In the mammalian kidney, the medulla lies beneath the outer cortex and is responsible for the reabsorption of water from the filtrate. In plants, it is a region of packing tissue in the centre of the stem. In the vertebrate brain, the medulla is the posterior region responsible for the coordination of basic activities, suc...

mechanical weathering
In earth science, an alternative name for physical weathering

Mendip Hills
Range of limestone hills in southern England, stretching nearly 40 km/25 mi southeast–northwest from Wells in Somerset towards the Bristol Channel. There are many cliffs, scars, and caverns, notably Cheddar Gorge. The highest peak is Blackdown (326 m/1,068 ft)

memorandum
Written note or message giving information or issuing instructions. It is usually short and details who is sending the memo and to whom it should be distributed

Melgarejo, Mariano
Bolivian dictator and most notorious of the caudillos who dominated 19th-century Bolivia. Melgarejo seized power in 1864 and survived a series of rebellions before he was overthrown by the last in a series of military uprisings seven years later. Melgarejo sold disputed land to Brazil, allowed Chilean businessmen to exploit Bolivian nitrate dep...

medusa
Free-swimming phase in the life cycle of a coelenterate, such as a jellyfish or coral. The other phase is the sedentary polyp

melanin
Brown pigment that gives colour to the eyes, skin, hair, feathers, and scales of many vertebrates. In humans, melanin helps protect the skin against ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. Both genetic and environmental factors determine the amount of melanin in the skin

media
(general) Means of communication; the mass media comprise the broadcast media of radio and television, and the print media of newspapers and magazines. The study of means of communication is known as media studies

Mesopotamian art
Click images to enlargeArt of the ancient civilizations that grew up in the area around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now in Iraq. Mesopotamian art was largely used to glorify powerful dynasties, and often reflected the belief that kingship and the divine were closely interlocked. Sumerian (3500–2300 BC) The first...

metaphysical painting
Italian painting style, developed in 1917 by Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà. It tried to create a sense of mystery through the use of dreamlike imagery; human beings were often represented as tailors' dummies, and objects appeared in strange, unfamiliar contexts. Reacting against both cubism and Futurism, metaphysical painting pave...

medium
In the arts, the key material used to create a work of art, such as oil paint, clay, or pastel; also the means used to convey information, such as the written word or television. Artwork combining more than one medium is known as mixed media. In painting, a medium also refers to the liquid in which the pigment colour is suspended

Meciar, Vladimír
Slovak politician, prime minister of the Slovak Republic 1993–1998 (with a break March–October 1994). A former Communist Party dissident, he joined the Public Against Violence (PAV) movement in 1989, campaigning for a free Czechoslovakia; then, as leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) from 1990, he sought an independ...

melodic minor scale
In music, one of the minor scales where the sixth and seventh notes are raised by a semitone when the scale is played ascending, and lowered (returned to their original positions) when played descending. It is so called because its notes are likely to be used when creating melodies as it is much easi...

mental health
Well-being and soundness of mind, not only in terms of intellectual abilities, but also in terms of the capability to deal with everyday problems, and the capacity to get on well with other people and to form and sustain relationships. In psychoanalysis, much prominence is given to the importance of the relationship between a child and its moth...

metalanguage
Any language which describes, in technical terms, the properties of another language. Thus linguistics is a scientific language about language

Mercosur
Free-trade organization, founded in March 1991 on signature of the Asunción Treaty by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and formally inaugurated on 1 January 1995. Venezuela became the fifth member in July 2006 (with full voting rights from 2010). Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru have associate member status. With a comb...

Metchnikoff, Elie
Russian zoologist and immunologist who was a pioneer of cellular immunology and shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1908 with Paul Ehrlich for the discovery of the innate immune response. Types of immunity While at a teaching post in Italy, Metchnikoff started working on the immune cells of the starfish and discovered innate immuni...

Merthyr Tydfil
(authority) Unitary authority in south Wales, created in 1996 from part of the former county of Mid Glamorgan. Area 111 sq km/43 sq mi Towns Merthyr Tydfil (administrative headquarters) Physical highest point Merthyr Common (530 m...

meerkat
Small mammal with long soft grey fur, which is found in southern Africa, and belongs to the mongoose family. A third of its length of 35 cm/14 in is occupied by the tail. It feeds on succulent bulbs, insects, and small vertebrates, and is sociable, living in large extended family groups. Meerkat groups have a dominant breeding pair and up to 23...

meal-worm
Any larva of the beetle genus Tenebrio, especially T. molitor. Meal-worms are slender and round, about 2.5 cm/1 in long, and tawny with bright rusty bands. They are pests of stored grain. The adult of T. molitor is black, measures about 1.3 cm/0.5 in in length, has stout legs, and...

Medway Towns
Unitary authority in southeast England, created in 1998 by combining the former city council of Rochester upon Medway with Gillingham borough council, both formerly in Kent. Area 194 sq km/75 sq mi Towns and cities Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Strood (administrative headquarters) Features River Medway flows through Rochester; River Thame...

medicine, history
Medical science has developed by gradual steps from very early times. There is evidence of trepanning (cutting holes in the skull to relieve pressure) being practised in the prehistoric medicine of Stone Age peoples. In the earliest societies, medical practice was part of the duties of the priests...

Mencap
UK charity, founded in 1946, providing a range of services for people with learning disabilities

medieval medicine, English
In the Middle Ages (11th–16th centuries), medicine was notoriously unsuccessful and the practice of public health and hygiene was virtually non-existent. Little was known about the anatomy of the body as human dissection was forbidden by the church, except on executed criminals where it was seen as part of the punishment; physicians fo...

medicine, factors of development
The causes of change and continuity in medicine are key to the understanding of the history of medicine. Factors to be taken into consideration include government, religion, war, science and technology, communications, individuals, conservatism, and chance. It is the interaction, or coming together, of two or more of these factors that effects the ...

medieval medicine
In European history, medicine of the Middle Ages (5th–15th centuries); the period c. 500–c. 1000 is also known as the Dark Ages. The rate of medical progress was far slower than it had been in the ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman eras. Medicine an...

medical technology, 20th century
Medicine of the 20th century saw an acceleration in the acquisition of knowledge and techniques, and an improvement in public health, although new challenges emerged. Technical developments offered new ways of viewing inside the body and its cells, aiding diagnosis; antibiotics were discovered; and new vaccines, drugs, and therapies develop...

medicine, 19th-century
The 19th century was a period of enormous medical change and progress. Many diseases that had been fatal in 1800 were either treatable by 1900, or a cure would be found very early in the 20th century using techniques developed by 19th-century scientists. Doctors, chemists, and scientists investigated medicine using the new scientific technology...

media studies
Study of means of communication. Since its inclusion in the National Curriculum in the UK, it has formed an expanding area of the British curriculum. Media studies forms a critical awareness of means of communication, particularly the broadcasting media (radio and television), and the print media (newspapers and magazines)

medicine
(biology) Chemicals use to treat disease or injury. The term drug is also often used to refer to these chemicals. However, the term drug is now often used to refer to the recreational drugs, such as alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs such as cannabis. These drugs are either not used much in ...

Mesolongi
Alternative spelling of Missolonghi, a town in western central Greece

Mesolóngion
Greek name for Missolonghi, a town in western central Greece

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
German name for Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, an administrative region in Germany

metta
In Buddhism, state of mind that is a feeling of loving kindness and compassion. It is one of the `four excellent states of mind`, or Brahma Vihara. Buddhists aim to treat all living things with metta. Some Buddhists may meditate by invoking caring feelings for themselves, their fellow human beings, and all life on earth

mela
Sikh fair or festival. In the 16th century, at a time when many Sikhs still followed Hindu traditions, Guru Amar Das decided to put a Sikh emphasis on traditional Hindu festivals, and encouraged Sikhs to gather three times a year on the dates of three Hindu festivals. These became the three Sikh melas: Baisakhi Mela, Diwali, and Hola Mohalla

metallic structure
Arrangement of the atoms in a metal, which are held together by metallic bonds to form a close-packed regular giant structure. The atoms may be arranged either as a face-centred cubic structure or as a close-packed cubic structure. The free electrons between the atoms enable metals to conduct heat and electricity, and give the metal mal...

Messianic age
In Judaism, a time of peace on earth under the rule of a Messiah, or anointed one, who will be sent by God. Jews believe that in the Messianic age God's values will be followed by all people, and there will be justice and real community throughout the world

melachot
In Judaism, the 39 types of work forbidden on the Sabbath as listed in the Mishnah, part of the law of the Talmud. They embrace activities such as growing and preparing food, making clothes, completing work, writing, lighting a fire, and transporting goods. Applied to the modern world, the melachot prevent Jews from activities such as driving to sy...

member of Parliament
Representative of a section of the UK population who attends the British parliament. An MP is elected to represent the people who live in a geographical area called a constituency, and then attends the House of Commons, where the activities of the government are considered by the members and legislation is passed. MPs divide their time between thei...

mechanical system
Type of system in which mechanisms are joined together to achieve the transfer of motion. There are four basic types of motion that mechanisms carry out: linear motion (motion in one direction only); reciprocating motion (motion along a straight line in both directions alternately); oscillating motion (motion in an arc); and rotary ...

measuring tool
Instrument used to measure dimensions. In constructing an item, measurements are taken before cutting the material in order to mark accurately the positions for cutting. Measurements can be taken in one direction to measure length, two directions to measure area, or in three different directions to measure depth of cut. Measurements may be taken in...

Merkel, Angela Dorothea
German right-of-centre politician, chancellor from 2005. She held posts in Helmut Kohl's 1991–98 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) administration and was CDU secretary-general 1998–2000 and leader (chair) from 2000. She became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005, heading a `grand coalition` with the form...

messaging
Sending text messages by phone; see text messaging

Medvedev, Dmitry Anatolyevich
Russian lawyer and politician, president from 2008. A lawyer from St Petersburg, he worked closely with Vladimir Putin from the early 1990s, and when Putin became prime minister in 1999 he was brought to Moscow to assist in the government. He headed Putin's presidential campaign in 2000 and was made chairman of the state-controlled gas mono...

Mfecane
In African history, a series of disturbances in the early 19th century among communities in what is today the eastern part of South Africa. They arose when chief Shaka conquered the Nguni peoples between the Tugela and Pongola rivers, then created by conquest a centralized, militaristic Zulu kingdom from several communities, resulting in large-...

mg
Symbol for milligram

millet
Any of several grasses of which the grains are used as a cereal food and the stems as animal fodder. Species include Panicum miliaceum, extensively cultivated in the warmer parts of Europe, and Sorghum bicolor, also known as durra. (Family Gramineae.)

mimosa
Any of a group of leguminous trees, shrubs, or herbs belonging to the mimosa family, found in tropical and subtropical regions. They all have small, fluffy, golden, ball-like flowers. A similar but unrelated plant, Acacia dealbata, is sold as mimosa by European florists. (True mimosa genus Mimosa, family Mi...

mint
(botany) In botany, any aromatic plant of the mint family, widely distributed in temperate regions. The plants have square stems, creeping roots, and spikes of usually pink or purplish flowers. The family includes garden mint (M. spicata) and peppermint (M. piperita...

milfoil
Another name for the herb yarrow. Water milfoils are unrelated; they have whorls of fine leaves and grow underwater. (Genus Miriophyllum, family Haloragidaceae.)

mignonette
Sweet-scented plant, native to North Africa, with yellowish-green flowers in racemes (along the main stem) and abundant foliage; it is widely cultivated. (Reseda odorata, family Resedaceae.)

mildew
Any fungus that appears as a destructive growth on plants, paper, leather, or wood when they become damp for a certain length of time; such fungi usually form a thin white coating on the surface

mineral oil
Oil obtained from mineral sources, for example coal or petroleum, as distinct from oil obtained from vegetable or animal sources

Michaelmas daisy
Popular name for a species of aster, and also for the sea aster or starwort

minicomputer
Multi-user computer with a size and processing power between those of a mainframe and a microcomputer. Nowadays almost all minicomputers are based on microprocessors. Minicomputers are often used in medium-sized businesses and in university departments handling database or other commercial programs and running scientific or graphical applic...

microchip
Popular name for the silicon chip, or integrated circuit

microcomputer
Click images to enlargeSmall desktop or portable computer, typically designed to be used by one person at a time, although individual computers can be linked in a network so that users can share data and programs. Its central processing unit is a microprocessor, contained on a single integrated circuit. Microcomputers are...

missel thrush
Bird belonging to the thrush family

mite
Minute arachnid related to the ticks. Some mites are free-living scavengers or predators. Some are parasitic, such as the itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei), which burrows in skin causing scabies in humans and mange in dogs, and the red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), which sucks blood from poultry and other birds....

minnow
Any of various small freshwater fishes of the carp family, found in streams and ponds worldwide. Most species are small and dull in colour, but some are brightly coloured. They feed on larvae and insects. (Family Cyprinidae.)

mink
Either of two species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the weasel family, usually found in or near water. They have rich brown fur, and are up to 50 cm/1.6 ft long with bushy tails 20 cm/8 in long. They live in Europe and Asia (M. lutreola) and North America (M. vison). (Genus Mustela
midge
Common name for many insects resembling gnats, generally divided into biting midges (family Ceratopogonidae) that suck blood and non-biting midges (family Chironomidae). The larvae of some midges are the `bloodworms` of stagnant water

milk
Secretion of the mammary glands of female mammals, with which they suckle their young (during lactation). Over 85% is water, the remainder comprising protein, fat, lactose (a sugar), calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins. The milk of cows, goats, and sheep is often consumed by humans, but regular drinking of milk after infancy is principally ...

mimicry
Imitation of one species (or group of species) by another. The most common form is Batesian mimicry (named after English naturalist H W Bates), where the mimic resembles a model that is poisonous or unpleasant to eat, and has aposematic, or warning, coloration; the mimic thus benefits from the fa...

millipede
Any of a group of arthropods that have segmented bodies, each segment usually bearing two pairs of legs, and a pair of short clubbed antennae on the distinct head. Most millipedes are no more than 2.5 cm/1 in long; a few in the tropics are 30 cm/12 in. (Class Diplopoda.) Millipedes live in damp, dark places, feeding mainly on rotting ve...

mitochondria
Click images to enlargeMembrane-enclosed organelles within eukaryotic cells, containing enzymes responsible for energy production during aerobic respiration. They are found in both plant and animal cells. Mitochondria absorb oxygen (O2) and complete the breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide (CO...

mid-ocean ridge
Long submarine mountain range that winds along the middle of the ocean floor. The mid-ocean ridge system is essentially a segmented, linear shield volcano. There are a number of major ridges, including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs down the centre of the Atlantic; the East Pacific Rise in the southeast Pacific; and the Southeas...

Mississippian
US term for the Lower or Early Carboniferous period of geological time, 363–323 million years ago. It is named after the state of Mississippi

Miocene
Fourth epoch of the Tertiary period of geological time, 23.5–5.2 million years ago. At this time grasslands spread over the interior of continents, and hoofed mammals rapidly evolved

Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Click images to enlargeMid-ocean ridge that runs along the centre of the Atlantic Ocean, parallel to its edges, for some 14,000 km/8,800 mi – almost from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Like other ocean ridges, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is essentially a linear, segmented volcano. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs...

Middle English
Period of the English language from about 1050 to 1550. The language and literature of the period is marked by increasing influence from Europe, particularly from France, due to the arrival of the Norman ruling class at the end of the 11th century; Norman-French culture suppressed the native English one, until the 13th century. See also Eng...

microprocessor
Complete computer central processing unit contained on a single integrated circuit, or chip. The appearance of the first microprocessor in 1971 designed by Intel for a pocket calculator manufacturer heralded the introduction of the microcomputer. The microprocessor has led to a dramatic fall in the size and cost of computers, and dedicated computer...

Mithridates VI Eupator the Great
King of Pontus (on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey), who became the greatest obstacle to Roman expansion in the east. He massacred 80,000 Romans while overrunning Asia Minor and went on to invade Greece. He was defeated by Sulla during the first Mithridatic War in 88–84 BC, by Lucullus in the second 83–81, and by Pompey the Great in ...

Mithras
In Persian mythology, the god of light, son of the sublime god, Ahura Mazda. Mithras represented the power of morality and goodness against Ahriman, the personification of evil, and promised his followers compensation for present evil after death. Mithraism was introduced into the Roman Empire in 68 BC and spread rapidly, gaining converts especiall...

Miskito
An American Indian people of Central America, living mainly in the area of Central America that is now Nicaragua

missile
Click images to enlargeRocket-propelled weapon, which may be nuclear-armed (see nuclear warfare). Modern missiles are often classified as surface-to-surface missiles (SSM), air-to-air missiles (AAM), surface-to-air missiles (SAM), or air-to-surface missiles (ASM). A cruise missile i...

miscarriage
Spontaneous expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is capable of independent survival. Miscarriage is believed to occur in 15% of pregnancies, often at such an early stage as to go unnoticed. Possible causes include fetal abnormality, abnormality of the uterus or cervix, infection, shock, underactive thyroid, and drug and alcohol use. The...

Mirren, Helen
English actor. One of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, she has played both modern and classical stage roles. Her Shakespearean roles include Lady Macbeth, Isabella in Measure for Measure, and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1964, 1983, and 1998). She received the Academy Award for Best Actress fo...

Miró, Joan
Spanish painter and sculptor, a major figure in surrealism. In the mid-1920s he developed an abstract style, lyrical and often witty, with amoeba shapes, some linear, some highly coloured, generally floating on a plain background. Birth of the World (1925; Museum of Modern Art, New York) is typical of his more abstract wo...

Mintoff, Dom(inic)
Maltese Labour politician; prime minister of Malta 1955–58 and 1971–84. He negotiated the removal of British and other foreign military bases 1971–79 and made treaties with Libya

Minos
In Greek mythology, a king of Crete, who demanded a yearly tribute of seven youths and seven girls from Athens for the Minotaur, the offspring of his wife Pasiphaë and a bull. After his death, he became a judge in Hades

Minotaur
In Greek mythology, a monster with a man's body and bull's head, offspring of Pasiphaë, wife of King Minos of Crete, and a bull sent by Poseidon. It was housed in a Labyrinth designed by Daedalus at Knossos, and its victims were seven girls and seven youths sent in annual tribute by Athens. The beast was killed by Theseus with the aid ...

minimalism
Movement in abstract art and music towards extremely simplified composition. Minimal art developed in the USA in the 1950s in reaction to abstract expressionism, rejecting its emotive approach in favour of impersonality and elemental, usually geometric, shapes. It has found its fullest expression in sculpture, notably in the work of Carl Andre, who...

miniature painting
Painting on a very small scale, notably early manuscript illumination, and later miniature portraits, sometimes set in jewelled cases, and Islamic paintings. Hans Holbein the Younger introduced miniature portrait painting into England, the form reaching its height in the works of Hilliard in the 16th century, though continuing well into the 19th ce...

minesweeper
Small naval vessel for locating and destroying mines at sea. A typical minesweeper weighs about 725 tonnes, and is built of reinforced plastic (immune to magnetic and acoustic mines). Remote-controlled miniature submarines may be used to lay charges next to the mines and destroy them

mine
Explosive charge on land or sea, or in the atmosphere, designed to be detonated by contact, vibration (for example, from an enemy engine), magnetic influence, or a timing device. Countermeasures include metal detectors (useless for plastic types), specially equipped helicopters, and (at sea) minesweepers. Mines were first used at sea in the early 1...

Milton, John
(poet) English poet and prose writer. His epic Paradise Lost (1667) is one of the landmarks of English literature. Early poems, including Comus (a masque performed in 1634) and Lycidas (an elegy, 1638), showed Milton's outstanding ly...

Milne, A(lan) A(lexander)
English writer. He is best known as the author of Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928), based on the teddy bear and other toys of his son Christopher Robin, with illustrations by E H Shepard. He also wrote children's verse, including When We Were Very Young (...

Miller,
(Alton) US trombonist and bandleader. He was an exponent of the big-band swing sound from 1938. He composed his signature tune `Moonlight Serenade` in 1935, and it became a major hit upon its release in 1939. Miller became leader of the US Army Air Force Band in Europe in 1942, a...

Miller, Arthur
US dramatist. His plays deal with family relationships and contemporary American values, and include Death of a Salesman (1949; Pulitzer Prize), and The Crucible (1953), based on the Salem witch trials and reflecting the communist witch-hunts of Senator Joe McCarthy. He was married from 1956 to 1961 to ...

mile
Imperial unit of linear measure. A statute mile is equal to 1,760 yards (1.60934 km), and an international nautical mile is equal to 2,026 yards (1,852 m)

Militant Tendency
In British politics, left-wing faction originally within the Labour Party, aligned with the publication Militant. It became active in the 1970s, with radical socialist policies based on Trotskyism (see Trotsky), and gained some success in local government, for example in the inner-city area of Liverpool. In the mid-19...

Milan
(town) Second-largest city in Italy, sitauted in Lombardy, 120 km/75 mi northeast of Genoa; population (2001) 1,256,200. Industries include printing, engineering, and the manufacture of aircraft, cars, locomotives, chemica...

mikado
Title until 701 of the Japanese emperor, when it was replaced by the term tenno (`heavenly sovereign`)

Mihailovic, Draza
(Dragoljub) Yugoslav soldier, leader of the guerrilla Chetniks of World War II, a nationalist resistance movement against the German occupation. His feud with Tito's communists led to the withdrawal of Allied support and that of his own exiled government from 1943. He turned for help to th...

migraine
Acute, sometimes incapacitating headache (generally only on one side), accompanied by nausea, that recurs, often with advance symptoms such as flashing lights. No cure has been discovered, but ergotamine normally relieves the symptoms. Some sufferers learn to avoid certain foods, such as chocolate, which suggests an allergic factor

Midway Islands
Two low-lying coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Islands chain, 1,800 km/1,120 mi northwest of Honolulu; area 6.2 sq km/2 sq mi. They used to be a naval base and had no indigenous population. The islands are individually known as Eastern and Sand; they were annexed by the USA in 1867, a...

Midlands
Area of central England corresponding roughly to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The East Midlands comprises Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire. The West Midlands covers the metropolitan district of West Midlands created from parts of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire, and split into the metropoli...