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brake, in technology

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Shoe brake CE5 Disk brake brake, in technology, device to slow or stop the motion of a mechanism or vehicle. The vacuum brake system, or vacuum brake, depends upon the use of a vacuum to ...

voice, in grammar

(Encyclopedia)voice, grammatical category according to which an action is referred to as done by the subject (active, e.g., men shoot bears) or to the subject (passive, e.g., bears are shot by men). In Latin, voice...

aids, in feudalism

(Encyclopedia)aids, in feudalism, type of feudal due paid by a vassal to his suzerain (overlord). Aids varied with time and place, although in English-speaking countries aids were traditionally due on the knighting...

AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

category, in philosophy

(Encyclopedia)category, philosophical term that literally means predication or assertion. It was first used by Aristotle, whose 10 categories formed a list of all the ways in which assertions can be made of a subje...

cell, in biology

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Animal cell cell, in biology, the unit of structure and function of which all plants and animals are composed. The cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of integrati...

cane, in botany

(Encyclopedia)cane, in botany, name for the hollow or woody, usually slender and jointed stems of plants (particularly rattan and other bamboos) and for various tall grasses, e.g., sugarcane, sorghum, and also othe...

canon, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)canon, in Christianity, in the Roman Catholic Church, decrees of church councils are usually called canons; since the Council of Trent the expression has been especially reserved to dogmatic pronounce...

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