ExpertGlossary terms starting with L

1,745 terms

  1. lidocaine (LY-duh-kane) A substance used to relieve pain by blocking signals at the nerve endings in skin.
  2. LIE Legal Instruments Examiner - a position classification for USPTO employees charged with docketing cases and other administrative processing that support…
  3. Lien Legal claim against a property. Once the property is sold, the lien holder is then paid the amount that is owed.
  4. Lien Status For HMDA reporting purposes, lenders are required to report lien status for loans they originate and applications that do not result in originations…
  5. Lien Waiver A document that releases a consumer (homeowner) from any further obligation for payment of a debt once it has been paid in full.
  6. Lienholder A lienholder is the bank, finance company, credit union, other financial institution, or individual with whom you signed an agreement to borrow money…
  7. Life Cap A limit on the range interest rates can increase or decrease over the life of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).
  8. life cycle The sequence of events from a given developmental stage in one generation to the same stage in the following generation.
  9. life cycle (J2EE component) The framework events of a J2EE component's existence. Each type of component has defining events that mark its transition into states in which it has…
  10. life cycle (JavaServer Faces) A set of phases during which a request for a page is received, a UI component tree representing the page is processed, and a response is produced.
  11. life cycle (of a record) distinct phases of a record's existence, from creation to final disposition
  12. Life Cycle assessment A variant of an EMS that tracks a product, process or activity from “cradle to grave.
  13. Life Cycle Cost The sum of all the costs both recurring and nonrecurring, related to a product, structure, system, or service during its life span or specified time…
  14. Life Cycle of a Weapon System All phases of the system's life including research, development, test and evaluation, production, deployment (inventory), operations and support, and…
  15. Life expectancy Your life expectancy is the age to which you can expect to live. Actuarial tables establish your official life expectancy, which insurance companies use…
  16. Life insurance Life insurance is a contract you sign with an insurance company, obligating it to pay a death benefit of a certain value to the beneficiaries you name.
  17. Life Jacket The life support storage container for a Brilliant Pebbles singlet. The life jacket contains subsystems that perform power, communications, and…
  18. life of a patent 20 years from the date of filing.
  19. Life settlement If you are over age 70 and no longer need your life insurance policy, you may be able to sell it to a third party in what's called a life settlement.
  20. Life Tables A table for a given population listing, for each sex and each age from 0 to 120, how many members die at that age and how many survive one more year.
  21. Life vest Personal floatation devices (PFD) to be worn while boating to keep person afloat if overboard.
  22. Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) The total cost to the Government of acquisition and ownership of that system over its useful life.
  23. Life-cycle costing A method of comparing costs of equipment or buildings based on original costs plus all operating and maintenance costs over the useful life of the…
  24. Life-Cycle Management Process for administering an automated information system or hardware support system over its whole life, with emphasis on strengthening early decisions…
  25. Life-Cycle Model A framework containing the processes, activities, and tasks involved in the development, operation, and support of the system, spanning the life of the…
  26. life-of-loan cap See: cap.
  27. Lifecycle The records lifecycle is the life span of a record from its creation or receipt to its final disposition.
  28. Lifecycle fund A lifecycle fund, which is a fund of funds, invests in individual mutual funds that a fund company puts together to help investors meet their objectives…
  29. Lifeline account A lifeline account is a basic checking account with low or no minimum deposit and balance requirements and very low or no monthly fees.
  30. Lifetime (Atmospheric) The lifetime of a greenhouse gas refers to the approximate amount of time it would take for the anthropogenic increment to an atmospheric pollutant…
  31. Lifetime Cap For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount that the interest rate or monthly payment can increase or decrease over the life of the loan.
  32. Lifetime learning credit You may qualify to claim a lifetime learning tax credit of up to $2,000 each year for qualified higher educational expenses for yourself, your spouse, or…
  33. Lifetime Limit A dollar limit on how much the insurance company will pay in your lifetime. An insurer may, for example, cover up to $1 million over your lifetime.
  34. Lifetime Risk The probability of developing cancer in the course of one's lifespan. Lifetime risk may also be discussed in terms of the probability of developing or of…
  35. LIFO Last In, First Out. See also "FIFO". A LIFO is usually called a "stack".
  36. LIFO (last in, first out) The (LIFO) semantics of a stack data structure. Items are removed in the opposite order to which they arrived in the stack, so newer items are always…
  37. LIFR Low Instrument Flight Rules
  38. Lift The force that pulls a wind turbine blade, as opposed to drag.
  39. Lift line Horizontal construction joint created when new concrete is placed on previously placed concrete.
  40. Lifted Index (abbrev. LI)- A common measure of atmospheric instability. Its value is obtained by computing the temperature that air near the ground would have if it…
  41. Lifting Condensation Level (LCL) - The level at which a parcel of moist air becomes saturated when it is lifted dry adiabatically.
  42. ligand A small molecule (e.g. activators, substrates and inhibitors of enzyme activity) bound to a protein by non-covalent forces; an ion or a molecule that…
  43. ligase See: DNA ligase.
  44. Ligase (DNA ligase) An enzyme that catalyzes a condensation reaction that links two DNA molecules via the formation of a phosphodiester bond between the 3' hydroxyl and 5'…
  45. ligase chain reaction (Abbreviation: LCR). A technique for the detection and amplification of target DNA sequences.
  46. Ligate The process of joining two or more DNA fragments.
  47. ligate, ligation The joining of two linear double-stranded DNA fragments by the formation of phosphodiester bonds.
  48. ligation (lye-GAY-shun) The process of tying off blood vessels so that blood cannot flow to a part of the body or to a tumor.
  49. ligature Two or more characters that are connected so that they appear as one character, such as joining f and i form the ligature fi.
  50. Light A pane of glass; a window, or a compartment of a window.
  51. Light Boat A towboat without a tow.
  52. Light Bridge In solar-terrestrial terms, it is observed in white light, a bright tongue or streaks penetra- ting or crossing sunspot umbrae.
  53. Light Cahill A dry fly pattern.
  54. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) A precision probing instrument used to measure concentrations of different gasses or particulates in a given amount of atmosphere.
  55. Light fixture An electrical device used to create artificial light and/or illumination.
  56. light intensity The amount of light that can be measured at certain depths of water; the great the intensity, the farther down the light will project.
  57. light microscope A microscope (device to magnify small objects) in which objects are lit directly by white light.
  58. light pen A stylus, usually hand-held, that contains a photodetector or light source, and that allows interaction with a computer through a specially designed…
  59. Light pollution Any adverse effect of human-made lighting, such as excessive illumination of night-skies by artificial light.
  60. Light Quality A description of how well people in a lighted space can see to do visual tasks and how visually comfortable they feel in that space.
  61. Light Replicas (LREP) Decoys that, by virtue of shape, closely approximate an RVs signature with little off-load penalty.
  62. Light spillage An undesirable condition in which light is cast where it is not wanted. (Also referred to as light trespass.)
  63. light therapy (… THAYR-uh-pee) The treatment of disease with certain types of light.
  64. Light Trapping The trapping of light inside a semiconductor material by refracting and reflecting the light at critical angles; trapped light will travel further in the…
  65. Light trespass See Light spillage
  66. light valve Synonym optical switch.
  67. Light Year The distance light travels in a year: {Distance equals rate times time: 300,000,000 meters per second, times roughly 30 million seconds equals roughly} 9.
  68. Light-duty vehicles Automobiles and light trucks combined.
  69. Light-emitting diode (LED) This very energy efficient lighting technology uses 80 to 90% less energy than conventional lights.
  70. light-emitting diode therapy (lite-ee-MIT-ing THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment with drugs that become active and may kill cancer cells when exposed to light.
  71. Light-Induced Defects Defects, such as dangling bonds, induced in an amorphous silicon semiconductor upon initial exposure to light.
  72. Lighter Aboard Ship (LASH) ships It is a specialized container ship carrying very large floating containers, or "lighters.
  73. lightguide See optical fiber.
  74. Lighting The method or equipment for providing artificial illumination.
  75. lightness The brightness of an area subjectively judged relative to the brightness of a similarly illuminated area that appears to be white or highly transmitting.
  76. Lightning (abbrev. LTNG) A visible electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm. The discharge may occur within or between clouds, between the cloud and air…
  77. Lightning Channel The irregular path through the air along which a lightning discharge occurs. A typical discharge of flash between the ground and the cloud is actually a…
  78. Lightning Discharge The series of electrical processes by which charge is transferred along a channel of high ion density between electrical charge centers of opposite sign.
  79. lightning down-conductor In a lightning protection subsystem, the conductor connecting the air terminal or overhead ground wire to the earth electrode subsystem.
  80. lightning protection subsystem All of the components used to protect a facility from the effects of lightning.
  81. Lightning Stroke Any of a series of repeated electrical discharges comprising a single lightning discharge (strike).
  82. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) An industry-standard protocol established by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that allows users to query and update information in a directory…
  83. Lightweight Directory Services A stand-alone directory service that is designed specifically for use with directory-enabled applications.
  84. lightweight process See thread.
  85. lignan (LIG-nun) A member of a group of substances found in plants that have shown estrogenic and anticancer effects.
  86. lignification The thickening and strengthening of a plant cell wall with lignin.
  87. lignin A group of high-molecular-weight amorphous polymers of phenylpropanoid compounds, giving strength to certain tissues. A major component of wood.
  88. lignin pseudo-molecule for modeling The lignin ratio of methoxy groups to phenylpropanoid groups (MeO:C9) is used to calculate an ultimate analysis for the lignin pseudo-molecule.
  89. lignin ratio of MeO to C9 Lignin empirical formulae are based on ratios of methoxy groups to phenylpropanoid groups (MeO:C9).
  90. Lignite A brownish-black coal of low rank with high inherent moisture and volatile matter content, used almost exclusively for electric power generation.
  91. lignocellulose The combination of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose that forms the structural framework of plant cell walls.
  92. likelihood of confusion a statutory basis (Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. Section 1052(d), TMEP §1207 et seq.
  93. Likely (abbrev. LKLY) In probability of precipitation statements, the equivalent of a 60 or 70 percent chance.
  94. Limb In solar-terrestrial terms, the edge of the solar disk.
  95. Limb Flare In solar-terrestrial terms, a solar flare seen at the edge (Limb) of the sun.
  96. limb perfusion (LIM per-FYOO-zhun) A procedure that may be used to deliver anticancer drugs directly to an arm or leg.
  97. limbic system (LIM-bik SIS-tem) A network of structures in the brain involved in memory and emotions.
  98. LIMDIS Limited Distribution.
  99. Limestone A sedimentary rock made mostly of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate). Limestone is usually formed from shells of once-living organisms or other…
  100. LIMIDIS Limited Distribution. 166