ExpertGlossary terms starting with P

3,647 terms

Pre-Attack A period of time immediately prior to an attack, usually hours to minutes to tip-off.
Pre-authorization Some insurance companies require authorization from them before they will pay for medical services like hospitalization or surgery.
Pre-Authorized Engagement Criteria (PEC) Pre-specified quantitative operational parameter thresholds which when surpassed cause automated engagements to be enabled.
Pre-Commit Strategy A tactic in which defense weapons are fired without being individually committed to specific targets.
pre-decrement operator See decrement operator.
Pre-existing Condition A pre-existing condition is a health problem that you already have when you apply for insurance.
Pre-Existing Condition (Job-based Coverage) Any condition (either physical or mental) including a disability for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received…
Pre-existing condition exclusion The period of time that an individual receives no benefits under a health benefit plan for an illness or medical condition for which an individual…
Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Period (Individual Policy) The time period during which an individual policy won't pay for care relating to a pre-existing condition.
Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Period (Job-based Coverage) The time period during which a health plan won't pay for care relating to a pre-existing condition.
Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) A program that will provide a health coverage option for you if you have been uninsured for at least six months, you have a pre-existing condition, and…
Pre-filing Mediation This is a special mediation option for landlords filing eviction actions and tenants filing rent escrow actions in Hennepin County.
pre-filter A coarse filter used to screen out large particles from a fluid or gas, before it is passed through a much finer filter.
Pre-FIRM Building A building for which construction or substantial improvement occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the effective date of an initial Flood…
Pre-foreclosure sale when the servicer allows the homeowner to list and sell the mortgaged property with the understanding that the net proceeds from the sale may be less…
Pre-foreclosure Sale A procedure in which the borrower is allowed to sell a property for an amount less than what is owed on it to avoid a foreclosure.
Pre-Frontal Squall Line A line of thunderstorms that precedes an advancing cold front.
Pre-Frontal Trough An elongated area of relatively low pressure preceding a cold front that is usually associated with a shift in wind direction.
Pre-Hurricane Squall Line It is often the first serious indication that a hurricane is approaching. It is a generally a straight line and resembles a squall-line that occurs with a…
Pre-implantation embryo The very early, free-floating Embryo, from the time the egg is fertilized until implantation in the mother's womb is complete.
Pre-implantation embryos Fertilized eggs (zygotes) and all of the developmental stages up to, but not beyond, the blastocyst stage.
pre-increment operator See increment operator.
pre-mRNA See: primary transcript.
Pre-payment The payment of a debt before it actually becomes due.
Pre-Qualification A preliminary assessment by a lender of the amount it will lend to a potential homebuyer.
Pre-Qualification Letter A letter from a mortgage lender that states that you're pre-qualified to buy a home, but does not commit the lender to a particular mortgage amount.
Pre-Qualify A lender informally determines the maximum amount an individual is eligible to borrow. This is not a guaranty of a loan.
Pre-sentence investigation The procedure after conviction during which the defendant’s criminal history is investigated.
pre-staged client A computer account object that is created within Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) before the operating system of the computer is installed.
Pre-Tax Any type of contribution or compensation deducted from gross pay before earnings are taxed. Commonly referred to as deferred.
pre-transplant A stage in micropropagation - the rooting and hardening process prior to transfer to soil.
Pre-trial hearing A court procedure during which the issues to be tried are narrowed and certain facts and admissions are agreed upon in order to speed up the trial.
Preallocated Disk A type of virtual disk in which all the host disk space for the virtual machine is allocated at the time the virtual disk is created.
preamble The formal introductory clause of a patent claim. Depending on the circumstances, the preamble may or may not define a narrowing element of the claim.
Preamble of Claim The part of the claim that precedes the transitional phrase. Often the preamble states the purpose of the invention, as in "A device for transporting cars…
Preapproval When you're preapproved for a mortgage, the lender guarantees in advance the maximum you can borrow, provided your financial situation doesn't change…
preassignment access plan In satellite communications system operations, a fixed communication channel access plan, as opposed to a demand assignment access plan in which…
Preauthorization A decision by your health insurer or plan that a health care service, treatment plan, prescription drug or durable medical equipment is medically…
Preauthorized Electronic Fund Transfers An EFT authorized in advance to recur at substantially regular intervals.
Preauthorized Payment A system established by a written agreement under which a financial institution is authorized by the customer to debit the customer's account in order to…
prebankruptcy planning The arrangement (or rearrangement) of a debtor's property to allow the debtor to take maximum advantage of exemptions.
Precambrian The oldest and largest division of geologic time, between the consolidation of the Earth's crust and the beginning of the Cambrian period.
precancerous (pre-KAN-ser-us) A term used to describe a condition that may (or is likely to) become cancer. Also called premalignant.
precancerous dermatitis (pree-KAN-seh-rus DER-muh-TY-tis) A skin disease marked by scaly or thickened patches on the skin and often caused by prolonged exposure to arsenic.
precancerous dermatosis (pree-KAN-seh-rus DER-muh-TOH-sis) A skin disease marked by scaly or thickened patches on the skin, and often caused by prolonged exposure to arsenic.
precancerous polyps (pree-KAN-seh-rus PAH-lips) Growths that protrude from a mucous membrane. Precancerous polyps may (or are likely to) become cancer.
Precast dam A dam constructed mainly of large precast concrete blocks or sections.
precautionary designation designation of a Contracting State in an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty which must be confirmed prior to 15 months…
precautionary principle The approach whereby any possible risk associated with the introduction of a new technology is avoided, until a full understanding of its impact on…
PRECD Precede
precedence 1. A designator, which indicates the order in which a number of messages shall be served.
precedence rules The rules that determine the order of evaluation of an expression involving more than one operator.
Precedent Laws established by previous cases which must be followed in actions involving identical circumstances. See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.
Precession The comparatively slow torquing of the orbital planes of all satellites with respect to the Earth's axis, due to the bulge of the Earth at the equator…
precession (of the equinoxes) the slow clockwise motion of the equinoxes along the path of the earth's orbit due to the wobble of the earth's axis.
Precinct See County Election Precinct and Election Day precinct.
Precipitable Water Measure of the depth of liquid water at the surface that would result after precipitating all of the water vapor in a vertical column over a given…
Precipitation The total measurable amount of water received in the form of snow, rain, drizzle, hail, and sleet.
Precipitation Attenuation The loss of energy that radar beam experiences as it passes through an area of precipitation.
Precipitation Mode The standard, or default, operational mode of the WSR-88D. The radar automatically switches into precipitation mode from clear-air mode if the measured…
Precipitation Processing System The WSR-88D system that generates 1-hour running, 3-hourly, and running storm total precipitation accumulations.
precipitation static (p-static) Radio interference caused by the impact of charged particles against an antenna.
precise frequency A frequency that is maintained to the known accuracy of an accepted reference frequency standard.
precise time A time mark that is accurately known with respect to an accepted reference time standard.
precise time and time interval (PTTI) The discipline that addresses precise timekeeping and time information transfer.
Precision The accuracy with which a number can be represented, i.e., the number of digits used to represent a number.
Precision and Recall Precision is the ability to retrieve the most precise results. Higher precision means better relevance and more precise results, but may imply fewer…
Precision Decoys Decoys that precisely match RV characteristics either exoatmospherically or endoatmospherically , or both, and seek to deceive the defense into…
precision-sleeve splicing Optical fiber splicing that uses a capillary tube, of suitable material, to align the mating fibers.
Preclearance Submissions NOT CURRENTLY REQUIRED in TEXAS –Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act provides that preclearance may be obtained by submitting the change to the U.
preclinical study Research using animals to find out if a drug, procedure, or treatment is likely to be useful.
precocious germination Early germination of a seed or embryo, prior to the full maturation of the embryo.
precombining The combining of multiplexed signals prior to the modulation of the carrier. [From Weik '89] Synonym premodulation combining.
Precommercial thinning Thinning for timber stand improvement purposes, generally in young, densely stocked stands.
Preconditions for Defense (PD) PDs are NCA pre-approved criteria, authorities, and procedures that delineate circumstances under which USCINCSPACE BMD forces will initiate or continue…
Precursor A sign that an attacker may be preparing to cause an incident.
precursor B-lymphoblastic leukemia (pree-KER-ser B-LIM-foh-BLAS-tik loo-KEE-mee-uh) A type of leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many B-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are…
Precursor Cells In fetal or adult tissues, these are partly differentiated cells that divide and give rise to differentiated cells. Also known as progenitor cells.
precursor lymphoblastic lymphoma (pree-KER-ser LIM-foh-BLAS-tik lim-FOH-muh) An aggressive (fast-growing) type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which too many lymphoblasts (immature white blood…
precursor T-lymphoblastic leukemia (pree-KER-ser T-LIM-foh-BLAS-tik loo-KEE-mee-uh) A type of leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many T-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are…
precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (pree-KER-ser T-LIM-foh-BLAS-tik lim-FOH-muh) A type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which too many T-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found…
Predatory Lending Abusive lending practices that include making mortgage loans to people who do not have the income to repay them or repeatedly refinancing loans, charging…
predesignation An exchange carrier (EC) service that is provided by suitably equipped end-office switching systems, and by means of which are provided carrier…
predetection Referring to that portion of the circuitry of a receiver which, with respect to the signal being processed, is chronologically prior to the detection.
predetection combining Synonym maximal-ratio combiner.
predicate In Exchange Server 2007, a function that is used as a condition or exception on a transport rule to determine whether an action should be applied to an…
Predicted Intercept Point (PIP) The calculated position in space where the target and interceptor coincide.
predictive factor (prih-DIK-tiv FAK-ter) A situation or condition that may increase a person's risk of developing a certain disease or disorder.
Predictive Variables The variables that are part of the formula comprising elements of a credit-scoring model.
prednisolone A drug that is used to treat blood cell cancers (leukemias) and lymph system cancers (lymphomas).
prednisone (PRED-nih-sone) A drug that is used to treat several types of cancer and other disorders. Prednisone also inhibits the body's immune response.
Predominant period The period(s) at which maximum spectral energy is concentrated.
Predominant Wind The wind that prevails and generates the local component of the significant sea conditions across the forecast area.
preemphasis A system process designed to increase, within a band of frequencies, the magnitude of some (usually higher) frequencies with respect to the magnitude of…
preemphasis improvement In FM broadcasting, the improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of the high-frequency portion of the baseband, i.e.
preemphasis network A network inserted in a system in order to increase the magnitude of one range of frequencies with respect to another.
preempt The currently executing thread may be preempted, or forced to yield control, by a higher priority thread that becomes eligible to run during its timeslice.
preempting call See multilevel precedence and preemption.
preemption The seizure, usually automatic, of military system facilities that are being used to serve a lower precedence call in order to serve immediately a higher…
preemption tone In military telephone systems, a distinctive tone that is used to indicate to connected users, i.e.