Glossary
Terms starting with D
303 definitions · page 3 of 6.
- development
- The process whereby a single cell becomes a differentiated organism. The process of orderly change that an individual goes through in the formation of structure.
- DEVISE
- A gift of real property by will. The donor is the devisor, and the recipient is the devisee.
- dew point
- temperature at which air at constant pressure must cool to become saturated with water vapor, followed by condensation.
- DHCP
- (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). An automated way of obtaining an IP address in the Local Area Network.
- diakinesis
- The final stage of prophase 1 of meiosis when chiasmata terminalize.
- Dial up
- Dialup access is a way of connecting a computer to the Internet using a modem and the telephone line. It is rather slow and blocks the telephone line.
- diamond neck
- A diamond-shaped cutout that fastens at the front or back neckline.
- Diamond-Cut
- A process where angled cuts are made into gold, giving it a unique appearance..
- Diamond-Cut Rope
- A style of chain in which a portion of the chain is cut away at an angle, then polished to a high shine.
- dicentric chromosome
- A chromosome with two centromeres.
- dictyotene
- A prolonged diplonema of primary oocytes that can last many years.
- dideoxy method
- A method of DNA sequencing that uses chain-terminating (dideoxy) nucleotides.
- DIESEL OIL
- Fuel for diesel engines obtained from the distillation of petroleum. It is composed chiefly of aliphatic hydrocarbons. Its volatility is similar to that of gas oil. Its efficiency is measured by cetane number.
- DIFFERENCE IN CONDITIONS
- Policy designed to fill in gaps in a business’s commercial property insurance coverage. There is no standard policy. Policies are specifically tailored to the policyholder’s needs.
- differentiation
- The changes in cell shape and physiology associated with the production of the final cell types of a particular organ or tissue.
- diffraction
- the spreading out of light as it passes the edge of an obstacle
- DIFFUSE RADIATION
- Solar radiation, scattered by water vapor, dust and other particles as it passes through the atmosphere, so that it appears to come from the entire sky. Diffuse radiation is higher on hazy or overcast days than on clear days.
- Digital Answering System
- In a fully digital answering system, both incoming and outgoing messages are recorded on integrated circuitry (a memory chip). This feature allows certain messages to be erased while preserving others, regardless of their recorded time.
- Digital Comb Filter
- Converts chroma (colour) and luminance (detail, black and white) information into digital code and eliminates video noise. The end result is improved picture quality and colour purity without dot crawl. Dot crawl occurs when edges of the picture move and…
- Digital Convergence
- Refers to the alignment of red, blue and green at a common point on a projection TV screen to produce white. In projection TV models with this feature, the red, blue and green images converge at more than 165 independent points on the projection screen. This…
- Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
- A single computer chip that allows artificially intelligent systems to set optimum exposure and maintain colour fidelity automatically.
- Digital Sound Control (DSC)
- Allows the user to select from different sound settings that are optimized for certain types of music, such as jazz, rock and classical.
- Digital Spread Spectrum
- Transmits or spreads the telephone signal over many frequencies per second, bringing unprecedented range and security to your cordless conversations.
- Digital Surround Sound
- Gives you six channels of discrete digital audio. Dialogue, background music and other effects are distinctly reproduced for extraordinary realism.
- Digital Video Noise Reduction
- Compares the picture signals for individual pixels of two consecutive fields, then removes the noise components that exist in both the luminance and chrominance portions or the signals.
- Digital Zoom
- Electronically extends a camcorder's or digital camera's built-in optical zoom capability and expands the range of focal length adjustment.
- dihybrid
- An organism heterozygous at two loci.
- dihybrid cross
- A cross between two individuals identically heterozygous at two loci for example, AaBb/AaBb.
- Dihydroxyacetone (DHA)
- A self-tanning agent used in cosmetics.
- Dim sum
- The collective term for an array of little dishes eaten mainly by southern and Hong Kong Chinese and served in tea houses and restaurants all day long. It's sometimes called 'yum cha' after the Chinese tradition of taking tea, and tea is the drink usually…
- dimerization
- The chemical union of two identical molecules.
- DIMINUTION OF VALUE
- The idea that a vehicle loses value after it has been damaged in an accident and repaired.
- dimorphism
- A polymorphism involving only two forms.
- dioecious plant
- A plant species in which male and female organs appear on separate individuals.
- diploid
- The state of having each chromosome in two copies per nucleus or cell. A cell having two chromosome sets, or an individual having two chromosome sets in each of its cells.
- diplonema (diplotene stage)
- The stage of prophase of meiosis I in which chromatids appear to repel each other.
- DIRECT ACCESS
- The ability of a retail customer to purchase commodity electricity directly from the wholesale market rather than through a local distribution utility. (See also Retail Competition)
- DIRECT CURRENT (DC)
- Electricity that flows continuously in the same direction.
- Direct Digital Recording
- With direct digital recording, digital compact cassette (DCC) decks use digital inputs and digital outputs from CD players or receivers to create crisp, clean digital recordings without the noise associated in the usual digital to analog conversions of…
- DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
- Production of electricity from an energy source without transferring the energy to a working fluid or steam. For example, photovoltaic cells transform light directly into electricity. Direct conversion systems have no moving parts and usually produce direct…
- DIRECT EXPANSION
- (refrigeration) - Any system that, in operation between an environment where heat is absorbed (heat source), and an environment into which unwanted heat is directed (heat sink) at two different temperatures, is able to absorb heat from the heat source at the…
- Direct Frequency Tuning
- Allows direct access to a desired radio station by entering exact digits of that station by using remote control or buttons on the front panel of the receiver.
- DIRECT PREMIUMS
- Property/casualty premiums collected by the insurer from policyholders, before reinsurance premiums are deducted. Insurers share some direct premiums and the risk involved with their reinsurers.
- DIRECT RADIATION
- Radiation that has traveled a straight path from the sun, as opposed to diffuse radiation.
- DIRECT SALES DIRECT RESPONSE
- Method of selling insurance directly to the insured through an insurance company’s own employees, through the mail, or via the Internet. This is in lieu of using captive or exclusive agents.
- DIRECT SALES/ DIRECT RESPONSE
- Method of selling insurance directly to the insured through an insurance company’s own employees, through the mail, or via the Internet. This is in lieu of using captive or exclusive agents.
- DIRECT SOLAR GAIN
- Solar energy collected from the sun (as heat) in a building through windows, walls, skylights, etc.
- Direct Stream Digital™ Encoding (DSDE)
- A technology used by SACD (SONY) systems. The key advantage of DSDE is that it can carry 4 times as much information as the conventional CD/PCM format. DSDE also has a superior frequency response and dynamic range across the audible frequency range.
- DIRECT WRITERS
- Insurance companies that sell directly to the public using exclusive agents or their own employees, through the mail, or via Internet. Large insurers, whether predominately direct writers or agency companies, are increasingly using many different channels to…
- directed mutagenesis
- Altering some specific part of a cloned gene and reintroducing the modified gene back into the organism.
- directional selection
- A type of selection that removes individuals from one end of a phenotypic distribution and thus causes a shift in the distribution. Selection that changes the frequency of an allele in a constant direction, either toward or away from fixation for that allele.
- DIRECTLY CONDITIONED SPACE
- See conditioned space, directly.
- DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS LIABILITY INSURANCE D&O
- Covers directors and officers of a company for negligent acts or omissions, and for misleading statements that result in suits against the company, often by shareholders. Directors and officers insurance policies usually contain two coverages: personal…
- Directory
- (see Web directory)
- DISAGGREGATION
- The functional separation of the vertically integrated utility into smaller, individually owned business units (i.e., generation, dispatch/control, transmission, distribution). The terms "deintegration," "disintegration" and "delamination" are sometimes used…
- disassortative mating
- The mating of two individuals with dissimilar phenotypes.
- Disc Exchange
- Lets you listen to the disc inside a multiple CD changer while you change the other discs that you are not playing - continuous music without interruption.
- disco
- A style of popular dance music characterized by slick, ostinato-like rhythms and propulsive, repetitive lyrics.
- discontinuous replication
- Replication of DNA in short 5' to 3' segments using the 5' to 3' strand as a template while going backward away from the replication fork.
- discontinuous variation
- Variation that falls into discrete categories (eg the colour of garden peas).