A terminological proposal

Abstract

While preparing a book on combinatorial algorithms, I felt a strong need for a new technical term, a word which is essentially a one-sided version of polynomial complete. A great many problems of practical interest have the property that they are at least as difficult to solve in polynomial time as those of the Cook-Karp class KP. I needed an adjective to convey such a degree of difficulty, both formally and informally; and since the range of practical applications is so broad, I felt it would be best to establish such a term as soon as possible.