opportunity cost the next best alternative given up whenever a choice is made opposition the main political party in the lower house of parliament that’s not in power origami the art of folding paper into different shapes and designs
orographic rainfall occurs when a topographic barrier such as a mountain blocks the path of a movement of air horizontally. This forces the air upward where it cools, thus increasing the likelihood of rain. oxbow lake a U-shaped body of water created when a wide meander is cut off from the main channel of a river after it changes its course. In Australia it is referred to as a billabong. pagan someone who is neither Christian, Jewish or Muslim; one who worships many gods, or none pagoda a Hindu or Buddhist temple, typically in the form of a many-tiered tower palanquin a type of couch for transporting passengers, with long poles on each side so that servants could carry it on their shoulders palisade a tall fence made of pointed timber stakes driven into the ground pandemic widespread across a large region Pangaea the name given to all the landmass of the Earth before it split into Laurasia and Gondwana, which over time became the continents we know today patricians wealthy and influential families in medieval towns or cities, often involved in politics and trade peasants farmers who worked the land. Most were poor and either rented land or worked for landowners. Some were serfs, tied to the land. peninsula land jutting out into the sea pension your employer pays a percentage of your earnings into your superannuation account, and your superannuation fund invests (or grows) the money until you retire percolate filter through porous material such as soil perennial describes a stream that flows all year permafrost a layer beneath the surface of the soil where the ground is permanently frozen persecution oppression or punishment of a person or group of people, usually because of their religion perspectives point of view or attitude persuasive precedent a decision made in a lower court or a court in a different hierarchy that does not have to be followed but may be used as a guide petition a formal request for change signed by many people phalanx a body of foot soldiers in close battle order physical processes continuing and naturally occurring actions such as wind and rain pigment a natural colouring material made of plant or animal tissue pike long spear-like weapon carried by foot soldiers place a specific location on Earth that has unique physical and human characteristics, making it meaningful to people plaintiff the person who commences a legal action in civil law plateau an extensive area of flat land that is higher than the land around it. Plateaus are sometimes referred to as tablelands. pluralism a system or idea where different groups, beliefs or opinions are accepted and have the right to exist and be heard in society or government pneumonic plague a severe lung infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis polytheistic the belief in or worship of more than one god pommel rounded knob at the end of a sword hilt popular sovereignty the idea that the people have the power to choose their leaders and make decisions through voting population density the number of people living within one square kilometre of land; it identifies the intensity of land use or how crowded a place is population distribution the pattern of where people live; population distribution is not even — cities that have high population densities and remote places such as deserts usually have low population densities precedent a legal principle developed by a court in the process of resolving a dispute
668 GLOSSARY
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