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Tristram and Isolde

(Encyclopedia)Tristram and Isolde trĭsˈtrəm, ĭsōlˈdə, ĭzōlˈ– [key], medieval romance. The earliest extant version (incomplete) was written (c.1185) by Thomas of Britain in Anglo-Norman French verse. Abo...

Saint Helena

(Encyclopedia)Saint Helena həlēˈnə [key], island, 47 sq mi (122 sq km), in the S Atlantic Ocean, 1,200 mi (1,931 km) W of Africa. Together with the islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, it comprises the Br...

representation

(Encyclopedia)representation, in government, the term used to designate the means by which a whole population may participate in governing through the device of having a much smaller number of people act on their b...

Transvaal

(Encyclopedia)Transvaal trănzvälˈ [key], former province, NE South Africa. With the new constitution of 1994, it was divided into Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo), Pretoria-Wi...

Dexter, Colin

(Encyclopedia)Dexter, Colin (Norman Colin Dexter), 1930–2017, English mystery novelist, b. Stamford, Lincolnshire. He as a classics teacher in secondary schools until deafness forced him to find a new career; he ...

Dhekelia

(Encyclopedia)Dhekelia thĕkälˈyä [key], Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, or Eastern Sovereign Base Area, British military base (2004 est. pop. 7,200), c.51 sq mi (131 sq km), SE Cyprus, on Larnaca Bay; an overseas...

East India Company, Dutch

(Encyclopedia)East India Company, Dutch, 1602–1798, chartered by the States-General of the Netherlands to expand trade and assure close relations between the government and its colonial enterprises in Asia. The c...

dole

(Encyclopedia)dole, distribution to the poor, usually of food or money. In medieval times doles were usually from bequests of money or land, and the income was given to charity or distributed to the local poor at f...

Dreyer, Johan Ludwig Emil

(Encyclopedia)Dreyer, Johan Ludwig Emil yōˈhän lo͝otˈvĭkh āˈmēl [key], 1852–1926, Danish astronomer, b. Copenhagen, who worked in Great Britain. He was assistant astronomer at the earl of Rosse's observa...

debenture

(Encyclopedia)debenture dəbĕnˈchər [key], document acknowledging indebtedness. In Great Britain a debenture is practically the same as a bond, and debenture stock is similar to preferred stock. In the United St...