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


European Council
Name given to the meetings or summits between the heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) member states and the president of the European Commission. The council meets at least twice a year, usually towards the end of each country's rotating six-month presidency, and gives overall direction to the work of the EU. Foreign mi...

European Rapid Reaction Force
Force of up to 60,000 soldiers provided by member states of the European Union (EU) for peacekeeping or humanitarian relief purposes. EU members agreed to set up an ERRF at a summit in December 1999, although the agreement was not finalized until 2004. It became operational for limited missions in 2001 and has been classed as fully operational from...

eulogy
Genre of writing or speech in praise of a person. Eulogies are found in the work of the Ancient Greek poet Ion, in skaldic poetry (ancient Scandinavian poetry that honours heroes and their deeds), and in late 18th- and early 19th-century verse (for example, in a eulogy of Napolean (1806) by Italian poet Vincenzo Monti). A famous 20th-ce...

eventing
See three-day eventing under equestrianism

evening primrose
Any of a group of plants that typically have pale yellow flowers which open in the evening. About 50 species are native to North America, several of which now also grow in Europe. Some are cultivated for their oil, which is rich in gamma-linoleic acid (GLA). The body converts GLA into substances ...

Evelyn, John
English diarist and author. He was a friend of the diarist Samuel Pepys, and like him remained in London during the Plague and the Great Fire of London. His fascinating diary, covering the years 1641–1706, and first published in 1818, is an important source of information about 17th-century England. He also wrote some 30 books on a wide va...

Eve
In the Old Testament, the first woman, wife of Adam. She was tempted by Satan (in the form of a snake) to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then tempted Adam to eat of the fruit as well, thus bringing about their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. There are two versions of the creation myth in the Bible: in one of the...

Evans, Edith
(Mary) English character actor. She performed on the London stage and on Broadway. Her many imposing performances include the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (first performed in 1926); her film roles include Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of...

Evans, Arthur John
English archaeologist. His excavations at Knossos on Crete uncovered a vast palace complex, and resulted in the discovery of various Minoan scripts. He proved the existence of a Bronze Age civilization that predated the Mycenean, and named it Minoan after Minos, the legendary king of Knossos. From 1889, his excavations covered 35 years and also rev...

evangelist
Person travelling to spread the Christian gospel, in particular the authors of the four Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Proselytizers who appear mainly on television are known as televangelists

evangelicalism
The beliefs of some Protestant Christian movements that stress biblical authority, faith, and the personal commitment of the `born again` experience

evolution
Click images to enlargeSlow gradual process of change from one form to another, as in the evolution of the universe from its formation to its present state, or in the evolution of life on Earth. In biology, it is the process by which life has developed by stages from single-celled organisms into the multiplicity of an...

evolutionary stable strategy
In sociobiology, an assemblage of behavioural or physical characters (collectively termed a `strategy`) of a population that is resistant to replacement by any forms bearing new traits, because the new traits will not be capable of successful reproduction. ESS analysis is based on game theory and can be applied both to genetically determi...

evidence
In law, the testimony of witnesses and production of documents and other material in court proceedings, in order to prove or disprove facts at issue in the case. Witnesses must swear or affirm that their evidence is true. In English law, giving false evidence is the crime of perjury. Documentary evidence has a wide scope including maps, soundtracks...

evergreen
In botany, a plant such as pine, spruce, or holly, that bears its leaves all year round. Most conifers are evergreen. Plants that shed their leaves in autumn or during a dry season are described as deciduous

Everest, Mount
World's highest mountain above sea level, in the Himalayas range, on the China–Nepal frontier; height 8,848 m/29,028 ft. It was first climbed by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. More than 700 climbers have reached the summit; over 100 have...

Evert, Chris(tine) Marie
US tennis player. She won her first Wimbledon title in 1974, and won 21 Grand Slam titles in total. She became the first woman tennis player to win $1 million in prize money. She had an outstanding two-handed backhand and was a great exponent of baseline technique. Evert retired from competitive tennis in 1989. Career highlights Wimbledon s...

Evangelical Movement
In Britain, a 19th-century group that stressed basic Protestant beliefs and the message of the four Gospels. The movement was associated with the cleric Charles Simeon (1783–1836). It aimed to raise moral enthusiasm and ethical standards among Church of England clergy. Linked to the movement was the religious education provided by the Bibl...

Everglades
Subtropical area of swamps, marsh, and lakes in southern Florida, USA; area 7,000 sq km/2,700 sq mi. Formed by the overflow of Lake Okeechobee after heavy rains, it is one of the wildest areas in the USA, with distinctive plant and animal life, including alligators. The natural vegetation of ...

evaporation
The change of state that occurs when a liquid turns into a gas (strictly, a vapour) without the liquid's temperature reaching boiling point. In a liquid the particles are held together by mutual forces, yet are able to move about. Some particles in a liquid have more energy than others. Even when a liquid is below its boiling point, some partic...

Everage, Dame Edna
Character of an Australian `housewife-superstar`, from Moonie Ponds, Victoria, created by Australian Barry Humphries

event
In statistics, any happening to which a probability can be attached. Events may be single, such as getting a score of six when one die is thrown, or they may be combined, such as the scores obtained when two dice are thrown. In some cases, such as throwing an unbiased die, each event has the same probability of occurring

evil
What is bad for, or harmful to, human beings or animals. Evil is traditionally divided into moral and natural evil. Moral evil originates in human action, whereas natural evil originates independently of human action – for instance, earthquakes or epidemics. The problem of evil is the difficulty of explaining the existence of evil if the world...

exposure meter
Instrument used in photography for indicating the correct exposure – the length of time the camera shutter should be open under given light conditions. Meters use substances such as cadmium sulphide and selenium as light sensors. These materials change electrically when light strikes them, the change being proportional to the intensity of the ...

Extremadura
Autonomous community of western Spain, on the border with Portugal, comprising the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres; area 41,602 sq km/16,063 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,073,400. Irrigated land is used for growing wheat, wine grapes, and olives; the remainder is either oak forest or used for pig or sheep grazing. There are a...

expressionism
(art) Style of painting and sculpture that expresses inner emotions; in particular, a movement in early 20th-century art in northern and central Europe. Expressionist artists tended to distort or exaggerate natural colour and appearance in order to describe an inner vision or emotion&#...

exorcism
Rite used in a number of religions for the expulsion of evil spirits and ghosts. In Christianity it is employed, for example, in the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches

Exodus
Second book of the Old Testament, which relates the departure of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, under the leadership of Moses, for the Promised Land of Canaan. The journey included the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, with the pharaoh's pursuing forces being drowned as the waters returned. The Exodus is also recorded in the Ha...

Exmoor
Click images to enlargeMoorland district in north Devon and west Somerset, southwest England, forming (with the coast from Minehead to Combe Martin) a national park since 1954. The park covers an area of around 7,700 ha/19,000 acres, and includes Dunkery Beacon, its highest point at 519 m/1,705 ft; and the Doo...

Exeter
City and administrative headquarters of Devon, England, on the River Exe; population (2001) 106,800. Principal industries are brewing, iron and brass founding, light engineering, printing, financial services, and tourism. Other industries include the manufacture of agricultural machinery, textiles, and leather goods. Exeter was founded by the R...

executor
In law, a person appointed in a will to carry out the instructions of the deceased. A person so named has the right to refuse to act. The executor also has a duty to bury the deceased, prove the will, and obtain a grant of probate (that is, establish that the will is genuine and obtain official approval of his or her actions)

excommunication
In religion, exclusion of an offender from the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic Church. The English monarchs King John, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I were all excommunicated

explosive
Any material capable of a sudden release of energy and the rapid formation of a large volume of gas, leading, when compressed, to the development of a high-pressure wave (blast). Types of explosive Combustion and explosion differ essentially only in rate of reaction, and many explosives (called low explosives) are capable of undergoing relative...

extinction
(biology) In biology, the complete disappearance of a species from the planet. Extinctions occur when a species becomes unfit for survival in its natural habitat usually to be replaced by another, better-suited species. An organis...

exoskeleton
Hardened external skeleton of insects, spiders, crabs, and other arthropods. It provides attachment for muscles and protection for the internal organs, as well as support. To permit growth it is periodically shed in a process called ecdysis

excretion
In biology, the removal of the waste products of metabolism from living organisms. In plants and simple animals, waste products are removed by diffusion. Plants, for example, excrete O2, a product of photosynthesis. In mammals, waste products are removed by specialized excretory organs, principally the kidneys, which excrete ...

exponent
In mathematics, a superscript number that indicates the number of times a term is multiplied by itself; for example x2 = x × x, 43 = 4 × 4 × 4. Exponents obey certain rules. Terms that contain them are multiplied togethe...

exponential
In mathematics, descriptive of a function in which the variable quantity is an exponent (a number indicating the power to which another number or expression is raised). Exponential functions and series involve the constant e = 2.71828.... . Scottish mathematician John Napier devised natural logarithms in 1614 with e as the base. Exponential fu n...

existentialism
Branch of philosophy based on the situation of the individual in an absurd or meaningless universe where humans have free will. Existentialists argue that people are responsible for and the sole judge of their actions as they affect others. The origin of existentialism is usually traced back to the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard; among its prop...

exosphere
Uppermost layer of the atmosphere. It is an ill-defined zone above the thermosphere, beginning at about 700 km/435 mi and fading off into the vacuum of space. The gases are extremely thin, with hydrogen as the main constituent

export credit
Loan, finance, or guarantee provided by a government or a financial institution enabling companies to export goods and services in situations where payment for them may be delayed or subject to risk

exchange rate
Price at which one currency is bought or sold in terms of other currencies, gold, or accounting units such as the special drawing right (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund. Exchange rates may be fixed by international agreement or by government policy; or they may be wholly or partly allowed to `float` (that is, find their own le...

exclamation mark
Punctuation mark (!) used to indicate emphasis or strong emotion (`That's terrible!`). It is appropriate after interjections (`Rats!`), emphatic greetings (`Hi!`), and orders (`Shut up!`), as well as those sentences beginning How or What that are n...

expert system
Computer program for giving advice (such as diagnosing an illness or interpreting the law) that incorporates knowledge derived from human expertise. A kind of knowledge-based system, it contains rules that can be applied to find the solution to a problem. It is a form of artificial intelligence

extrusion
Common method of shaping metals, plastics, and other materials. The materials, usually hot, are forced through a hole in a metal die and take its cross-sectional shape. Rods, tubes, and sheets may be made in this way

experimental psychology
Application of scientific methods to the study of mental processes and behaviour. This covers a wide range of fields of study, including: human and animal learning, in which learning theories describe how new behaviours are acquired and modified; cognition, the study of a number of functions, such as perception, attention, memory, and langu...

extroversion
Personality dimension described by the psychologists Carl Jung and, later, Hans Eysenck. The typical extrovert is sociable, impulsive, and carefree. The opposite of extroversion is introversion

experiment
In science, a practical test designed with the intention that its results will be relevant to a particular theory or set of theories. Although some experiments may be used merely for gathering more information about a topic that is already well understood, others may be of crucial importance in confirming a new theory or in undermining long-hel...

expectorant
Any substance, often added to cough mixture, to encourage secretion of mucus in the airways to make it easier to cough up. It is debatable whether expectorants have an effect on lung secretions

extradition
Surrender, by one state or country to another, of a person accused of a criminal offence in the state or country to which that person is extradited. When two nations are involved, extradition is usually governed by a treaty between the two countries concerned. A country usually will not allow extradition for political offences or an offence that it...

exocrine gland
Gland that discharges secretions, usually through a tube or a duct, onto a surface. Examples include sweat glands which release sweat on to the skin, and digestive glands which release digestive juices onto the walls of the intestine. Some animals also have endocrine glands (ductless glands) that release hormones directly into the bloodstream

exothermic reaction
Chemical reaction during which heat is given out (see energy of reaction). For example, burning sulphur in air to give sulphur dioxide is an exothermic reaction. 2S + O2 ® SO2

exposition
In music, the opening statement of piece in sonata form, in which the principal themes are clearly outlined

expressionism
(music) In music, use of melodic or harmonic distortion for expressive effect, associated with Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Ernst Krenek, and others

expansion
In physics, the increase in size of a constant mass of substance caused by, for example, increasing its temperature (thermal expansion) or its internal pressure. The expansivity, or coefficient of thermal expansion, of a material is its expansion (per unit volume, area, or length) per degree rise in temperature

experience curve
Relationship between unit costs and cumulative production. As cumulative production increases, productivity costs decline. This effect is ascribed to the fact that, the more often processes are repeated, the better workers become at their jobs, and therefore, the smoother processes run within the organization. This means that, in theory, the faster...

excavation
In archaeology, the systematic recovery of data through the exposure of buried sites and artefacts. Excavation is destructive, and is therefore accompanied by a comprehensive recording of all material found and its three-dimensional locations (its context). As much material and information as possible must be recovered from any dig. A full reco...

exfoliation
Type of physical weathering in which the outer layers of a rock surface peel off in flakes and shells. It is caused by the rapid expansion and contraction of the rock surface when subjected to extreme changes of temperature. Exfoliation occurs particularly in hot dry desert climates, and on sheets of rock that are jointed parallel to the surface, s...

extrusive rock
Click images to enlargeIgneous rock formed on the surface of the Earth by volcanic activity (as opposed to intrusive, or plutonic, rocks that solidify below the Earth's surface). Magma (molten rock) erupted from volcanoes cools and solidifies quickly on the surface. The crystals that form do not have time to grow very...

extensor
A muscle that straightens a limb

extrasensory perception
Any form of perception beyond and distinct from the known sensory processes. The main forms of ESP are clairvoyance (intuitive perception or vision of events and situations without using the senses); precognition (the ability to foresee events); and telepathy or thought transference (communication between people without using any known visi...

Exmouth
Resort town and former port in Devon, southwest England, at the mouth of the River Exe, 14 km/9 mi southeast of Exeter; population (2001) 33,000. Small industries include engineering and a pottery specializing in novelty teapots. The port was permanently closed to commercial vessels in 1989, but the town remains a yachting and boating centr...

exchange rate policy
Policy of government towards the level of the exchange rate of its currency. It may want to influence the exchange rate by using its gold and foreign currency reserves held by its central bank to buy and sell its currency. It can also use interest rates (monetary policy) to alter the value of the currency. A fall in the exchange rate will mean that...

Excel
Spreadsheet program produced by Microsoft in 1985. Versions are available for PC-compatibles running Windows and for the Apple Macintosh. Excel pioneered many advanced features in the ease of use of spreadsheets, and has displaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the standard spreadsheet program

exclamative sentence
Type of sentence that communicates strong emphasis or emotion, as in `I hate homework!`

explanation
Means of communication that involves the straightforward communication of knowledge or information to others, for example showing a friend how to play an unfamiliar card game, or giving directions. Narration is a less factual explanation or account

expressionism
(literature) Literary style which, like expressionism in art, attempts to portray the inner workings of a person's mind by, effectively, turning them `inside out` and allowing mental states to shape their face, body, and even the world in which they live. In theatre, expressionis...

exploded view
Diagram that shows how the parts of a product fit together. Each part is separated from the rest to show its detail, where it fits in the product, and how each part fits together. The assembly instructions of DIY furniture often contain exploded diagrams

eyebright
Any of a group of annual plants belonging to the figwort family. They are 2–30 cm/1–12 in high and have whitish flowers streaked with purple. The name indicates their traditional use as an eye-medicine. (Genus Euphrasia, family Scrophulariaceae.)

Eyre, Lake
Lake in northeast South Australia; area up to 9,000 sq km/3,500 sq mi. It is the largest lake in Australia, and includes Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South. Much of the lake remains a dry salt crust, while parts form a salt marsh in dry seasons. It is filled only when the rivers which drain into it (such as the Diamantina) flood. It lies i...

eye
Organ of vision. In the human eye, the light is focused by the combined action of the curved cornea, the internal fluids, and the lens. The insect eye is compound – made up of many separate facets, known as ommatidia, each of which collects light and directs it separately to a receptor to build ...

Eyck, Jan van
Flemish painter, who gained in his lifetime a Europe-wide reputation. One of the first painters to use oil paint effectively, he is noted for his meticulous detail and his brilliance of colour and finish. He painted religious scenes like the altarpiece The Adoration of the Lamb (1432; St Bavo Cathedral, Ghent), and portra...

Eyre, Richard
(Charles Hastings) English stage and film director. He succeeded Peter Hall as artistic director of the National Theatre, London, 1988–97. His stage productions include Guys and Dolls (1982), Bartholomew Fair (1988), Richard III (19...

facsimile transmission
Full name for fax or telefax

factory system
The basis of manufacturing in the modern world. In the factory system workers are employed at a place where they carry out specific tasks, which together result in a product. This is called the division of labour. Usually these workers will perform their tasks with the aid of machinery. Such mechaniz...

Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel
Polish-born Dutch physicist who invented the first accurate thermometer in 1724 and devised the Fahrenheit temperature scale. Using his thermometer, Fahrenheit was able to determine the boiling points of liquids and found that they vary with atmospheric pressure

Fanon, Frantz Omar
French political writer. His experiences in Algeria during the war for liberation in the 1950s led to the writing of Les Damnés de la terre/The Wretched of the Earth (1964), which calls for violent revolution by the peasants of the developing world

family
(biology) In biological classification, a group of related genera (see genus). Family names are not printed in italic (unlike genus and species names), and by convention they all have the ending -idae (animals) or -aceae (plants and fungi). For example, the genera of hummingbirds are g...

fatty acid
Organic compound consisting of a hydrocarbon chain of an even number of carbon atoms, with a carboxyl group (COOH) at one end. The covalent bonds between the carbon atoms may be single or double; where a double bond occurs the carbon atoms concerned carry one instead of two hydrogen atoms. Chains...

fat
Click images to enlargeIn the broadest sense, a mixture of lipids – chiefly triglycerides (lipids containing three fatty acid molecules linked to a molecule of glycerol). More specifically, the term refers to a lipid mixture that is solid at room temperature (20°C/68°F); lipid mixtures that are liqu...

falcon
Any bird of prey of the genus Falco, family Falconidae, order Falconiformes. Falcons are the smallest of the hawks (15–60 cm/6–24 in). They have short curved beaks with one tooth in the upper mandible; the wings are long and pointed, and the toes elongated. They nest in high places and kill their prey on the win...

Fallopian tube
In mammals, one of two tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. An egg is fertilized by sperm in the Fallopian tubes, which are lined with cells whose cilia move the egg towards the uterus

fantasy fiction
Genre of unrealistic fiction. The term has been loosely applied to a range of works and attempts to define it more precisely have not been successful. However, a feature shared by most fantasy fiction is its reliance on strangeness of setting (often an imaginary or dream world) and of characters (supernatural or non-human beings). The genre was...

faeces
Remains of food and other waste material eliminated from the digestive tract of animals by way of the anus. Faeces consist of quantities of fibrous material, bacteria and other micro-organisms, rubbed-off lining of the digestive tract, bile fluids, undigested food, minerals, and water

factorial
Of a positive number, the product of all the whole numbers (integers) inclusive between 1 and the number itself. A factorial is indicated by the symbol `!`. Thus 6! = 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 = 720. Factorial zero, 0!, is defined as 1

factor
(number) Number that divides into another number exactly. It is also known as a divisor. For example, the factors of 24 are 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24; and the factors of 64 are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. The highest factor of both 24 and 64 is 8. This is known as the highest common factor (H...

fault
Click images to enlargeFracture in the Earth's crust, on either side of which rocks have moved past each other. Faults may occur where rocks are being pushed together (compression) or pulled apart (tension) by plate tectonics, movements of the plates of the Earth's crust. When large forces build up quickly in rock...

Fawcett, Millicent
English suffragist and social reformer, younger sister of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. A non-militant, she rejected the violent acts of some of her contemporaries in the suffrage movement. She joined the London Suffrage Committee in 1868 and became president of the Women's Unionist Association...

fascism
Political ideology that denies all rights to individuals in their relations with the state; specifically, the totalitarian nationalist movement founded in Italy in 1919 by Mussolini and followed by Hitler's Germany in 1933. Fascism came about essentially as a result of the economic and politi...

fathom
In mining, seafaring, and handling timber, a unit of depth measurement (1.83 m/6 ft) used prior to metrication; it approximates to the distance between an adult man's hands when the arms are outstretched

Faunus
In Roman mythology, one of the oldest Italian deities; god of fertility and prophecy; protector of agriculturists and shepherds. He was later identified with the Greek Pan and represented with goat's ears, horns, tail, and hind legs. Later Roman writers confused Greek satyrs (drunken, lustful, woodland creatures) with goat-footed fa...

Fates
In Greek mythology, three female figures who determined the destiny of human lives; later, the duration of human life. They were envisaged as spinners: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis apportioned the thread, and Atropos cut it off. They are analogous to the Roman Parcae or Fata and Norse Norns

Fassbinder, Rainer Werner
German film director. He began as a fringe actor and founded his own `anti-theatre` before moving into films. His works are mainly stylized indictments of contemporary German society. He made more than 40 films, including Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant/The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), <...

Faroe Islands
Island group (17 out of 22 inhabited) in the North Atlantic, between the Shetland Islands and Iceland, forming an outlying part of Denmark; area 1,399 sq km/540 sq mi; population (2003 est) 47,600. The largest islands are Strømø, Østerø, Vagø, Suderø, Sandø, and Bordø; the islands are high and...

Far East
Geographical term for all Asia east of the Indian subcontinent. The term is considered by many to have ethnocentric connotations, and has tended to be replaced by East Asia

family planning
Deliberate control of human population growth by various means (contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion), in order to reduce the birth rate. The majority of developing nations now have governments that support some sort of family planning programme. Since the early 1950s India has taken the lead ...

fallout
Harmful radioactive material released into the atmosphere in the debris of a nuclear explosion (see nuclear warfare) and descending to the surface of the Earth. Such material can enter the food chain, cause radiation sickness, and last for hundreds of thousands of years (see half-life)

Falkland Islands
British crown colony in the South Atlantic, 480 km/300 mi east of the Straits of Magellan; area 12,173 sq km/4,700 sq mi, made up of two main islands: East Falkland (6,760 sq km/2,610 sq mi) and West Falkland (5,413 sq km/2,090 sq mi); population (2001 est) 2,400. The capi...

Fairfax, Thomas
English general, commander-in-chief of the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War. With Oliver Cromwell he formed the New Model Army and defeated Charles I at the Battle of Naseby. He opposed the king's execution, resigned in protest against the invasion of Scotland in 1650, and participated in the restoration of Charles II after C...

Fairbanks, Douglas
(Elton Ulman) US actor and television producer. He initially appeared in the same type of swashbuckling film roles – Catherine the Great (1934), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), and Sinbad the Sailor (1947) – as his father, Dougla...