Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

orientation

(Encyclopedia)orientation, in architecture, the disposition of the parts of a building with reference to the points of the compass. From remote antiquity the traditional belief in the efficacy of religious ceremoni...

bustard

(Encyclopedia)bustard bŭsˈtərd [key], a heavy-bodied, ground-running bird of the family Otididae. Various species are found throughout the arid regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and S Europe. Bustards range in...

baroque, in art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)baroque bərōkˈ [key], in art and architecture, a style developed in Europe, England, and the Americas during the 17th and early 18th cent. The baroque style is characterized by an emphasis on unity...

Keith, James Francis Edward

(Encyclopedia)Keith, James Francis Edward, 1696–1758, Scottish field marshal of Prussia; brother of George Keith, 10th earl marischal [marshal] of Scotland. He participated in the Jacobite uprising of 1715 and in...

McBain, Howard Lee

(Encyclopedia)McBain, Howard Lee, 1880–1936, American political scientist, b. Toronto, Ont., grad. Richmond (Va.) College, 1900, Ph.D. Columbia, 1907. After teaching at George Washington and Wisconsin universitie...

lovage

(Encyclopedia)lovage, tall perennial herb (Levisticum officinale) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the mountains of S Europe and cultivated elsewhere. Its aromatic fruits are used in soups and...

macramé

(Encyclopedia)macramé măkˈrəmāˌ [key], a technique of decorative knotting employing simple basic knots to create a multitude of patterns. The term derives from an Arabic word for braided fringe. Its first kno...

marbling

(Encyclopedia)marbling, in bookbinding, a process of coloring the sides, edges, or end papers of a book in a design that suggests the veins and mottles of marble. In tree marbling, as of tree calf bindings, the des...

Karlovy Vary

(Encyclopedia)Karlovy Vary kärˈlôvĭ väˈrĭ [key], Ger. Karlsbad, city (1991 pop. 56,222), NW Czech Republic, in Bohemia, at the confluence of the Teplá and Ohře rivers. A famous health resort, Karlovy Vary ...

Hines, Earl “Fatha”

(Encyclopedia)Hines, Earl “Fatha” (Earl Kenneth Hines) fäˈᵺə [key], 1903–83, American jazz pianist, b. Duquesne, Pa. The son of musicians, he played jazz piano in big bands as a young man and in 1927 joi...

Browse by Subject