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


astrology
Study of the relative position of the planets and stars in the belief that they influence events on Earth. The astrologer casts a horoscope based on the time and place of the subject's birth. Astrology has no proven scientific basis, but has been widespread since ancient times. Western astrology is based on the 12 signs of the zodiac; Chine...

Astrakhan
(city) Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Astrakhan oblast (region), southwestern Russian Federation; population (2002) 504,500. Astrakhan is sited in the Volga delta on the northeastern shore of the Caspian Sea. It is one of the Russian Federation's principal ports, which d...

asteroid
Any of many thousands of small bodies, made of rock and minerals, that orbit the Sun. Most lie in a region called the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and are thought to be fragments left over from the formation of the Solar System. About 100,000 asteroids may exist, but their total mass is only a few hundredths of the mass of ...

Astarte
In Canaanite and Syrian mythology, a goddess of sexual passion (equivalent to the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess Ishtar). As goddess of maternity and fertility, she was associated with Tammuz or Adonis, who represented the passage of the seasons. She was also a warrior goddess. Her main centre of worship was in Phoenicia, where biblical reference ...

Assyria
Click images to enlargeEmpire in the Middle East c. 2500–612 BC, in northern Mesopotamia (now Iraq); early capital Ashur, later Nineveh. It was initially subject to Sumer and intermittently to Babylon. The Assyrians adopted largely the Sumerian religion and structure of society. At its greatest...

Asia Minor
Historical name for Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey

Assisi
Medieval town in Umbria, Italy, 19 km/12 mi southeast of Perugia, in the foothills of the Apennines overlooking the Tiber Valley; population (2001) 25,300. It is a long-established place of pilgrimage. St Francis was born here and is buried in the Franciscan monastery, completed in 1253. Its basilica was adorned with frescoes by Giotto,...

ashram
Indian community whose members lead a simple life of discipline and self-denial and devote themselves to social service. Noted ashrams are those founded by Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha (near Nagpur, Maharashtra state) and poet Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan

Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Group of uninhabited Australian islands comprising Middle, East, and West Islands (the Ashmores), and Cartier Island, in the Indian Ocean, about 190 km/120 mi off the northwest coast of Australia; area 5 sq km/2 sq mi. They were transferred to the authority of Australia by Britain in 1931. Formerly administered as part of the Northern T...

Ashkenazi
Any Jew of German or Eastern European descent, as opposed to a Sephardi, of Spanish, Portuguese, or North African descent. Ashkenazim developed European customs and the Yiddish language during the centuries they remained outside the influence of the Middle East. They were the Zionists who resettled Palestine and who now run the government of Israel...

Ashford
Market town in Kent, southeast England, on the Great Stour River, 22 km/14 mi southwest of Canterbury; population (2001) 58,900. It expanded in the 1980s as a new commercial and industrial centre for the southeast. Industries include a railway works, light engineering, and the manufacture of agricultural goods. A terminus of the Channel Tun...

Ashdod
Deep-water port of Israel, on the Mediterranean 32 km/20 mi south of Tel Aviv; population (1994) 120,100. It is 3 km/1.9 mi from the ancient city of the same name

Ashanti
Region of Ghana, western Africa; area 25,100 sq km/9,700 sq mi; population (1990 est) 2,487,300. Kumasi is the capital. It is the most densely populated region in Ghana, and most of the people are Ashanti. Most are cultivators and the main crop is cocoa, but the region is also noted for its forestry, mining of bauxite, metalwork, and te...

ASEAN
Acronym for Association of South East Asian Nations

asepsis
Practice of ensuring that bacteria are excluded from open sites during surgery, wound dressing, blood sampling, and other medical procedures. Aseptic technique is a first line of defence against infection

Ascot
Small town in Windsor and Maidenhead unitary authority, southern England, about 10 km/6 mi southwest of Windsor; population (2001) 5,100. The Royal Ascot race meeting, established by Queen Anne in 1711, is held annually in June. It is a social as well as a sporting event

Ascham, Roger
English scholar and royal tutor. His writings include Toxophilus (1545), a treatise on archery written in dialogue form, and an educational treatise The Scholemaster, published by his widow in 1570. His works could be taken as exemplary of an English Protestant schizophrenia: on the one hand, a mastery of t...

asceticism
The renunciation of physical pleasure; for example, in eating, drinking, sexuality, and human company. Discomfort or pain may be sought, often for religious reasons. The most acute asceticism is the self-mortification of some Hindu fakirs and Islamic dervishes; the Buddhists and Persian Sufis emphasized the uprooting of worldly thoughts...

Ascension Day
In the Christian calendar, the feast day commemorating Jesus' ascension into heaven. It is the 40th day after Easter. Ten days later is Pentecost, which marks the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples

asbestos
Any of several related minerals of fibrous structure that offer great heat resistance because of their nonflammability and poor conductivity. Commercial asbestos is generally either made from serpentine (`white` asbestos) or from sodium iron silicate (`blue` asbestos). The fibres are woven together or bound by an inert material....

asphalt
Mineral mixture containing semisolid brown or black bitumen, used in the construction industry. Asphalt is mixed with rock chips to form paving material, and the purer varieties are used for insulating material and for waterproofing masonry. It can be produced artificially by the distillation of petroleum. The availability of recycled coloured glas...

Astaire, Fred
US dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer. The greatest popular dancer of his time, he starred in numerous films, including Top Hat (1935), Easter Parade (1948), and Funny Face (1957), many containing inventive sequences that he designed and choreographed himself. He made ten classic films ...

Asia
Largest of the continents, occupying one-third of the total land surface of the world. The origin of the name is unknown, though it seems probable that it was at first used with a restricted local application, gradually extended to the whole continent. Area 44,000,000 sq km/17,000,000 sq mi L...

AS level
Examinations introduced in the UK in 1988 as the equivalent to `half an A level` as a means of broadening the sixth-form (age 16–18) curriculum and including more students in the examination system

asset
In accounting, anything owned by or owed to the company that is either cash or can be turned into cash. The term covers physical assets such as land or property of a company or individual, as well as financial assets such as cash, payments due from bills, and investments. Assets are divided into fixed assets – assets that are expected to be us...

asp
Any of several venomous snakes, including Vipera aspis of southern Europe, allied to the adder, and the Egyptian cobra Naja haje, reputed to have been used by the Egyptian queen Cleopatra for her suicide

ass
Any of several horselike, odd-toed, hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, family Equidae. Species include the African wild ass E. asinus, and the Asian wild ass E. hemionus. They differ from horses in their smaller size, larger ears, tufted tail, and characteristic bray. Donkeys and burros a...

assize
In medieval Europe, the passing of laws, either by the king with the consent of nobles, as in the Constitutions of Clarendon passed by Henry II of England in 1164; or as a complete system, such as the Assizes of Jerusalem, a compilation of the law of the feudal kingdom of Jerusalem in the 13th century

Ashes, the
Cricket trophy held by the winning team in the England–Australia Test series. The trophy is permanently held at Lord's cricket ground no matter who wins the series. It is an urn said to contain the ashes of stumps and bails used in a match when England toured Australia in 1882–83. The urn was given to the England captain Ivo Bligh by ...

asphyxia
Suffocation; a lack of oxygen that produces a potentially lethal build-up of carbon dioxide waste in the tissues. Asphyxia may arise from any one of a number of causes, including inhalation of smoke or poisonous gases, obstruction of the windpipe (by water, food, vomit, or a foreign object), strangulation, or smothering. If it is not quickl...

astigmatism
Aberration occurring in the lens of the eye. It results when the curvature of the lens differs in two perpendicular planes, so that rays in one plane may be in focus while rays in the other are not. With astigmatic eyesight, the vertical and horizontal cannot be in focus at the same time; correction is by the use of a lens that reduces the over...

assault
Intentional act or threat of physical violence against a person. In English law it is both a crime and a tort (a civil wrong). The kinds of criminal assault are common (ordinary); aggravated (more serious, such as causing actual bodily harm); or indecent (of a sexual nature)

astrophotography
Use of photography in astronomical research. The first successful photograph of a celestial object was the daguerreotype plate of the Moon taken by English Scientist John W Draper in March 1840. The first photograph of a star, Vega, was taken by US astronomer William Bond in 1850. Modern-day astrophotography uses techniques such as charge-c...

associative operation
In mathematics, an operation in which the outcome is independent of the grouping of the numbers or symbols concerned. For example, multiplication is associative, as 4 x (3 x 2) = (4 x 3) x 2 = 24; however, division is not, as 12 ÷ (4 ÷ 2) = 6, but (12 ÷ 4) ÷ 2 = 1.5. Compare commutative operation and distribu...

Asimov, Isaac
Russian-born US author and editor of science fiction and nonfiction. He published more than 400 books, including his science fiction novels I, Robot (1950) and the Foundation trilogy (1951–53), continued in Foundation's Edge (1983). His two-volume work The Intelligen...

assimilation
In animals, the process by which absorbed food molecules, circulating in the blood, pass into the cells and are used for growth, tissue repair, and other metabolic activities. The actual destiny of each food molecule depends not only on its type, but also on the body requirements at that time

asexual reproduction
Click images to enlargeReproduction that does not involve the manufacture and fusion of sex cells (gametes) from two parents. Asexual reproduction has advantages in that there is no need to search for a mate; every asexual organism can reproduce on its own. Asexual reproduction can therefore lead to a rapid population...

aspartame
Noncarbohydrate sweetener used in foods under the tradename Nutrasweet. It is about 200 times as sweet as sugar and, unlike saccharine, has no aftertaste. The aspartame molecule consists of two amino acids (aspartic acid and phenylalanine) linked by a methylene (CH2) group. It breaks down slowly at room temperature and rapidl...

asset stripping
Sale or exploitation by other means of the assets of a business, often one that has been taken over for that very purpose. The parts of the business may be potentially more efficiently used and more valuable separately than together

Ashikaga
In Japanese history, the family who held the office of shogun 1338–1573, a period of civil wars. No drama evolved under the patronage of Ashikaga shoguns. Relations with China improved intermittently and there was trade with Korea. The last (15th) Ashikaga shogun was ousted by Oda Nobunaga at the start of the Momoyama period. The Ashikaga belo...

asylum, political
In international law, refuge granted in another country to a person who, for political reasons, cannot return to his or her own country without putting himself or herself in danger. A person seeking asylum is a type of refugee, someone who has fled their own country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, na...

ASCII
In computing, coding system in which numbers are assigned to letters, digits, and punctuation symbols. Although computers work in code based on the binary number system, ASCII numbers are usually quoted as decimal or hexadecimal numbers. For example, the decimal number 45 (binary 0101101) represents a hyphen, and 65 (binary 1000001) a capital A. Th...

assisted area
Region that is receiving some help from the central government, usually in the form of extra funding, as part of a regional policy. Most policies concentrate on identifying and then assisting `backward` or `problem` areas so that economic activity may be more equally shared within the country

asymptote
In coordinate geometry, a straight line that a curve approaches progressively more closely but never reaches. The x and y axes are asymptotes to the graph of xy = constant (a rectangular hyperbola). If a point on a curve approaches a straight line such that its distance from the straight ...

Astana
(city) Commercial and industrial city in northern Kazakhstan, capital of Akmola oblast (region), and from 1998 the capital of Kazakhstan; population (2004) 510,500. Astana is situated on the River Ishim, 190 km/118 mi northwest of Qaraghandy, and stands at the centre of a major wheat&#...

Aspen
Resort town in central Colorado, on the Roaring Fork River, lying at an altitude of 2,417 m/7,930 ft; seat of Pitkin County; population (2000 est) 5,900. Aspen offers winter skiing and summer river rafting, and is a cultural centre with an annual music festival. History Established as a silver-mining town in the 1880s (and named aft...

assurance
Form of long-term saving where individuals pay monthly premiums, typically over 10 or 25 years, and at the end receive a large lump sum. For example, a person may save £50 a month and at the end of 25 years receive a lump sum of £40,000. Assurance policies are offered by assurance companies which invest savers' monthly premiums, t...

assonance
The matching of vowel sounds in a line (and sometimes, consonants with differing vowels), generally used in poetry. `Load` and `moat`, `farther` and `harder` are examples of assonance, since they match in vowel sounds and stress pattern, but do not rhyme. The device is used to emphasize particular words or im...

assemblage
(art) In the visual arts, any three-dimensional work of art constructed of various, and often unusual, materials, or found objects. The term was first used in the 1950s by French painter Jean Dubuffet to describe his collages and figures created from pieces of wood, sponge, paper, and glue...

Ashkhabad
Former name (to 1992) of Ashgabat

Association of Caribbean States
Association of 25 states in the Caribbean region, formed in 1994 in Colombia to promote social, political, and economic cooperation and eventual integration. Its members include the states of the Caribbean and Central America plus Colombia, Suriname, and Venezuela. Associate membership has been adopted by 12 dependent territories in the region. Its...

assassin bug
Member of a family of blood-sucking bugs that contains about 4,000 species. Assassin bugs are mainly predators, feeding on other insects, but some species feed on birds and mammals, including humans. They are found, mainly in tropical regions, although some have established themselves in Europe and North America. Classification Assassin bugs ar...

aspect
In grammar, the aspect of a verb refers to the point in time when an action is taking place, and not the time of speaking or writing. It results in aspects of the continuous tense (continuing to happen) and the perfect tense (perfected or finished)

ashrama
In Hinduism, the four stages of life that a Hindu may follow or pass through. They are the student (brahmachari), the householder (grihastha), the hermit (vanaprastha), and the wandering holy man (sannyasin). Very few Hindus follow all four stages, and far less women than m...

asymmetric valley
Valley with one steep side and one shallow side. They usually form in periglacial environments – regions that are close to glaciers but which thaw out in summer, and where one side of the valley is largely in the sun and the other in the shade. The area affected by the sun is actively cut down by freeze–thaw weathering and develops a shal...

atomic number
Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. It is equal to the positive charge on the nucleus. In a neutral atom, it is also equal to the number of electrons surrounding the nucleus. The chemical elements are arranged in the periodic table of the elements according to their atomic number. Nuclear notation is used to label an atom according to the ...

Attorney General
In the UK, principal law officer of the crown and head of the English Bar; the post is one of great political importance. In the USA, it is the chief law officer of the government and head of the Department of Justice. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the consent of the Attorney General is required for bringing certain criminal proceedi...

attorney
Person who represents another in legal matters. In the USA, attorney is the formal title for a lawyer

atom
Click images to enlargeSmallest unit of matter that can take part in a chemical reaction, and which cannot be broken down chemically into anything simpler. An atom is made up of protons and neutrons in a central nucleus (except for hydrogen, which has a single proton as its nucleus) surrounded by electrons (see atomic str...

Attlee, Clement
(Richard) British Labour politician. In the coalition government during World War II he was Lord Privy Seal 1940–42, dominions secretary 1942–43, and Lord President of the Council 1943–45, as well as deputy prime minister from 1942. As prime minister 1945–51 he introduced a...

Attis
In classical mythology, a Phrygian god whose death and resurrection symbolized the end of winter and the arrival of spring; also regarded as a vegetation god. Beloved by the earth goddess Cybele, who drove him mad as punishment for his infidelity, he castrated himself and bled to death. Violets sprang from his blood, and Zeus turned him into a ...

Attila
King of the Huns in an area from the Alps to the Caspian Sea from 434, known to later Christian history as the `Scourge of God`. He twice attacked the Eastern Roman Empire to increase the quantity of tribute paid to him, 441–443 and 447–449, and then attacked the Western Roman Empire 450–452. Attila first ruled jointly with...

Attica
Region of Greece comprising Athens and the district around it; area 3,381 sq km/1,305 sq mi; population (2003 est) 3,812,000. It is renowned for its language, art, and philosophical thought in Classical times, when Athens, Piraeus, and Eleusis were its major towns. It is a prefecture of modern Greece, with Athens as its capital

Attenborough, Richard Samuel
English director, actor, and producer. He appeared in such films as Brighton Rock (1947) and 10 Rillington Place (1971), and directed Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and such biopics as Gandhi (which won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director) (1982...

attempt
In law, a partial or unsuccessful commission of a crime. An attempt must be more than preparation for a crime; it must involve actual efforts to commit a crime

Atonement, Day of
Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur

atonement
In Christian theology, the doctrine that Jesus suffered on the cross to bring about reconciliation and forgiveness between God and humanity. Atonement is an action that enables a person separated from God by sin to be reconciled (`at one`) with him. In ancient Judaism this was achieved through the sacrificial killing of animals

Aton
In ancient Egypt, the invisible power of the sun, represented by the Sun's disc with arms. It was an emblem of the single sun god whose worship was promoted by Akhenaton in an attempt to replace the many gods of traditional devotion

atonality
Music that has no sense of tonality and no obvious key. Atonal music uses the notes of the chromatic scale and, depending on the system employed, uses all twelve pitch classes in hierarchies other than triadic harmony. This means that there is no pull towards any particular tonic note. Arnold Schoenberg was one of the first composers to explore ato...

atomic bomb
Click images to enlargeBomb deriving its explosive force from nuclear fission (see nuclear energy) as a result of a neutron chain reaction, developed in the 1940s in the USA into a usable weapon. Research began in the UK in 1940 and was transferred to the USA after its entry into World War II the following year. Known as ...

atman
In Hinduism, the individual soul or the true self, which never changes. The atman is as one with Brahman, the eternal supreme being and impersonal world soul. Hindus believe that each person has a physical body with senses, a subtle body which thinks and makes decisions, and a third body which is active when people are in deep sleep. These three bo...

Atlas Mountains
Mountain system of northwest Africa, stretching 2,400 km/1,500 mi from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia, and lying between the Mediterranean on the north and the Sahara on the south. The highest peak is Mount Toubkal 4,165 m/13,665 ft. Geologically, the Atlas Mounta...

Atlas
In Greek mythology, one of the Titans who revolted against the gods; as punishment, he was compelled to support the heavens on his head and shoulders. Growing weary, he asked Perseus to turn him into stone by showing him the Medusa's head, and was transformed into Mount Atlas

Atlantis
In Greek mythology, an island continent west of the Straits of Gibraltar, said to have sunk following an earthquake. Although the Atlantic Ocean is probably named after it, the structure of the sea bed rules out its former existence in the Atlantic region. Derived from an Egyptian priest's account, the Greek philosopher Plato created an imagina...

Atlantic Ocean
Ocean lying between Europe and Africa to the east and the Americas to the west; area of basin 81,500,000 sq km/31,500,000 sq mi; including the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic seas, 106,200,000 sq km/41,000,000 sq mi. It is generally divided by the Equator into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic. It was probably named after the legenda...

Atlantic, Battle of the
(World War II) During World War II, continuous battle fought in the Atlantic Ocean by the sea and air forces of the Allies and Germany, to control the supply routes to the UK. It is estimated that the Allies destroyed nearly 800 U-boats, and at least 2,200 convoys (75,000 merchant ships) c...

atherosclerosis
Thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, associated with atheroma. Arteriosclerosis is often loosely used as a synonym

Athos
Click images to enlargeMountainous peninsula on the Macedonian coast of Greece. Its peak is 2,033 m/6,672 ft high. The promontory is occupied by a group of 20 Orthodox monasteries, inhabited by some 3,000 monks and lay brothers. A council of representatives from the monasteries runs the affairs of the peninsula as a s...

Athens
(Greece) Click images to enlargeCapital city of Greece and of ancient Attica; population (2003 est) 747,300, urban agglomeration 3,247,000. Situated 8 km/5 mi northeast of its port of Piraeus on the Gulf of Aegina, it is built aro...

atheism
Nonbelief in, or the positive denial of, the existence of a God or gods. A related concept is agnosticism. Like theism, its opposite, atheism cannot be proved or disproved conclusively. Perhaps the strongest atheistic argument concerns the existence of evil, which is hard to reconcile with the notion (in Christianity and other religions) that the w...

Athanasius, St
Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, supporter of the doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation. He was a disciple of St Anthony the hermit, and an opponent of Arianism in the great Arian controversy. Following the official condemnation of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea in 325, Athanasius was appointed bishop of Alexandria in 328. The Athanasian creed wa...

ataxia
Loss of muscular coordination due to neurological damage or disease

Athanasian creed
One of the three ancient creeds of the Christian church. Mainly a definition of the Trinity and Incarnation, it was written many years after the death of Athanasius, but was attributed to him as the chief upholder of Trinitarian doctrine

Atahualpa
Last emperor of the Incas of Peru. He was taken prisoner in 1532 when the Spaniards arrived and agreed to pay a substantial ransom, but he was accused of plotting against the conquistador Pizarro and was sentenced to be burned. On his consenting to Christian baptism, the sentence was commuted to strangulation

Atacama Desert
Click images to enlargeArid coastal region of northern Chile, with an area of about 80,000 sq km/31,000 sq mi, and extending south from the Peruvian border for 965 km/600 mi. It consists of a series of salt pans within a plateau region. Its rainless condition is caused by the Peru Current offshore; any moist a...

ATP
Nucleotide molecule found in all cells. It can yield large amounts of energy, and is used to drive the thousands of biological processes needed to sustain life, growth, movement, and reproduction. Green plants use light energy to manufacture ATP as part of the process of photosynthesis. In animals, ATP is formed by the breakdown of glucose molecule...

atmosphere
(earth science) Click images to enlargeMixture of gases surrounding a planet. Planetary atmospheres are prevented from escaping by the pull of gravity. On Earth, atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. In its lowest layer, the atmosphere ...

athletics
Click images to enlargeCompetitive track and field events consisting of running, throwing, and jumping disciplines. Running events range from sprint races (100 metres) and hurdles to cross-country running and the marathon (26 miles 385 yards). Jumping events are the high jump, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault. T...

Athena
Click images to enlargeIn Greek mythology, the goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts and crafts (Roman Minerva). She was reputed to have sprung fully-armed and grown from the head of Zeus, after he had swallowed her mother Metis, the Titaness of wisdom. In Homer's Odyssey, Athena is the protector...

atomic energy
Another name for nuclear energy

atomizer
Device that produces a spray of fine droplets of liquid. A vertical tube connected with a horizontal tube dips into a bottle of liquid, and at one end of the horizontal tube is a nozzle, at the other a rubber bulb. When the bulb is squeezed, air rushes over the top of the vertical tube and out through the nozzle. Following Bernoulli's principle...

atrium
(architecture) In architecture, an open inner courtyard. An atrium was originally the central court or main room of an ancient Roman house, open to the sky, often with a shallow pool to catch rainwater

atmosphere
(physics) In physics, a unit of pressure equal to 760 mmHg, 1013.25 millibars, or 1.01325 × 105 pascals, or newtons per square metre. The actual pressure exerted by the atmosphere fluctuates around this value, which is assumed to be standard at sea level and 0°...

atlas
Book of maps. The first modern atlas was the Theatrum orbis terrarum (1570); the first English atlas was a collection of the counties of England and Wales by Christopher Saxten (1579). Mercator began work on the first great world atlas in 1585; it was completed by his son in 1594. Early atlases had a frontispiece showing ...

atoll
Continuous or broken circle of coral reef and low coral islands surrounding a lagoon

atavism
In genetics, the reappearance of a characteristic not apparent in the immediately preceding generations; in psychology, the manifestation of primitive forms of behaviour

atropine
Alkaloid derived from belladonna, a plant with toxic properties. It acts as an anticholinergic, inhibiting the passage of certain nerve impulses. It is used in premedication, to reduce bronchial and gastric secretions. It is also administered as a mild antispasmodic drug, and to dilate the pupil of the eye

atheroma
Furring-up of the interior of an artery by deposits, mainly of cholesterol, within its walls. Associated with atherosclerosis, atheroma has the effect of narrowing the lumen (channel) of the artery, thus restricting blood flow. This predisposes to a number of conditions, including thrombosis, angina, and stroke

atrophy
In medicine, a diminution in size and function, or output, of a body tissue or organ. It is usually due to nutritional impairment, disease, or disuse (muscle)

atomic weight
Another name for relative atomic mass