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pillbox

(Encyclopedia)pillbox, small, low fortification that houses machine guns and antitank weapons. Similar to a blockhouse, it is usually made of concrete, steel, logs, or filled sandbags. Pillboxes came into use durin...

Ortona

(Encyclopedia)Ortona ōrtôˈnä [key], town (1991 pop. 22,601), Abruzzi, central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Now a small fishing port and a seaside resort, it was a major port from the 11th cent. to 1447, when its...

club moss

(Encyclopedia)club moss, name generally used for the living species of the class Lycopodiopsida, a primitive subdivision of vascular plants. The Lycopodiopsida were a dominant plant group in the Carboniferous perio...

harvester

(Encyclopedia)harvester, farm machine that mechanically harvests a crop. Small-grain harvesting has been mechanized to a certain extent since early times. In the modern period the first harvester to gain general ac...

hammerhead

(Encyclopedia)hammerhead, common name for a heavy-looking, heronlike bird, Scopus umbretta. Its plumage is brown with light and dark glossy, purplish streaks on the wings and body. It has short legs, partially webb...

Gurkha

(Encyclopedia)Gurkha go͝orˈkə [key], ethnic group of Nepal and neighboring areas. They claim descent from the Rajputs of N India and entered Nepal from the west after being driven from India. They conquered (ear...

mustang

(Encyclopedia)mustang [Sp. mesteño=a stray], small feral horse of the W United States. Mustangs are descended from escaped Native American horses, which in turn were descended from horses of North African blood, b...

aye-aye

(Encyclopedia)aye-aye īˈīˈ [key], name for an aberrant primate, Daubentonia madagascariensis, related to the lemurs but distinguished by its specialized teeth and fingers. A large nocturnal and arboreal primate...

Kelantan

(Encyclopedia)Kelantan kəlănˈtən, kəlänˌtänˈ [key], state (1991 pop. 1,207,684), 5,780 sq mi (14,970 sq km), central Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, on the South China Sea. It is bordered on the N by Thailand. ...

leech

(Encyclopedia)leech, predacious or parasitic annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, characterized by a cylindrical or slightly flattened body with suckers at either end for attaching to prey. The leech, like other an...