Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

marsupial

(Encyclopedia)marsupial märso͞oˈpēəl [key], member of the order Marsupialia, or pouched mammals. With the exception of the New World opossums and an obscure S American family (Caenolestidae), marsupials are no...

Diaspora

(Encyclopedia)Diaspora dīăsˈpərə [key] [Gr.,=dispersion], term used today to denote the Jewish communities living outside the Holy Land. It was originally used to designate the dispersal of the Jews at the tim...

Graham, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Graham, Billy (William Franklin Graham) grāˈəm [key], 1918–2018, American evangelist, b. Charlotte, N.C., grad. Wheaton College (B.A., 1943). Graham was ordained a minister in the Southern Baptis...

Mawson, Sir Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Mawson, Sir Douglas, 1882–1958, Australian antarctic explorer and geologist, b. England. His first geographical expedition was to the New Hebrides Islands as a geologist in 1903. As a member of the ...

logania

(Encyclopedia)logania lōgāˈnēə [key], common name for the Loganiaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees of warmer climates, including many woody climbing species. Some plants of this family are grown in th...

Lombok

(Encyclopedia)Lombok lŏmbŏkˈ [key], island (1990 pop. 2,403,025), c.1,825 sq mi (4,725 sq km), E Indonesia, one of the Lesser Sundas, separated from Bali by the Strait of Lombok. Mataram, with the port of Ampena...

windsurfing

(Encyclopedia)windsurfing, also called boardsailing or sailboarding, water sport that employs a board-and-sail device and combines elements of sailing and surfing. The sailboard was first developed in 1964 by boate...

truck

(Encyclopedia)truck, automotive vehicle designed primarily for the transportation of goods. A truck is constructed on the general lines of the automobile but uses larger and heavier parts. It may be powered by a ga...

beef

(Encyclopedia)beef, flesh of cattle prepared for food. It has become one of the chief products of the meatpacking industry and is sold either chilled, frozen, or cured. The leading beef consumers, as well as export...

Booth

(Encyclopedia)Booth, family prominent in the Salvation Army, founded by William Booth. His wife, Catherine Mumford Booth, 1829–90, whom he married in 1855, played a leading part in the foundation and development ...