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Taylor, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Isaac, 1829–1901, English clergyman, antiquarian, and author, chiefly noted for researches in philology. In 1885, Taylor became canon of York. His inclination toward controversy led to the w...

wildcat

(Encyclopedia)wildcat, common name of Old World cats (Felis silvestris) of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wildcat resembles a large domestic tabby cat with a heavy tail; its fur is brownish to gray, with a pattern o...

willow-pattern ware

(Encyclopedia)willow-pattern ware, sometimes porcelain but frequently opaque pottery, originated in Staffordshire, England, c.1780. Thomas Minton (see Minton, family), then an apprentice potter, developed and engra...

Waddell, James Iredell

(Encyclopedia)Waddell, James Iredell wŏdĕlˈ [key], 1824–86, Confederate naval officer in the American Civil War, b. Pittsboro, N.C. He was appointed a midshipman in the U.S. navy in 1841. On return from duty i...

Ural

(Encyclopedia)Ural yo͝orˈəl, Rus. o͞orälˈ [key], river, c.1,580 mi (2,540 km) long, rising in the S Urals, flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. Part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia, the ...

typhus

(Encyclopedia)typhus, any of a group of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms classified between bacteria and viruses, known as rickettsias. Typhus diseases are characterized by high fever and an early onset...

Spee, Maximilian, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Spee, Maximilian, Graf von mäkˌsēmēˈlyän gräf fən shpā [key], 1861–1914, German admiral. At the start of World War I he commanded a squadron in East Asia. In Nov., 1914, he met and defeated...

trillium

(Encyclopedia)trillium or wake-robin trĭlˈēəm [key], any plant of the large genus Trillium, attractive spring wildflowers of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to North America and E Asia. The leaves, p...

Troas

(Encyclopedia)Troas trōˈăd [key], region about ancient Troy, on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, in present NW Turkey. Traversed by Mt. Ida (Kaz Daği) and strategically located on the Hellespont (Dardanelles)...

soapberry

(Encyclopedia)soapberry, common name for the plant family Sapindaceae, a primarily tropical family of trees, shrubs, lianas, and herbaceous climbers, as well as a genus, Sapindus, in that family found in Asia and t...