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11/14/02
Business: INDEMNITY (in-dem-nah-tee)
Noun: Protection against loss or damage or an exemption from penalties or liabilities.
Example Sentence: The company's insurance provided indemnity from damage incurred as a result of natural disasters.
11/13/02
Business: BAIT AND SWITCH
Noun: A fraudulent practice whereby a merchant advertises a low-cost item intended to attract potential customers but then steers them to a higher priced item, claiming the advertised product is no longer in stock.
Example Sentence: Carl filed charges with the local Better Business Bureau after the local hardware store practiced a bait and switch in its last advertising campaign.
11/05/02
Business: POINT-OF-PURCHASE
Adjective: Describes an advertising technique in which signs, displays, and other attention-getting methods are used to entice customers to purchase a product directly at its location of sale.
Example Sentence: Using point-of-purchase advertising, the company drastically improved its sales revenue over last month's direct-mail marketing campaign.
11/04/02
Business: SLOGAN (slow-gen)
Noun: A short, memorable phrase used in advertising as an attention-getting technique for a specific product, service, or company.
Example Sentence: "Don't leave home without it" has become a slogan
forever tied to the American Express card.
10/31/02
Health: TENDON (ten-dun)
Noun: The tough, flexible tissue that attaches muscle to bone.
Example Sentence: David's injury to his a tendon in his ankle kept him from
playing the remainder of the football game.
10/29/02
Health: TEMPORAL LOBE (tem-po-rahl lobe)
Noun: A rounded division in each hemisphere of the brain that contains the auditory cortex, responsible for hearing.
Example Sentence: After suffering an injury to his temporal lobe, John's
hearing decreased dramatically.
10/28/02
Health: XENOPHOBIA (ze-nah-foe-be-ah)
Noun: An undue and unreasonable fear of strangers and/or anything strange or foreign.
Example Sentence: Amy's xenophobia often prevented her from venturing out
to public places.
10/25/02
Finance: P/E RATIO
Noun: A stock's latest closing market price divided by its earnings per share for the past 12 months. It is most commonly used to compare to other stock P/E ratios for similar companies and the stock market as a whole as a means to assess whether a stock is priced too high or too cheap.
Example Sentence: Based on the stock's P/E ratio, Barry decided that it was
not performing well enough to warrant his investment.
10/24/02
Finance: HYPERINFLATION (hi-per-in-flay-shun)
Noun: An extremely high increase rate (often, 100% a year or more) of price
levels in general, usually in a very short time.
Example Sentence: After the war, hyperinflation rendered the country's currency
practically valueless.
10/23/02
Finance: BALANCE SHEET
Noun: A statement outlining a company's financial condition in terms of assets, liabilities, and equity as of a specific date.
Example Sentence: According to the quarterly balance sheet, the business
was doing better than expected.
10/22/02
Business: LAISSEZ-FAIRE (le-say-fare)
Noun: A philosophy, doctrine, or policy that reduces a government's interference in economic affairs to the bare minimum required for peace and the enforcement of property rights.
Example Sentence: The senator believed that only through a policy of laissez-faire
could true economic prosperity occur.
10/21/02
Business: JOINT VENTURE (joint ven-chur)
Noun: A collaboration between two or more businesses in which each contributes to the establishment, ownership, and control of a new product offering or service.
Example Sentence: Alice and her competitor decided to embark on a joint venture
to market a new service and increase everyone's profits.
10/18/02
Business: DELAYER (dee-lay-er)
Verb: In business, to remove the middle management layers from a corporate structure, usually with the aim of increasing flexibility and responsiveness by bringing the company's decision makers closer to the customers.
Example Sentence: Increasing customer complaints prompted the CEO to delayer
the company.
10/17/02
Business: AD VALOREM (ad veh-lor-ehm)
Adjective: Latin for "according to value," a charge, tax, or fee imposed as a percentage of the value of an item or service.
Example Sentence: The international price for the company's product included an ad valorem tax on the item.
10/16/02
Finance: DEBIT (deh-bit)
Noun: A deduction from a bank or other financial account. Also, a left-hand side entry on an accounting sheet denoting an addition to an expense.
Example Sentence: The monthly bank account transaction printout clearly showed
the disputed debit from the company's account.
10/15/02
Health: AORTA (a-or-tah)
Noun: The largest artery and the central conduit of blood from the heart to the body. The aorta rises from the heart before branching off into smaller arteries that carry oxygenated blood throughout the body.
Example Sentence: The doctor recommended immediate surgery to remove a buildup
in John's aorta.
10/11/02
Health: EPIDERMIS (eh-pah-der-mahs)
Noun: The outer layer of skin cells, consisting mostly of flat, flaky scales. Other cells in the epidermis include melanocytes, which give skin its color.
Example Sentence: By generating more melanin, the epidermis achieves a darker
color.
10/10/02
Health: CHRONIC (krah-nik)
Adjective: As it relates to health, describing or denoting a condition, symptoms, or other maladies that are long in duration and/or marked by frequent recurrence.
Example Sentence: John's chronic heartburn prevented him from enjoying many
types of foods.
10/09/02
Health: ACUTE (ah-kyut)
Adjective: As it relates to health, describing or denoting symptoms, a disease, or another malady that is sharp and severe, but lasting only a short time. Also, a responsiveness to slight impressions or stimuli.
Example Sentence: Hours after dining at the new restaurant, John began to
experience acute pain in his abdomen.
10/08/02
Family: RELICT (re-likt)
Noun: A widow.
Example Sentence: Her husband's unexpected death left Mary a relict with
a sizable life insurance settlement.
10/07/02
Family: PROGENITOR (pro-jen-nih-tor)
Noun: A direct male ancestor; also referred to as forefather.
Example Sentence: Through his genealogical research, Mark discovered that a progenitor in his family was related to George Washington.
10/04/02
Family: PATRONYMIC (pa-trah-ni-mik)
Noun: A name, usually a family name, created from the name of a paternal ancestor.
Example Sentence: Robert's last name, Johnson, is a patronymic derived from "John's son."
10/03/02
Family: HOLOGRAPHIC WILL (hawl-o-grafik wil)
Noun: A handwritten will signed by the person to which the will belongs. Some states do not recognize the legal validity of holographic wills or dictate that the entire will must be in the handwriting of the person to which it belongs.
Example Sentence: While searching through her parent's attic, Mary found
a holographic will belonging to her great grandfather.
10/02/02
Life: HUBRIS (hue-bris)
Noun: Arrogance or an exaggerated sense of pride or self-confidence, often characterized by an insolence toward others.
Example Sentence: Andy's hubris made it difficult for him to cultivate lasting
relationships.
09/30/02
Health: VERTIGO (ver-ta-go)
Noun: A condition in which someone feels as if his or her surroundings are spinning or whirling dizzily, sometimes resulting in nausea and loss of balance, as well as difficulty walking or standing. Vertigo may have many causes, though inner ear problems are the most common reason for the condition.
Example Sentence: Her vertigo made it difficult for Pam to climb the narrow
stairs leading to the meeting room.
09/27/02
Business: JPEG (jay-peg)
Noun: Short for "Joint Photographic Experts Group," a compression format for high-quality color graphics that can reduce file sizes by as much as 95%, though some detail will inevitably be lost. However, the JPEG format is able to retain more color depth and data than GIF and other compression formats and produces files (with a .JPG extension) that are typically smaller and easier to download. JPEG files can also be viewed on both Macs and PCs.
Example Sentence: Because the 200MB photograph was too large to send via
e-mail, Elaine compressed the picture and sent it as a much smaller JPEG file.
09/25/02
Business: PROTOCOL (pro-tow-cahl)
Noun: Pre-determined communications formats or rules that are used to allow different devices, such as two or more modems, to transmit data. Protocols vary in reliability, speed, and other factors.
Example Sentence: FTP (file transfer protocol) is one of the many protocols
the Internet uses to enable transmission of data among networked computers.
09/24/02
Business: KIOSK (kee-ahsk)
Noun: An offline site, such as an ATM or a computer providing Internet access or tourist information, that provides a computer-related service in such a way that users need no training and documentation to operate the machine. Also, a Web page that presents its information with no visual clutter, such as toolbars, menus, and borders--sometimes called presentation mode.
Example Sentence: Kelly used the touch screen on the store's kiosk to enter
her bridal registry information.
09/20/02
Finance: OLIGOPOLY (ahl-a-gop-ahlee)
Noun: A market that is characterized by a small number of producers who, although they lack the power to completely control the market itself, still often work together to control the supply and pricing of particular goods.
Example Sentence: The oligopoly in the airline industry ensures that airline
prices remain about the same, no matter which airline through which you book
your flight.
09/18/02
Business: FREEWARE
Noun: A type of software that is copyrighted and given away free by the author and/or owner.
Example Sentence: Michelle often perused the listings of freeware on the
Internet for fun games and cool programs for her computer.
09/14/02
Business: OPERATING SYSTEM
Noun: A vital program on a computer that performs important tasks, such as processing input from the keyboard, sending data for displaying on the computer screen, filing and tracking files and directories, controlling peripherals, and running other programs. Every personal computer, as well as servers and other types of computers, must have an operating system in order to function.
Example Sentence: Most personal computers come with the Microsoft Windows
operating system pre-installed.
09/13/02
Business: BIOS (bi-ohs)
Noun: Short for "basic input/output system," software needed for controlling your computer's keyboard, display screen, disk drives, and other miscellaneous functions. The BIOS comes pre-built into your computer's ROM (read-only memory) chip and is, therefore, unaffected by hard disk failures.
Example Sentence: In order to get his computer to access the CD-ROM drive
first when starting up, James had to change the start-up sequence in his computer's
BIOS.
09/10/02
Finance: MAINTENANCE FEE (main-ten-ans fee)
Noun: Sometimes also referred to as a management fee, a charge for administering and maintaining IRAs, mutual funds, and other financial accounts and portfolios.
Example Sentence: To maximize his earnings, Ian decided to purchase mutual
funds with no maintenance fees.
09/09/02
Business: LLC
Noun: Short for limited liability company, an entity that shares qualities of both a partnership and a corporation. Company owners are protected from personal liability (as in a corporation), while profits and losses are permitted to pass through the business untaxed and go directly to the owners (as in a partnership). The owners then report the income or losses on their own personal tax forms. Regulations about forming an LLC vary from state to state, but most require companies to have at least two members to declare an LLC.
Example Sentence: The sign outside the local business office read "ABC
Company, LLC," indicating that it was a limited liability company.
09/06/02
Health: DNA
Noun: Short for deoxyribonucleic acid, a chemical that resides in the nuclei of cells. Constructed as a double helix, DNA forms the molecular basis of heredity (or the genetic instructions) for all living things.
Example Sentence: The police were able to determine the intruder's identity
by comparing a variety of suspects' DNA against some found at the crime scene.
09/04/02
Health: AMINO ACID (uh-meen-o a-sid)
Noun: Any of a group of 20 varieties of molecules that form chains, which then serve as the building blocks of proteins.
Example Sentence: His high-protein diet meant that John ate many foods rich
in amino acids.
09/03/02
Business: LOGO
Noun: A graphic symbol or design element used to identify and/or represent
a company, organization, or product.
Example Sentence: Karen recognized the brand of shoes worn by her friend by the familiar Nike logo along the side.
08/30/02
Business: HTML
Noun: Short for Hypertext Markup Language, the main code used to create and designate structure and layout for sites on the Web. Using HTML, for example, you can dictate bolding, italicizing, and other formatting for text, insert hypertext links to other Websites, define tables, etc.
Example Sentence: Using nothing but a simple text editor, Kate tapped into
her limited knowledge of HTML coding to design her personal Website.
08/27/02
Business: LOSS LEADER
Noun: Any retail item, product, or service that is offered at a loss or at an enticingly low price in order to generate new customers and/or to encourage consumers to purchase other, more profitable items or services in the future.
Example Sentence: By slashing prices on last year's model, the company created
an effective loss leader that helped build sales and attract new customers.
08/26/02
Business: VIRAL MARKETING
Noun: The online equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising, a marketing method that works by encouraging people to forward marketing messages through e-mail and other digital forms to others. Although played up as the next, great marketing method a few years ago, viral marketing has since fallen out of favor.
Example Sentence: Cathy's viral marketing techniques fizzled as her messages
were lost amid hundreds of other e-mails in her recipients' inboxes.
08/23/02
Finance: FIXED-RATE LOAN
Noun: A loan in which the interest rate is predetermined and remains the same throughout the life of the loan.
Example Sentence: To determine exactly how much money he would have to pay
back to the bank, Martin decided to go with a fixed-rate loan for his home
remodeling project.
08/22/02
Business: JAVASCRIPT (jah-vah-skript)
Noun: A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems and Netscape that can interact with a Web page's HTML code to provide dynamic and interactive content.
Example Sentence: Using JavaScript code, Jamie was able to post an interactive
calendar on her Website.
08/21/02
Business: EMOTICON (e-mow-tih-kon)
Noun: Short for emotion icon, any combination of punctuation and/or letters meant to imply a facial expression and/or emotion or mood connected to text in chat rooms and other online mediums.
Example Sentence: To make sure her joke was taken lightheartedly by readers, Alice ended her sentence with a smiley emoticon or :-).
08/20/02
Business: UNIX (yoo-niks)
Noun: A flexible, powerful, and stable operating system developed in the early 1970s at Bell Labs. Today, much of the Internet is hosted on machines running Unix.
Example Sentence: Because of its increasing popularity among programmers in the 1990s, there are now many versions of Unix (such as Linux and GNU) available.
08/19/02
Business: HYPERTEXT (hi-per-tekst)
Noun: A nonsequential method of presenting information and the database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, that drives the World Wide Web. Within this system, objects, pictures, audio, programs, and other data can all be linked to each other. By selecting one file or piece of data, a user can find and access the other objects connected to it.
Example Sentence: Users could easily access more information on Adam's Web
page by selecting the hypertext links, which appeared as underlined words.
08/16/02
Business: FIREWALL
Noun: A hardware and/or software system designed to prevent unauthorized access (as from the Internet) into a business or individual's private network or intranet.
Example Sentence: The company's firewall prevented Casey from accessing vital
data on the business's servers.
08/14/02
Business: PARALLEL PORT
A 25-pin connector on the back of PCs. Parallel ports can send and receive multiple bits of data at the same time, and, therefore, transmit information faster than serial ports, which send and receive data one bit at a time. Although used mostly for connecting printers to computers, parallel ports can also be used to attach CD-ROM drives, back-up tape units, scanners, and other peripherals.
Example Sentence: After unpacking her new printer, Carrie plugged the device
into the parallel port on the back of her computer.
08/12/02
Life: WAIVER (wa-ver)
Noun: A disclaimer or renouncement of a right a person or entity may otherwise have had.
Example Sentence: The police viewed John's willingness to talk as a waiver
of his right to remain silent.
08/09/02
Finance: USURY (yu-zhe-ree)
Noun: An excessive or illegal rate of interest charged to a borrower for the use of money.
Example Sentence: Loan sharks often charge interest rates above the legal
limit for usury.
08/07/02
Life: ULTRA VIRES (ul-tra vi-rez)
Adjective: A term meaning "beyond the power," as when a person or organization acts beyond its power or authority.
Example Sentence: The corporation's ultra vires activities led to several
lawsuits filed by the stockholders.
08/06/02
Life: RESCIND (re-sind)
Verb: To cancel a contract in such a way as to place the parties of that contract in the same position they would have been had there never been a contract in the first place.
Example Sentence: Financial difficulties forced the company to rescind its
contracts with local businesses.
07/31/02
Life: INJUNCTION (in-junk-shun)
Noun: A writ or court order requiring a party to do something or to refrain from a specific act.
Example Sentence: The court's injunction prevented Shirley from selling the
contested property until the case was resolved at trial.
07/30/02
Life: IMMUNITY (i-mewn-i-tee)
Noun: An exemption for an individual, corporation, or other entity from current laws or a legal requirement or liability, either criminal or civil.
Example Sentence: In exchange for his testimony against his business partner,
Chris was granted immunity from prosecution for his actions relating to the
crime.
07/29/02
Life: ARCHIVES (ar-kives)
Noun: A group or collection of documents and records kept and preserved at a given site.
Example Sentence: Many written works are kept at the National Archives in
Washington D.C. or at one of its branches.
07/26/02
Family: ADMINISTRATOR (ad-min-i-stra-ter)
Noun: Sometimes also referred to as executor or guardian, a court-appointed person charged with settling or maintaining the estate of a minor, a person deemed mentally incompetent, or a deceased person who died without leaving a will.
Example Sentence: As administrator of Mr. Brown's estate, Martha was authorized
to use Mr. Brown's savings accounts to pay any outstanding debts incurred
before his death.
07/25/02
Family: LINEAGE (lin-e-uj)
Noun: A group of individuals who can trace their descent from a common ancestor.
Example Sentence: Tracy could trace her family's lineage back nine generations
to a Virginia landowner.
07/24/02
Family: HOMESTEAD (hohm-sted)
Noun: A house or ancestral home, along with the adjoining land occupied by a family. Also, land acquired under the Homestead Act of 1862, which provided the head of a family with 160 acres of land to be improved upon and lived on for at least five years.
Example Sentence: It was a long trip to the old homestead for Rachel's family
reunion.
07/23/02
Family: FRATERNAL (fruh-ter-nul)
Adjective: A term describing twins derived from two ova. Also, relating to, of, or regarding brothers or a group of persons who share a common interest.
Example Sentence: Unlike their identical twin cousins, Tammy and Jason were fraternal twins and did not resemble each other in the slightest.
07/22/02
Family: ARMS
Noun: Hereditary armorial insignia or markings, such as in a coat of arms.
Example Sentence: Although Mark and Jason had the same surname, only Jason
could claim the rights of displaying the arms for his particular family
07/19/02
Family: ANCESTOR CHART (an-ses-ter chart)
Noun: Sometimes called a pedigree chart, a diagram outlining a person's direct line of ancestors.
Example Sentence: Dana's ancestor chart showed his lineage back three centuries.
07/18/02
Family: KINSHIP (kin-ship)
Noun: A term describing the relationship of persons by marriage or, more often, by a common ancestry.
Example Sentence: By researching her family tree, Nicole found that she could claim kinship with Napoleon Bonaparte.
07/17/02
Health: DANDRUFF (dan-druhf)
Noun: A mild skin condition resulting most often in white or gray flakes
shedding from the scalp.
Example Sentence: Mike treated his dandruff with a specially formulated shampoo.
07/16/02
Health: WHEAL (weel)
Noun: Also called a welt or hive, a suddenly formed elevation on an area
of the skin, often associated with itching and/or a burning sensation.
Example Sentence: After taking an evening walk through bug-ridden woods,
Mary noticed several wheals on her legs and arms.
07/15/02
Health: WART (wort)
Noun: A projection on the epidermis or outer layer of skin that is caused by a virus, such as herpes. Warts can be transmitted by contact.
Example Sentence: The plantar warts on James' feet had to be removed surgically.
07/12/02
Health: FLOATING RIB
Noun: One of two ribs in the human body not attached to the sternum (or breast bone) nor to another rib.
Example Sentence: The blow to his chest managed to crack one of Nathan's
floating ribs.
07/11/02
Health: FOLLICLE (fa-li-kul)
Noun: A small, anatomical cavity or deep, narrow, open depression, most often associated with a sac on the skin from which hair grows.
Example Sentence: Working with chemicals for years had permanently damaged
the follicles on Joe's arms so that hair would no longer grow there.
07/10/02
Health: KYPHOSIS (ki-foe-sis)
Noun: An abnormal, outward curvature of the spine, which can cause the appearance of a humped back.
Example Sentence: To treat her kyphosis, Nancy underwent surgery and had
to wear a back brace.
07/09/02
Health: KARYOCYTE (kar-e-ah-site)
Noun: Any cell, such as a neuron, that contains a nucleus.
Example Sentence: Because they possess no nucleus, a mature red blood cell
cannot be considered a karyocyte.
07/08/02
Finance: MACROECONOMICS (makro-eko-nohm-iks)
Noun: The study and analysis of economic systems as a whole, such as for an entire country, with an emphasis to general levels of output and income and the interrelations among various economic sectors.
Example Sentence: Jane studied macroeconomics in order to gain a better understanding
about the country's trade deficit with various nations.
07/05/02
Finance: JOINT TAX RETURN
Noun: A single tax return filed by two people, usually spouses.
Example Sentence: Jamie and Alan realized that they could receive a larger
tax-refund check if they filed a joint tax return, instead of filing separately.
07/03/02
Finance: JANUARY EFFECT
Noun: A term referring to a historical pattern in which stock prices (usually, small-capitalization stocks) rise during the first few days of January.
Example Sentence: Recent evidence indicates that the January effect is declining.
07/02/02
Finance: DEBENTURE (dee-ben-cher)
Noun: A bond or debt backed only by the general credit or integrity of the issuer and not through a specific lien on particular assets.
Example Sentence: Mr. Howard's excellent reputation had much to do with the
bank's decision to approve a debenture for his outstanding debts.
07/01/02
Finance: DAILY PRICE LIMIT
Noun: A term describing a level that many commodity, futures, and options markets are permitted to rise or fall in a given day.
Example Sentence: Having reached its daily price limit early in the morning,
the commodities market was frozen for the remainder of the day.
06/28/02
Finance: QUANTIZE (kwaun-tize)
Verb: As it relates to finance, the act of taking an asset or liability and converting it into a type of currency other than the regular trading currency.
Example Sentence: When converting his assets, David was able to quantize
some of the stocks he had in his portfolio
06/27/02
Finance: SALES FORECAST
Noun: Vital to the success of a firm's financial planning, a process that attempts to predict future sales based on past experience, statistics, and other economic factors.
Example Sentence: The sluggish economy resulted in a lackluster sales forecast
for the company.
06/26/02
Finance: SALES FORECAST
Noun: Vital to the success of a firm's financial planning, a process that attempts to predict future sales based on past experience, statistics, and other economic factors.
Example Sentence: The sluggish economy resulted in a lackluster sales forecast
for the company.
06/25/02
Finance: SALES CHARGE
Noun: A fee charged when you purchase shares of a mutual fund. This fee is usually paid to the agent or financial advisor selling the fund and credited as a commission.
Example Sentence: To find out the net value of his mutual shares, Jim simply
deducted the sales charge from the actual share purchase price.
06/21/02
Life: POWER OF ATTORNEY
Noun: A legal document giving one person the authority to act as another person's agent or lawyer.
Example: After the accident left him disabled, Russ gave his sister power
of attorney to maintain his checking account, fill out all the necessary forms
for insurance companies, and convey his concerns to the attorney.
06/20/02
Health: LIVING WILL (liv-ing wil)
Noun: A medical directive that dictates treatment preferences and the designation of a surrogate decision maker should that person become unable to voice those preferences for him or herself.
Example Sentence: Dennis's living will deferred the final decision for his
treatment to his mother.
06/19/02
Health: CHROMOSOME (kro-ma-zome)
Noun: In human cells, one of 24 distinct separate units containing the genetic information or DNA that physically make us human beings. Each cell nucleus contains two sets of chromosomes (one each from our parents).
Example Sentence: Abnormalities within one chromosome resulted in Ann having
Down's syndrome.
06/18/02
Health: PACEMAKER (pase-may-ker)
Noun: An electrical device or the natural system that sends electrical signals to the heart in order to maintain the heart's rhythm. The body's natural pacemaker is the sinus node, located in the upper chamber of the heart. An electrical pacemaker is positioned in the body through surgery.
Example Sentence: After having heart problems last year, Harry had a pacemaker
installed by his doctor.
06/17/02
Business: ACQUISITION (ak-qwa-zih-shun)
Noun: As it relates to marketing, a term describing the result of a consumer trying something and liking it or making a purchase. For example, if you click an online ad offering a discounted product and end up purchasing that product, that's considered an acquisition.
Example Sentence: Based on the rates of acquisition, the team determined
that the trial offer was a huge success.
06/14/02
Business: VISUAL BASIC (vizh-u-al ba-sik)
Noun: A high-level, graphically based, and relatively easy-to-learn programming language from Microsoft.
Example Sentence: After learning Visual Basic, Cathy could create everything from databases to commercial software packages.
06/13/02
Business: DEVICE DRIVER (dee-vise dry-ver)
Noun: A small program that allows a peripheral device, such as a printer or scanner, to communicate with your computer. Windows includes many device drivers for several types of peripherals. However, many devices come with their own specific drivers that you should download when installing the peripheral.
Example Sentence: Because Adam's new CD-ROM didn't come with the correct
device driver, he had to download it from the manufacturer's Website.
06/12/02
Business: DEGAUSSING (dee-gaw-sing)
Verb: The act of removing magnetic field buildup, which can lead to a loss in color purity in your displayed images, inside your monitor.
Example Sentence: Most monitors come with a manual degaussing option, usually
contained within the monitor's on-screen menu.
06/11/02
Business: GOPHER (go-fer)
Noun: A text-based Internet information retrieval system that searches databases around the globe based on keyword or subject. Gopher was created before the graphic-based browsers that now proliferate on the Web and is still a good way to access data directly from servers, without having to first copy or save files to your system.
Example Sentence: Kelly chose to use Gopher instead of Internet Explorer
to search for information on the company's overseas servers.
06/10/02
Business: MOTHERBOARD (muh-ther-bord)
Noun: A large printed circuit board in a computer that contains the central processing unit (CPU), busses, sockets for graphic cards, modems, and other expansion boards, and other items vital to the operation of the computer.
Example Sentence: To use the newest, fastest chip on the market, Brian had
to purchase a new motherboard for his computer.
06/07/02
Business: MIDDLEWARE (mid-el-ware)
Noun: A piece of software that communicates between a client program and a database.
Example Sentence: The advantage of middleware is that software and information
on the client and/or the database can be updated or changed without affecting
each other.
06/06/02
Business: REFRESH RATE (ree-fresh rate)
Noun: The frequency with which your monitor redraws the picture on your screen.
Example Sentence: If your monitor's refresh rate is too low, the screen image
can appear unsteady or wobbly and eventually cause eye strain and headaches.
06/05/02
Health: LETHARGY (le-thar-jee)
Noun: An abnormal drowsiness or significant lack of energy.
Example Sentence: James' lethargy, a result of his battle with the flu, made
it hard for him to clean the apartment.
06/04/02
Health: LANUGO (lah-new-go)
Noun: The soft, unpigmented, downy hair found on the body of a fetus and sometimes on a newborn baby. This hair is usually shed from about one to two months before birth to a few days or weeks after a baby is born.
Example Sentence: By the time Michelle took her new baby home, the lanugo
that covered the infant at birth was nearly gone.
06/03/02
Health: LABYRINTH (lab-e-rinth)
Noun: In medical terms, a word describing the maze of canals in the inner ear, which help to sense balance.
Example Sentence: A sense of vertigo can indicate an inflammation of the
ear's labyrinth.
05/31/02
Health: QUIESCENT (kwi-es-ents)
Adjective: In medical terms, a word describing something that is inactive or causing no symptoms.
Example Sentence: Sometimes, tuberculosis can be a quiescent infection and not cause the problems for the infected person that other sufferers face.
05/30/02
Health: NARCOLEPSY (nar-ko-lep-see)
Noun: A neurological disorder, sometimes also referred to as daytime sleepiness, hypnolepsy, sleeping disease, paroxysmal sleep, and Gelineau syndrome, causing recurrent, uncontrollable lapses into sleep. Narcolepsy is often accompanied by sudden loss of muscle tone, paralysis of voluntary muscles, and sleep paralysis and can vary in severity from only mild sleepiness to one or more episodes a day. Studies have indicated that about 125,000 Americans suffer from narcolepsy, but the disorder can usually be treated with medication.
Example Sentence: Dave's severe narcolepsy made it unsafe for him to drive
a vehicle.
05/29/02
Health: NADIR (nay-der)
Noun: A medical term meaning the lowest point, as with blood count after a given treatment or drug concentration in the body.
Example Sentence: After his chemotherapy session, the nadir for Dave's blood
count was vastly different than for the previous day.
05/28/02
Health: ULCER (uhl-ser)
Noun: A term for localized tissue erosion on the skin or in the lining of the gastrointestinal track. Ulcers are often caused by skin irritation, as from bedsores, or from bacteria in the gastrointestinal track and can be made worse from stress, smoking, and other indirect irritants.
Example Sentence: Martin's ulcer often became worse after he frequented his
favorite restaurant.
05/24/02
Finance: FAIR MARKET PRICE
Noun: The actual amount-determined, in part, by the fact that all involved parties know the relevant facts-of an asset when it changes hands.
Example Sentence: John's loan was based only on the fair market price of
the property.
05/23/02
Business: DE FACTO (dee fac-to)
Adjective: A term describing something that factually exists, but is not recognized officially.
Example Sentence: Everyone knew that George was the de facto head of the
company, though David was recognized as the official boss.
05/22/02
Finance: DAWN RAID
Noun: A term describing a surprise buy at the stock market's open of a substantial share of a company-without the company's foreknowledge.
Example Sentence: The group's dawn raid of the corporation resulted in substantial
control of the company's stocks.
05/21/02
Finance: KIDDIE TAX
Noun: A child's investment income tax that is owed when the income exceeds $1,400.
Example Sentence: Pam and Dan ended up paying hundreds of dollars to the
IRS last year in kiddie tax.
05/20/02
Finance: NAMED PERILS INSURANCE
Noun: An insurance policy that lists and specifies the actual risks covered by that policy.
Example Sentence: According to Matt's named perils insurance policy, the
flood damage to his home was not covered.
05/17/02
Finance: UNCOLLECTED FUNDS
Noun: Check deposits that have not yet been paid by the bank through which the checks were drawn.
Example Sentence: Kerry's account balance did not reflect the large amount
of uncollected funds awaiting deposit.
05/16/02
Finance: UMBRELLA PERSONAL LIABILITY POLICY
Noun: Created to complement standard policies, a liability policy that specifically provides damage protection, such as lawsuit settlements and jury awards, not covered in a standard liability policy.
Example Sentence: After the trial, the company's umbrella personal liability
policy paid a set amount to the plaintiff, as per the jury's decision.
05/15/02
Finance: ULTRA-SHORT-TERM BOND FUND
Noun: A term for mutual funds in which the monies are investing in bonds
with short maturity periods. Usually this period is only a year or even less.
Example Sentence: Kevin hoped that by investing in an ultra-short-term bond
fund, he would see some decent returns on his investment in a short amount
of time.
05/14/02
Finance: HAMMERING (ham-er-ing)
Verb: As it relates to the stock market, the act of heavy stock selling by those speculating that a stock is actually overvalued and will soon drop.
Example Sentence: Speculators were hammering the market soon after the company released its updated quarterly report.
05/13/02
Finance: QUARTERLY (cwor-ter-lee)
Adjective: A term describing an event, situation, or issue that occurs every three months or four times a year.
Example Sentence: The recent quarterly reports showed marked improvement
in the company's sales figures.
05/10/02
Business: MOORE'S LAW (morz lau)
Noun: An observation made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965 that advancing technology would enable the number of transistors contained in an integrated circuit (or microprocessor) to double every 18 months, thereby increasing the power and capabilities of the circuit.
Example Sentence: Though the accuracy of Moore's Law was only expected to
last through 1975, the rule of doubling transistors on integrated circuits
every year and a half still holds true today.
05/09/02
Business: MICROPROCESSOR (my-kro-prah-ses-ur)
Noun: A chip that acts as the brain of a computer system, handling logic operations that enable the computer to perform its functions. Microprocessors are typically categorized by the speed (in megahertz) in which the chip works, so that a 200MHz chip runs twice as fast as a 100MHz chip. However, task speed is also determined by other factors outside the chip itself.
Example Sentence: The first microprocessor designed for a personal computer
was the 2MHz 8080 created by Intel in 1974.
05/08/02
Business: HEURISTICS (hyu-ris-tiks)
Noun: For antivirus programs, a method of identifying viruses in files by analyzing the infector's patterns of behavior, such as deleting a sequence of files.
Example Sentence: Most of today's antivirus software use some form of heuristics
to combat computer viruses.
05/07/02
Business: PIXEL (pic-sul)
Noun: Short for "picture element," the smallest unit within a graphic image displayed on a computer monitor. Most monitors display images using thousands or millions of pixels arranged in columns or rows. The actual size of a pixel depends on the resolution setting for your monitor. Larger resolution settings, such as 800 x 600 result in larger pixels than smaller resolution settings, such as 1024 x 768.
Example Sentence: By designating a color (blue, green, or red) for each pixel,
the computer monitor can display complex pictures in what appears to be a
wide range of colors.
05/06/02
Health: NEONATAL (nee-o-na-tul)
Noun: Of or relating to the first month of life.
Example Sentence: Her condition listed as "poor" at birth, Susan
was placed in the hospital's neonatal unit for observation.
05/03/02
Health: NECROSIS (neh-krosis)
Noun: A term describing the localized death of living cells, tissue, or portions of organs.
Example Sentence: After standing out in the cold for several hours, Nick
developed frostbite on his foot, resulting in necrosis in several of his toes.
05/02/02
Finance: KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS (keenz-ian eco-naum-iks)
Noun: An economic theory of economist John Maynard Keynes stating that economic growth and stability can only be achieved through active government market intervention.
Example Sentence: Adhering to Keynesian economic theory, the government often
attempted to adjust trade and other economic deficits by passing a variety
of tax reforms, regulations, and other measures.
05/01/02
Finance: KEOGH PLAN (ke-oh plan)
Noun: A term describing a pension account that defers taxes and is available to self-employed persons.
Example Sentence: Kathy made regular contributions to her Keogh Plan in order to reduce the amount of taxes she would owe at the end of the year.
04/30/02
Finance: WAR CHEST (wor-chest)
Noun: An amount of cash or liquid assets set aside to finance takeovers of companies or to defend against bids for attempted takeovers.
Example Sentence: Attempting to gain control of the business, Nathan dipped into the funds in his war chest to purchase a majority of the company's stock.
04/29/02
Finance: WALLFLOWER (waul-fl-ow-ur)
Noun: A term describing any stock, usually with a low price-to-earning ratio, that is no longer favored by investors.
Example Sentence: Much to his disappointment, the "hot" stock Jerry
was told about turned out to be nothing than a wallflower.
04/26/02
Family: OFFSPRING (auf-spreeng)
Noun: The progeny, young, or children of a living organism or entity.
Example Sentence: Our dog, Brandy, proved to be a good mother to her offspring.
04/25/02
Family: MATERNAL (muh-tern-ul)
Adjective: A term describing familial lineage, something inherited through, or anything relating to a mother.
Example Sentence: Amy's maternal aunt always showered her with gifts on Christmas.
04/24/02
Family: PATERNAL (puh-tern-ul)
Adjective: A term describing familial lineage, something inherited through, or anything relating to a father.
Example Sentence: Nick's paternal instincts compelled him to help the child
who appeared lost.
04/23/02
Health: QUARANTINE (cuar-en-teen)
Noun: The purposeful isolation of someone or something known or suspected of having a contagious disease, so as to prevent the spread of the illness.
Example Sentence: Before the advent of treatments for various diseases, many
families with members suffering from various ailments were quarantined to
prevent the illnesses from affecting the entire town or surrounding population.
04/22/02
Health: RETROVIRUS (reh-chro-vi-rus)
Noun: A kind of virus that contains RNA as its genetic material, which then translates into DNA when the virus infects and inserts itself into another cell's DNA material, sometimes causing diseases, some cancers, and AIDS.
Example Sentence: By altering or modifying its genetic makeup, retroviruses
can be used in gene therapy to introduce normal genes into abnormal cells.
04/19/02
Health: APHASIA (uh-fazh-uh)
Noun: A reduction or loss of the ability to use and comprehend words, usually as a result from damage to the brain.
Example Sentence: After his stroke, William's aphasia prevented him from fully understanding his therapist's instructions.
04/18/02
Health: TENDON (ten-dun)
Noun: Tough, dense, fibrous cords of tissue that connects muscle to bone and transmits the force exerted by the muscle.
Example Sentence: Sliding into home during her weekly baseball game, Julie
tore a tendon in her knee and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.
04/17/02
Family: MONOGAMY (ma-na-ga-me)
Noun: The practice, state, or custom of having one spouse or partner at a time.
Example Sentence: After the increasing spread of sexually transmitted diseases
in the 1980s, many people returned to practicing monogamy.
04/16/02
Family: EXPANDED FAMILY (ex-pan-ded fam-a-lee)
Noun: An agreement between three or more people to live as a family unit and to make decisions based on mutual consent.
Example Sentence: Mary's expanded family, which included her two adult cousins,
brother, step-sister, and mother, decided to buy the house they had checked
out the week before.
04/15/02
Life: BILINGUAL (bi-lin-gual)
Adjective: The ability to speak and understand two languages effectively, though not necessarily fluently.
Example Sentence: Mark's bilingual ability allowed him to serve as a translator
during the local council meeting.
04/12/02
Life: CITIZEN
Noun: A native or naturalized person entitled to the rights and privileges as a member of a state or country and who owes allegiance to its government.
Example Sentence: As a naturalized citizen of the United States, Kim could
now cast her vote in the local and federal elections.
04/11/02
Business: DATABASE
Noun: A list or compilation of data. With large databases, software can be used to group and organize the information so that users can easily locate, retrieve, and discover relationships among the various types of data therein.
Example Sentence: To keep track of her finances, Karen created a database
of transactions using a spreadsheet program.
04/10/02
Business: SPYWARE
Noun: A software program or technology that helps gather information about someone and relays that data back to advertisers or other third parties without the person's knowledge or consent. Often, spyware is packaged in with other programs, particularly free software downloads, that a user may want to use on their computer for one reason or another. Some programs, such as AdAware, can detect and rid your system of some spyware.
Example Sentence: After downloading a free game he found on the Internet,
Kevin realized that the program also included spyware that relayed information
about his computer usage and Web-surfing habits to a third party.
04/09/02
Business: COOKIE
A message stored in a text file that a Web server gives to your Web browser. This information could simply be generic data marking your visit, preference data for a personalized Web page, or other data that you entered into an online form. Each time your browser requests information from that specific Web server, it also sends the cookie message back to the server. In this way, you may see the Web page load with a welcome message containing your name, for example, or banner ads directed toward your interests, etc.
Example Sentence: With his browser's security settings so high, Ben was constantly
having to decline cookies from Web pages whenever he surfed the Internet.
04/08/02
Finance: PRINCIPAL
Noun: The actual amount of a loan's outstanding balance, minus interest and other loan charges.
Example Sentence: After making loan payments for five years, Mary noticed that she had paid $4,000 in interest for the loan, but only $500 of the principal.
04/05/02
Finance: PREFERRED STOCK
Noun: A stock designating ownership in a corporation and granting the buyer a claim on earnings and assets before the claims of common stockholders are considered. In most cases, preferred stocks pay fixed dividends but do not usually grant voting rights in the corporation.
Example Sentence: Jim's grandfather bequeathed him a considerable about of
preferred stock in IBM.
04/04/02
Finance: NET INCOME
Noun: Total earnings minus taxes, deductions, and, in the case of a business, depreciation, operating costs, and other expenses.
Example Sentence: The company received $200,000 in sales revenue last year,
but posted a net income of only $5,000.
04/03/02
Business: USENET
Noun: A decentralized worldwide network containing thousands of Unix servers used to transmit postings to tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of newsgroups.
Example Sentence: Elaine had a habit of accessing Usenet and posting to her
favorite newsgroup during work hours.
04/02/02
Business: URL
Noun: Short for universal resource locator, the address for a given page on the Internet, such as http://www.sfimg.com/admin. URLs typically contain three parts. The first part-"http:/"-stands for the Internet protocol you're using to retrieve a Webpage. The second part-"/www.sfimg.com"-indicates the actual Web server's domain name. The third part--/admin-is the name of the directory on the Web server where the page you're looking for can be found. Also called uniform resource locator.
Example Sentence: Joann's new Website looked great, but the URL was long,
awkward, and not easy to remember.
04/01/02
Business: USB
Noun: Short for universal serial bus, a protocol supporting 12MB/second data transfer rates, as many as 127 peripherals per port (daisy chained to one another), and the capability to add compatible components to your PC without having to turn the computer off or reboot. Most of today's computers come standard with at least one USB port; many contain two.
Example Sentence: Jason's new USB keyboard also came with two USB ports that
he could use for a compatible joystick and mouse.
03/29/02
Business: LASER PRINTER
Noun: A printer capable of higher quality text and graphics, as well as speedier printing, than ink jet and other types of printers. Inside a laser printer, an electrostatic charge is applied to a drum contained in the printer cartridge. An LED within the printer then discharges portions of the drum to form characters or graphics, and charged toner is attached to these sections. When a charged sheet of paper is passed over the drum, the toner is heated and fused to the paper, preventing the smudged ink and fuzzy characters that sometimes appear on documents from an ink jet printer.
Example Sentence: Using his new laser printer, Leroy was able to print the
entire 50-page document and still make his appointment on time.
03/28/02
Business: LINUX
Noun: An open-source operating system based on the older UNIX operating system and originally developed by Linus Torvalds. Many IT experts consider the affordable Linux program to be a more reliable operating system than the more expensive Microsoft Windows. Consequently, Linux is fast becoming a popular operating system for many Web servers and other computer platforms.
Example Sentence: Red Hat is only one of the many companies that offer a
flavor of the Linux operating system.
03/27/02
Finance: POINT
Noun: Also called discount points, 1% of the total mortgage loan amount. Points are charged by the lender to increase the interest paid on a loan when money is tight, interest rates are high, and legal limits prevent the lender from raising interest rates on the mortgage.
Example Sentence: James was able to reduce the points on his mortgage loan
with a large down payment for his new house.
03/26/02
Finance: PUT OPTION
Noun: An option in which the buyer bets that the stock's price will drop below the set option price.
Example Sentence: Brenda believed that her put option stock price would drop
well below the $40-a-share price set by the option contract.
03/25/02
Finance: OPTION
Noun: The right, but not an obligation, to purchase or sell your stock at a given price before or on a given date. Called derivatives, this class of securities contain two types of options, call options and put options.
Example Sentence: John's option contract specified that he must sell his
stock before the end of the year.
03/22/02
Finance: NO-LOAD MUTUAL FUND
Noun: A fund in which you pay no sales charges or distribution fees for purchasing funds.
Example Sentence: Mike invested 10% of his disposable income into a no-load mutual fund.
03/21/02
Finance: NET WORTH
Noun: Total assets minus total liabilities.
Example Sentence: Although he earned more than $100,000 a year, John's net
worth was nearly zero.
03/20/02
Business: LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE
Noun: Abbreviated as LED, a semiconductor device conducting electricity in only one direction and producing visible or infrared light. LEDs need little power to operate and are, therefore, often used as tiny indicator lights on your computer, peripherals, and other electronic components.
Example Sentence: Joan could tell that there was a problem with her printer
by the peripheral's blinking LED.
03/19/02
Business: GIGABYTE
Noun: Abbreviated as GB, a gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes of digital storage capacity. Today, most of today's home computer hard drives are measured in GB. In the near future, PC hard drives may begin to be measured in terabytes-a thousand billion bytes or a thousand GB.
Example Sentence: Annette's new computer came standard with an 80GB hard
drive.
03/18/02
Business: BYTE
Noun: A unit of data usually eight bits long, enough to represent one letter, number, or typographic symbol on a computer.
Example Sentence: The first hard drives for personal computers could only
store about 5 million to 10 million bytes of data, or about 2,500 to 5,000
pages of double-spaced typed information.
03/15/02
Business: BIT
Noun: Short for binary digit, the smallest unit of information on a computer. Bits are usually represented by one of two values, such as true or false, yes or no, or 0 or 1.
Example Sentence: The letter "A" is represented on your computer
by setting the data bits on or off in the proper sequence.
03/14/02
Business: ZIP
Noun: A widely used, open file compression and decompression standard. Files compressed using this standard are designated with the .ZIP extension.
Example Sentence: After compressing his files, Marty transferred the entire ZIP document onto a single diskette.
03/13/02
Business: PLUG AND PLAY
Noun: Also referred to as PnP, a standard protocol for adding hardware to PCs. The standard was designed to simplify the process of adding peripherals and other components to a user's home computer.
Example Sentence: Because the printer was plug-and-play, Joseph didn't need
to configure all the settings in his Windows operating system and had the
peripheral working with his PC in a matter of minutes.
03/12/02
Business: PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK
Noun: A network with no centralized server controlling access or restricting file sharing among connected computers. Napster was an example of a large peer-to-peer network.
Example Sentence: John used a peer-to-peer network to share music files and
other documents with Web users.
03/11/02
Business: APPLET
Noun: A small, single-function program usually designed to accompany larger software products. Notepad and File Manager are both examples of applets.
Example Sentence: Sal often used the Windows Calculator applet to add the
sales revenue figures.
03/08/02
Business: ANONYMOUS FTP
Noun: Short for Anonymous File Transfer Protocol, a method of making downloadable files available online for the public, even if they don't have an account at a particular online site. Using the username "anonymous" and their e-mail address as the password, users can download any document or file from a properly configured FTP server.
Example Sentence: Many of the free programs available for downloading on
the Web are accessed through a server set up to recognize anonymous FTP users.
03/07/02
Business: ANALOG
Noun: The method used to modulate signals in order to carry information, as with AM and FM radio signals. Many cellular phones today use analog to carry the talkers' voices.
Example Sentence: Mary opted to purchase the analog cell phone instead of
the more expensive digital model.
03/06/02
Life: PATHOS
Noun: From the Greek for suffering, experience, and emotion, an element within an artistic representation or experience that evokes pity, sympathy or compassion.
Example Sentence: It was hard to look at the sculpture without getting caught
up by the pathos evoked by the work of art.
03/05/02
Life: ALLEGORY
Noun: Similar to a metaphor, but sustained throughout several sentences or paragraphs.
Example Sentence: In his Allegory of the Cave, Plato uses a sustained metaphor
to explain in several paragraphs his philosophical point.
03/04/02
Life: TROPE
Noun: The figurative use of a word or expression; a deviation from a word's normal use and meaning, as in a metaphor or a massive exaggeration.
Example Sentence: "She was as tall as a three-story building" is
an obvious trope, as no one is really as tall as a three-story building, except,
maybe, in some old B-movies.
03/1/02
Life: RHETORIC
Noun: The art of skill of effective speaking and/or writing.
Example Sentence: The skillful politician used rhetoric to evoke an emotional
response from his audience and sway them to his position on the issues.
02/28/02
Health: PROTEIN
Noun: A complex organic compound made up of amino acids and the main component of the body's muscles, organs, and glands. Meats, eggs, milk, grains, fruits, and vegetables are all sources of varying levels of protein.
Example Sentence: As a vegetarian, Mary had to make a more conscious effort to include a sufficient amount of protein in her diet than her meat-eating family.
02/27/02
Health: CHOLESTEROL
Noun: A substance manufactured in the liver for hormone, bile acid, and Vitamin D production, and transported by the blood to the nervous system, skin, muscle, liver, intestines, heart, and all other parts of the body. The building blocks of cholesterol finds their way into our bodies through the ingestion of animal products, such as eggs, milk, cheese, and meat.
Example Sentence: Karl's doctor told him that he needed to reduce the amount
of cholesterol in his body if he wanted to stay healthy.
02/26/02
Health: CARBOHYDRATES
Noun: A source of energy for the body, especially the brain and nervous system. Carbohydrates are found in wide range of foods, including sugars, starches, and gums, that contain roughly equal proportions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Example Sentence: Some carbohydrates, such as those found in breads, cereals,
and pastas, are considered a good source of minerals, vitamins, and fiber,
while others found in processed foods and refined sugar are not considered
as healthy.
02/25/02
Health: AFLATOXINS
Noun: Carcinogenic toxins produced by a mold that grows on peanut, corn, wheat, cottonseed, and tree nut crops. Aflatatoxins are considered "unavoidable contaminants" by the FDA, which allows low levels of the substance on the crops and considers occasional ingestion of the toxins relatively harmless.
Example Sentence: Because of its propensity to contain aflatoxins and popularity
among the public, peanut butter and peanuts are rigorously tested by the FDA.
02/22/02
Finance: WAGE ASSIGNMENT
Noun: A provision in a loan agreement that lets the bank or lender deduct loan payments from an employee's paycheck in the case of default.
Example Sentence: Rose was shocked when she saw that her bank had enforced
her old loan's wage assignment and deducted the full $560 loan payment from
her paycheck.
02/21/02
Finance: YIELD
Noun: Measured in percentages, the rate of a stock's return paid in dividends or a bond or note's effective rate of interest paid.
Example Sentence: The 26% yield for the stock was considered a fantastic
return for the money.
02/20/02
Finance: YANKEE BONDS
Noun: Foreign bonds registered with the SEC and issued in the United States and in U.S. dollars by foreign banks and corporations.
Example Sentence: Kurt bought several Yankee Bonds from the international
bank located down the street from his New York City office.
02/19/02
Finance: ZOMBIE
Noun: An insolvent or bankrupt company that continues to operate while awaiting a merger or closure.
Example Sentence: Although it had filed bankruptcy and was scheduled to close
its doors in 30 days, the zombie company continued to fill and ship customer
orders.
02/18/02
Finance: ZERO-BALANCE ACCOUNT
Noun: A checking account in which the transfers of funds from a master account is only large enough to cover the expense checks presented to the account. In this way, a balance of zero dollars is maintained.
Example Sentence: Kathy used a zero-balance account so that she could easily
tell at a glance of her account statement what her company was spending on
marketing-related expenses versus her company's expenses in general.
02/15/02
Finance: Z BOND
Noun: An interest-accruing bond in which the interest is not paid to the investor, but is instead added to the bond's principal balance. This bond only becomes payable after all other similar bond classes reach maturity or are retired.
Example Sentence: Part of David's mortgage-backed securities included Z-Bonds,
along with several other classes of investment bonds.
02/14/02
Business: PROOF
Noun: In advertising and other venues, the final, editable copy of an ad, graphic, photograph, or document before the item is actually sent to be published.
Example Sentence: Katie examined the magazine's proof very carefully, ensuring that as few typographical errors as possible would slip through to the final printed version that the readers would see.
02/13/02
Business: EBI
Noun: An acronym for Effective Buying Income, another term for disposable income or the take-home pay a person or family has left after taxes, utilities, and other vital expenses are deducted.
Example Sentence: Based on the estimated EBI of the average local consumer,
Joy knew that most could afford to purchase her company's latest product.
02/12/02
Business: DIRECT MAIL
Noun: The delivery of advertisements, promotions, specials, coupons, and other sales or marketing items via mail.
Example Sentence: Before the advent of the Internet and inexpensive online
marketing techniques, many companies used direct mail as a way to reach new
customers and expand sales.
02/11/02
Business: DEMOGRAPHICS
Noun: Characteristics, such as age, income level, gender, occupation, etc., of a population or group of people. Such information can be used to more effectively sell products or services to a specific marketing segment.
Example Sentence: Based on the demographics of the region, Sally knew that
the company's previously successful billboard ads would not result in as many
sales.
02/08/02
Business: AD COPY
Noun: The text, graphics, artwork, photos, and other contents of an ad.
Example Sentence: Many departments were involved with contributing to the
ad copy for the company's full-page magazine ad.
02/07/02
Business: AGATE
Noun: In advertising, a standard unit of measurement equaling one printed column wide and 1/14 inches deep or about 22 characters in length.
Example Sentence: Joseph charged the local store a hefty sum for its ad,
which took up 10 column inches, or 140 agate lines of space on the newspaper's
second page.
02/06/02
Business: VOLATILITY
Noun: The amount of a security's price movement over a specific period of time.
Example Sentence: The sudden rise, then meteoric drop of several IPOs, made
the volatility of these stocks quite severe.
02/05/02
Business: VESTING
Noun: A term describing an employee's right, often earned over time, to receive some retirement benefits from a company, even if that person did not remain with the company until retirement.
Example Sentence: Bill's retirement plan included vesting features for extra
income and stock options after retirement.
02/04/02
Business: DUTCH AUCTION
Noun: An auction where bidders bid on several identical items and then pay the price of the lowest successful bidder.
Example Sentence: Although David bid only $21 for the widget on the Dutch
Auction, he agreed to pay the $24 winning bid price for the item.
02/01/02
Business: YANKEE AUCTION
Noun: An auction where bidders bid on several identical items and the winners then pay the prices that they bid.
Example Sentence: Jay bid for then bought a CD for $149 at a Yankee Auction
online.
01/31/02
Business: EAS
Noun: Short for Electronic Article Surveillance, a loss-prevention technique for assets and merchandise. EAS uses security tags and labels combined with EAS detection equipment to provide security for buildings, entrances, exits and enclosed areas. If an item with an active EAS tag or label is taken out of the store, an alarm goes off alerting security personnel.
Example Sentence: Because the clerk forgot to deactivate the shirt's EAS
tag, Nancy's bag set off the alarm as she exited the store.
01/30/02
Business: TARGET MARKET
Noun: The specific, defined group of consumers to whom you are trying to sell your product or service.
Example Sentence: Jim focused his ads on his target market and sold almost
all of his inventory.
01/29/02
Business: RACK JOBBER
Noun: A term for a wholesaler who installs, stocks, and replenishes select items on a given store's display racks.
Example Sentence: During slow times, the store owner often rented excess shelf space to rack jobbers, who then gave the owner a percentage of the sales.
01/28/02
Business: PRICE WAR
Noun: A competition where competitors attempt to underprice each other.
Example Sentence: April took advantage of the airline companies' price war
to purchase cheap tickets to Europe.
01/25/02
Business: NON-MARKETING
Noun: The policy of not displaying the price of a given item.
Example Sentence: Car lots have been using non-marketing techniques for years
to first draw a customer's interest before talking about the price tag.
01/24/02
Business: 80/20 RULE
Noun: Also called "The Pareto Principal," a rule that states that a relatively small number (20%) of "causes" are responsible for the greatest percentage (80%) of effect. This rule is often applied to retail settings, which assume that 20% of the customers generate 80% of the revenue.
Example Sentence: Although the e-mail marketing campaign hit 100,000 e-mail
inboxes, the company knew that, because of the 80/20 rule, only a fraction
would respond to the ad.
01/23/02
Life: RHETORIC
Noun: The art of the effective use of speech.
Example Sentence: The politician's rhetoric was inspiring, but her policies
were depressing.
01/22/02
Life: AUTONOMY
Noun: The act of being self-governed and having moral independence and the right to self-determination.
Example Sentence: After growing up in oppressive conditions, many immigrants like the feeling of autonomy that comes from living in a free state.
01/21/02
Life: ACTIVE LISTENING
Term: An ability to focus on what is being said, interpret the information, and act on or answer questions about the message.
Example Sentence: Mrs. Davis always taught her pupils active listening skills to improve their attention span and listening comprehension.
01/18/02
Family: NEE
Noun: From the French for "born," a term usually used to refer to a woman's maiden name.
Example Sentence: Mrs. Jones wrote in her maiden name, Smith, next to "Nee"
on the application form.
01/17/02
Family: INTESTATE
Adjective: A term describing the legal situation that arises when someone dies without having a valid will.
Example Sentence: John's intestate estate was disposed of by the courts.
01/16/02
Family: DESCENDANTS
Noun: An individual's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.
Example Sentence: Many religious persons consider all of humanity as the direct descendants of Adam and Eve.
01/15/02
Family: DECLARATION OF INTENTION
Noun: A court-filed document stating an immigrant's intention to become a United States citizen or a couple's intention to marry.
Example Sentence: After arriving in the United States, Yusef had his lawyer
file a declaration of intention to remain in the country and become a citizen.
01/14/02
Family: CODICIL
Noun: A document of addition at the end of someone's will that changes the
provisions in that will and override all provisions in the original will document.
Example Sentence: Although Mr. Smith originally willed his entire estate
to his nephew, he later attached a codicil that all his belongings should
go to charity.
01/11/02
Family: AHNENTAFEL NUMBERS
Noun: A formula or numbering system used to identify members in a family tree. For example, on your family tree, your father would be designated twice your number, while your mother would be twice your number plus one. So, if your Ahnentafel number is 1, your father's would be 2, and your mother's would be 3.
Example Sentence: Using Ahnentafel numbers, Kate could easily manage drawing
up her family's extensive family tree.
01/10/02
Health: ACUITY
Noun: A keenness of perception; sharpness of the senses.
Example Sentence: The eagle's visual acuity let it see the fish swimming in the river far below.
01/09/02
Health: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Noun: A degenerative disease attacking an individual's central nervous system, causing premature mental deterioration and senility.
Example Sentence: Much research is being done to help ease the painful effects of Alzheimer's Disease on the victim, as well as the victim's family.
01/08/02
Health: ADDICTION
Noun: The compulsive physical and/or psychological need for a given substance, habit, or act, such as heroin, gambling, or surfing the Internet. Addictions are typically characterized by a growing tolerance to the behavior or drug, in addition to well-defined physiological and/or psychological withdrawal symptoms.
Example Sentence: Mark's increasing addiction to playing video games cost
him his job.
01/07/02
Health: KETOACIDOSIS
Noun: Ketoacidosis-An abnormally high number many ketones in the body, normally as a result of insulin deficiency, causing acidosis of the blood. Symptoms can include nausea, stomach pains, fatigue, muscular pain, intense thirst, etc.
Example Sentence: Having suffered from diabetes his whole life, Mark could
tell by the increasing pain in his muscles that his insulin levels were too
high and his body was slipping into ketoacidosis.
01/04/02
Health: ALKALOSIS
Noun: Alkalosis-A term describing above normal levels of alkalinity (pH content) in the blood and tissues, which in turn can cause vomiting, confusion, nausea, muscle twitching and tremors, numbness, and/or lightheadedness.
Example Sentence: Mary's heavy breathing during labor caused her body to
lose too much carbon dioxide and slip into respiratory alkalosis.
01/03/02
Health: ALLERGEN
Noun: Any substance that causes an exaggerated, physical reaction, such as
sneezing, itching, skin rashes, in an individual and is NOT typical of the
reaction of the population as a whole.
Example Sentence: Ragweed is a well-known allergen that causes discomfort
for many sufferers.
01/02/02
Health: ANALGESIC
Noun: A medicine, drug, or agent that controls, reduces, or relieves pain without causing unconsciousness.
Example Sentence: After the dentist removed her wisdom teeth, Alice used
prescribed analgesics to control the pain for the next few days.