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Tudor

(Encyclopedia)Tudor, royal family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603. Its founder was Owen Tudor, of a Welsh family of great antiquity, who was a squire at the court of Henry V and who married that king's widow, ...

linguistics

(Encyclopedia)linguistics, scientific study of language, covering the structure (morphology and syntax; see grammar), sounds (phonology), and meaning (semantics), as well as the history of the relations of language...

serf

(Encyclopedia)serf, under feudalism, peasant laborer who can be generally characterized as hereditarily attached to the manor in a state of semibondage, performing the servile duties of the lord (see also manorial ...

Pound, Ezra Loomis

(Encyclopedia)Pound, Ezra Loomis, 1885–1972, American poet, critic, and translator, b. Hailey, Idaho, grad. Hamilton College, 1905, M.A. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1906. An extremely important influence in the shapin...

symphony

(Encyclopedia)symphony [Gr.,=sounding together], a sonata for orchestra. The Italian operatic overture, called sinfonia, was standardized by Alessandro Scarlatti at the end of the 17th cent. into three sections, th...

diplomatic service

(Encyclopedia)diplomatic service, organized body of agents maintained by governments to communicate with one another. In the 20th and 21st cent. there have been numerous meetings of heads of state and foreign min...

illustration

(Encyclopedia)illustration, any type of picture or decoration used in conjunction with a text to embellish its appearance or to clarify its meaning. Illustration is as old as writing, with both originating in the p...

manorial system

(Encyclopedia)manorial system sēnyôrˈēəl [key], economic and social system of medieval Europe under which peasants' land tenure and production were regulated, and local justice and taxation were administered. ...

exploration

(Encyclopedia)exploration, travel to a part of the earth that is relatively unknown to the traveler's culture, historically often motivated by a desire for colonization, conquest, or trade. See also space explorati...

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