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


wheatear
Small (15 cm/6 in long) migratory bird Oenanthe oenanthe of the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes (which includes thrushes). Wheatears are found throughout the Old World and also breed in far northern parts of North America. The plumage is light grey above and white below with a buff tinge on the breast, a black face&#...

whale
Click images to enlargeAny marine mammal of the order Cetacea. The only mammals to have adapted to living entirely in water, they have front limbs modified into flippers and no externally visible traces of hind limbs. They have horizontal tail flukes. When they surface to breathe, the hot air they breathe out condenses to...

whitebeam
Tree native to southern Europe, usually found growing on chalk or limestone. It can reach 20 m/60 ft in height. It takes its name from the dense coat of short white hairs on the underside of the leaves. (Genus Sorbus aria, family Rosaceae.)

whydah
Any of various African birds of the genus Vidua, order Passeriformes, of the weaver family. They lay their eggs in the nests of waxbills, which rear the young. Young birds resemble young waxbills, but the adults do not resemble adult waxbills. Males have long tail feathers used in ...

whitethroat
Any of several Old World warblers of the genus Sylvia in the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. They are found in scrub, hedges, and wood clearings of Eurasia in summer, migrating to Africa in winter. They are about 14 cm/5.5 in long

whip snake
Any of the various species of nonpoisonous slender-bodied tree-dwelling snakes of the New World genus Masticophis, family Colubridae. They are closely allied to members of the genus Coluber of southwestern North America, Eurasia, Australasia, and North Africa, some of which are called whip snakes in the...

Whig Party
(USA) In the USA, political party formed in 1832 to oppose the autocratic presidency of Andrew Jackson. Whig candidate presidents include General William Henry Harrison, 1840; John Tyler 1841–1845; General Zachary Taylor, 1849–1850; and Millard Fillmore 1850–1853. Th...

whimbrel
Wading bird Numenius phaeopus, order Charadriiformes, with a medium-sized down-curved bill, streaked brown plumage, and striped head. About 40 cm/1.3 ft long, it breeds in the Arctic, and winters in Africa, southern North America, South America, and South Asia. It is related to the curlew

wheat
Click images to enlargeCereal plant derived from the wild Triticum, a grass native to the Middle East. It is the chief cereal used in breadmaking and is widely cultivated in temperate climates suited to its growth. Wheat is killed by frost, and damp makes the grains soft, so warm, dry regions produce th...

whortleberry
A form of bilberry

Whittle, Frank
English engineer. He patented the basic design for the turbojet engine in 1930. In the Royal Air Force he worked on jet propulsion 1937–46. In May 1941 the Gloster E 28/39 aircraft first flew with the Whittle jet engine. Both the German (first operational jet planes) and the US jet aircraft were built using his principles. He was knighted ...

whiteout
`Fog` of grains of dry snow caused by strong winds in temperatures of between -18°C/0°F and -1°C/30°F. The uniform whiteness of the ground and air causes disorientation in humans

White terror
General term used by socialists and Marxists to describe a right-wing counterrevolution: for example, the attempts by the Chinese Guomindang to massacre the communists 1927–31; see White

White Paper
In the UK and some other countries, an official document that expresses government policy on an issue. It is usually preparatory to the introduction of a parliamentary bill (a proposed act of Parliament). Its name derives from its having fewer pages than a government blue book, and therefore needing no blue paper cover

whisky
Distilled spirit made from cereals: Scotch whisky from malted barley, Irish whiskey usually from barley, and North American whiskey and bourbon from maize and rye. Scotch is usually blended; pure malt whisky is more expensive. Whisky is generally aged in wooden casks for 4–12 years. The ...

WHO
Acronym for World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations established to prevent the spread of diseases

wholesale
The business of selling merchandise to anyone other than the final customer. Most manufacturers or producers sell in bulk to a wholesale organization which distributes the smaller quantities required by retail outlets

whiplash injury
Damage to the neck vertebrae and their attachments caused by a sudden backward jerk of the head and neck. It is most often seen in vehicle occupants as a result of the rapid deceleration experienced in a crash

Who, the
English rock group, formed in 1964, with a hard, aggressive sound, high harmonies, and a tendency to destroy their instruments on stage. Their albums include Tommy (1969), Quadrophenia (1973) (both also rock operas), and Who's Next (1971). Hit singles include `My Generation`, &#...

white knight
In business, a company invited by the target of a takeover bid to make a rival bid. The company invited to bid is usually one that is already on good terms with the target company

whey
Watery by-product of the cheesemaking process, which is drained off after the milk has been heated and rennet (a curdling agent) added to induce its coagulation. In Scandinavia, especially Norway, whey is turned into cheese, mysost and (from goat's whey) gjetost. The flavour of whey cheese is sweet from...

white blood cell
One of a number of different cells that play a part in the body's defences and give immunity against disease. Some (neutrophils and macrophages) engulf invading micro-organisms, others kill infected cells, while lymphocytes produce more specific immune responses. White blood cells are colourl...

Whipple, George Hoyt
US physiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1934 for work on the treatment of pernicious anaemia by increasing the amount of liver in the diet. His research interest concerned the formation of haemoglobin in the blood. He showed that anaemic dogs, kept under restricted diets, responded well to a liver regime, and t...

whaling
The hunting of whales. Whales have been killed by humans since at least the middle ages. There were hundreds of thousands of whales at the beginning of the 20th century, but the invention of the harpoon in 1870, and improvements in ships and mechanization, have led to the near-extinction of several species of whale. Commercial whaling was large...

white-collar worker
Non-manual employee, such as an office worker or manager. With more mechanized production methods, the distinction between white- and blue-collar (manual) workers is becoming increasingly blurred

Whitney, Eli
US inventor who in 1794 patented the cotton gin, a device for separating cotton fibre from its seeds. Also a manufacturer of firearms, he created a standardization system that was the precursor of the assembly line

White, Patrick Victor Martindale
Australian writer. He did more than any other to put Australian literature on the international map. His partly allegorical novels explore the lives of early settlers in Australia and often deal with misfits or inarticulate people. They include The Aunt's Story (1948), written during his voyage back to Australia, The...

White Australia Policy
Australian government policy of immigration restriction, mainly aimed at non-Europeans, which began in the 1850s in an attempt to limit the number of Chinese entering the Australian goldfields and was official until 1945

whirlwind
Rapidly rotating column of air, often synonymous with a tornado. On a smaller scale it produces the dust-devils seen in deserts

wheel of life
The symbol of life as a wheel, found in many faiths. The wheel can stand for the whole cycle beginning with birth, rising up to the height of a person's power, and then declining again until death is reached. It can also stand for the rise and fall of fortunes at different times in a person's life, as often in Western popular religious art....

White Volta
One of the two main upper branches of the River Volta, running through Burkina Faso and Ghana

white light
Mixture of many colours of light. If white light is passed through a prism, a band of colours called a spectrum is produced. This splitting of white light into its component colours is called dispersion. The order of the colours within the spectrum is always the same. A second inverted prism placed next to the first can be used to reverse the proce...

wisteria
Any of a group of climbing leguminous shrubs (see legume), including W. sinensis, native to the eastern USA and East Asia. Wisterias have hanging clusters of bluish, white, or pale mauve flowers, and pinnate leaves (leaflets on either side of the stem). They are grown against walls...

witch hazel
Any of a group of flowering shrubs or small trees belonging to the witch hazel family, native to North America and East Asia, especially H. virginiana. An astringent extract prepared from the bark or leaves is used in medicine as an eye lotion and a liniment to relieve pain or stiffness. (Genus Hamamelis, famil...

wintergreen
Any of a group of plants belonging to the heath family, especially the species G. procumbens of northeastern North America, which creeps underground and sends up tiny shoots. Oil of wintergreen, used in treating rheumatism, is extracted from its leaves. Wintergreen is also the name for various plants belonging to the wintergreen ...

willowherb
Any of a group of perennial flowering plants belonging to the evening primrose family. The rosebay willowherb or fireweed C. angustifolium is common in woods and wasteland. It grows to 1.2 m/4 ft with tall upright spikes of red or purplish flowers. (Genera Epilobium<...

Williams, William Carlos
US poet, essayist, and theoretician. He was associated with Imagism and Objectivism. One of the most original and influential of modern poets, he is noted for advancing poetics of visual images and colloquial American rhythms, conceiving the poem as a `field of action`. His epic, five-b...

William
(prince of the UK) Prince of the UK; first child of Charles, Prince of Wales, and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales. William attended Ludgrove School, Wokingham (1990–95); Eton College, Windsor (1995–2000); the University of Saint Andrews, Fife, Scotland (2001–...

William the Silent
Prince of Orange from 1544. Leading a revolt against Spanish rule in the Netherlands from 1573, he briefly succeeded in uniting the Catholic south and Protestant northern provinces, but the former provinces submitted to Spain while the latter formed a federation in 1579 (Union of Utrecht) which repud...

William the Lion
King of Scotland from 1165. He was captured by Henry II while invading England in 1174, and forced to do homage, but Richard I abandoned the English claim to suzerainty for a money payment in 1189. In 1209 William was forced by King John to renounce his claim to Northumberland

Wilfrid, St
Northumbrian-born bishop of York from 665. He defended the cause of the Roman Church at the Synod of Whitby in 664 against that of Celtic Christianity. Feast day is 12 October

Wilder, Thornton Niven
US dramatist and novelist. He won Pulitzer Prizes for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and for the plays Our Town (1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). His farce The Matchmaker (1954) was filmed in 1958. In 1964 it was adapted into the hit stage musical
Wilder, Billy
Austrian-born US film director and screenwriter. His films display an acerbic wit and a cynical analysis of US society. They include the pioneering film noir Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), and the comedies Some Like I...

Wilde, Oscar
(Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) Irish writer. With his flamboyant style and quotable conversation, he dazzled London society and, on his lecture tour in 1882, the USA. He published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray<...

Wilberforce, William
English reformer. He was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the British Empire. He entered Parliament in 1780. In 1807 his bill banning the trade in slaves from the West Indies was passed, and by 1833 further acts had eradicated slavery throughout the empire. He died shortly before the Slavery Abolition Act was passed. Wilberforce was a member o...

Wicklow
(county) County of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Leinster; county town Wicklow; area 2,030 sq km/784 sq mi; population (2002) 114,700. It includes the Wicklow Mountains, the rivers Slaney, Avoca, Vartry, and Liffey, and the coastal resort of Bray. Other towns incl...

wildebeest
Click images to enlargeEither of two species of African antelope, with a cowlike face, a beard and mane, and heavy curved horns in both sexes. The body is up to 1.3 m/4.2 ft high at the shoulder and slopes away to the hindquarters. (Genus Connochaetes.) The brindled wildebeest C. taurinus&l...

wigeon
Either of two species of dabbling duck of genus Anas, order Anseriformes. The American wigeon A. americana, about 48 cm/19 in long, is found along both coasts in winter and breeds inland. Males have a white-capped head and a green eye stripe

Wilson, Edward Osborne
US zoologist whose books have stimulated interest in biogeography, the study of the distribution of species, and sociobiology, the evolution of behaviour. He is a world authority on ants

wisent
Another name for the European bison

wild type
In genetics, the naturally occurring gene for a particular character that is typical of most individuals of a given species, as distinct from a new allele of this gene that arises by mutation

willow warbler
Bird Phylloscopus trochilus, family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. It is about 11 cm/4 in long, similar in appearance to the chiffchaff, but with a distinctive song. It is found in woods and shrubberies, and migrates from northern Eurasia to Africa

wing
In biology, the modified forelimb of birds and bats, or the membranous outgrowths of the exoskeleton of insects, which give the power of flight. Birds and bats have two wings. Bird wings have feathers attached to the fused digits (`fingers`) and forearm bones, while bat wings consist of ski...

wireless
Original name for a radio receiver. In early experiments with transmission by radio waves, notably by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in Britain, signals were sent in Morse code, as in telegraphy. Radio, unlike the telegraph, used no wires for transmission, and the means of communication was terme...

wire
Thread of metal, made by drawing a rod through progressively smaller-diameter dies. Fine-gauge wire is used for electrical power transmission; heavier-gauge wire is used to make load-bearing cables. Gold, silver, and bronze wire has been found in the ruins of Troy and in ancient E...

wind
Lateral movement of the Earth's atmosphere from high-pressure areas (anticyclones) to low-pressure areas (depressions). Its speed is measured using an anemometer or by studying its effects on, for example, trees by using the Beaufort scale. Although modified by features such as land and w...

Wittgenstein, Ludwig Josef Johann
Austrian philosopher. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922) postulated the `picture theory` of language: that words represent things according to social agreement. He subsequently rejected this idea, and developed the idea that usage was more important than convention. The picture theory said that it must be pos...

Wiltshire
Click images to enlargeCounty of southwest England (since April 1997 Swindon has been a separate unitary authority). Area 3,480 sq km/1,343 sq mi Towns and cities Trowbridge (administrative headquarters), Salisbury, Wilton, Devizes, Chippenham, Warminster Physical Marlborough Downs; Savernake Forest; rivers Ke...

Wight, Isle of
Click images to enlargeIsland and unitary authority of southern England. Area area 380 sq km/147 sq mi Towns Newport (administrative headquarters); Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor (all resorts) Physical chalk cliffs and downs, and deep ravines, known locally as `chines`; the highest point is St Boni...

Wilson,
(James) British Labour politician, party leader from 1963, prime minister 1964–70 and 1974–76. His premiership was dominated by the issue of UK admission to membership of the European Community (now the European Union), the social contract (unofficial agreement with the trade unions)...

wind turbine
Windmill of advanced aerodynamic design connected to a generator producing electrical energy and used in wind-power installations. Wind is a form of renewable energy that is used to turn the turbine blades of the windmill. Wind turbines can be either large propeller-type rotors mounted on a t...

Williams,
(George) Welsh actor and dramatist. His plays, in which he appeared, include Night Must Fall (1935) and The Corn Is Green (1938). He was also acclaimed for his solo performance as the author Charles Dickens. Williams gave early encouragement to the actor R...

Williams, Tennessee
US dramatist. His work is characterized by fluent dialogue and searching analysis of the psychological deficiencies of his characters. His plays, usually set in the US Deep South against a background of decadence and degradation, include The Glass Menagerie (1945), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), and ...

Williamson, Henry
English writer. His stories of animal life include Tarka the Otter (1927). He wrote the fictional 15-volume sequence A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight (1951–69), and described his own experiences in three autobiographies: The Children of Shallowford (1939), The Story of a ...

Wilson, Richard
Welsh painter. His landscapes, infused with an Italianate atmosphere, are painted in a classical manner reminiscent of Claude Lorrain. His work influenced the development of English landscape painting, and J M W Turner in particular

Windermere
Largest lake in England, in the Lake District, Cumbria, northwest England; length 17 km/10.5 mi; width 1.6 km/1 mi. Windermere is the principal centre of tourism in the Lake District. The town of the same name extends towards Bowness-on-Windermere on the eastern shore of the lake

will-o'-the-wisp
Light sometimes seen over marshy ground, believed to be burning gas containing methane from decaying organic matter. An Australian scientist put forward the hypothesis in 1995 that the phenomenon may be caused by barn owls, which sometimes develop a ghostly glow due to a light-emitting honey fungus that they pick up from rotting trees

Wilson, Angus
(Frank Johnstone) English novelist, short-story writer, and biographer. His acidly humorous books include Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1956) and The Old Men at the Zoo (1961). In his detailed portrayal of English society, he extracted high comedy from it...

Winchester
(UK) Cathedral city and administrative headquarters of Hampshire, England, on the River Itchen, 19 km/12 mi northeast of Southampton; population (2001) 41,400. Tourism is important, and there is also light industry. Originally a Roman town, Winchester was capital of the Anglo-Saxon...

Windhoek
Capital of Namibia, and administrative centre of Khomas region; population (2001) 233,500. It is just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, in the Khomas Highlands, 290 km/180 mi from the west coast. It is the world centre of the karakul (breed of sheep) industry and there is a considerable trade in fleece and skins; other industries includ...

Windsor, House of
Official name of the British royal family since 1917, adopted in place of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Since 1960 those descendants of Elizabeth II not entitled to the prefix HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) have borne the surname Mountbatten-Windsor

Windsor Castle
Click images to enlargeBritish royal residence in Windsor, founded by William the Conqueror on the site of an earlier fortress. It includes the Perpendicular Gothic St George's Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel, beneath which George III, George IV, and William IV are buried. In the Home Park adjoining the castle i...

Windward Islands
Group of islands in the West Indies, forming part of the lesser Antilles

Winnipeg
Capital of Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, 65 km/40 mi south of Lake Winnipeg, 30 km/20 mi north of the US border; population (2001 est) 709,400. It is a focus for trans-Canada and Canada–US traffic, and a market and transhipment point for w...

Wishart, George
Scottish Protestant reformer burned for heresy, who probably converted John Knox

Witan
Council of the Anglo-Saxon kings, the forerunner of Parliament, but including only royal household officials, great landowners, and top churchmen

witchcraft
The alleged possession and exercise of magical powers – black magic if used with evil intent, and white magic if benign. Its origins lie in traditional beliefs and religions. Supposed practitioners of witchcraft have often had considerable skill in, for example, herbal medicine and traditional remedies; this prompted the World Health Organ...

witness
In law, a person who was present at some event (such as an accident, a crime, or the signing of a document) or has relevant special knowledge (such as a medical expert) and can be called on to give evidence in a court of law

wide-angle lens
Photographic lens of shorter focal length than normal, taking in a wider angle of view

Wilkins, William
English architect. He pioneered the Greek Revival in England with his design for Downing College, Cambridge (1807–20). His other works include Haileybury College (1806–09); and in London, the main block of University College (1827–28), the National Gallery (1834–38), and St George's Hospital (1828–29). All these bui...

wind instrument
Any musical instrument where a column of air (created by the player's breath) vibrates in a tube (the body of the instrument), producing a sound. There are two main types of wind instrument: woodwind instruments, including flute, piccolo, clarinet, and oboe; brass instruments, including trumpet, horns, and trombone. The earliest playabl...

windmill
Click images to enlargeMill with sails or vanes that, by the action of wind upon them, drive machinery for grinding corn or pumping water, for example. Wind turbines, designed to use wind power on a large scale, usually have a propeller-type rotor mounted on a tall shell tower. The turbine drives a generator for produ...

willow
Any of a group of trees or shrubs containing over 350 species, found mostly in the northern hemisphere, flourishing in damp places. The leaves are often lance-shaped, and the male and female catkins are borne on separate trees. (Genus Salix, family Salicaceae.)

witch-hunt
Persecution of minority political opponents or socially nonconformist groups without any regard for their guilt or innocence. Witch-hunts are often accompanied by a degree of public hysteria; for example, the McCarthy anticommunist hearings during the 1950s in the USA

Wicklow
(town) Resort and county town of County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, on the River Vartry, 50 km/31 mi southeast of Dublin; population (2002) 7,050

William
(II) King of England from 1087, the third son of William (I) the Conqueror. He spent most of his reign attempting to capture Normandy from his brother Robert (II) Curthose , Duke of Normandy. His extortion of money led his barons to revolt and caused confrontation with Bishop Anselm. He was ki...

William
(III) King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1688, the son of William II of Orange and Mary, daughter of Charles I. He was offered the English crown by the parliamentary opposition to James II. He invaded England in 1688 and in 1689 became joint sovereign with his wife, Mary II, daughter of th...

William IV
King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1830, when he succeeded his brother George IV. Third son of George III, he was created Duke of Clarence in 1789, and married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (1792–1849) in 1818. During the Reform Bill crisis he secured its passage by agreeing to create new peers to overcome the hostile majority in the Hous...

William I
(of Prussia) King of Prussia from 1861 and emperor of Germany from 1871; the son of Friedrich Wilhelm III. He served in the Napoleonic Wars 1814–15 and helped to crush the 1848 revolution. After he succeeded his brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV to the throne of Prussia, his policy was lar...

William II
(of Germany) Emperor of Germany from 1888, the son of Frederick III and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria of Britain. In 1890 he forced Chancellor Bismarck to resign in an attempt to assert his own political authority. The result was an exacerbation of domestic and international political i...

Winter War
The USSR's invasion of Finland 30 November 1939–12 March 1940, also called the Russo-Finnish War. The USSR set up a Finnish puppet government in eastern Karelia, but their invasion forces were at first repulsed by the greatly outnumbered Finnish troops under Marshal Mannerheim. In February 1940 the Finnish lines were broken by a millio...

William I
(of the Netherlands) King of the Netherlands 1815–40. He lived in exile during the French occupation 1795–1813 and fought against the emperor Napoleon at Jena and Wagram. The Austrian Netherlands were added to his kingdom by the Allies in 1815, but secured independence (recognized by...

William II
(of the Netherlands) King of the Netherlands 1840–49, son of William I. He served with the British army in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. In 1848 he averted revolution by conceding a liberal constitution

William the Marshall
English knight, regent of England from 1216. After supporting the dying Henry II against Richard (later Richard I), he went on a crusade to Palestine, was pardoned by Richard, and was granted an earldom in 1189. On King John's death he was appointed guardian of the future Henry III, and defeated the French under Louis VIII to enable Henry to ga...

will
In law, declaration of how a person wishes his or her property to be disposed of after death. It also appoints administrators of the estate (executors) and may contain wishes on other matters, such as place of burial or use of organs for transplant. Wills must comply with formal legal requirements of the local jurisdiction. Some US states permit pe...

wine
Click images to enlargeAlcoholic beverage, usually made from fermented grape pulp, although wines have also traditionally been made from many other fruits such as damsons and elderberries. Red wine is the product of the grape with the skin; white wine of the inner pulp of the grape. The sugar content is converted to e...

Wilts
Abbreviation for Wiltshire, an English county

withholding tax
Personal income tax paid on wages, salaries, dividends, or other income received by a non-resident of a country. Withholding tax is deducted at source to ensure that the income does not leave the country without being taxed. For example, dividends paid on US stocks held by a UK resident would be subject to withholding tax. Where countries have ...

Wiener Werkstätte
Group of artisans and artists, founded in Vienna in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann and Kolo Moser, who were both members of the Vienna Sezession. They designed objects, ranging from furniture and jewellery to metal and books, in a rectilinear art nouveau style influenced by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The workshop, financed by Fritz Wärndorfer, closed ...

wilderness
Area of uninhabited land that has never been disturbed by humans, usually located some distance from towns and cities. According to estimates by US group Conservation International, 52% (90 million sq km/35 million sq mi) of the Earth's total land area was still undisturbed in 1994