Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sea spider

(Encyclopedia)sea spider, common name for members of the class Pycnogonida, long-legged, rather spiderlike organisms of the subphylum Chelicerata, widely distributed in marine waters. Most are tiny, from 1 to 9 mm ...

rubella

(Encyclopedia)rubella or German measles, acute infectious disease of children and young adults. It is caused by a filterable virus that is spread by droplet spray from the respiratory tract of an infected individua...

salivary glands

(Encyclopedia)salivary glands sălˈəvârˌē [key], in humans, three pairs of glands that secrete the alkaline digestive fluid, saliva, into the mouth. Most animals have salivary glands that resemble those in hum...

Eggleston, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Eggleston, Edward, 1837–1902, American author, Methodist clergyman, b. Vevay, Ind., educated in frontier schools. Before 1870 he was a Bible agent, a farm worker, a circuit rider in Minnesota and In...

interdict

(Encyclopedia)interdict ĭnˈtərdĭkt [key], ecclesiastical censure notably used in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the Middle Ages. When a parish, state, or nation is placed under the interdict no public...

Haverhill

(Encyclopedia)Haverhill hāˈvərĭl [key], city (2020 pop. 67,787), Essex co., NE Mass., on the Merrimack ...

Heisman, John William

(Encyclopedia)Heisman, John William hīsˈmən [key], 1869–1936, American football coach, b. Cleveland. He studied and played football at Brown (1887–89) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1890–91). He coached fo...

governor, in government

(Encyclopedia)governor, chief executive of a dependent or component unit in a political system. In the United States, a governor is the chief executive of each state and is elected by the people of the state. In th...

Goren, Charles Henry

(Encyclopedia)Goren, Charles Henry gôrˈən [key], 1901–91, American expert on bridge, b. Philadelphia, grad. McGill Univ., 1922. Goren played bridge as a law student and by 1931 was competing in major tournamen...

Ford, Doug

(Encyclopedia)Ford, Doug (Douglas Robert Ford), 1964–, Canadian politician. He worked at Deco Labels and Tags, a company his father cofounded, becoming responsible for operations after his father entered politics...