Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Marseilles

(Encyclopedia)Marseilles märsāˈ [key], Fr. Marseille, city (1990 pop. 807,726), capital of Bouches-du-Rhône dept., SE France, on the Gulf of Lions, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest city...

Timur

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Timur (1405) Timur tămˈərlān [key], c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror, b. Kesh, near Samarkand. He is also called Timur Leng [Timur the lame]. He was the son of a tribal leader, an...

Kennan, George

(Encyclopedia)Kennan, George, 1845–1924, American authority on Siberia, b. Norwalk, Ohio. In 1864 he made the first of his journeys to East Asia as an engineer. His articles on Siberia, for many years almost the ...

York University

(Encyclopedia)York University, at North York, Ont., Canada; nondenominational; coeducational; founded 1959 as an affiliate of the Univ. of Toronto, became independent 1965. It has faculties of administrative studie...

falconry

(Encyclopedia)falconry fôlˈkənrē, fôˈ–, fălˈ– [key], sport of hunting birds or small animals with falcons or other types of hawks; eagles are used in some parts of the world. It was known to the ancient...

Hsüan-tsung

(Encyclopedia)Hsüan-tsung shüän dzo͞ong [key], 685–762, Chinese emperor (712–56), 9th of the T'ang dynasty. Under his brilliant early rule the T'ang reached the height of its power. Improved administration ...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

pistachio

(Encyclopedia)pistachio pĭstăshˈēō, pĭstäˈshēō [key], tree or shrub (of the genus Pistacia) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The species that yields the pistachio nut of commerce is P. vera, na...

Cornish literature

(Encyclopedia)Cornish literature. The literature of the Celtic language of Cornwall, which has been spoken only by bilingual speakers since the late 18th cent. The surviving pre-1800 literature consists largely of ...

Alarcón, Juan Ruiz de

(Encyclopedia)Alarcón, Juan Ruiz de dā älärkōnˈ [key], 1581?–1639, Spanish dramatic poet, one of the great literary figures of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Mexico. After practicing law in Spain (1600–1608)...