Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

219 results found

walnut

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Black walnut, Juglans nigra walnut, common name for some members of the Juglandaceae, a family of chiefly deciduous, resinous trees characterized by large and aromatic compound leaves. Species...

Unitarianism

(Encyclopedia)Unitarianism, in general, the form of Christianity that denies the doctrine of the Trinity, believing that God exists only in one person. While there were previous antitrinitarian movements in the ear...

Pinophyta

(Encyclopedia)Pinophyta pīˌnŏfˈətə [key], division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called gymnosperms. The gymnosperms, a group that includes the pine, have stems, roots and leaves...

dentistry

(Encyclopedia)dentistry, treatment and care of the teeth and associated oral structures. Dentistry is mainly concerned with tooth decay, disease of the supporting structures, such as the gums, and faulty positionin...

Dominica

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Dominica dŏmĭnēˈkə [key], officially Commonwealth of Dominica, republic (2015 est. pop. 73,000) consisting of the island of Dominica (290 sq mi/750 sq km), located in the Windward Islands,...

Donne, John

(Encyclopedia)Donne, John dŭn, dŏn [key], 1572–1631, English poet and divine. He is considered the greatest of the metaphysical poets. All of Donne's verse—his love sonnets and his religious and philosophic...

Jansen, Cornelis

(Encyclopedia)Jansen, Cornelis kôrnāˈlĭs yänˈsən [key], 1585–1638, Dutch Roman Catholic theologian. He studied at the Univ. of Louvain and became imbued with the idea of reforming Christian life along the ...

mulberry

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Red mulberry, Morus rubra mulberry, common name for the Moraceae, a family of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, often climbing, mostly of pantropical distribution, and characterized by ...

osmosis

(Encyclopedia)osmosis ŏzmōˈsĭs [key], transfer of a liquid solvent through a semipermeable membrane that does not allow dissolved solids (solutes) to pass. Osmosis refers only to transfer of solvent; transfer o...

cactus

(Encyclopedia)cactus, any plant of the family Cactaceae, a large group of succulents found almost entirely in the New World. A cactus plant is conspicuous for its fleshy green stem, which performs the functions of ...