Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

cypress, in botany

(Encyclopedia)cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees, several yielding valuable timber. The major genera are Juniperus (juniper), Thuja (arb...

convict labor

(Encyclopedia)convict labor, work of prison inmates. Until the 19th cent., labor was introduced in prisons chiefly as punishment. Such work is now considered a necessary part of the rehabilitation of the criminal; ...

Chiapas

(Encyclopedia)Chiapas chēäˈpäs [key], state, 28,732 sq mi (74,416 sq km), SE Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean ...

Hyperboreans

(Encyclopedia)Hyperboreans hīˌpərbôrˈēənz, –bôrēˈənz [key], in Greek mythology, people dwelling in a state of perfect bliss in the Far North who were Apollo worshipers. ...

shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...

Yancey, William Lowndes

(Encyclopedia)Yancey, William Lowndes, 1814–63, American leader of secession, b. Warren co., Ga. Admitted (1834) to the bar in Greenville, S.C., he soon moved to Alabama. There he became an outstanding lawyer, wa...

Prudhoe Bay

(Encyclopedia)Prudhoe Bay, inlet of the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, N Alaska, in the Alaska North Slope region, east of the Colville River delta. In 1968 one of the largest oil reserves in North America was disc...

pink

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Deptford pink, Dianthus armeria pink, common name for some members of the Caryophyllaceae, a family of small herbs found chiefly in north temperate zones (especially the Mediterranean area) bu...

Ettwein, John

(Encyclopedia)Ettwein, John ĕtˈvīn [key], 1721–1802, German-American churchman, leader and bishop of the Moravian Church in the United States. He came to America from Germany in 1754 as a missionary. In his mi...

Browse by Subject