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Bloomfield, Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Bloomfield, Leonard, 1887–1949, American linguist, b. Chicago. Bloomfield was professor at Ohio State Univ. (1921–27), at the Univ. of Chicago (1927–40), and at Yale (from 1940). His specialty f...

Essaouira

(Encyclopedia)Essaouira ĕsəwērˈə [key], city, W Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean. Essaouira's pleasant climate and picturesque location, buildings, and ruins have made it a tourist resort. Fishing and cabinetry ...

Gibran, Kahlil

(Encyclopedia)Gibran, Kahlil or Khalil kəlēlˈ jĭbränˈ [key], 1883–1931, Lebanese poet and novelist. His family emigrated to America in 1895 and settled in Boston; Gibran moved to New York City in 1911. In a...

Gerizim

(Encyclopedia)Gerizim gĕrˈəzĭm, gērīˈ– [key], Arabic Jabal at Tur, mountain, 2,890 ft (881 m) high, in the Samaritan Hills, in the West Bank. Nablus, near the ancient Shechem, lies in the valley between Ge...

jinni

(Encyclopedia)jinni jĭn [key], in Arabic and Islamic folklore, spirit or demon endowed with supernatural power. In ancient belief the jinn were associated with the destructive forces of nature. In Islamic traditio...

Panchatantra

(Encyclopedia)Panchatantra pŭnˌchətŭnˈtrə [key] [Sanskrit,=five treatises], anonymous collection of animal fables in Sanskrit literature, probably compiled before a.d. 500 (see Bidpai). The work, derived from...

Mamun, al-

(Encyclopedia)Mamun, al- (Abu al-Abbas Abd Allah al-Mamun) mämo͞onˈ [key], 786–833, 7th Abbasid caliph (813–33); son of Harun ar-Rashid. He succeeded his brother al-Amin after a bitter civil war, but was una...

Vega

(Encyclopedia)Vega vāˈgə [key], brightest star in the constellation Lyra; Bayer designation Alpha Lyrae; 1992 position R.A. 18h36.7m, Dec. +38°47′. A white main-sequence star of spectral class A0 V, its appar...

Salmasius, Claudius

(Encyclopedia)Salmasius, Claudius klôdˈēəs sălmāˈshəs [key], 1588–1653, French humanist and philologist. Salmasius is known in French as Claude de Saumaise. After studying Latin and Greek with his father,...

Sheba, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Sheba shēˈbə [key]. 1 In the Bible, rebel against David. 2 Queen of Sheba, who according the the Bible visited Solomon after hearing about the fame of his wisdom. In Arabic legend, Solomon and the ...