Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

459 results found

Waldenses

(Encyclopedia)Waldenses wôldĕnˈsēz [key] or Waldensians, Protestant religious group of medieval origin, called in French Vaudois. They originated in the late 12th cent. as the Poor Men of Lyons, a band organize...

Broglie

(Encyclopedia)Broglie brôˈyə, brôglēˈ [key], French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647–1727, was marshal of France and fought ...

mountain climbing

(Encyclopedia)mountain climbing, the practice of climbing to elevated points for sport, pleasure, or research. Also called mountaineering, it is practiced throughout the world. Many mountain climbing clubs have...

Ensor, James Ensor, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Ensor, James Ensor, Baron jĕms äNsôrˈ [key], 1860–1949, Belgian painter and etcher. Ensor's imagery reflected one of the most bizarre and powerful visions of his era. He left his native Ostend t...

psychotherapy

(Encyclopedia)psychotherapy, treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods. Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive the...

spintronics

(Encyclopedia)spintronics, spin electronics, or magnetoelectronics, science and technology that harnesses the spin state of electrons in addition to the electrical charge state to store data or perform calculation...

mechanics

(Encyclopedia)mechanics, branch of physics concerned with motion and the forces that tend to cause it; it includes study of the mechanical properties of matter, such as density, elasticity, and viscosity. Mechanics...

Achebe, Chinua

(Encyclopedia)Achebe, Chinua chĭnˈwä ächāˈbā [key], 1930–2013, Nigerian writer, b. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. A graduate of University College, Ibadan (1953), Achebe, an Igbo who wrote in English, is one ...

Donatello

(Encyclopedia)Donatello dŏnətĕlˈō, Ital. dōnätĕlˈlō [key], c.1386–1466, Italian sculptor, major innovator in Renaissance art, b. Florence. His full name was Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi. In his for...

existentialism

(Encyclopedia)existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

Browse by Subject