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village

(Encyclopedia)village, small rural population unit, held together by common economic and political ties. Based on agricultural production, a village is smaller than a town and has been the normal unit of community ...

kabbalah

(Encyclopedia)kabbalah or cabala both: kăbˈələ [key] [Heb.,=reception], esoteric system of interpretation of the Scriptures based upon a tradition claimed to have been handed down orally from Abraham. Despite t...

Eichholtz, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Eichholtz, Jacob īkhˈhôlts [key], 1776–1842, American portrait painter, b. Lancaster, Pa.; pupil of Gilbert Stuart in Boston but mainly self-taught. He painted portraits of some of the most promi...

Desaix de Veygoux, Louis Charles Antoine

(Encyclopedia)Desaix de Veygoux, Louis Charles Antoine lwē shärl äNtwänˈ dəsāˈ də vāgo͞oˈ [key], 1768–1800, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. He served under J. B. Jourdan and J. V. Mor...

David d'Angers

(Encyclopedia)David d'Angers or Pierre-Jean David dävēdˈ däNzhāˈ; pyĕr-zhäN [key], 1788–1856, French sculptor. His works are numerous and present national figures, often nude, in statues, busts, reliefs, ...

chemin de fer

(Encyclopedia)chemin de fer shəmănˈ də fûr, Fr. shəmăNˈ də fĕr [key] [Fr.,=railroad], the most popular gambling card game in Europe. The present day versions are variations of Italian baccara which Charle...

Hoel, Sigurd

(Encyclopedia)Hoel, Sigurd sēˈgo͝or hōˈəl [key], 1890–1960, Norwegian novelist. Hoel's sophisticated novels of urban life include the witty satire Sinners in Summertime (1927, tr. 1930) and the more serious...

Elphinstone, William

(Encyclopedia)Elphinstone, William ĕlˈfĭnstən, –stōnˌ [key], 1431–1514, Scottish prelate, founder of the Univ. of Aberdeen. He was trained in the law and was employed on many political missions before bec...

mugwumps

(Encyclopedia)mugwumps mŭgˈwŭmpsˌ [key], slang term in U.S. political history for the Republicans who in 1884 deserted their party nominee, James G. Blaine, to vote for the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland....

Olesha, Yuri

(Encyclopedia)Olesha, Yuri, 1899–1960, Russian novelist and dramatist. In his novel Envy (1927; tr. 1936) and in his other writing, Olesha focused on the conflict between the demands of an industrialized world an...