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Carpentras

(Encyclopedia)Carpentras kärpäNträsˈ [key], town, Vaucluse dept., SE France, in Provence. It is an important ...

castanets

(Encyclopedia)castanets kăsˌtənĕtsˈ [key], percussion instruments known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, now used primarily in Spanish dance music or imitations of it. Th...

Puszta

(Encyclopedia)Puszta po͞oˈstä [key], arid grasslands that once covered a large part of the Alföld, E Hungary. They were used for extensive cattle raising. With the irrigation and drainage projects of the late 1...

pony

(Encyclopedia)pony, small horse, officially any horse under 14.2 hands (58 in./145 cm) high. Most ponies are of Celtic origin. They are noted for their extreme hardiness and gentle natures. Some ponies are only 26 ...

cod

(Encyclopedia)cod, member of the large family Gadidae, comprising commercially important food fishes. The family, whose members are found in the N Atlantic and Pacific, includes the tomcods, the haddock, and the po...

weaverbird

(Encyclopedia)weaverbird, name for the Ploceidae, a family of Old World seed-eating birds closely resembling finches (hence the alternate name weaver finch). It includes a number of so-called goldfinches and waxbil...

pearl, gem

(Encyclopedia)pearl, hard, rounded secretion formed inside the shell of certain mollusks, used as a gem. It is secreted by the epithelial cells of the mantle, a curtain of tissue between the shell and body mass, an...

Duquesnoy, François

(Encyclopedia)Duquesnoy, François fräNswäˈ dükĕnwäˈ [key], 1594–1643, Flemish sculptor. In 1618 he went to Rome, where he remained most of his life, eventually becoming one of the most sought after sculpt...

Dollard des Ormeaux, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Dollard des Ormeaux, Adam ädäNˈ dôlärˈ dāzôrmōˈ [key], 1635–1660, garrison commander of the fort at Ville-Marie (Montreal), b. France. He probably went to Canada in 1658. In the spring of ...

Cornaro, Caterina

(Encyclopedia)Cornaro, Caterina kätārēˈnä kōrnäˈrō [key], 1454–1510, queen of Cyprus. A celebrated Venetian beauty, she was married in 1472 to James II of Cyprus, who was eager to secure Venetian support...