Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

kinglet

(Encyclopedia)kinglet, common name for members of a subfamily of five species of Old and New World warblers, similar to the thrushes and the Old World flycatchers. Kinglets are small birds (4 in./10 cm) with soft, ...

Pomeranian

(Encyclopedia)Pomeranian pŏmˌərāˈnēən [key], breed of small, sturdy toy dog descended from the sledge dogs of Iceland and Lapland. It stands about 6 in. (15.3 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 3 to 7 ...

Von Sternberg, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Von Sternberg, Joseph (Jo Sternberg), 1894–1969, Austrian-American film director and screenwriter. Von Sternberg, who worked in the United States from 1925, made films that were noted for their dazz...

Bedlington terrier

(Encyclopedia)Bedlington terrier, breed of long-legged, lithe terrier developed in the eastern Border districts of England in the 19th cent. It stands about 16 in. (40.6 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 22 ...

topaz

(Encyclopedia)topaz tōˈpăz [key], aluminum silicate mineral with either hydroxyl radicals or fluorine, Al2SiO4(F,OH)2, used as a gem. It is commonly colorless or some shade of pale yellow to wine-yellow; pale bl...

tourmaline

(Encyclopedia)tourmaline to͝orˈməlĭn, –lēn [key], complex borosilicate mineral with varying amounts of aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, potassium, and sometimes other elements, used as a gem. It o...

puffin

(Encyclopedia)puffin, common name for a diving bird of the family Alcidae (auk family). Its large, triangular bill, brilliantly colored in yellow, blue, and vermilion, is adapted to carrying several fish at one tim...

rockfish

(Encyclopedia)rockfish, member of the family Sebastidae (rockfishes) according some authorities, but also classified as a member of the family Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes, lionfishes, and rockfishes) by other auth...

squill

(Encyclopedia)squill, common name for two genera of Old World bulbous plants of the family Liliaceae (lily family). The horticulturists' squill is any plant of the genus Scilla, mostly spring-blooming low herbs wit...

aster

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cross section of a sunflower, a member of the aster family aster [Gr.,=star], common name for the Asteraceae (Compositae), the aster family, in North America, name for plants of the genus Aste...