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


Holy Roman Empire
Empire of Charlemagne and his successors, and the German Empire 962–1806, both being regarded as the Christian (hence `holy`) revival of the Roman Empire. At its height it comprised much of Western and Central Europe. See Habsburg

holy orders
Christian priesthood, as conferred by the laying on of hands by a bishop. It is held by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches to have originated in Jesus' choosing of the apostles

Holst, Gustav(us Theodore von)
English composer of distant Swedish descent. He wrote operas, including Sávitri (1908) and At the Boar's Head (1924); ballets; choral works, including Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908–12) and The Hymn of Jesus (1917); orchestral suites, includi...

Holy Office
Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church that deals with ecclesiastical discipline; see Inquisition

Holocaust, the
Click images to enlargeThe annihilation of an estimated 16 million people by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, principally in the numerous extermination and concentration camps, most notably Auschwitz (Oswiecim), Sobibor, Treblinka, and Maidanek in Poland, and Belsen, Buchenwald, and Dachau in Germany. Camps were bui...

holism
In philosophy, the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Holbein, Hans, the Elder
German painter. Painting mainly religious works, he belonged to the school of Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Memling in his early paintings but showed Italianate influence in such a work as the Basilica of St Paul (1502; Staatsgalerie, Augsburg). His principal work is the altarpiece St Sebastian (1515–...

Hokusai, Katsushika
Japanese artist. He was the leading printmaker of his time and a major exponent of ukiyo-e. He published Fugaku sanju-rokkei/36 Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1823–29), and produced outstanding pictures of almost every kind of subject – birds, flowers, courtesans, and scenes from legend and every...

Hokkaido
Northernmost and second-largest of the four main islands of Japan, separated from Honshu to the south by Tsugaru Strait (20 km/12 mi wide), and from Sakhalin (Russia) to the north by Soya Strait; area 83,500 sq km/32,239 sq mi; population (2000 est) 5,683,000 (including 16,000 Ainus). The capital is Sapporo; other major citi...

Hohhot
City and capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; population (2000) 1,020,200. It is an important industrial centre and trading hub between north and west China and Mongolia. Cotton and woollen textiles, furs, iron and steel, building materials, machinery, electronics, chemicals, flour, dairy goods, diesel engines, and tractors are p...

Hohenzollern
(family) German family, originating in Württemberg, the main branch of which held the titles of elector of Brandenburg from 1415, king of Prussia from 1701, and German emperor from 1871. The last emperor, Wilhelm II, was dethroned in 1918 after the disastrous course of World War I. Anothe...

Hohenstaufen
German family of princes, several members of which were Holy Roman Emperors 1138–1208 and 1214–54. They were the first German emperors to make use of associations with Roman law and tradition to aggrandize their office, and included Conrad III; Frederick I (Barbarossa), the first to use the title Holy Roman Emperor (previously the tit...

Hogmanay
Scottish name for New Year's Eve. A traditional feature is first-footing, visiting the homes of friends and neighbours after midnight to welcome in the new year with salt, bread, whisky, and other gifts. Children may also go from house to house singing carols and receiving oatmeal cakes

Hogg, Quintin
British politician; see Lord Hailsham

Hoffmann, Amadeus
(Ernst Theodor Wilhelm) German composer and writer. He composed the opera Undine (1816), but is chiefly remembered as an author and librettist of fairy stories, including `Nussknacker/Nutcracker` (1816). His stories inspired Jacques Offenbach's Tal...

Hogarth, William
Click images to enlargeEnglish painter and engraver. He produced portraits and moralizing genre scenes, such as the story series of prints A Rake's Progress (1735; Soane Museum, London). His portraits are remarkably direct and full of character, for example Heads of Six of Hogarth's...

Hockney, David
English painter, printmaker, and designer, resident in California. One of the best-known figures in 20th-century British pop art, he developed a distinctive figurative style, as in his portrait Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy (1971; Tate Gallery, London). A Bigger Splash (1967) demonstrates his interest ...

Hobbema, Meindert Lubbertzsoon
Dutch landscape painter. A pupil of Ruisdael, his early work is derivative, but later works are characteristically realistic and unsentimental. His best-known work is The Avenue, Middelharnis (1689; National Gallery, London). He is thought to have been the pupil of Jacob van Ruisdael, with whose work Hobbema's has sev...

Hobart
Capital and principal port of Tasmania, Australia; population (2001) 126,050. Hobart is situated on the southeast coast of the island, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Industries include zinc processing, brewing, electronics, engineering, fruit and vegetable processing, chocolate making, shipbuilding, and the production of textiles, paper, fu...

Hoban, James
Irish-born architect. He emigrated to the USA where he designed the White House, Washington, DC; he also worked on the Capitol and other public buildings

Ho Chi Minh City
Chief port and industrial city of South Vietnam; population (2000 est) 3,316,500. It lies on the Saigon River, 54 km/ 34 mi from the South China Sea. Industries include shipbuilding, textiles, rubber, and food products. Since the unification of Vietnam, state-run enterprise in handicraft ...

Hodgkin, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot
English biochemist who analysed the structure of penicillin, insulin, and vitamin B12. Hodgkin was the first to use a computer to analyse the molecular structure of complex chemicals, and this enabled her to produce three-dimensional models. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964 for her work in the crystal...

holmium
Silvery, metallic element of the lanthanide series, atomic number 67, relative atomic mass 164.93. It occurs in combination with other rare-earth metals and in various minerals such as gadolinite. Its compounds are highly magnetic. The element was discovered in 1878, spectroscopically, by the Swiss chemists Jacques-Louis Soret and Marc Dela...

Hoyle, Fred(erick)
English astronomer, cosmologist, and writer. His astronomical research dealt mainly with the internal structure and evolution of the stars. In 1948 he developed with Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold the steady-state theory of the universe. In 1957, with William Fowler, he showed that chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium may be built ...

horsefly
Any of over 2,500 species of fly. The females suck blood from horses, cattle, and humans; the males live on plants and suck nectar. The larvae are carnivorous. (Family Tabanidae.)

horse
Click images to enlargeHoofed, odd-toed, grazing mammal belonging to the same family as zebras and asses. The many breeds of domestic horse of Euro-Asian origin range in colour from white to grey, brown, and black. The yellow-brown Mongolian wild horse, or Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii<...

hornet
Type of wasp

hornbill
Any of a group of omnivorous birds found in Africa, India, and Malaysia. They are about 1 m/3 ft long, and have powerful down-curved beaks, usually surmounted by a bony growth or casque. During the breeding season, the female walls herself into a hole in a tree and does not emerge until the y...

hoopoe
Bird slightly larger than a thrush, with a long, thin, slightly downward-curving bill and a bright pinkish-buff crest tipped with black that expands into a fan shape on top of the head. The wings and tail are banded with black and white, and the rest of the plumage is buff-coloured. The h...

hookworm
Parasitic roundworm (see worm) with hooks around its mouth. It lives mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, but also in humid areas in temperate climates. The eggs are hatched in damp soil, and the larvae bore into the host's skin, usually through the soles of the feet. They make their way to the small intestine, where they live by sucking...

honeyeater
Any of a group of small, brightly coloured birds with long, curved beaks and long tails, native to Australia. They have a long tongue divided into four at the end to form a brush for collecting nectar from flowers. (Family Meliphagidae.) Larger honeyeaters, such as the blue-faced honeyeater (<...

hormone
Click images to enlargeIn biology, a chemical secretion of the ductless endocrine glands and specialized nerve cells concerned with control of body functions. Hormones act as chemical messengers and are transported to all parts of the body by the bloodstream where they affect target organs. The major glands are the thyroi...

homozygous
In a living organism, having two identical alleles for a given trait. Individuals homozygous for a trait always breed true; that is, they produce offspring that resemble them in appearance when bred with a genetically similar individual; inbred varieties or species are homozygous for almost all traits. Recessive alleles are only expressed i...

homeothermy
Maintenance of a constant body temperature in endothermic (warm-blooded) animals, by the use of chemical processes to compensate for heat loss or gain when external temperatures change. Such processes include generation of heat by the breakdown of food and the contraction of muscles, and loss of heat by sweating, panting, and other means. Mamma...

homologous
In biology, a term describing an organ or structure possessed by members of different taxonomic groups (for example, species, genera, families, orders) that originally derived from the same structure in a common ancestor. The wing of a bat, the arm of a monkey, and the flipper of a seal are homologous because they all derive from the forelimb of an...

homeostasis
Maintenance of a constant environment within and around living cells, particularly with regard to pH, salt concentration, temperature, and blood sugar levels. Stable conditions are important for the efficient functioning of the enzyme reactions within the cells. In humans, homeostasis in the blood (w...

horsetail
Plant related to ferns and club mosses; some species are also called scouring rush. There are about 35 living species, bearing their spores on cones at the stem tip. The upright stems are ribbed and often have spaced whorls of branches. Today they are of modest size, but hundreds of millions of years ago giant treelike forms existed. (Genus <...

hobby
Small falcon found across Europe and northern Asia. It is about 30 cm/1 ft long, with a grey-blue back, streaked front, and chestnut thighs. It is found in open woods and heaths, and feeds on insects and small birds. (Species Falco subbuteo.)

hog
Any member of the pig family. The river hog (Potamochoerus porcus) lives in Africa, south of the Sahara. Reddish or black, up to 1.3 m/4.2 ft long plus tail, and 90 cm/3 ft at the shoulder, this gregarious animal roots for food in many types of habitat. The giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinerzthageni) ...

Hooker, Joseph Dalton
English botanist who travelled to the Antarctic and India, and made many botanical discoveries. His works include Flora Antarctica (1844–47), Genera plantarum (1862–83), and Flora of British India (1875–97)

Hollerith, Herman
US inventor of a mechanical tabulating machine, the first device for high-volume data processing. Hollerith's tabulator was widely publicized after being successfully used in the 1890 census. The firm he established, the Tabulating Machine Company, was later one of the founding companies of IBM

hot spot
In earth science, area where a strong current or `plume` of magma rises upwards below the Earth's crust. The magma spreads horizontally in all directions, and may break through where the crust is thin. Hot spots occur within, rather than on the edges of, lithospheric plates. However, the magma usually reaches the surface at plate marg...

Holly, Buddy
US rock and roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He had a distinctive, hiccuping vocal style and was an early experimenter with recording techniques. Many of his hits with his band, the Crickets, such as `That'll Be the Day` (1957), `Peggy Sue` (1957), and `Maybe Baby` (1958), have become classics. His albums in...

homonymy
Aspect of language in which, through historical accident, two or more words may sound and look alike (homonymy proper, as in a farmer's bull and a papal bull). Other types of homonymy are homophony, (as in air and heir; gilt and guilt<...

Holy Alliance
`Christian Union of Charity, Peace, and Love` initiated by Alexander I of Russia in 1815 and signed by every crowned head in Europe. The alliance became associated with Russian attempts to preserve autocratic monarchies at any price, and served as an excuse to meddle in the internal affairs of other states. Ideas of an international army ...

Hobbes, Thomas
English political philosopher and the first thinker since Aristotle to attempt to develop a comprehensive theory of nature, including human behaviour. In Leviathan (1651), he advocates absolutist government as the only means of ensuring order and security; he saw this as deriving from the social contract

Horus
In ancient Egyptian mythology, the falcon-headed sky god whose eyes were the Sun and the Moon; adult son of the principal goddess Isis or Hathor (otherwise his wife), whom she magically conceived by the dead Osiris, ruler of the underworld. He injured his eye while avenging his father's murder by Set, the good eye being the Sun and the ...

Ho Chi Minh
North Vietnamese communist politician, prime minister 1954–55, and president 1954–69. Having trained in Moscow shortly after the Russian Revolution, he headed the communist Vietminh from 1941 and fought against the French during the Indochina War 1946–54, becoming president and prime minister of the republic at the armistice. Aided b...

hovercraft
Click images to enlargeVehicle that rides on a cushion of high-pressure air, free from all contact with the surface beneath, invented by English engineer Christopher Cockerell in 1959. Hovercraft need a smooth terrain when operating overland and are best adapted to use on waterways. They are useful in places where har...

Holy Grail
In medieval Christian legend, the dish or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper; credited with supernatural powers and a symbol of Christian grace. In certain stories incorporated in Arthurian legend, it was an object of quest by King Arthur's knights, together with the spear with which Jesus was wounded at the Crucifixion. Galahad was the o...

horseradish
Hardy perennial plant, native to southeastern Europe but naturalized elsewhere. The thick cream-coloured root is strong-tasting and is often made into a savoury sauce to accompany food. (Armoracia rusticana, family Cruciferae.)

hornfels
Metamorphic rock formed by rocks heated by contact with a hot igneous body. It is fine-grained, brittle, and lacks foliation (a planar structure). Hornfels may contain minerals only formed under conditions of great heat, such as andalusite, Al2SiO5, and cordierite, (Mg,Fe)2Al&...

Hoover Dam
Click images to enlargeHighest concrete dam in the USA, 221 m/726 ft, on the Colorado River at the Arizona–Nevada border. It was begun during the administration of President Herbert Hoover and built 1930–36. Known as Boulder Dam 1933–47, under the administration of Franklin D Roosevelt, its name was res...

holography
Method of producing three-dimensional (3-D) images, called holograms, by means of laser light. Holography uses a photographic technique (involving the splitting of a laser beam into two beams) to produce a picture, or hologram, that contains 3-D information about the object photographed. ...

honey
Sweet syrup produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowers. It is stored in honeycombs and made in excess of their needs as food for the winter. Honey comprises various sugars, mainly laevulose and dextrose, with enzymes, colouring matter, acids, and pollen grains. It has antibacterial properties and was widely used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and...

Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar
US lawyer and director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1924 until his death. He built up a powerful network for the detection of organized crime, including a national fingerprint collection. His drive against alleged communist activities after World War II and his opposition to the Kennedy administration brought much criticism for...

Hoffmann, Josef
Austrian architect. Influenced by art nouveau, he was one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstätte/Vienna Workshops (a modern design cooperative of early 20th-century Vienna), and a pupil of Otto Wagner. One of his best-known works is the Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1903–05)

Holy Communion
Another name for the Eucharist, a Christian sacrament

Honecker, Erich
German communist politician, in power in East Germany 1973–89, elected chair of the council of state (head of state) in 1976. He governed in an outwardly austere and efficient manner and, while favouring East–West détente, was a loyal ally of the USSR. In 1989, following a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations, he was replaced as ...

Holland, John Philip
Irish engineer who developed some of the first military submarines used by the US navy. He began work in Ireland in the late 1860s and emigrated to the USA in 1873. Holland's first successful submarine was launched in 1881 and, after several failures, he built the Holland in 1893, which was bought by the US navy in 1895. He i...

homologous series
In chemistry, any of a number of series of organic compounds with similar chemical properties in which members can be described by a general formula and ofen differ by a constant relative molecular mass. Alkanes (paraffins) form such series, which begins with methane (CH4), eth...

horror
Genre of fiction and film, devoted primarily to scaring the reader or audience, but often also aiming to achieve some catharsis (purging of the emotions) through exaggeration of the bizarre and grotesque. Horror fiction is difficult to distinguish from the gothic novel but horror stories do not require the gothic tale's code of morality and can...

horsepower
Imperial unit of power, now replaced by the watt. It was first used by the engineer James Watt, who employed it to compare the power of steam engines with that of horses

hour
Period of time comprising 60 minutes; 24 hours make one calendar day

Holy See
The diocese of the pope

hornbeam
Any of a group of trees belonging to the birch family. They have oval leaves with toothed edges and hanging clusters of flowers, each with a nutlike seed attached to the base. The trunk is usually twisted, with smooth grey bark. (Genus Carpinus, family Betulaceae.)

Honduras
Country in Central America, bounded north by the Caribbean Sea, southeast by Nicaragua, south by the Pacific Ocean, southwest by El Salvador, and west and northwest by Guatemala. Government Honduras has a multiparty political system with a presidential executive. The 1987 constitution provides for a ...

Honiara
Port and capital of the Solomon Islands, on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal Island in the southwest Pacific Ocean; population (1999) 49,100, (2007 calc) 59,100. The city, which is on the River Mataniko, grew around a World War II US military base, and replaced Tulagi as the capital of the Solomon Islands in 1952; it is now served by the ...

Hon.
Abbreviation for Honourable

Homer
According to ancient tradition, the author of the Greek narrative epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey (both derived from oral tradition). Little is known about the man, but modern research suggests that both poems should be assigned to the 8th century BC, with the Odyssey the later of the two. T...

Horace
Roman lyric poet and satirist. He became a leading poet under the patronage of Emperor Augustus. His works include Satires (35–30 BC); the four books of Odes (c. 25–24 BC); Epistles, a series of verse letters; and an influential critical work, ...

Hobbs, Jack
English cricketer who scored more first-class runs and centuries than any other player. An orthodox right-handed opening batsman. Career highlights Test cricket (1908–30) appearances: 61; runs: 5,140; average: 56.94; not out: 7; 100s: 15; best: 211 (v. South Africa 1924); catches: 17 ...

hockey
Game played with hooked sticks and a small, solid ball, the object being to hit the ball into the goal. It is played between two teams, each of not more than 11 players. Hockey has been an Olympic sport since 1908 for men and since 1980 for women. Rules The ground is 91.5 m/100 yd long and 54.9 m...

horse racing
Sport of racing mounted or driven horses. Two forms in Britain are flat racing, for thoroughbred horses over a flat course, and National Hunt racing, in which the horses have to clear obstacles. History, UK In Britain, racing took place in Stuart times and with its royal connections became known as t...

holding company
Company with a controlling shareholding in one or more subsidiaries

Hours, Book of
In medieval Europe, a collection of liturgical prayers for the use of the faithful. Some Books of Hours were also used as calendars

horticulture
Art and science of growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables. Horticulture is practised in gardens and orchards, along with millions of acres of land devoted to vegetable farming. Some areas, like California, have specialized in horticulture because they have the mild climate and light fertile soil most suited to these crops

Hodgkin's disease
Rare form of cancer mainly affecting the lymph nodes and spleen. It undermines the immune system, leaving the sufferer susceptible to infection. However, it responds well to radiotherapy and cytotoxic drugs, and long-term survival is usual

Holy Spirit
Third person of the Christian Trinity, with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus); also known as the Holy Ghost or the Paraclete (Greek `comforter`), and usually depicted as a white dove. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is shown as the life-giving breath of God. In the New Testament, Christians believe that the work of Jesu...

Holy Week
In the Christian church, the last week of Lent, when Christians commemorate the events that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper; Good Friday; and Holy Saturday

house music
Dance music of the 1980s originating in the inner-city clubs of Chicago, Illinois. With its origins in disco, it combines funk with European high-tech pop, and uses dub, digital sampling, and cross-fading. Acid house has minimal vocals and melody. Instead, a mechanically emphasized 4/4 beat is supported by stripped-down synthesi...

homicide
In law, the killing of a human being. This may be unlawful, lawful, or excusable, depending on the circumstances. Unlawful homicides include murder, manslaughter, infanticide, and causing death by dangerous driving. Lawful homicide occurs where, for example, a police officer is justified in killing a criminal in the course of apprehension or when a...

Homestead Act
In US history, an act of Congress in May 1862 that encouraged settlement of land in the west by offering plots of up to 65-ha/160-acres, cheaply or even free, to citizens aged 21 years and over, or heads of family. In return, they had to promise to stay on the plot for five years, and to cultivate and improve the land, as well as build ...

Honen
Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the Pure Land school of Buddhism

Hopi
Member of an American Indian people living in southwest USA, especially northeast Arizona, since prehistoric times. They are descendants of the ancient Anasazi, and their language is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan family. A Pueblo Indian people, they live in villages of multi-tiered stone or adobe dwellings perched on rocky plateaus, or mesas,...

hornwort
Nonvascular plant (with no `veins` to carry water and food), related to the liverworts and mosses. Hornworts are found in warm climates, growing on moist shaded soil. (Class Anthocerotae, order Bryophyta.) The name is also given to a group of aquatic flowering plants which are found in slow-moving water. They have whorls of finely div...

hornblende
Green or black rock-forming mineral, one of the amphiboles. It is a hydrous silicate composed mainly of calcium, iron, magnesium, and aluminium in addition to the silicon and oxygen that are common to all silicates. Hornblende is found in both igneous and metamorphic rocks and can be recognized by its colour and prismatic shape

Holocene epoch
Period of geological time that began 10,000 years ago, and continues into the present. During this epoch the climate became warmer, the glaciers retreated, and human civilizations developed significantly. It is the second and current epoch of the Quaternary period

Holmes, Sherlock
Fictitious private detective, created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle in A Study in Scarlet (1887) and recurring in novels and stories until 1927. Holmes' ability to make inferences from slight clues always astonishes the narrator, Dr Watson. The criminal mastermind a...

hormone-replacement therapy
Use of oestrogen and progesterone to help limit the unpleasant effects of the menopause in women. The treatment was first used in the 1970s. During the menopause, the ovaries cease to secrete natural oestrogen. This results in a number of symptoms, including hot flushes, anxiety, and a change in the pattern of menstrual bleeding. It is also associa...

Hoskins, Bob
(Robert William) English character actor. He progressed to fame from a series of supporting roles, and has played a range of both comic and dramatic parts, effortlessly shifting from humorous sidekick or love-interest to menacing sociopath. Films include The Long Good Friday
homophony
Music comprising a melody lead and accompanying harmony, in contrast to heterophony and polyphony in which different melody lines of equal importance are combined

Hoffman, Dustin
US actor. He became popular in the 1960s with his unconventional looks, short stature, and versatility. His performance in The Graduate (1967) propelled him to stardom, and he subsequently won Academy Awards for his performances in Kramer vs Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988). His other films ...

Hope, Bob
British-born US comedian. His earliest success was on Broadway and as a radio star in the 1930s. Employing a wise-cracking, cowardly persona, his film appearances include seven `Road` films (1940–62) with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour (1914–96). These include The Road to Singapore (1940), The...

Horowitz, Vladimir
Russian-born US pianist. He made his US debut in 1928 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. A leading interpreter of Liszt, Schumann, and Rachmaninov, he toured worldwide until the early 1950s, when he retired to devote more time to recording. His rare concert appearances 1965–86 displayed undiminished brilliance

Holy Land
Christian term for Israel, because of its association with Jesus and the Old Testament. The concept of the `Holy Land` arose with the crusades. For two hundred years from the late 11th century onwards, these armed expeditions from Western Europe attempted to wrest control over Palestine from Islamic rulers. The crusaders regarded Jerusale...

House of Lords
See Lords, House of

House of Commons
See Commons, House of

home front
Organized sectors of domestic activity in wartime, mainly associated with World Wars I and II. Features of the UK home front in World War I included greater government control over industry, the introduction of British summer time, and the introduction of women into jobs previously undertaken only by men as many were on active military service. In ...

Houston
City and port in southeastern Texas, USA; linked by the Houston Ship Canal to the Gulf of Mexico, in the Gulf Coastal Plain; population (2000 est) 1,953,600. A major centre of finance and commerce, Houston is also one of the busiest US ports. Industrial products include refined petroleum, oil...