(Encyclopedia) Diggers, members of a small English religio-economic movement (fl. 1649–50), so called because they attempted to dig (i.e., cultivate) the wastelands. They were an offshoot of the more…
(Encyclopedia) eye fly, common name for a group of small flies of the family Chloropidae. Eye flies are common in parts of California and in the S United States. They inhabit grasslands and meadows…
(Encyclopedia) feather star, common name of a class of echinoderms that, as juveniles, are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk with rootlike branches; the mouth side faces upward. In the adult…
(Encyclopedia) herpes zoster, infection of a ganglion (nerve center) with severe pain and a blisterlike eruption in the area of the nerve distribution, a condition called shingles. The causative…
(Encyclopedia) greenling, common name for any of several species of carnivorous, spiny-finned fishes of the family Hexagrammidae, common in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the waters N of Monterey,…
(Encyclopedia) gensgensjĕnz [key], ancient Roman kinship group. It was the counterpart of what is known in other societies as a patrilineal clan or sib, and the word has been used in social science…
(Encyclopedia) nightingale, common name for a migratory Old World bird of the family Turdidae (thrush family), celebrated for its vocal powers. The common nightingale of England and Western Europe,…
(Encyclopedia) life preserver, a personal flotation device (PFD) intended to keep the wearer afloat, particularly in case of shipwreck. A Type I PFD will keep even unconscious people afloat in a face…
(Encyclopedia) winter cress or upland cress, species of Barbarea, herbs of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family). The pungent leaves of several species have been used for salads or…
(Encyclopedia) broom, common name for plants of two closely related and similar Old World genera, Cytisus and Genista, of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). They are mostly twiggy leguminous…
