Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

136 results found

psychological test

(Encyclopedia)psychological test, any of a variety of testing procedures for measuring psychological traits and behavior, or for studying some specialized aspect of ability. Several forms of testing have arisen fro...

positron emission tomography

(Encyclopedia)positron emission tomography: see PET scan. ...

epilepsy

(Encyclopedia)epilepsy, a chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures. Sudden discharge of excess electrical activity,...

wildcat

(Encyclopedia)wildcat, common name of Old World cats (Felis silvestris) of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wildcat resembles a large domestic tabby cat with a heavy tail; its fur is brownish to gray, with a pattern o...

Kerr, Judith

(Encyclopedia)Kerr, Judith (Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr), 1923–2019, English children's book author and illustrator, b. Berlin. Her first and most well-known book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea (1968), tells of a...

Whittington, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Whittington, Richard, 1358–1423, English merchant and lord mayor of London. He made his fortune as a mercer and then entered London politics to become successively councilman, alderman, sheriff, and...

serval

(Encyclopedia)serval, medium-sized African cat, Leptailurus serval, found S of the Sahara in scrub country close to water. The serval is lightly built with very long legs; it has a small head with large eyes and ea...

Catherine Parr

(Encyclopedia)Catherine Parr, queen of England: see Parr, Catherine. ...

ringtail

(Encyclopedia)ringtail or ring-tailed cat: see cacomistle. ...

toxoplasmosis

(Encyclopedia)toxoplasmosis, infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled parasitic microorganism that can infect most warm-blooded animals but reproduces only in animals of the cat family, who shed the p...