OrangeTongue

Lighthouse, Oil lamps

2005-04-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

In 1782 a Swiss scientist, Aimé Argand, invented an oil lamp whose steady smokeless flame revolutionized lighthouse illumination. The basis of his invention was a circular wick with a glass chimney that ensured an adequate current of air up the centre and the outside of the wick for even and proper combustion of the oil. Eventually, Argand lamps with as many as 10 concentric

Monarchianism

2005-04-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

A Christian heresy that developed during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It opposed the doctrine of an independent, personal subsistence of the Logos, affirmed the sole deity of God the Father, and thus represented the extreme monotheistic view. Though it regarded Christ as Redeemer, it clung to the numerical unity of the Deity. Two types of Monarchianism developed: the Dynamic

Mole Cricket

2005-04-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

Any member of the orthopteran insect family Gryllotalpidae (about 65 species), sometimes considered part of the family Gryllidae. This cricket lives underground, its common name deriving from its molelike appearance and habits. The mole cricket has forelegs modified for shovelling, a cylindrical body, a pointed head, and a velvety coat of hairlike setae.

Humanism, François Rabelais (c. 14901533)

2005-04-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Rabelais ranks with Boccaccio as a founding father of Western realism. As a satirist and stylist (in his hands French prose became a free, poetic form), he influenced writers as important as Jonathan Swift, Laurence Sterne, and James Joyce and may be seen as a major precursor of modernism. His five books concerning the deeds of the giant princes Gargantua and

Arab

2005-04-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Arabic singular masculine 'arabi, singular feminine 'arabiyah, plural 'arab, one whose native language is Arabic. (See Arabic language.) Before the spread of Islam and, with it, the Arabic language, “Arab” referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran,

Biblical Literature, Song of Solomon

2005-04-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

The Song of Solomon (also called Song of Songs and Canticle of Canticles) consists of a series of love poems in which lovers describe the physical beauty and excellence of their beloved and their sexual enjoyment of each other. The Hebrew title of the book mentions Solomon as its author, but this seems improbable, primarily because of the late vocabulary of the work.

Anastasius Sinaita, Saint

2005-04-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Theologian and abbot of the Monastery of St. Catherine, on Mt. Sinai, whose writings, public disputes with various heretical movements in Egypt and Syria, and polemics against the Jews made him in his day a foremost advocate of orthodox Christian doctrine, specifically on the person and work of Christ, and provided key documents for the history

Carnivore, Natural history

2005-03-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

Canids are basically meat eaters, although some vegetable matter is taken. The gray or timber wolf (Canis lupus), the African hunting dog (Lycaon pictus), and the dhole, or wild dog of India (Cuon alpinus), are strictly carnivorous. The various foxes and jackals, coyotes, and the raccoon dog eat whatever food is abundant—small mammals, birds, insects, crustaceans, mollusks, fruits,

Algebra, The structural approach dominates

2005-03-31T00:09:00.000-08:00

After the late 1930s it was clear that algebra, and in particular the structural approach within it, had become one of the most dynamic areas of research in mathematics. Structural methods, results, and concepts were actively pursued by algebraists in Germany, France, the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The structural approach was also successfully applied to redefine

Syrinx

2005-03-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

The vocal organ of birds, located at the base of the windpipe (trachea), where the trachea divides into the bronchi (tubes that connect the trachea with the lungs). The syrinx is lacking in the New World vultures (Cathartidae), which can only hiss and grunt, but reaches great complexity in the songbirds, in which it consists of paired specialized cartilages and membranes

Duarte, Fausto (castilho)

2005-03-29T03:53:00.000-08:00

Duarte was educated under the official program of assimilaçao (“assimilation”), which after 1921 had social and political equality for Africans in the Portuguese sphere of influence as a goal. He was then

Console

2005-03-29T01:51:00.000-08:00

In furniture, a type of side table placed against a wall and normally fixed to it, requiring legs or other decorative support only at the front. Because it was viewed only from the front or sides, the back was left undecorated; the top was often of marble. In 17th-century Italy the console table was a major manifestation of the fashion of furniture made for display. Many examples

Salghurid Dynasty

2005-03-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

The Salghurids were one of the several dynasties of atabegs (notables who acted as guardians and tutors of infant Seljuq princes) who were deputized to govern Iranian provinces on behalf of Seljuq kings. The Salghurids in origin belonged to the Salor

Croatia, Industry

2005-03-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

Already more industrialized than most of its neighbours when the communists assumed power over Yugoslavia in 1945, Croatia continued its rapid industrialization under socialist policies of economic and social development. One unfortunate result was the squandering of a great deal of money through inefficiency and the misallocation of resources through the

Quintana, Manuel José

2005-03-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, he went to Madrid to begin his

Voyeurism

2005-03-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Human sexual behaviour involving achievement of sexual arousal through viewing the sexual activities of others or through watching others disrobe. To some extent voyeurism is widespread; various types of sexual display are a normal part of sexual attraction and mating behaviour in most animals, including humans, but voyeurism is considered a deviant behaviour

Vouet, Simon

2005-03-25T04:31:00.000-08:00

Vouet formed his style in Italy, where he lived from 1612 to 1627. The use of dramatic contrasts of light and shade seen in such early works as his “Two Lovers” indicates that he began in Rome as a follower of Caravaggio. Works done after 1620, however, such as “St. Bruno” (1620) and “Cupid and

Allen, Richard

2005-03-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

Soon after Allen was born, to slave parents, the family was sold to a Delaware farmer. At age 17 he became a Methodist convert and at 22 was permitted to preach. Two years later (1784), at the first general conference of the

Managua, Lake

2005-03-24T00:23:00.000-08:00

Spanish Lago De Managua, lake in western Nicaragua, in a rift valley at an elevation of 128 feet (39 m) above sea level. The lake, 65 feet (20 m) in depth, is 36 miles (58 km) from east to west and 16 miles (25 km) from north to south; its area is 400 square miles (1,035 square km). Also known by its Indian name, Xolotlán, the lake is fed by numerous streams rising in the central highlands and the Diriamba Highlands. It is drained by the Tipitapa River,

Poland, History Of, Augustus II

2005-03-24T00:20:00.000-08:00

A personal union with Saxony, where Augustus II was a strong ruler, seemed at first to offer some advantages to Poland. A king with a power base of his own might reform the Commonwealth, which was still a huge state and potentially a great power. But such hopes proved vain. Pursuing schemes of dynastic greatness, Augustus II involved unwilling Poland in a coalition war

Alabama, Education

2005-03-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

Elementary and secondary education in Alabama have improved substantially since the 1960s, though public schools in the state suffer from very weak local funding resulting from the state's low taxation on property. Teachers' salaries have risen since the early 1970s. Rural schools get less support than urban ones. Most public schools are integrated racially, though a substantial

Jouve, Pierre-jean

2005-03-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Prevented by ill health from serving in World War

Earth Sciences, William Smith and faunal succession

2005-03-21T00:34:00.000-08:00

In 1683 the zoologist Martin Lister proposed to the Royal Society that a new sort of map be drawn showing the areal distribution of the different kinds of British “soiles” (vegetable soils and underlying bedrock). The work proposed by Lister was not accomplished until 132 years later, when William Smith published his Geologic Map of England and Wales with Part of

Abydos

2005-03-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ancient Anatolian town located just northeast of the modern Turkish town of Çanakkale on the east side of the Dardanelles (Hellespont). Probably originally a Thracian town, it was colonized about 670 BC by the Milesians. There Xerxes crossed the strait on his bridge of boats to invade Greece in 480 BC. Abydos is celebrated for its vigorous resistance to Philip V of Macedon (200 BC) and

Celestine (ii)

2005-03-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

After the death of Calixtus II, the rival houses of Frangipani and Pierleoni struggled for the papal throne. The Pierleonis' candidate, Theobald (who would have been Celestine II), was simultaneously elected pope with the Frangipanis' candidate,

Saxifragaceae

2005-03-19T03:40:00.000-08:00

The saxifrage family of flowering plants, in the order Rosales, comprising 36 genera of mostly perennial dicotyledonous herbs. The members are cosmopolitan in distribution but native primarily to northern cold and temperate regions. Members of the family have leaves that characteristically alternate along the stem and sometimes are deeply lobed or form rosettes.

Araguari

2005-03-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

City, western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on the Jordão River, a tributary of the Paranaíba River, at 3,051 feet (930 m) above sea level. Formerly called Freguesia do Brejo Alegre, the settlement was made the seat of a municipality in 1882 and was elevated to city rank in 1888. Araguari's main source of income is from the large herds of cattle raised in the hinterlands, where rice, corn (maize), feij

Haeckel, Ernst

2005-03-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

In full Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel German zoologist and evolutionist who was a strong proponent of Darwinism and who proposed new notions of the evolutionary descent of man.

Pemba Island

2005-03-18T06:19:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jazirat Al-khudrah, island in the Indian Ocean, lying 35 miles (56 km) off the coast of East Africa, opposite the port of Tanga, Tanzania. The island embraces 380 square miles (984 square km) and is 42 miles (67 km) long and 14 miles (22 km) wide. As the Arabic name, which means “Green Island,” suggests, it is more fertile than its sister island, Zanzibar, which lies 30 miles (48 km) to the southwest. Pemba is the world's leading producer

Lévi-strauss, Claude

2005-03-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

French social anthropologist and leading exponent of structuralism, a name applied to the analysis of cultural systems (e.g., kinship and mythical systems) in terms of the structural relations among their elements. Structuralism has influenced not only 20th-century social science but also the study of philosophy, comparative religion, literature,

Tsingtao

2005-03-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

Originally a minor fishing village, Tsingtao developed a large junk trade

Botha, P(ieter) W(illem)

2005-03-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

A native of the Orange Free State, he studied law at the University of Orange Free State at Bloemfontein from 1932 to 1935 but left without graduating. Already active in politics in his teens, he moved to Cape Province at age 20 to become a full-time organizer for the National Party. He was

Affirmative Action

2005-03-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

In the United States, an active effort to improve employment or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and for women. Affirmative action began as a government remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against such groups and has consisted of policies, programs, and procedures that give preferences to minorities and women in job

Yap Ah Loy

2005-03-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Yap Ah Loy arrived in the Malay state of Selangor in 1856 at the age of 19. He spent his first years in the peninsula as a miner and petty trader, but in 1862 his fortunes

France, History Of, The development of central government

2005-03-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Louis's inner council was on the model of the royal council in Richelieu's days, a High Council (Conseil d'en Haut) consisting of only three or four members and excluding the king's own relatives. Members of this council were known as ministers, but they held no formal right to the title and ceased to be minister if the king chose not to summon them. The first of these great

Scylla And Charybdis

2005-03-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings (later localized in the Strait of Messina). Scylla was a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girt with the heads of baying dogs. From her

Buenos Aires, Museums and libraries

2005-03-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

The city's museums—several of which are run by the municipal government—house varied collections. The Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences has an exceptionally rich fossil collection and operates a scientific institute. The National Museum of Fine Arts contains collections of world masters and of Argentine painters and sculptors, while

Computers, Handheld computers

2005-03-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

The origins of handheld computers go back to the 1960s, when Alan Kay, a researcher at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, promoted the vision of a small, powerful notebook-style computer that he called the Dynabook. Kay never actually built a Dynabook (the technology had yet to be invented), but his vision helped to catalyze the research that would eventually make his dream

Ford, John

2005-03-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

In 1602 Ford was admitted to the Middle Temple (a training college for lawyers), and he remained there, except for a period of suspension (1606–08), until at least 1617. He

Aranda, Pedro Pablo Abarca De Bolea, Conde De

2005-03-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

Aranda came from the Aragonese nobility. After initially preparing for the priesthood, he entered the army, in which he became director of the artillery, introduced the Prussian system of drill in the Seven Years'

Furniture, 19th century

2005-03-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

The Empire style began in Paris about the time of the Revolution and quickly spread throughout Europe, each country adapting it to its own national taste. In England it is commonly called the Regency style. Two French architects, Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, who designed the furnishings for the staterooms of Napoleon, contributed in great measure to the

Albert, Heinrich

2005-03-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

Albert studied composition with his cousin Heinrich Schütz at Dresden. While he attended the University of Leipzig his musical activities were encouraged

Biblical Literature, Protestantism

2005-03-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

The term Protestant covers so wide a variety of theological views and religious and cultural groups and so many different ways of worshipping and using the Bible in worship that it is virtually impossible to say anything about the liturgy or the Bible's place in worship that would be true of all Protestants. Among Anglicans, what was said of the Bible in the Roman

Iasion

2005-03-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Iasios, in Greek mythology, Cretan youth loved by Demeter, the corn goddess, who lay with him in a fallow field that had been thrice plowed. Their son was Plutus (q.v.), the wealth within the soil. According to another version, Iasion attempted to ravish the goddess and was struck by lightning hurled by Zeus. Iasion perhaps originated as an ancient agricultural deity associated

Ikere-ekiti

2005-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Ikere , or Ikerre town, Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria, on the road from Akure to Ado-Ekiti. A major collecting point for cocoa, it also serves as an agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava [yuca], rice, corn [maize], palm oil and kernels, okra, pumpkins) for the Ekiti branch of the Yoruba people. Ikere-Ekiti has government and Christian teacher-training colleges; there is also a hospital. The

Peter Lombard

2005-03-09T00:36:00.000-08:00

After early schooling at Bologna, he went to France to study at Reims and then at Paris. From 1136 to 1150 he taught theology in the school of Notre Dame, Paris, where in 1144–45 he became a canon—i.e., staff clergyman. Lombard was present at the

Aleijadinho

2005-03-08T23:58:00.000-08:00

Aleijadinho was born deformed (his sobriquet means “Little Cripple”). He eventually lost the use of his hands and finally became blind,

Augustine, Saint, Texts and translations

2005-03-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

Augustine's two most important works, Confessions and City of God, are available in numerous editions. Both James J. O'Donnell, Confessions, 3 vol. (1992), and Jacques Fontaine (ed.), Confessioni, 5 vol. (1992–97), presume knowledge of Latin and contain substantial commentaries. The best English versions are The Confessions of St. Augustine, trans. by John K. Ryan (1960); Confessions, trans. by Henry Chadwick (1991); and The Confessions, trans. by Maria Boulding (1997). Although no comprehensive commentary on City of God exists, two versions are The City of God Against the Pagans, 7 vol., ed. and trans. by George E. McCracken et al. (1957–72), in The Loeb Classical Library series; and the best translation, Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans, trans. by Henry Bettenson (1972, reissued 1984).

Bedmar, Alonso De La Cueva, Marqués De

2005-03-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Nominated by Philip III of Spain as ambassador to the Venetian Republic (1607), he was made marqués de Bedmar in 1614. He used his diplomatic privileges to promote the plans of the Spanish viceroys of Naples and Milan and to increase Spanish power in Italy. Resolutely opposed

Côte D'ivoire

2005-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, French République de Côte d'Ivoire, also called in English (until 1986) Ivory Coast, country located on the coast of western Africa. With a coastline more than 300 miles (480 kilometres) long, it forms an almost square block of territory with an area of 123,847 square miles (320,763 square kilometres). It is bounded to the north by Mali and Burkina Faso, to the east by Ghana, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, to the southwest by Liberia, and to the northwest by Guinea. The de facto capital

Pohjanmaa

2005-03-05T23:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Ostrobothnia, or Ostrobothnian Plain, Swedish Österbotten, lowland plain in Vaasa and Oulu läänit (provinces), western Finland, along the Gulf of Bothnia. Pohjanmaa is about 60 miles (100 km) wide and 160 miles (257 km) long. It consists of flat plains of sand and clay soil that are broken by rivers and bog areas. It is drained mainly by the Lapuan, Kyrön, and Iso rivers, which flow to the Gulf of Bothnia. The lowlands are divided between agricultural

Kitakami-sammyaku

2005-03-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: Kitakami Range), mountain range, in northeastern Honshu, Japan, paralleling the Pacific coast and extending for about 155 mi (250 km) from southern Aomori Prefecture, through Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, to terminate in the Ojika Peninsula. The range has a maximum breadth of 50 mi and is nearly wedge shaped. The highest peak, Hayachine-san, rises to an elevation of 6,280 ft (1,914 m)

Shaft Coupling

2005-03-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

A common type of rigid coupling

Ricardo (leite), Cassiano

2005-03-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Ricardo's poetic production covers the period 1915–71. He was a prime mover

Rogers, Samuel

2005-03-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

Rogers attained eminence with the publication of his discursive poem The Pleasures of Memory (1792). On his father's death (1793) he inherited a banking firm, and for the next half century he maintained an influential position as a leading figure

Jackson, Shirley

2005-03-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Jackson graduated from Syracuse University in 1940 and married the American literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. They settled in North Bennington in 1945. Life Among the Savages (1953) and Raising Demons (1957) are witty and humorous fictionalized memoirs

Auslander, Joseph

2005-03-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

Auslander's

Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista

2005-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Great Italian painter of the 18th century. His luminous, poetic frescoes (e.g., “The Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra,” before 1750), while extending the tradition of Baroque ceiling decoration, epitomize the lightness and elegance of the Rococo period (see photograph).

Greece, History Of

2005-03-01T16:49:00.000-08:00

Geographically, Greece forms the southernmost extension of the Balkan Peninsula. It is a region dominated by mountain systems, and, although not particularly high, these cover some 80 percent

Pa Sak River

2005-03-01T04:05:00.000-08:00

River in central Thailand. It rises in the northern portion of the Phetchabun Range and flows south through a narrow valley for 319 miles (513 km). It empties into the Lop Buri River at the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Lomsak, Phetchabun, and Sara Buri are the main towns on its banks. Below Sara Buri, the Pa Sak is dammed for irrigation.

Frame Harp

2005-02-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

Frame harps are known to have existed in Europe by the 9th century AD and in Ireland by

Zara, Siege Of

2005-02-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

(1202), a major episode of the Fourth Crusade; the first attack on a Christian city by a crusading army, it foreshadowed the same army's assault on Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, in 1203–04. Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), a vassal city of the Venetian republic, rebelled against Venice in 1186 and placed itself under the protection of King Béla III of Hungary. Anxious to reassert their

France, History Of, Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th century

2005-02-28T05:07:00.000-08:00

Preceding the arrival of the Franks, other Germans had already entered Gaul. The area south of the Loire was divided between two groups. One, the Visigoths, occupied Aquitaine, Provence, and most of Spain. Their king, Euric (ruled 466–484), was the most powerful monarch in the West. The other group, the Burgundians, ruled much of the Rhône valley. In northern Gaul the Alemanni occupied

Braddock, James J.

2005-02-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Braddock's professional name was changed by his manager to James J. early in his career, patterning the name

Cahan, Abraham

2005-02-26T23:21:00.000-08:00

Himself an immigrant, Cahan arrived in the United

Christian Caste

2005-02-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

In India, the social stratification that persists among Christians, based upon caste membership at the time of an individual's own or of an ancestor's conversion. Indian Christian society is divided into groups geographically and according to denomination, but the overriding factor is one of caste. Caste groups may dine together and worship together, but, as a rule,

Quionga

2005-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Formerly Kionga, village, Cabo (Cape) Delgado province, extreme northeastern Mozambique, East Africa, just south of the Rio Rovuma. In 1886 Germany and Portugal had agreed on the Rovuma as the boundary between then German East Africa (now Tanzania) and Portuguese Mozambique, but the Germans later claimed (1892) that Portugal had no rights north of Cabo Delgado, approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of the Rovuma's

Tirmidhi, At-

2005-02-25T10:52:00.000-08:00

The life of at-Tirmidhi is poorly documented. He journeyed to Khorasan, to Iraq, and to the Hejaz in search of material for his collection and studied with such renowned scholars of Had

Minhah

2005-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Minhah consists

Rama I

2005-02-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

Rama I was the son of a high court official and his part-Chinese wife. At the time of the Burmese invasion of Siam in 1766–67, he was serving as chief judge in Rat Buri province. After the fall of Ayutthaya (1767), the Thai capital, he joined

Glazov

2005-02-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Glazov rayon (sector) in Udmurtiya republic, Russia. Founded in 1780 as a point of Udmurt settlement, it is on the Cheptsa River. Industrial activities include timber milling, woodworking, metal working, and food processing. Glazov has a teacher-training and an agricultural college. Pop. (1991 est.) 106,000.

Disney, Walt

2005-02-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Byname of Walter Elias Disney American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films and as the creator of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He also planned and built Disneyland, a huge amusement park that opened near Los Angeles in 1955, and before his death he

Subtropical High

2005-02-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

One of several regions of semipermanent high atmospheric pressure located over the oceans near 35° latitude in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth. The highs, which are apparently of dynamic rather than thermal origin, are most intense and closest to the poles in summer. The circulation around the highs is clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere

Burgomaster

2005-02-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

German Bürgermeister (“town master”), mayor or chief magistrate of a German town, city, or rural commune. The title is also used in such countries as Belgium (bourgmeistre) and The Netherlands (burgemeester). Most German towns have a burgomaster, but larger cities may have several, one being the chief burgomaster (oberbürgermeister). Burgomasters may be elected by the voters or by a council, and

Florensky, Pavel Alexandrovich

2005-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

In 1904 Florensky received a degree in philosophy and mathematics from Moscow University, and four years later he obtained his graduate degree from the Moscow Theological Academy, where he eventually taught. Ordained a

Hetman

2005-02-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

Military title used in the Polish–Lithuanian state (16th–18th century); the hetman wielki (“great hetman”) was the chief of the armed forces and the commander in the field when the king was not present. In Ukraine a variation of the term, ataman, was used to designate the military leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (16th century) and the prince of the area east of the Dnieper River

Tree Ear

2005-02-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Chinese Mu Erh, also called Wood Ear, or Black Fungus, any of several edible mushrooms of the genus Auricularia that are popular in Chinese cuisine, especially that of Sichuan (Szechwan) province. Tree ears grow wild on and are cultivated on the bark of trees. They are gathered for use in a fresh state and are dried for storage. Dried tree ears resemble gray-black flakes of ash; when reconstituted the mushrooms expand into

Per Ramessu

2005-02-20T05:53:00.000-08:00

Probably founded in the Old Kingdom, the city was overrun by Palestinian peoples in about 1700 BC and became the Hyksos capital about 1530 BC. Sacked by the victorious pharaoh Ahmose about 1521 BC, it

Proetus

2005-02-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a king of Argos, grandson of Danaus. He quarreled with his brother Acrisius and divided the kingdom with him, Proetus taking Tiryns, which he fortified. Proetus' daughters were driven mad either because they insulted the goddess Hera or because they would not accept the new rites of Dionysus. They imagined themselves cows, until the seer Melampus

Habit

2005-02-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

In psychology, any regularly repeated behaviour that requires little or no thought and is learned rather than innate. A habit—which can be part of any activity, ranging from eating and sleeping to thinking and reacting—is developed through reinforcement and repetition. Reinforcement encourages the repetition of a behaviour, or response, each time the stimulus

Faenza Majolica

2005-02-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

Majolica also spelled Maiolica, tin-glazed earthenware produced in the city of Faenza in the Emilia district of Italy from the late 14th century. Early Faenza ware is represented by green and purple jugs decorated with Gothic lettering and heraldic lions and by Tuscan oak leaf jars. The first significant majolica piece, a wall plaque, is dated 1475. Typical Renaissance motifs appear on 15th-century ware,

Gradus

2005-02-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

A dictionary of Greek or Latin prosody and poetic phrases used as an aid in the writing of verse in Greek or Latin. The term is derived from the Gradus ad Parnassum (“A Step to Parnassus”), a 17th-century prosody dictionary long used in British schools.

Uccello, Paolo

2005-02-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

“The Creation of the Animals”; “The Creation of Adam”; “The Creation of Eve”; “The Fall” (frescoes, early 1430s; Sta. Maria Novella, Florence); “Sir John Hawkwood” (fresco, 1436; cathedral, Florence); “Scenes from Monastic Legends” (frescoes, c. 1440; S. Miniato al Monte, Florence); “The Flood,” “The Recession of the Flood,” “The Sacrifice of Noah,” and “The Drunkenness of Noah” (1447–48; Sta. Maria Novella); “The Battle of San Romano” (c. 1456; panels in the National Gallery, London; Uffizi, Florence; and the Louvre, Paris); “St. George and the Dragon” (1455–?60; Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris); “St. George and the Dragon” (c. 1460; National Gallery); “The Profanation of the Host” (c. 1466–69; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy); “A Hunt in a Forest” (after 1460; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford); “The Founders of Florentine Art” (after 1460?; Louvre).

Wafd

2005-02-17T02:22:00.000-08:00

In full Al-wafd Al-misri (Arabic: “Egyptian Delegation”), nationalist political party that was instrumental in gaining Egyptian independence from Britain. Organized by Sa'd Zaghlul on Nov. 13, 1918, as a permanent delegation of the Egyptian people, it demanded a voice in London and at the peace conferences following World War I. In March 1919 the British temporarily exiled its leaders Sa'd Zaghlul, Isma'il Sidq

Pitot, Henri

2005-02-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

Beginning his career as a mathematician and astronomer, Pitot won election to the Academy of Sciences in 1724. He became interested in the problem of flow of water in rivers and canals and discovered that much contemporary theory was erroneous—for example,

Peter Des Rivaux

2005-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

His father (or uncle), Peter des Roches (bishop of Winchester, 1205–38), became tutor to Henry upon the King's accession. Peter des Rivaux served as a king's clerk from 1218 to 1223 but was exiled

Meson

2005-02-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

Any member of a family of subatomic particles composed of an even number of quarks and antiquarks. Mesons are sensitive to the strong force (the force that binds the components of the nucleus) because their constituent quarks are strongly interacting. Mesons consist of an even number of quarks with half-integral spin, and so they have integral spin. They vary widely

Roman à Clef

2005-02-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel with a key”), novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. The tradition goes back to 17th-century France, when fashionable members of the aristocratic literary coteries, such as Mlle de Scudéry, enlivened their historical romances by including in them fictional

Ogot, Grace

2005-02-14T02:46:00.000-08:00

One of the few well-known woman writers in Kenya, Ogot was the first woman to have fiction published by the East African Publishing House. Her stories—which appeared in European and African journals such as Black Orpheus and Transition and in collections

Chiang Kai-shek

2005-02-14T02:03:00.000-08:00

Chiang was born into a moderately prosperous merchant and farmer family in the coastal province of Chekiang. He prepared for a military career first (1906) at

Laie

2005-02-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

Town, Honolulu county, on Laie Bay, northeastern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. The land was acquired by Mormon missionaries in 1864 and settled by a colony of Hawaiian Mormons. The impressive white Laie Temple, where the highest rites of the Mormon church can be performed, was built (1919) on the site of an ancient Hawaiian “city of refuge” (a sanctuary for the pursued). The Polynesian Cultural

Atlantic Ocean

2005-02-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic is, generally speaking, S-shaped and narrow in relation

Gabú

2005-02-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

Formerly Nova Lamego town, eastern Guinea-Bissau, western Africa. Gabú is situated along the Colufe River, a tributary of the Gêba River, and is an agricultural marketing centre. Peanuts (groundnuts), grown mainly by the Muslim Fulani peoples, are the principal crop of the region. The town is connected by road to Bissau, the national capital, and to other coastal towns. Pop. (latest est.) town, 7,803.

Abyssinian

2005-02-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely than any other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively

Judah Ha-levi

2005-02-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hebrew in full Yehuda Ben Shemuel ha-Levi Jewish poet and religious philosopher. His works were the culmination of the development of Hebrew poetry within the Arabic cultural sphere. Among his major works are the poems collected in Diwan, the “Zionide” poems celebrating Zion, and the Sefer ha-Kuzari (“Book of the Khazar”), presenting his philosophy of Judaism in dialogue

Auch

2005-02-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Gers département, Midi-Pyrénées région, southwestern France. Auch is built on and around a hill on the west bank of the Gers River, west of Toulouse. The capital of the Celtiberian tribe of Ausci, it became important in Roman Gaul as Elimberris and, after Christianity was established, became the metropolis of Novempopulani. In 732, to protect against Muslim

Binder

2005-02-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Machine for cutting grain and binding it into bundles, once widely used to cut small grain such as wheat. The first patent was issued on a self-tie binder in 1850. The horse-drawn twine binder, first marketed in 1880, remained the chief method of harvesting small grain during the early decades of the 20th century. The mechanical twine knotter was patented in 1892 in the United States. Along

Ear Disease

2005-02-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

The child born deaf or with a severe hearing impairment cannot acquire speech by the normal process but must attend special classes or a school for the deaf to be taught speech and lipreading. Most of these children have remnants of the sense of hearing that can be utilized in their schooling by the use of aids to amplify sound. The child with a moderate or mild hearing

Abbott, Berenice

2005-02-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

Abbott studied briefly at Ohio State University before moving in 1918 to New York City, where she explored sculpture and drawing on her own for four years. She continued these pursuits

Ahmad Ibn Tulun

2005-02-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

As a child Ahmad was taken into slavery and placed in the private service of the 'Abbasid caliph (the titular leader of the Islamic community) at Baghdad. Later he studied theology in the city of Tarsus. He rose in the administrative structure of the 'Abbasid