(Encyclopedia) Warham, WilliamWarham, Williamwôrˈəm [key], 1450?–1532, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at Oxford and became widely known in England for his legal ability, went…
(Encyclopedia) Wouk, HermanWouk, Hermanwōk [key], 1915–2019, American writer, b. New York City. In The Caine Mutiny (1951; Pulitzer Prize), he made the protagonist-antagonist Captain Queeg a popular…
(Encyclopedia) stratification (Lat.,=made in layers), layered structure formed by the deposition of sedimentary rocks. Changes between strata are interpreted as the result of fluctuations in the…
(Encyclopedia) sweepstakes, contest or race, usually a horse race, on which a lottery is run. Prizes are awarded to the holders of winning tickets. In the case of a horse race, the draw is made from…
(Encyclopedia) centering, the framework of wood or of wood and steel built to support a masonry arch or vault during its construction. The centering itself must be rigidly supported, either by posts…
(Encyclopedia) conflict of laws, that part of the law in each state, country, or other jurisdiction that determines whether, in dealing with a particular legal situation, its law or the law of some…
(Encyclopedia) data encryption, the process of scrambling stored or transmitted information so that it is unintelligible until it is unscrambled by the intended recipient. Historically, data…
(Encyclopedia) shrew, common name for the small, insectivorous mammals of the family Soricidae, related to the moles. Shrews include the smallest mammals; the smallest shrews are under 2 in. (5.1 cm…
(Encyclopedia) Ranke, Leopold vonRanke, Leopold vonlāˈōpôlt fən rängˈkə [key], 1795–1886, German historian, generally recognized as the father of the modern objective historical school. He applied…
(Encyclopedia) Neptune, in astronomy, 8th planet from the sun at a mean distance of about 2.8 billion mi (4.5 billion km) with an orbit lying between those of Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto; its…
