Glossary
Terms starting with P
374 definitions · page 3 of 7.
- performance directions
- Words or symbols provided by composers to instruct performers in how their music is to be played, including articulation, dynamics, expression, and phrasing.
- periastron
- the point in an object's orbit at which it is closest to the star it orbits
- pericentric inversion
- An inversion that involves the centromere. A chromosomal inversion that includes the centromere.
- perigee
- the point in a satellite’s orbit when it is closest to Earth
- Périgeux
- Périgeux sauce is a demi-glace sauce made with the addition of finely diced or chopped truffles. It's served with small cuts of meat, poultry or game. You can replace the chopped truffles with truffles sliced into discs and the sauce is then known as…
- perihelion
- the point in an object’s orbit when it’s closest to the sun
- PERIL
- A specific risk or cause of loss covered by an insurance policy, such as a fire, windstorm, flood, or theft. A named-peril policy covers the policyholder only for the risks named in the policy in contrast to an all-risk policy, which covers all causes of…
- period
- the time interval for a regular event to take place
- period
- The musical equivalent of a paragraph. period instrument An instrument of a type that was in use at the time a work was originally performed. phrase The coherent segments that make up a melody; roughly equivalent to a sentence in prose.
- periodic comet
- a comet that has been seen to orbit the sun more than once (Comet Halley was the first recognized as periodic)
- Perl
- Open source CGI scripting programming language. Written in 1987. Still one of the most popular web programming languages mostly due to its powerful text-manipulation facilities. A huge number of Perl scripts are available for download.
- PERM
- The measurement of water vapor through different materials measured in perm-inch (mass of water vapor moving through a unit area in unit time).
- permissive condition
- Environmental condition under which a conditional mutation shows the wild-type phenotype.
- permissive temperature
- A temperature at which temperature-sensitive mutants are normal.
- Perry
- An alcoholic drink, similar to cider, made from specially grown varieties of pears. Look out for single variety perry, which is still made in small amounts by artisan producers; otherwise, sparkling perry is available in supermarkets. A subtly flavoured…
- PERSONAL ARTICLES FLOATER
- A policy or an addition to a policy used to cover personal valuables, like jewelry or furs.
- PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION COVERAGE PIP
- Portion of an auto insurance policy that covers the treatment of injuries to the driver and passengers of the policyholder’s car.
- PERSONAL LINES
- Property/casualty insurance products that are designed for and bought by individuals, including homeowners and automobile policies. (See Commercial lines)
- PEST hypothesis
- The short life-time of a protein is signaled by a region rich in the amino acids proline (P); glutamic acid (E); serine (S); or threonine (T).
- Pesto
- An Italian dark green sauce for pasta originating in Genoa. It's made from pine nuts blended with fresh basil, parmesan or pecorino cheese, garlic and olive oil. Red pesto is made similarly but is based on either sun-dried tomatoes or grilled red peppers…
- Petit fours
- A small French fancy biscuit or cake often served at the end of a meal. Strictly speaking they're oven-baked little cakes ('four' is French for oven) and were classically made with choux pastry or flan pastry. However, a selection of petits fours these days…
- petite
- A yeast mutation producing small colonies and altered mitochondrial functions. In cytoplasmic (neutral and suppressive) petites the mutation is a deletion in mitochondrial DNA, while in segregational petites the mutation occurs in nuclear DNA.
- petite mutation
- A mutation of yeast that produces small (petite) anaerobic-like colonies.
- PETRODOLLARS
- Money paid to other countries for oil imported to the United States.
- Petrolatum
- Used in creams, it softens and soothes skin. Forms a film to prevent moisture loss.
- PETROLEUM
- Oil as found it its natural state under the ground.
- petticoat
- An underskirt usually a little shorter than outer clothing and often made with a ruffled, pleated, or lace edge.
- PG&E
- The acronym for Pacific Gas and Electric Company an electric and natural gas utility serving the central and northern California region.
- pH
- Percentage of hydrogen. Used to measure acidity in cosmetic preparations.
- phase
- the regular cycle of changes in the appearance of a moon or planet
- Phase
- The relationship between different frequencies for the same sound (the relative position of two sound waves with respect to one another, measured in degrees). Sounds are said to be "in phase" if the positive and negative sections of the waveform are…
- Phe
- Phenylalanine (an amino acid).
- phenocopy
- A phenotype that is not genetically controlled but looks like a genetically controlled phenotype. An environmentally induced phenotype that resembles the phenotype produced by a mutation.
- phenotype
- (1) The form taken by some character (or group of characters) in a specific individual. (2) The detectable outward manifestations of a specific genotype. (3) The observable attributes of an organism.
- phenotypic sex determination
- Sex determination by non-genetic means.
- phenotypic variance
- Variance of phenotype due to genotypic and environmental factors combined.
- phenylketonuria(pku)
- A human metabolic disease caused by a mutation in a gene coding for a phenylalanine processing enzyme (phenylalanine hydroxylase), which leads to accumulation of phenylalanine and mental retardation if not treated; inherited as an autosomal recessive…
- pheromone
- A chemical signal, analogous to a hormone, that passes information between individuals.
- Philadelphia chromosome
- A translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 9 and 22, often found in the white blood cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.
- phosphodiester bond
- A bond between a two sugar groups and a phosphate group; such bonds form the sugar-phosphate-sugar backbone of DNA and RNA. A diester bond (between phosphoric acid and two sugar molecules) linking two nucleotides together to form the nucleotide polymers DNA…
- Photoaging
- Skin damage incurred through sun exposure.
- PHOTOCELL
- A device that produces an electric reaction to visible radiant energy (light).
- photometer
- a detector that measures the amount of light coming from an object
- photometry
- the measurement of light intensities
- Photon (y)
- The force carrier particle of electromagnetic interaction
- photons
- individual “particles/waves†of light
- photoreactivation
- The process whereby dimerized pyrimidines (usually thymines) in DNA are restored by an enzyme (deoxyribodipyrimidine photolyase) that requires light energy.
- Photosensitivity
- A condition in which the application or ingestion of certain chemicals or foods can cause skin problems, such as rash, hyperpigmentation and swelling, when the skin is exposed to sunlight.
- photosphere
- the visible surface of the sun
- PHOTOSYNTHESIS
- A process by which green plants change carbon dioxide into oxygen and organic materials. The energy for this process comes from sunlight.
- photovoltaic
- conversion of light energy into electricity
- PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
- A semiconductor that converts light directly into electricity.
- PHP
- PHP is an free, open-source server-side scripting language. PHP code can be embedded in HTML. PHP files usually have extensions like .php or .php3. PHP language style is similar to C and Java. Here is the PHP group web site. Other popular server-side…
- phrasing
- The manner in which a performer organizes and presents the parts of a composition.
- phyletic gradualism
- The process of gradual evolutionary change over time.
- phylogenetic tree
- A diagram showing evolutionary lineages of organisms.
- Physical Presence
- The place where a person is actually, physically located. For example, an applicant applied for a visa by mail in London, but he was living in Paris. He was physically present in Paris.
- Phytocosmetic
- Cosmetics which are made from plants.
- piano
- A keyboard instrument whose tone is produced by hammers striking strings tightly stretched over a large soundboard. A foot pedal controls the damping of the strings.
- piebald
- A mammalian phenotype in which patches of skin are unpigmented because of lack of melanocytes; generally inherited as an autosomal dominant.