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

energy conservation
The practice and methods used to reduce energy resource consumption, usually by identification of those processes that are energy-inefficient and providing alternative solutions. The term can also used to describe the conservation of non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas by increasing the efficiency of related processes...

endothermic reaction
Chemical reaction that requires an input of energy in the form of heat for it to proceed; the energy is absorbed from the surroundings by the reactants. A sign that this is happening is if the container holding the reactants feels cold and the temperature of the reactants falls. The energy absorbed is represented by the symbol +ΔH. The...

encryption
Encoding a message so that it can only be read by the intended recipient. The mathematical calculation of encryption formulae is called cryptography

end user
User of a computer program; in particular, someone who uses a program to perform a task (such as word processing or playing a computer game), rather than someone who writes programs (a programmer)

enlargement
Mathematical transformation that changes the size of a shape by multiplying all its proportions by the same scale factor. An enlargement may be either smaller or larger. For example: A'B'C'D' is an enlargement of ABCD. The scale factor of the enlargement is 2, because all the lengths of the shape have been doubled and the dista...

ensemble
Group of singers or instrumentalists, usually made up of one per part, for example instrumentalists playing chamber music. In opera, the word often refers to a section where several solo singers perform together, for example in the final scene of an act where all the characters sing at once, giving their opinions on the current situation. It can al...

environmental audit
Another name for green audit, the inspection of a company to assess its environmental impact

English toy terrier
Breed of toy dog closely resembling the Manchester terrier but smaller and with erect ears. It weighs no more than 3.5 kg/8 lb and is 25–30 cm/10–12 in high

environmental issues
Matters relating to the damaging effects of human activity on the biosphere, their causes, and the search for possible solutions. The political movement that supports protection of the environment is the green movement. Since the Industrial Revolution, the demands made by both the industrialized and ...

English architecture, medieval
During the Middle Ages (11th–mid-16th centuries), two styles dominated English architecture: Norman, or Romanesque, (11th–12th centuries) and Gothic (late 12th–mid-16th centuries)

England and France, medieval
The conquest of England in 1066 by William of Normandy involved England in the affairs of France, and there were few times in the Middle Ages when England and France were at peace. Under the feudal system the English crown owed feudal allegiance to the king of France for its lands in France – an irksome duty as, for most of the Middle Ages, th...

England and Ireland, medieval
During the Middle Ages, the English crown tried but failed to extend their control over Ireland, a country that had been divided into a number of kingdoms, with the most powerful king being recognized as the high king. The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland had begun haphazardly in the late 1160s by Anglo-Norman adventurers, but full-scal...

England and Scotland, medieval
During the Middle Ages, there were continual wars between England and Scotland, as the smaller northern kingdom tried to free itself from domination by the English kings. Scotland put pressure on England whenever the English crown was vulnerable, such as during the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, the civil war between Stephen and Matilda in th...

England and Wales, medieval
During the Middle Ages, the English crown conquered and subdued Wales, a country that had been divided into many small principalities before the Norman Conquest. After William (I) the Conqueror established his Norman barons on the Welsh border during the Norman Conquest, the next two centuries saw a prolonged struggle against Anglo-Norman aggre...

English art, medieval
In the Middle Ages (10th–15th centuries), Romanesque, (or Norman) medieval art (10th–12th centuries) and Gothic art (late 12th–15th centuries) were the main styles found in English art. Romanesque, or Norman, art The art of the 10th–12th centuries is chiefly evident in church architecture and church sculpture, on capitals and po...

English literature, medieval
In medieval England (12th–15th century), the ascendancy of Norman-French culture in the post-Conquest era, followed by the re-emergence of native English works – by such authors as Chaucer, Langland, and Malory, and numerous anonymous authors, – marked the Middle English period of English literature. Towards the end of th...

energy
(biology) In biology, the basis for conducting living processes. Much of life involves energy transfer. Energy is transferred from the surroundings of an organism into its body, and is also transferred within an organism's body. Energy is used by organisms to do things, such as growing or ...

energy barrier
In chemical reactions that require activation energy for a reaction to begin, the point at which the chemical bonds in the reactants begin to break. It defines the amount of activation energy needed for a particular reaction to occur

energy transfer
Movement of energy from one place to another or from one substance to another, or the conversion of energy from one form to another. For example, in a car engine, the chemical energy of the fuel is converted to kinetic (motion), heat, and sound energy. Chemical energy transfer In a chemical reaction, energy is transferred between reactants and prod...

environmental art
Alternative term for Land art

Eocene epoch
Second epoch of the Tertiary period of geological time, roughly 56.5–35.5 million years ago. Originally considered the earliest division of the Tertiary, the name means `early recent`, referring to the early forms of mammals evolving at the time, following the extinction of the dinosaurs

Eos
In Greek mythology, the goddess of the dawn (Roman Aurora); daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia; herald of Helios's chariot bearing the sun. She was cursed to fall in love with many youths by Aphrodite after they quarrelled over Ares, god of war. When distracted by love, Eos would neglect her responsibilities, and the sun could no...

epoxy resin
Synthetic resin used as an adhesive and as an ingredient in paints. Household epoxy resin adhesives come in component form as two separate tubes of chemical, one tube containing resin, the other a curing agent (hardener). The two chemicals are mixed just before application, and the mix soon sets hard

epiphyte
Any plant that grows on another plant or object above the surface of the ground, and has no roots in the soil. An epiphyte does not parasitize the plant it grows on but merely uses it for support. Its nutrients are obtained from rainwater, organic debris such as leaf litter, or from the air. The greatest diversity of epiphytes is found in tropical ...

Epsom salts
Hydrated magnesium sulphate, used as a relaxant and laxative and added to baths to soothe the skin. The name is derived from a bitter saline spring at Epsom, Surrey, UK, which contains the salt in solution

epidermis
Outermost layer(s) of cells on an organism's body. In plants and many invertebrates such as insects, it consists of a single layer of cells. In vertebrates, it consists of several layers of cells. The epidermis of plants and invertebrates often has an outer noncellular cuticle that protects the organism from desiccation

epistemology
Branch of philosophy that examines the nature of knowledge and attempts to determine the limits of human understanding. Central issues include how knowledge is derived and how it is to be validated and tested

epicycloid
In geometry, a curve resembling a series of arches traced out by a point on the circumference of a circle that rolls around another circle of a different diameter. If the two circles have the same diameter, the curve is a cardioid

epicentre
Point on the Earth's surface immediately above the seismic focus of an earthquake. Most building damage takes place at an earthquake's epicentre. The term is also sometimes used to refer to a point directly above or below a nuclear explosion (`at ground zero`)

EPROM
Computer memory device in the form of an integrated circuit (chip) that can record data and retain it indefinitely. The data can be erased by exposure to ultraviolet light, and new data recorded. Other kinds of computer memory chips are ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), and RAM (random-access memory)

Epsom
Residential town in Surrey, southeast England, 30 km/19 mi southwest of London; population (2001) 64,500. In the 17th century it was a spa town producing Epsom salts. The Derby and the Oaks horse races are held annually at Epsom Downs racecourse

Epiphany
Festival of the Christian church, held on 6 January, celebrating the coming of the Magi (wise men) to Bethlehem with gifts for the infant Jesus. It is the 12th day after Christmas, and marks the end of the Christmas festivities, when decorations are put away for the year. The Magi represent the first Gentiles (non-Jews) to visit Jesus, and the ...

epilepsy
Medical disorder characterized by a tendency to develop fits, which are convulsions or abnormal feelings caused by abnormal electrical discharges in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. Epilepsy can be controlled with a number of anticonvulsant drugs. The term epilepsy covers a range of conditions from mild `absences`, involving momenta...

Ephesus
Click images to enlargeAncient Greek seaport in Asia Minor, a centre of the Ionian Greeks, with a temple of Artemis destroyed by the Goths in AD 262. Now in Turkey, it is one of the world's largest archaeological sites. St Paul visited the city and addressed a letter (epistle) to the Christians there. In the 2nd centu...

episcopacy
In the Christian church, a system of government in which administrative and spiritual power over a district (diocese) is held by a bishop

Epidaurus
Ancient Greek city and port on the east coast of Argolis, in the northeastern Peloponnese. The site contains a well-preserved theatre of the 4th century BC; nearby are the ruins of the temple of Asclepius, the god of healing

epigram
Short, witty, and pithy saying or short poem. The poem form was common among writers of ancient Rome, including Catullus and Martial. The epigram has been used by English poets Ben Jonson, John Donne, and Alexander Pope, Irish writers Jonathan Swift and W B Yeats, and US writer Ogden Nash. An epigram was originally a religious inscription, such as ...

Epicureanism
System of moral philosophy named after the Greek philosopher Epicurus. He argued that pleasure is the basis of the ethical life, and that the most satisfying form of pleasure is achieved by avoiding pain, mental or physical. This is done by limiting desire as far as possible, and by choosing pleasures of the mind over those of the body

Epictetus
Greek Stoic philosopher who encouraged people to refrain from self-interest and to promote the common good of humanity. He believed that people were in the hands of an all-wise providence and that they should endeavour to do their duty in the position to which they were called. Born at Hierapolis in Phrygia, he lived for many years in Rome ...

epic
Genre of narrative poem or cycle of poems dealing with some great deed – often the founding of a nation or the forging of national unity – and often using religious or cosmological themes. The two main epic poems in the Western tradition are The Iliad and The Odyssey, attributed to the Ancient Greek H...

epicyclic gear
Gear system that consists of one or more gear wheels moving around another. Epicyclic gears are found in bicycle hub gears and in automatic gearboxes

epidemic
Outbreak of infectious disease affecting large numbers of people at the same time. A widespread epidemic that sweeps across many countries (such as the Black Death in the late Middle Ages) is known as a pandemic

Epirus
Region of northwestern Greece; area 9,200 sq km/3,551 sq mi; population (1991) 339,200. Its capital is Yannina, and it consists of the provinces (nomes) of Arta, Thesprotia, Yannina, and Preveza. There is livestock farming. It was part of an ancient Greek region of the same name: the northern part was in Albania, the remainder in no...

epoch
Subdivision of a geological period in the geological time scale. Epochs are sometimes given their own names (such as the Palaeocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene epochs comprising the Tertiary period), or they are referred to as the late, early, or middle portions of a given period (as the Late Cretaceous or the Middle Triassic epoch). ...

epiglottis
Small flap located behind the root of the tongue in mammals. It closes off the end of the windpipe during swallowing to prevent food from passing into it and causing choking. The action of the epiglottis is a highly complex reflex process involving two phases. During the first stage a mouthful of chewed food is lifted by the tongue towards the top ...

EPOS
Acronym for electronic point of sale

epitaph
Inscription on a tomb, or a short tribute to a dead person

epithelium
Click images to enlargeIn animals, tissue of closely packed cells that forms a surface or lines a cavity or tube. Epithelial cells line the inside surfaces of fluid or air-filled tubes and spaces within the body. Epithelium may be protective (as in the skin) or secretory (as in the cells lining the wall of the gut). E...

epidemiology
Study of patterns and occurrence of disease with the aim of improving control and prevention

EPOC
Operating system (OS) designed for use in electronic organizers such as the Psion Series 3 and Series 5 handheld computers, in mobile telephones, and in other wireless information devices. EPOC is licensed by Symbian, a company founded in 1998 by Psion and mobile telephony suppliers Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Matsushita (Panasonic), Motorola, and Siemen...

epic theatre
Genre of drama, developed in Germany between World War I and II, and used almost exclusively to express left-wing political views. German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and German theatre director Erwin Piscator were its original exponents. Epic theatre was designed to dramatize issues that the theatre of naturalism was unable to portray, and is link...

epithalamium
Genre of poetry or song devised for a wedding, and specifically to be performed outside the married couple's room. First examples survive from Ancient Greece (for example, by the Roman poet Catullus), but the best examples are from the Renaissance, including the English poet Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion. Later poets, inc...

epistolary novel
Novel written as if it is a collection of letters, exchanged by characters in the story. It may be used as a literary device to persuade the reader that the events described are real. The English writer Samuel Richardson popularized the epistolary novel with his books Pamela (1740–41) and Clarissa (1747
...

equinox
Time when the Sun is directly overhead at the Earth's Equator and consequently day and night are of equal length at all latitudes. This happens twice a year: 20 or 21 March is the spring, or vernal, equinox and 22 or 23 September is the autumn equinox. The variation in day lengths occurs because the Earth is tilted on its axis with respect ...

Equiano, Olaudah
African antislavery campaigner and writer. He travelled widely as a free man. His autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), is one of the earliest significant works by an African written in English. Equiano was born near the River Niger in what is now Nigeria. ...

equation
(mathematics) In mathematics, an expression that represents the equality of two expressions involving constants and/or variables, and thus usually includes an equals (=) sign. For example, the equation A = πr² equate...

equilateral
Describing a geometrical figure, having all sides of equal length

equity
(business) A company's assets, less its liabilities, which are the property of the owner or shareholders. Popularly, equities are stocks and shares which do not pay interest at fixed rates but pay dividends based on the company's performance. The value of equities tends to rise over th...

equity
(law) System of law supplementing the ordinary rules of law where the application of these would operate harshly in a particular case; sometimes it is regarded as an attempt to achieve `natural justice`. So understood, equity appears as an element in most legal systems, and in a ...

equestrianism
Skill in horse riding, as practised under Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI; International Equestrian Federation) rules. An Olympic sport, there are three main branches of equestrianism: showjumping, dressage, and three-day eventing. Three other disciplines are under the authority of the FEI: carriage driving, endura...

Equator
Great circle whose plane is perpendicular to the Earth's axis (the line joining the poles). Its length is 40,092 km/24,902 mi, divided into 360 degrees of longitude. The Equator encircles the broadest part of the Earth, and represents 0° latitude. It divides the Earth into two halves, called the northern and the southern hemispheres. T...

equilibrium
In physics, an unchanging condition in which an undisturbed system can remain indefinitely in a state of balance. In a static equilibrium, such as an object resting on the floor, there is no motion. In a dynamic equilibrium, in contrast, a steady state is maintained by constant, though opposing, changes. For example, in a sealed bottle half-ful...

Equatorial Guinea
Country in west-central Africa, bounded north by Cameroon, east and south by Gabon, and west by the Atlantic Ocean; also five offshore islands including Bioko, off the coast of Cameroon. Government Equatorial Guinea is a presidential republic. The constitution of 1992 – based on that of 1982, but catering for opposition parties – ...

Equal Opportunities Commission
Commission established by the UK government in 1975 (1976 in Northern Ireland) to implement the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Its aim is to prevent discrimination, particularly on sexual or marital grounds. The US equivalent is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It investigates possible em...

equal opportunities
The right to be employed or considered for employment without discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, or physical or mental disability

equation
(chemistry) In chemistry, representation of a chemical reaction by symbols and numbers; see chemical equation. For example, the reaction of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with hydrochloric acid (HCl) to give sodium chloride and water may be represented by: NaOH + HCl ® NaCl + H&l...

Equal Pay Act 1970
Act of Parliament which lays down that a woman must receive the same pay and conditions of work as a male worker in similar employment. Trade unions have played an important role in assisting women to take cases of discrimination to industrial tribunals and then, if necessary, on through the courts to the highest court of law, the European Court. T...

equality
In political theory, the condition of being equal or the same in given respects, as advocated, for example, in liberalism, socialism, and the women's movement. The efforts of these and other ideologies and movements have brought increased social and political awareness of the condition and secured a basis in law for equality on racial, sexual, ...

Equidae
Horse family in the order Perissodactyla, which includes the odd-toed hoofed animals. Besides the domestic horse, wild asses, wild horses, onagers, and zebras, there are numerous extinct species known from fossils. All species in the family are inhabitants of flat, open country, except the mountain zebra from the hills of southern Africa. They ...

equation, word
In chemistry, method of indicating the reactants and products of a chemical reaction by using the names of the chemicals involved. The names of the reactants are on the left-hand side and the names of the products on the right-hand side. For example, magnesium + oxygen ® magnesium oxide This method is an alternative to using symbol...

ergot
Any of a group of parasitic fungi (especially of the genus Claviceps), whose brown or black grainlike masses replace the kernels of rye or other cereals. C. purpurea attacks the rye plant. Ergot poisoning is caused by eating infected bread, resulting in burning pains, gangrene, and convulsions. The large grains...

Ernst, Max
German artist, a major figure in Dada and then surrealism. He worked in France 1922–38 and in the USA from 1941. He experimented with collage, photomontage, and surreal images, creating some of the most haunting and distinctive images of 20th-century art. His works include The Elephant Celebes (1921; Tate Gallery, Lo...

Eridu
Ancient city of Mesopotamia of about 5000 BC, according to tradition the cradle of Sumerian civilization. On its site is now the village of Tell Abu Shahrain, Iraq

Eric the Red
Allegedly the first European to find Greenland. According to a 13th-century saga, he was the son of a Norwegian chieftain, and was banished from Iceland in about 982 for murder. He then sailed westward and discovered a land that he called Greenland

Eros
(astronomy) In astronomy, asteroid discovered in 1898 by German astronomer Gustav Witt. It was the first asteroid to be discovered that has an orbit coming within that of Mars. It passes within 22 million km/14 million mi of the E...

Eridanus
(astronomy) Sixth-largest constellation, which meanders from the celestial equator (see celestial sphere) deep into the southern hemisphere of the sky. Eridanus is represented as a river. Its brightest star is Achernar, a corruption of the Arabic for `the end of the river`

erbium
Soft, lustrous, greyish, metallic element of the lanthanide series, atomic number 68, relative atomic mass 167.26. It occurs with the element yttrium or as a minute part of various minerals. It was discovered in 1843 by Carl Mosander (1797–1858), and named after the town of Ytterby, Sweden, near which the lanthanides (rare-earth elements) ...

ermine
The stoat during winter, when its coat becomes white. In northern latitudes the coat becomes completely white, except for a black tip on the tail, but in warmer regions the back may remain brownish. The fur is used commercially

erosion
Click images to enlargeWearing away of the Earth's surface by a moving agent, caused by the breakdown and transport of particles of rock or soil. Agents of erosion include the sea, rivers, glaciers, and wind. By contrast, weathering does not involve transportation. The most powerful forms of erosion are water, consist...

Erse
Originally a Scottish form of the word Irish, a name applied by Lowland Scots to Scottish Gaelic and also sometimes used as a synonym for Irish Gaelic

ergonomics
Study of the relationship between people and the furniture, tools, and machinery they use at work. The object is to improve work performance by removing sources of muscular stress and general fatigue: for example, by presenting data and control panels in easy-to-view form, making office f...

Erebus
In Greek mythology, the god of darkness; also the intermediate subterranean region between upper Earth and Hades through which the spirits (shades) passed. Erebus was the son of primordial Chaos, and father of the Upper Air (Aether), Day (Hemera), and the underworld ferryman Charon by his sister Night (Nyx). In various traditions the Fates (Moi...

Eratosthenes
Greek geographer and mathematician whose map of the ancient world was the first to contain lines of latitude and longitude, and who calculated the Earth's circumference with an error of about 10%. His mathematical achievements include a method for duplicating the cube, and for finding prime numbers (Eratosthenes' sieve). No work of Erat...

Erastianism
Belief that the church should be subordinated to the state. The name is derived from Thomas Erastus (1534–1583), a Swiss-German theologian and opponent of Calvinism, who maintained in his writings that the church should not have the power of excluding people as a punishment for sin

Erhard, Ludwig
German economist and Christian Democrat politician, chancellor of the Federal Republic 1963–66. He became known as the `father of the German economic miracle`. As economics minister 1949–63 he instituted policies driven by his vision of a `social market economy`, in which a capitalist free market would be tempered by a...

Erebus, Mount
The world's southernmost active volcano, located on Ross Island, Antarctica; height 4,072 m/13,359 ft. It contains a lake of molten lava, which scientists are investigating in the belief that it can provide a `window` on to the magma beneath the Earth's crust

Erasmus, Desiderius
Dutch scholar and leading humanist of the Renaissance era, who taught and studied all over Europe and was a prolific writer. His pioneer translation of the Greek New Testament (with parallel Latin text, 1516) exposed the Vulgate as a second-hand document. Although opposed to dogmatism and abuse o...

erica
Any plant of a large group that includes the heathers. There are about 500 species, distributed mainly in South Africa with some in Europe. (Genus Erica, family Ericaceae.)

Ershad, Hussain Muhammad
Military ruler of Bangladesh 1982–90. He became chief of staff of the Bangladeshi army in 1979 and assumed power in a military coup in 1982. As president from 1983, Ershad introduced a successful rural-oriented economic programme. He was re-elected in 1986 and lifted martial law, but faced continuing political opposition, which forced ...

ergo
Therefore; hence

erythrocyte
Another name for red blood cell

ERM
Abbreviation for Exchange Rate Mechanism

era
Any of the major divisions of geological time that includes several periods but is part of an eon. The eras of the current Phanerozoic in chronological order are the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. We are living in the Recent epoch of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era. Geological time is broken up into geochronological units of which er...

Erie
City and port in Eerie County on the Pennsylvania bank of Lake Erie; population (2000 est) 103,700. The name Erie is from a Native American tribe. It has heavy industries, including locomotive engineering and plastics manufacture, and a trade in iron, grain, and freshwater fish. A French fort was built on the site in 1753, and a permanent settl...

Erie, Lake
Fourth largest of the Great Lakes of North America, connected to Lake Ontario by the Niagara River and bypassed by the Welland Canal; length 388 km/241 mi; width 48–91 km/30–56 mi; area 25,720 sq km/9,930 sq mi. The most southerly of the Great Lakes, it is bounded on the north by Ontario, Canada; on the south a...

Erté
Russian designer and illustrator. He was active in France and the USA. An exponent of art deco, he designed sets and costumes for opera, theatre, and ballet, and his drawings were highly stylized and expressive, featuring elegant, curvilinear women. Erté (the name was derived from the French pronunciation of his initials) went to Paris 1911 to...

erratic
In geology, a displaced rock that has been transported by a glacier or some other natural force to a site of different geological composition

Eratosthenes' sieve
Method for finding prime numbers. It involves writing in sequence all numbers from 2. Then, starting with 2, cross out every second number (but not 2 itself), thus eliminating numbers that can be divided by 2. Next, starting with 3, cross out every third number (but not 3 itself), and continue the process for 5, 7, 11, 13, and so on. The numbers th...

error
In mathematics, incorrect answer to a calculation. Also, the amount by which an incorrect answer differs from the correct one. This is usually denoted by δx for a figure whose correct value is x

Eritrea
Country in East Africa, bounded north by Sudan, south by Ethiopia, southeast by Djibouti, and east by the Red Sea. Government At independence in 1993, a transitional government was established for a four-year period (pending the drafting of a permanent constitution). It consists of a single-chamber national assembly, comprising 75 nominees ...