(Encyclopedia) fire escape, in architecture, device, either fixed or movable, to facilitate escape from a burning building. In the United States the term usually is applied to the common iron…
(Encyclopedia) Epsom salts, common name for magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, MgSO4·7H2O, a water-soluble bitter-tasting compound that occurs as white or colorless needle-shaped crystals. It was first…
(Encyclopedia) amyloplastamyloplastămˈəlōplăstˌ [key], also called leucoplast, a nonpigmented organelle, or plastid, occurring in the cytoplasm of plant cells. Amyloplasts transform glucose, a simple…
(Encyclopedia) monogram [Gr.,=single letter], symbol of a name or names, consisting typically of a letter or several letters worked together. A famous monogram is that of Christ, consisting of X (chi…
(Encyclopedia) butter-and-eggs, common name for a plant of the family Scrophulariaceae (figwort family) and sometimes for other yellow-and-orange flowers. Butter-and-eggs plants are classified in the…
(Encyclopedia) blizzard, winter storm characterized by high winds, low temperatures, and driving snow; according to the official definition given in 1958 by the U.S. Weather Bureau, the winds must…
(Encyclopedia) jaegerjaegeryāˈgər [key], common name for several members of the family Stercorariidae, member of a family of hawklike sea birds closely related to the gull and the tern. The skua is…
(Encyclopedia) moamoamōˈə [key] [Maori], common name for an extinct flightless bird of New Zealand related to the kiwi, the emu, the cassowary, and the ostrich. The various species ranged in size…
(Encyclopedia) newt, name for members of a large salamander family, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and including the common European salamanders. Newts are lizardlike in shape and are…
(Encyclopedia) Kawasaki disease or Kawasaki syndrome, acute illness characterized by inflammation of the blood vessels that primarily affects young children; it is more common in boys and children of…
