Glossary
Terms starting with C
678 definitions · page 1 of 12.
- C-SHARE VARIABLE ANNUITIES
- A form of variable annuity contract where the contract holder pays no sales up front or surrender charges. Owners can claim full liquidity at any time.
- C/C++
- Popular programming languages (C++ includes objects) that can be used to create server programs that run after compilation. C and C++ were not designed specifically for web programming, but they can still be useful, especially because mature compilers…
- Cable Chain
- A style of chain whose links are round and uniform in size.
- Cable Compatible
- A cable compatible VCR will let you tune in most unscrambled cable channels without the need for an external channel converter box, if cable service is available.
- Cable Modem
- A cable modem is used for connecting to the Internet using the cable TV infrastructure. It offers high speed Internet access.
- Cable modem (CM)
- Client device for providing data over a cable TV network.
- Cabochon
- A domed gemstone with a highly polished, curved surface and no faceting. Seen often in rings.
- Cache RAM
- Cache (usually SRAM) stores frequently requested data and instructions. It is a small block of high-speed memory located between the CPU and the main memory. When your computer processor needs data, it will check the Cache first to see if it is there. If the…
- cadence
- cadential The musical punctuation that separates phrases or periods, creating a sense of rest or conclusion that ranges from momentary to final.
- cadenza
- An improvised passage for a soloist, usually placed within the closing ritornello in a concerto movement.
- CAI
- Certified Auctioneers Institute. The professional designation awarded to practicing auctioneers who meet the experiential, educational and ethical standards set by the Auction Marketing Institute, Inc.
- Calendula
- An emollient believed to have healing, soothing and antiseptic properties. Used to treat dry skin.
- CALIFORNIA ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
- The state law originally enacted in 1970, expresses the state's concern over California's threatened wildlife, defined rare and endangered wildlife, and gave authority to the Department of Fish and Game to "identify, conserve, protect, restore, and enhance…
- CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
- The state agency established by the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act in 1974 (Public Resources Code, Sections 25000 et seq.) responsible for energy policy. The Energy Commission's five major areas of responsibilities…
- CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA
- pronounced See' quah) Enacted in 1970 and amended through 1983, established state policy to maintain a high-quality environment in California and set up regulations to inhibit degradation of the environment.
- CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (CPUC)
- A state agency created by constitutional amendment in 1911 to regulate the rates and services of more than 1,500 privately owned utilities and 20,000 transportation companies. The CPUC is an administrative agency that exercises both legislative and judicial…
- CALIFORNIA UTILITY RESEARCH COUNCIL (CURC)
- Public Utilities Code, Sections 9201-9203 requires the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric) to…
- CALL AGGREGATOR
- Any person or entity that provides telecommunications service to the transient public, including but not limited to hotels, motels, resort condominiums, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and rooming houses.
- Call Display Caller ID
- LCD display showing the incoming caller's name and phone number. The display shows the date, time and the caller's name and number. This feature requires a subscription to a service from your local phone company. An added dimension of caller ID is that it…
- CALL-BACK
- A provision included in some power sale contracts that lets the supplier stop delivery when the power is needed to meet certain other obligations.
- Callus
- An excessive build up of the hard tough layers of skin. Can be removed at-home or by an esthetician.
- callus
- An undifferentiated clone of plant cells.
- CALORIE
- One energy calorie is equivalent to 4.2 joules. Thus, it takes 500,000 calories of energy to boil a pot of coffee. One food calorie equals 1,000 energy calories.
- CALORIE (energy calorie
- small "c" - as opposed to food Calorie - capital "C") Any of several approximately equal values of heat, each measured as the quantity of heat require to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius from a standard initial temperature, esp…
- Calvados
- Calvados is an apple brandy made in Normandy, northern France. It's produced from distilled cider and matured in oak barrels. In Normandy it's traditionally served as a digestif during (yes, during) the meal. It's good in cocktails and makes an excellent…
- Calzone
- A pizza that's folded in half and baked so that the filling is enclosed completely - similar to a Cornish pasty or turnover. Calzones are usually made as a single serving. It's popular street food in Italy, particularly in Naples where pizza is said to have…
- Camera Angles Selectable
- Selectable camera angles are ideal for sporting events on DVD. This feature allows you to choose from different shots of the same scene recorded on the disc. MPEG decoder buffer memory helps maintain continuity with this feature.
- camisole
- A short, sleeveless garment for women.
- cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate)
- A molecule that plays a key role in the regulation of various processes within the cell.
- camp pockets
- Pockets that are sewn to the outside of the garment, usually squared off and characterized by seaming.
- canalized character
- A character whose phenotype is kept within narrow boundaries even in the presence of disturbing environments or mutations.
- Canapés
- The term 'canapé' means sofa or settee in French - so traditionally canapés were little platforms of pastry or buttered, fried or toasted bread for tasty things to sit on. It now encompasses all kinds of bite-sized appetisers that can be eaten with the…
- Cancelled Without Prejudice
- A stamp an embassy or consulate puts on a visa when there is a mistake in the visa or the visa is a duplicate visa (two of the same kind). It does not affect the validity of other visas in the passport. It does not mean that the passport holder will not get…
- cancer
- A syndrome that involves the uncontrolled and abnormal division of eukaryotic cells. An informal term for a diverse class of diseases marked by abnormal cell proliferation.
- cancer-family syndrome
- pedigree in which unusually large numbers of blood relatives develop certain kinds of cancers.
- Candela Wax
- Binds oils and waxes to give body to a formulation. Often used in lipsticks.
- Cannellini beans
- A small, white, kidney-shaped bean. You can buy cannellini beans dried or tinned - borlotti beans make a good replacement if you can't find them. Cannellini beans are good for using in salads and casseroles. The dried variety needs to be soaked in cold water…
- cannibal coronal mass ejections
- fast-moving solar eruptions that appear to overtake and often devour their slower-moving kin
- canon
- (1) Strict imitation, in which one voice imitates another at a staggered time interval; (2) a piece that uses canon throughout, such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
- cantata
- A Baroque genre for voice(s) and instruments on a sacred or secular poem, including recitatives, arias, and sometimes choruses.
- cantus firmus
- ("fixed melody") A pre-existing plainchant or secular melody incorporated into a polyphonic composition, common from the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries.
- cap
- A methylated guanine residue added in reverse polarity (ie 3'pMeG5'ppp5'NpNp3') to the 5' end of eukaryotic mRNA during transcription initiation. The cap binds a cap binding protein and acts as an initial binding site for ribosomes during translation.
- CAP (catabolite activator protein)
- A protein, which binds cyclic AMP, whose presence is necessary for the activation of operons whose activity is repressed by the presence of glucose (catabolite repression) eg. lac (lactose), ara (arabinose), gal (galactose) etc. cAMP-CAP complex binds to a…
- cap sleeve
- A small, short sleeve which sits on the shoulder, either forming a stiff cap or falling on to the arm to provide minimal coverage.
- CAPACITY
- The amount of electric power for which a generating unit, generating station, or other electrical apparatus is rated either by the user or manufacturer. The term is also used for the total volume of natural gas that can flow through a pipeline over a given…
- CAPACITY
- The supply of insurance available to meet demand. Capacity depends on the industry’s financial ability to accept risk. For an individual insurer, the maximum amount of risk it can underwrite based on its financial condition. The adequacy of an insurer’s…
- CAPACITY FACTOR
- A percentage that tells how much of a power plant's capacity is used over time. For example, typical plant capacity factors range as high as 80 percent for geothermal and 70 percent for cogeneration.
- CAPACITY RELEASE
- A secondary market for capacity that is contracted by a customer which is not using all of its capacity.
- Cape gooseberries
- Also known as physalis, this is a small, smooth round fruit wrapped in its own papery case that resembles a Chinese lantern. The fruit itself is a pretty orange-gold colour and can be unwrapped and eaten as is, or dipped in melted chocolate and served after…
- Capers
- The pickled flower buds of the caper bush, which grows wild all over the Mediterranean. Fresh capers are picked and immediately preserved in brine or wine vinegar, or are packed in salt (these should be rinsed before use to remove any excess salt). Their…
- CAPITAL
- Shareholder’s equity (for publicly-traded insurance companies) and retained earnings (for mutual insurance companies). There is no general measure of capital adequacy for property/casualty insurers. Capital adequacy is linked to the riskiness of an insurer’s…
- CAPITAL MARKETS
- The markets in which equities and debt are traded. (See Securitization of insurance risk)
- CAPITALIZATION
- A mathematical process for estimating the value of a property using a proper rate of return on the investment and the annual net operating income expected to be produced by the property. The formula is expressed as Income -------- = Value Rate
- CAPITALIZATION RATE
- The rate of return a property will produce on the owner's investment.
- Capon
- A castrated cockerel fed a fattening diet making it particularly juicy and flavourful. it's no longer legal to produce capons in the UK. Capon is still a popular Christmas roast in Italy.
- capri pants
- Fairly straight-cut pants, tapered to the mid-calf.
- Capsicum
- This is the generic name for the pepper family, which includes the large, sweet, mild peppers (green, yellow, orange and red are the most common), which are also called bell peppers or sweet peppers, as well as any of the hundreds of hot chilli peppers…
- capsid
- The protein shell of a virus.
- capsomere
- Protein clusters making up discrete subunits of a viral protein shell.
- CAPTIVE AGENT
- A person who represents only one insurance company and is restricted by agreement from submitting business to any other company, unless it is first rejected by the agent’s captive company. (See Exclusive agent)