Columbia Encyclopedia

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porcupine, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)porcupine, member of either of two rodent families, characterized by having some of its hairs modified as bristles, spines, or quills. The quills are loosely attached to the porcupines' skin and pull ...

cell, in electricity

(Encyclopedia)cell: see battery, electric.

calliope, in music

(Encyclopedia)calliope, in music, an instrument also called steam organ or steam piano in which steam is forced through a series of whistles controlled by a keyboard. It is usually played mechanically, and its shri...

calypso, in music

(Encyclopedia)calypso, a form of folk song developed on the island of Trinidad and also popular in other Caribbean countries. Thought to have begun with 19th-century black slaves, calypso songs developed and contin...

CAM, in computing

(Encyclopedia)CAM: see computer-aided manufacturing. ...

agave, in botany

(Encyclopedia)agave: see amaryllis.

buffalo, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)buffalo, name commonly applied to the American bison but correctly restricted to certain related African and Asian mammals of the cattle family. The water buffalo, or Indian buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, ...

bug, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)bug, common name correctly applied to insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, although members of the order Homoptera (e.g., mealybug) are sometimes referred to as bugs, as are other insects in gene...