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throne

(Encyclopedia)throne, chair of state or the seat of a high dignitary. The throne was at first a stool or bench and later became an ornate armchair, usually raised on a dais and surmounted by a canopy. Often lavishl...

oracle bones

(Encyclopedia)oracle bones, bones used for divination by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty (traditionally c.1766 b.c.–c.1122 b.c.). Along with contemporary inscriptions on bronze vessels, these records of divi...

Calais

(Encyclopedia)Calais kälāˈ [key], city, Pas-de-Calais dept., N France, in Picardy, on the Straits of Dov...

borer

(Encyclopedia)borer, name applied to various animals that are injurious because of their ability to penetrate plant or animal tissues. Among insects, some borers are beetles, e.g., the flatheaded apple-tree borer, ...

Brodie, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Brodie, Bernard, 1910–78, American military strategist, b. Chicago. Brodie edited The Absolute Weapon (1946), the first book on nuclear strategy, and was a strategic theorist at the Rand Corporation...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(Encyclopedia)Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. agency created in 1964 to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment and to promote programs to make ...

Zeami Motokiyo

(Encyclopedia)Zeami Motokiyo zāˈäˈmē mōˈtōˈkēˈyō [key] or Kanze Motokiyo, c.1363–c.1443, Japanese actor, playwright, and drama theorist. Son of the itinerant actor Kanami, at the age of eleven Zeami a...

mummy

(Encyclopedia)mummy, dead human or animal body preserved by embalming or by unusual natural conditions. As a rule mummies are from ancient times. The word is of Arabic derivation and refers primarily to the burials...

juvenile delinquency

(Encyclopedia)juvenile delinquency, legal term for behavior of children and adolescents that in adults would be judged criminal under law. In the United States, definitions and age limits of juveniles vary, the max...

Vikings

(Encyclopedia)Vikings, Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent. In their language, the word “viking” originally meant a journey, as for tr...