Copy of `Talk Talk - Communication terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.


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


Lateran Treaties
Series of agreements that marked the reconciliation of the Italian state with the papacy in 1929. They were hailed as a propaganda victory for the fascist regime. The treaties involved recognition of the sovereignty of the Vatican City State, the payment of an indemnity for papal possessions lost during unification in 1870, and agreement on the rol...

latifundium
In ancient Rome, a large agricultural estate designed to make maximum use of cheap labour, whether free workers or slaves. In present-day Italy, Spain, and South America, the term latifondo refers to a large agricultural estate worked by low-paid casual or semiservile labour in the interests of absentee landlords

larch
Any of a group of trees belonging to the pine family. The common larch (L. decidua) grows to 40 m/130 ft. It is one of the few conifers to shed its leaves annually. The small needlelike leaves are replaced every year by new bright-green foliage, which later darkens. (Genus Larix, family Pinaceae.) Close...

larkspur
Any of several plants included with the delphiniums. (Genus Delphinium, family Ranunculaceae.)

Laos
Landlocked country in southeast Asia, bounded north by China, east by Vietnam, south by Cambodia, west by Thailand, and northwest by Myanmar. Government Laos is a one-party socialist republic. The communist party (Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the LPRP), which heads the broader Lao Front ...

lanthanum
Soft, silvery, ductile and malleable, metallic element, atomic number 57, relative atomic mass 138.91, the first of the lanthanide series. It is used in making alloys. It was named in 1839 by Swedish chemist Carl Mosander (1797–1858)

lager
Type of light beer

lanolin
Sticky, purified wax obtained from sheep's wool and used in cosmetics, soap, and leather preparation

lard
Clarified edible pig fat. It is used in cooking and in the manufacture of margarine, soaps, and ointments

Lab
Abbreviation for Labour, a political party in the UK; or Labrador, an area in northeastern Canada

labour theory of value
In classical economics, the theory that the price (value) of a product directly reflects the amount of labour it involves. According to the theory, if the price of a product falls, either the share of labour in that product has declined or that expended in the production of other goods has risen. Karl Marx adopted and developed the theory but it wa...

laparotomy
Exploratory surgical procedure involving incision into the abdomen. The use of laparotomy, as of other exploratory surgery, has decreased sharply with advances in medical imaging and the direct-viewing technique known as endoscopy

laudanum
Alcoholic solution (tincture) of the drug opium. Used formerly as a narcotic and painkiller, it was available in the 19th century from pharmacists on demand in most of Europe and the USA

Lancaster
(dynasty) English royal house, a branch of the Plantagenets. It originated in 1267 when Edmund (died 1296), the younger son of Henry III, was granted the earldom of Lancaster. Converted to a duchy for Henry of Grosmont (died 1361), it passed to John of Gaunt in 1362 by his marriage to Blanche,...

La Tène
Prehistoric settlement at the east end of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, which has given its name to a culture of the Iron Age dating from the 5th century BC to the Roman conquest. The site was probably the crossing point of a river, no longer in existence, for most of the finds are associated with a wooden structure thought to be a bridge. The ...

Lailat ul-Barah
Muslim festival which takes place two weeks before the beginning of the fast of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic year) and is a time for asking and granting forgiveness

Lailat ul-Isra Wal Mi'raj
Muslim festival that celebrates the prophet Muhammad's Night Journey

Lailat ul-Qadr
Muslim festival that celebrates the giving of the Koran to Muhammad. It usually falls at the end of Ramadan

Lazarus
In the New Testament, the brother of Martha, a friend of Jesus, raised by him from the dead. Lazarus is also the name of a beggar in a parable told by Jesus (Luke 16)

Lao
People who live along the Mekong river system in Laos (2 million) and northern Thailand (9 million). The Lao language is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family. The majority of Lao live in rural villages. During the wet season, May–October, they grow rice in irrigated fields, though some shifting or swidden cultivation is practised on hillsid...

Languedoc
Former province of southern France, bounded by the River Rhône, the Mediterranean Sea, and the regions of Guienne and Gascony. In 1791 Languedoc was replaced by the eight départements of Haute-Loire, Lozère, Ardèche, Aude, Tarn, Hérault, Gard, and Haute-Garonne. Chief cities include Montpellier, N...

Lancaster, Burt
(Burton Stephen) US film actor. A star from his first film, The Killers (1946), he proved adept both at action roles and more complex character parts as in From Here to Eternity (1953), Elmer Gantry (1960; Academy Award), Th...

Large Electron Positron Collider
Formerly the world's largest particle accelerator, in operation 1989–2000 at the CERN laboratories near Geneva in Switzerland. It occupied a tunnel 3.8 m/12.5 ft wide and 27 km/16.7 mi long, which is buried 180 m/590 ft underground and forms a ring consisting of eight curved and eight straight sections. In June 1996, LEP resume...

laptop computer
Portable microcomputer, small enough to be used on the operator's lap. It consists of a single unit, incorporating a keyboard, hard disk drives, and a screen. The screen often forms a lid that folds back in use. It uses a liquid-crystal or gas-plasma display, rather than the bulkier and h...

laser printer
Computer printer in which the image to be printed is formed by the action of a laser on a light-sensitive drum, then transferred to paper by means of an electrostatic charge. Laser printers are page printers, printing a complete page at a time. The printed image, which can take the form of text o...

laser surgery
Use of intense light sources to cut, coagulate, or vaporize tissue. Less invasive than normal surgery, it destroys diseased tissue gently and allows quicker, more natural healing. It can be used by way of a flexible endoscope to enable the surgeon to view the diseased area at which the laser needs to be aimed

Labyrinth
In Greek legend, the maze designed by the Athenian artisan Daedalus at Knossos in Crete for King Minos, as a home for the Minotaur – a monster, half man and half bull. After killing the Minotaur, Theseus, the prince of Athens, was guided out of the Labyrinth by a thread given to him by the king's daughter Ariadne

Laocoön
In classical mythology, a Trojan priest of Apollo and a visionary, brother of Anchises. He and his sons were killed by serpents when he foresaw disaster for Troy in the Trojan horse left by the Greeks. The scene of their death is the subject of a classical marble group, rediscovered in the Renaissance, and forms an episode in Virgil's ...

Laurel and Hardy
US film comedians. They were one of the most successful comedy teams in film history (Laurel was slim, Hardy rotund). Their partnership began in 1927, survived the transition from silent films to sound, and resulted in more than 200 short and feature-length films. Among these are Pack Up Your Troubles (1932), Our Rel...

Land, Edwin Herbert
US inventor of the Polaroid Land camera in 1947. The camera developed the film in one minute inside the camera and produced an `instant` photograph

laccolith
Intruded mass of igneous rock that forces apart two strata and forms a round lens-shaped mass many times wider than thick. The overlying layers are often pushed upward to form a dome. A classic development of laccoliths is illustrated in the Henry, La Sal, and Abajo mountains of southeastern Utah...

Lauda, Niki
Austrian motor-racing driver who won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1975, 1977, and 1984. He was also runner-up in 1976, despite having a serious accident at Nurburgring, Germany, which kept him out of action for six weeks of the season. Career highlights World Drivers' champion 1975, 1977, 1984 Total Grand Prix raced 177 Grand Pri...

latent heat
In physics, the heat absorbed or released by a substance as it changes state (for example, from solid to liquid) at constant temperature and pressure

Las Vegas
City in southeastern Nevada; seat of Clark County; population (2000 est) 478,400. With its many nightclubs and gambling casinos, Las Vegas attracted over 35 million visitors each year. It is also a major convention centre. Founded in 1855 in a ranching area, the modern community developed with the coming of the railroad in 1905 and was inco...

lamp, electric
Device designed to convert electrical energy into light energy. In a filament lamp such as a light bulb an electric current causes heating of a long thin coil of fine high-resistance wire enclosed at low pressure inside a glass bulb. In order to give out a good light the wire must glow white-hot and therefore must be made of a metal, such a...

lateral inversion
The reversal experienced by an image formed in a plane (flat) mirror. Although the image is the correct way up, its left and right sides are transposed. The impression that most people have of their own face is based on the image that they see in a mirror; however, this is quite different from the face that other people see – for example, ...

laughing gas
Popular name for nitrous oxide, an anaesthetic

Lauren, Ralph
US fashion designer. He has produced menswear under the Polo label from 1968, women's wear from 1971, children's wear, and home furnishings from 1983. He also designed costumes for the films The Great Gatsby (1973) and Annie Hall (1977). Many of his designs are based on uniforms and traditional British ...

labyrinthitis
Inflammation of the part of the inner ear responsible for the sense of balance (the labyrinth). It results in dizziness, which may then cause nausea and vomiting. It is usually caused by a viral infection of the ear (otitis), which resolves in a few weeks. The nausea and vomiting may respond to anti-emetic drugs

Latin American Economic System
International coordinating body for economic, technological, and scientific cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, aiming to create and promote multinational enterprises in the region and provide markets. Founded in 1975 as the successor to the Latin American Economic Coordination Commission, its members include Argentina, Barbados, Bolivi...

Lahnda
Language spoken by 15–20 million people in Pakistan and northern India. It is closely related to Punjabi and Romany, and belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family

Landsbergis, Vytautas
Lithuanian conservative politician, president 1990–93. He became active in nationalist politics in 1988, founding and eventually chairing the anticommunist Sajudis independence movement in 1988. When Sajudis swept to victory in the republic's elections in March 1990, Landsbergis chaired the Supreme Council of Lithuania, becoming, in effect...

laches
In law, neglect and unreasonable delay in enforcing an equitable right. If the court is satisfied that a plaintiff has taken an unnecessarily long time in pursuing a case, the action may be struck out

lahar
Mudflow formed of a fluid mixture of water and volcanic ash. During a volcanic eruption, melting ice may combine with ash to form a powerful flow capable of causing great destruction. The lahars created by the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, South America, in 1985 buried 22,000 people in 8 m/26 ft of mud

Lanzarote
Most easterly of the Spanish Canary Islands; area 795 sq km/307 sq mi; population (1995 est) 76,400; capital and largest town Arrecife. The desertlike volcanic landscape is dominated by the Montañas de Fuego (`Mountains of Fire`) with more than 300 volcanic cones. With irrigation, vegetables, grain, and vines can be g...

lampoon
Satirical attack (see satire) on a person in verse or prose, most commonly in the form of a vicious character sketch

landscape architecture
Designing artificial landscapes, composed of both natural and artificial elements. Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), who was responsible for the layout of Central Park, New York, 1857, is considered one of its earliest exponents. Today, the work of landscape architects frequently involves the creation of national parks, the reclamation of ind...

Lara, Brian Charles
West Indian cricketer. A left-handed batsman who has played cricket for Trinidad and Tobago, and for Warwickshire. In April 1994, he broke the world individual Test batting record with an innings of 375 against England, and 50 days later, he broke the world record for an individual innings in first-class cricket with an unbeaten 501 for War...

laparoscope
In medicine, another name for an endoscope

Land art
Type of modern art that uses natural substances such as rocks and soil as its raw materials. It is often inspired by natural processes. Land artists rejected the commercialization of art, and were also concerned for the environment. Their work reflected a general `back-to-the-land` reaction against the destruction of the count...

Lakeland terrier
Medium-sized wire-haired terrier weighing about 7–8 kg/15.5–17.5 lb with an ideal height of no more than 37 cm/14.5 in. Its skull is moderately broad, with small, V-shaped ears and dark eyes; the body is short and the tail traditionally docked

Lago di Garda
Italian name for Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy

Ladozhskoye Ozero
Russian name for Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe, situated in far northwest Russia

lament
In literature, an expression of mourning or deep sorrow. A lament may be found in the form of an elegy or a dirge. Often laments are poems, and are frequently set to music

lay
Traditional genre of narrative poem, such as a ballad

laying on of hands
In the Christian church, sacramental imposition of hands for healing or other purposes. In some Christian denominations, the ceremony is conducted during the ordination of Christian ministers, and is believed to pass down certain spiritual powers of Jesus. This belief is known as apostolic succession

langar
Free communal kitchen of the gurdwara (Sikh temple). The langar symbolizes Sikh belief in community values, the duty to serve others, and the equality of all people, regardless of birth, caste, gender, or religion. When Sikhs arrive at the gurdwara for worship, they bring a donation of money or food for the langar. After the service, it is consider...

landform
The shape, size, form, nature, and characteristics of a specific feature of the land's surface, whether above ground or underwater. The term geomorphology is used to describe the study of landforms

land tenure
The relation of a farmer to the land farmed. Farmers may be owner-occupiers, tenants, landless labourers, or state employees. The Latifundia system is common in Latin America. Land is organized into large, centrally managed estates worked by landless labourers for low wages. Crops are produced for local use. In the 1980s 70% of Brazil's...

laminated timber
Product made by cutting timber into thin sheets, called veneers, then gluing these sheets back together with their grains at right angles to one another, pressing them together tightly until the glue sets. This makes the timber stronger and more resistant to warping. Types of laminated timber include plywood, blockboard, and laminaboard. Many lamin...

Lakota
Subgroup of the American Indian Sioux people and dialect of the Siouan language

Large Hadron Collider
Particle accelerator being constructed at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, due to begin experiments in 2008. It occupies a 27-kilometre-long ring-shaped tunnel straddling the French–Swiss border near Geneva. The tunnel originally housed the LEP (Large Electron–Positron Collider), now decommissioned. A majo...

lbw
Abbreviation for leg before wicket (cricket)

lb
Symbol for pound (weight)

LCD
Abbreviation for liquid-crystal display

LCD projector
A type of projector that uses a series of colour liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels through which a very bright light is shone. The images on the LCD screens are focused onto a screen using a lens and are controlled by a computer, either instead of, or alongside, a normal monitor. The colour balance of an LCD projector can shift to the blue e...

leek
Onionlike plant belonging to the lily family. The cultivated leek is a variety of the wild species A. ampeloprasum of the Mediterranean area and Atlantic islands. The lower leaf parts and white bulb are eaten as a vegetable. (Genus Allium, family Liliaceae.)

lemon balm
Perennial herb belonging to the mint family, with lemon-scented leaves. It is widely used in teas, liqueurs, and medicines. (Melissa officinalis, family Labiatae.)

Leif Ericsson
Norse explorer, son of Eric the Red, who sailed west from Greenland to find a country first sighted by Norsemen 986. He visited Baffin Island then sailed along the Labrador coast to Newfoundland, which was named `Vinland` (Wine Land), because he discovered grape vines growing there. The story was confirmed in 1961 when a Norwegian expedit...

Leo
Zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere, represented as a lion. The Sun passes through Leo from mid-August to mid-September. Its brightest star is first-magnitude Regulus at the base of a pattern of stars called the Sickle. Gamma Leonis is a double star. In astrology, the dates for Leo are between about 23 July and 22 August (...

lead
Heavy, soft, malleable, grey, metallic element, atomic number 82, relative atomic mass 207.19. Its chemical symbol comes from the Latin plumbum. Usually found as an ore (most often as the sulphide galena), it occasionally occurs as a free metal (native metal), and is the final stable product of the decay of uranium. Lead is the s...

leopard
Click images to enlargeLarge wild cat found in Africa and Asia. The background colour of the coat is golden, and the black spots form rosettes that differ according to the variety; black panthers are simply a colour variation and retain the patterning as a `watered-silk` effect. The leopard is 1.5–2...

lemur
Any of various prosimian primates of the Lemuridae family, found in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. There are about 16 species, ranging from mouse-sized to dog-sized animals; the pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus), weighing 30 g/1 oz, is the smallest primat...

lemming
Any of a group of small rodents distributed worldwide in northern latitudes. They are about 12 cm/5 in long, with thick brownish fur, a small head, and a short tail. Periodically, when their population exceeds the available food supply, lemmings undertake mass migrations. (Genus Lemmus and other related genera, family Criceti...

leech
Any of a group of annelid worms. Leeches live in fresh water, and in tropical countries infest damp forests. As bloodsucking animals they are injurious to people and animals, to whom they attach themselves by means of a strong mouth adapted to sucking. (Class Hirudinea.) Formerly, the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) was used...

leaf insect
Any of various insects about 10 cm/4 in long, with a green or brown, flattened body, remarkable for closely resembling the foliage on which they live. They are most common in Southeast Asia. (Genus Phyllium, order Phasmida.)

lek
In biology, a closely spaced set of very small territories each occupied by a single male during the mating season. Leks are found in the mating systems of several ground-dwelling birds (such as grouse) and a few antelopes, and in some insects. The lek is a traditional site where both males and females congregate during the breeding season. The...

leucocyte
Another name for a white blood cell

leaf
Click images to enlargeLateral outgrowth on the stem of a plant, and in most species is the primary organ of photosynthesis (the process in which the energy from absorbed sunlight is used to combine carbon dioxide and water to form sugars). The chief leaf types are cotyledons (seed leaves), scale leaves (on underground st...

Leeuwenhoek, Anton van
Dutch pioneer of microscopic research. He ground his own lenses, some of which magnified up to 300 times. With these he was able to see individual red blood cells, sperm, and bacteria, achievements not repeated for more than a century

lecithin
Lipid (fat), containing nitrogen and phosphorus, that forms a vital part of the cell membranes of plant and animal cells. Eggs are a major source of lecithin

leaf-hopper
Any of numerous species of plant-sucking insects. They feed on the sap of leaves. Each species feeds on a limited range of plants. (Family Cicadellidae, order Homoptera.)

leishmaniasis
Any of several parasitic diseases caused by microscopic protozoans of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by sandflies. It occurs in two main forms: visceral (also called kala-azar), in which various internal organs are affected, and cutaneous, where the disease is apparent mainly in the skin. Leishmaniasis occurs in the...

lead ore
Any of several minerals from which lead is extracted. The primary ore is galena or lead sulphite PbS. This is unstable, and on prolonged exposure to the atmosphere it oxidizes into the minerals cerussite PbCO3 and anglesite PbSO4. Lead ores are usually associated with other metals, particularly silver &...

LED
Abbreviation for light-emitting diode

letterpress
Method of printing from raised type, pioneered by Johann Gutenberg in Europe in the 1450s

level
Instrument for finding horizontal level, or adjusting a surface to an even level, used in surveying, building construction, and archaeology. It has a glass tube of coloured liquid, in which a bubble is trapped, mounted in an elongated frame. When the tube is horizontal, the bubble moves to the centre

Lewis, Jerry Lee
US rock-and-roll and country singer and pianist. His trademark was the boogie-woogie-derived `pumping piano` style in hits such as `Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On` and `Great Balls of Fire` (1957); later recordings include `What Made Milwaukee Famous` (1968)

Lemaître, Georges Edouard
Belgian cosmologist. He proposed the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1933. US astronomer Edwin Hubble had shown that the universe was expanding, but it was Lemaître who suggested that the expansion had been started by an initial explosion, the Big Bang, a theory that is now generally accepted

legitimacy
The justification of a ruling group's right to exercise power. Principles of legitimacy have included divine right, popular approval, and, in the case of communist parties, an insight into the true meaning of history

Le Marche
Region of east central Italy, comprising the provinces of Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata, and Pesaro e Urbino; capital Ancona; area 9,694 sq km/3,743 sq mi; population (1997 est) 1,450,900. Agriculture produces wheat, maize, vines, potatoes, tomatoes, and root crops; and fishing is important

Lewis, Cecil Day
Irish poet; see Cecil Day-Lewis

levitation
Counteraction of gravitational forces on a body. As claimed by medieval mystics, spiritualist mediums, and practitioners of transcendental meditation, it is unproven. In the laboratory it can be produced scientifically; for example, electrostatic force and acoustical waves have been used to suspend water drops for microscopic study. It is also ...

Leven, Loch
Lake in Perth and Kinross, Scotland; area 16 sq km/6 sq mi. The River Leven flows from Loch Leven. It has six islands; Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned on Castle Island until she escaped in 1568. The whole loch has been a National Nature Reserve since 1964. The loch is known for its trout fisheries. St Serf's, the largest island i...

Le Vau, Louis
French architect. He was a leading exponent of the baroque style. His design for the château of Vaux-le-Viscomte outside Paris (begun 1657) provided the inspiration for the remodelling of Versailles, on which he worked from 1669. Many of Le Vau's additions to the palace, notably the ...

Levant
Former name for the eastern Mediterranean region or, more specifically, the Mediterranean coastal regions of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine

leukaemia
Any one of a group of cancers of the blood cells, with widespread involvement of the bone marrow and other blood-forming tissue. The central feature of leukaemia is runaway production of white blood cells that are immature or in some way abnormal. These rogue cells, which lack the defensive capac...

letter
Written or printed message, chiefly a personal communication. Letters are valuable as reflections of social conditions and of literary and political life. Legally, ownership of a letter (as a document) passes to the recipient, but the copyright remains with the writer. Outstanding examples include: Ancient Cicero (Roman), Pliny the Younger (Rom...

Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie
French engineer. He designed and built the Suez Canal 1859–69. He began work on the Panama Canal in 1881, but withdrew after failing to construct it without locks

Lessing, Doris May
English novelist and short-story writer. Concerned with social and political themes, particularly the place of women in society, her work includes The Grass is Singing (1950), the five-novel series Children of Violence (1952–69), The Golden Notebook (1962), The Good Terr...