Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

monsoon

(Encyclopedia)monsoon mŏnso͞on [key] [Arab., mausium=season], wind that changes direction with change of season, notably in India and SE Asia. To a lesser degree, monsoonal winds also develop in portions of all o...

Thailand

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Thailand tīˈlănd, –lənd [key], Thai Prathet Thai [land of the free], officially Kingdom of Thailand, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 68,658,000), 198,455 sq mi (514,000 sq km), So...

Kandahar

(Encyclopedia)Kandahar or Qandahar both: kănˌdəhärˈ [key], city (1989 est. pop. 203,000), capital of Kandahar prov., S Afghanistan. The country's second largest city and chief trade center, Kandahar is a marke...

Nicholas I, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas I, 1796–1855, czar of Russia (1825–55), third son of Paul I. His brother and predecessor, Alexander I, died childless (1825). Constantine, Paul's second son, was next in succession but ha...

Odenathus, Septimius

(Encyclopedia)Odenathus, Septimius sĕptĭmˈēəs ŏdĭnāˈthəs [key], d. 267, king of Palmyra. His family (the Septimii) had dominated Palmyra for many years, and Odenathus by his policy of cooperation with Rom...

Laos

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Laos läˈōs [key], officially Lao People's Democratic Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 6,664,000), 91,428 sq mi (236,800 sq km), SE Asia. A landlocked nation, Laos is bordered by China on t...

alfalfa

(Encyclopedia)alfalfa lo͞osûnˈ [key], perennial leguminous plant (Medicago sativa) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), the most important pasture and hay plant in North America, also grown extensively in A...

motorcycle

(Encyclopedia)motorcycle, motor vehicle whose design is based on the bicycle. The German inventor Gottlieb Daimler is generally credited with building the first practical motorcycle in 1885. The motorcycle did not ...

stink bug

(Encyclopedia)stink bug, member of a large, widely distributed family (Pentatomidae) of true bugs with flattened, shield-shaped bodies. Most are 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in. (6–12 mm) long. Those species whose hard upper c...

Maldives

(Encyclopedia)Maldives mălˈdēvz, –dīvz [key], Dhivehi Dhivehi Raajje, officially Republic of Maldives, republic (2015 est. pop. 418,000), 115 sq mi (298 sq km), off the coast of S Asia in the N Indian Ocean. ...