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carpe diem

(Encyclopedia)carpe diem kärˈpĕ dēˈĕm [key], a descriptive term for literature that urges readers to live for the moment [from the Latin phrase “seize the day,” used by Horace]. The theme, which was widel...

alliteration

(Encyclopedia)alliteration əlĭtˌərāˈshən [key], the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence. Probably the most powerful rhythmic and thematic uses of alliteration are contained i...

streptococcus

(Encyclopedia)streptococcus strĕpˌtəkŏkˈəs [key], any of a group of gram-positive bacteria, genus Streptococcus, some of which cause disease. Streptococci are spherical and divide by fission, but they remain ...

Duke of York Islands

(Encyclopedia)Duke of York Islands, group of 13 coral islands, 23 sq mi (60 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of Papua New Guinea. There are several coconut plantations. Duke of York Island is t...

Marsden, Gerry

(Encyclopedia)Marsden, Gerry, 1942-2021, British pop singer and bandleader, b. Liverpool, England. Marsden was the leader of ‘60s British Invasion group Gerry and t...

Olatunji, Babatunde

(Encyclopedia)Olatunji, Babatunde, 1927–2003, Nigerian drummer, b. Ajido. Educated in the United States, he graduated from Atlanta's Morehouse College in 1954 and studied at New York Univ. A Yoruba, steeped in tr...

Benedict's solution

(Encyclopedia)Benedict's solution, deep-blue alkaline solution used to test for the presence of the aldehyde functional group, −CHO. The substance to be tested is heated with Benedict's solution; formation of a b...

Brain Trust

(Encyclopedia)Brain Trust, the group of close advisers to Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he was governor of New York state and during his first years as President. The name was applied to them because the members o...

Sun Ra

(Encyclopedia) Sun Ra, 1914-1993, African-American jazz composer, bandleader, and keyboard player, b. Birmingham, Al., as Herman Poole Blount. Sun Ra was a leading c...

mode, in statistics

(Encyclopedia)mode, in statistics, an infrequently used type of average. In a group of numbers the mode is the number occurring most frequently. In the group 1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 9, 9, the mode is 6 because it o...