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Bent, William

(Encyclopedia)Bent, William, 1809–69, American frontiersman, b. St. Louis. One of the younger brothers of Charles Bent, he was for many years the manager of Bent's Fort, while Charles Bent lived mainly in Taos. W...

Mélusine

(Encyclopedia)Mélusine mĕlyo͝osēˈnä [key], in French legend, a fairy who changed into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She married a mortal, Count Raymond, said to be the ancestor of the house of...

kneecap

(Encyclopedia)kneecap (patella), saucer-shaped bone at the front of the knee joint; it protects the ends of the femur, or thighbone, and the tibia, the large bone of the foreleg. The kneecap is embedded in the tend...

abracadabra

(Encyclopedia)abracadabra ăbˌrəkədăbˈrə [key], magical formula used by the Gnostics (see Gnosticism) to invoke the aid of benevolent spirits to ward off disease and affliction. It is supposed to be derived f...

Hefner, Hugh Marston

(Encyclopedia)Hefner, Hugh Marston, 1926–2017, American publisher and businessman, b. Chicago. Raised according to strict Methodist principles, Hefner reacted by launching (1953) Playboy, a magazine for men that ...

Fools, Feast of

(Encyclopedia)Fools, Feast of, burlesque religious festival of the Middle Ages. It occurred during the Christmas and New Year's revels, on or near New Year's Day. In many places a Lord of Misrule ruled over the rev...

Fort Chipewyan

(Encyclopedia)Fort Chipewyan chĭpəwīˈən [key], trading post, NE Alta., Canada, at the west end of Lake Athabasca. The old Fort Chipewyan, on the south shore, was built for the North West Company at the urging ...

Flint, Timothy

(Encyclopedia)Flint, Timothy, 1780–1840, American author, b. North Reading, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1800, and entered the ministry. As a missionary he traveled up and down the Mississippi valley from 1815 until 182...

divining rod

(Encyclopedia)divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig....

Claudius II

(Encyclopedia)Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Claudius), d. 270, Roman emperor (268–70), called Gothicus. A successful general under Valerian, Claudius put down the revolt in which Gallienus was killed. He succeeded...