Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

276 results found

Alabama, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Alabama ăləbămˈə [key], state in the SE United States. It is bordered by Tennessee (N), Georgia (E), Florida and the Gulf of Mexico (S), and Mississippi (W). In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Co...

Laos

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Laos läˈōs [key], officially Lao People's Democratic Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 6,664,000), 91,428 sq mi (236,800 sq km), SE Asia. A landlocked nation, Laos is bordered by China on t...

War of 1812

(Encyclopedia)War of 1812, armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain, 1812–15. It followed a period of great stress between the two nations as a result of the treatment of neutral countries by bo...

Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Sicily sĭsˈĭlē [key], Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the we...

ballet

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The five classical positions in ballet ballet bălˈā, bălāˈ [key] [Ital. ballare=to dance], classic, formalized solo or ensemble dancing of a highly controlled, dramatic nature performed ...

Ukraine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ukraine yo͞oˈkrān, yo͞okrānˈ [key], Ukr. Ukraina, republic (2015 est. pop. 44,658,000), 232,046 sq mi (601,000 sq km), E Europe. It borders on Poland in the northwest; on Slovakia, Hungar...

Russian literature

(Encyclopedia)Russian literature, literary works mainly produced in the historic area of Russia, written in its earliest days in Church Slavonic and after the 17th cent. in the Russian language. During World War ...

Spanish-American literature

(Encyclopedia)Spanish-American literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Spanish America and its later inhabitants. See also Spanish literature; Portuguese literature; Brazilian literature. T...

Sri Lanka

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sri Lanka srē längˈkə [key] [Sinhalese,=resplendent land], formerly Ceylon, ancient Taprobane, officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island republic (2015 est. pop. 20,714,...

Poland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Poland, Pol. Polska, officially Republic of Poland, republic (2015 est. pop. 38,265,000), 120,725 sq mi (312,677 sq km), central Europe. It borders on Germany in the west, on the Baltic Sea and...