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Burne-Jones, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Burne-Jones, Sir Edward, 1833–98. English painter and decorator, b. Birmingham. Expected to enter the Church, he went to Exeter College, Oxford, where he met William Morris, who became his lifelong ...

Achaeans

(Encyclopedia)Achaeans, people of ancient Greece, of unknown origin. In Homer, the Achaeans are specifically a Greek-speaking people of S Thessaly. Historically, they seem to have appeared in the Peloponnesus durin...

snakehead

(Encyclopedia)snakehead, common name for members of the family Channidae, hardy freshwater fish native to S and E Asia and tropical Africa, where they are a popular food fish. Snakeheads are elongated fishes with l...

Sei Shonagon

(Encyclopedia)Sei Shonagon sĕē shōˈnäˈgōn [key], c.966?-?, Japanese poet and essayist of the mid-Heian period. She is best known for her Makura no sôshi [pillow book], a collection of anecdotes, reflections...

shrike

(Encyclopedia)shrike or butcher bird, predatory songbird found in most parts of the world except Australia and South America. The plumage of the European and North American species is mostly gray, black, and white;...

Douglas, Archibald, 5th earl of Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Archibald, 5th earl of Douglas, 1391?–1439, Scottish nobleman; son of Archibald Douglas, 4th earl of Douglas. He fought in France for the French against the English in 1421 and persuaded hi...

Hamilton, John Hamilton, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, John Hamilton, 1st marquess of, 1532–1604, Scottish nobleman; second son of James Hamilton, 2d earl of Arran. He was in his earlier years hostile to Mary Queen of Scots, but he later becam...

horseshoe

(Encyclopedia)horseshoe, narrow plate, commonly of iron or steel, shaped to fit a horse's hoof and attached to the hoof by nailing it to the inner edge of the horny wall of the hoof. Horseshoes vary from the light ...

hogback

(Encyclopedia)hogback, sharp-crested ridge with steep slopes on both sides, formed by the erosion of steeply tilted rock layers. Hogbacks are commonly formed along the eroded flanks of large, tightly folded anticli...

Kilpatrick, William Heard

(Encyclopedia)Kilpatrick, William Heard kĭlpăˈtrĭk [key], 1871–1965, American philosopher, b. White Plains, Ga., grad. Mercer College, 1891, Ph.D. Columbia, 1912, and studied at Johns Hopkins. He taught at Te...