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cockroach

(Encyclopedia)cockroach or roach, name applied to some 4,600 species of flat-bodied, oval insects in the order Blattodea. Cockroaches have long antennae, long legs adapted to running, and a flat extension of the up...

lac

(Encyclopedia)lac, resinous exudation from the bodies of females of a species of scale insect (Tachardia lacca), from which shellac is prepared. India is the chief source of shellac, although some is obtained from ...

Launcelot, Sir

(Encyclopedia)Launcelot, Sir lănˈsəlŏtˌ, lŏnˈ–, lônˈ– [key], in Arthurian legend, bravest and most celebrated knight at the court of King Arthur. He was kidnapped as an infant by the mysterious Lady of...

leaf insect

(Encyclopedia)leaf insect, common name given to herbivorous insects of leaflike appearance forming a single family in the order Phasmida. Leaf insects are green and have extremely flattened, irregularly shaped bodi...

Milne, A. A.

(Encyclopedia)Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander Milne) mĭln, mĭl [key], 1882–1956, English author. Milne began his literary career as a journalist and later became a regular contributor to Punch. He is best known fo...

Montagu, Ashley

(Encyclopedia)Montagu, Ashley (Montague Francis Ashley Montagu) ăshˈlē mäntˈəgyü [key], 1905–99, British-American anthropologist, b. London as Israel Ehrenberg, Ph.D. Columbia Univ., 1937. He was assistant...

Mark, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Mark, Saint [Lat. Marcus], Christian apostle, traditional author of the 2d Gospel (see Mark, Gospel according to). His full name was John Mark. His mother, named Mary, had a house in Jerusalem, which ...

Muhammad V, Ottoman sultan

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad V or Mehmet V, 1844–1918, Ottoman sultan (1909–18). He succeeded to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) when the liberal Young Turk revolution of 1909 deposed his brother, Abd al-Ha...

annual

(Encyclopedia)annual, plant that germinates from seed, blossoms, produces seed, and dies within one year. Annuals propagate themselves by seed only, unlike many biennials and perennials. They are thus especially su...

Hansberry, Lorraine

(Encyclopedia)Hansberry, Lorraine, 1930–65, American playwright, b. Chicago, studied Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, the New School, New York City. She grew up in a middle-class family on Chicago's South Side. In 19...