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Launcelot, Sir

(Encyclopedia)Launcelot, Sir lănˈsəlŏtˌ, lŏnˈ–, lônˈ– [key], in Arthurian legend, bravest and most celebrated knight at the court of King Arthur. He was kidnapped as an infant by the mysterious Lady of...

electric shock

(Encyclopedia)electric shock, effect of the passage of a current of electricity through the body. Fatality may result from shocks of from 1 to 2 amperes and 500 to 1,000 volts. However, the effect of electric shock...

Peacock, Thomas Love

(Encyclopedia)Peacock, Thomas Love, 1785–1866, English novelist and poet. He was employed by the East India Company from 1819 to 1856, serving as its chief examiner the final 20 years. Peacock's novels, comic and...

malnutrition

(Encyclopedia)malnutrition, insufficiency of one or more nutritional elements necessary for health and well-being. Primary malnutrition is caused by the lack of essential foodstuffs—usually vitamins, minerals, or...

tannin

(Encyclopedia)tannin, tannic acid, or gallotannic acid, astringent vegetable product found in a wide variety of plants. Sources include the bark of oak, hemlock, chestnut, and mangrove; the leaves of certain sumac...

Bosboom-Toussaint, Anna Louisa Geertruida

(Encyclopedia)Bosboom-Toussaint, Anna Louisa Geertruida äˈnä lo͞oēˈzä hārtroiˈdä bôsˈbōm-to͝osăNˈ [key], 1812–86, Dutch novelist. She published her first novel, Almagro, in 1837. Her perceptive hi...

Guggenheim Museum

(Encyclopedia)Guggenheim Museum, officially Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, major museum of modern art in New York City. Founded in 1939 as the Museum of Non-objective Art, the Guggenheim is known for its remarkable ...

Ford, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Ford, Richard, 1944–, American novelist, b. Jackson, Miss.; grad. Michigan State Univ. (B.A., 1966), Univ. of California, Irvine (M.F.A., 1970). Ford's concerns are those of a moralist who displays ...

Maier, Vivian

(Encyclopedia)Maier, Vivian, 1926–2009, American photographer, b. Bronx, N.Y. She spent much of her childhood and early adulthood in France, where she began photographing street scenes; she moved in 1951 to New Y...

Usk

(Encyclopedia)Usk, river, c.60 mi (100 km) long, rising in the Black Mts., S Wales and flowing generally SE to Bristol Channel near Newport. The upper Usk is noted for its beauty and its excellent fishing. It is th...