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greenmail

(Encyclopedia)greenmail, payment, by a corporation that is a takeover target, of a premium price for the shares of its stock that have been accumulated by the potential buyer. In exchange, the potential buyer stops...

Kursk

(Encyclopedia)Kursk ko͝orsk [key], city (1989 pop. 424,000), capital of Kursk region, W European Russia, at the confluence of the Tuskor and Seim rivers. An important rail junction, it has machine, chemical, and s...

sleet

(Encyclopedia)sleet, precipitation of small, partially melted grains of ice. As raindrops fall from clouds, they pass through layers of air at different temperatures. If they pass through a layer with a temperature...

silt

(Encyclopedia)silt, predominantly quartz mineral particles that are between sand size and clay size, i.e., between 1⁄16 and 1⁄256 mm (1⁄406 –1⁄6502 in.) in diameter. Silt, like clay and sand, is a product...

domestic service

(Encyclopedia)domestic service, work performed in a household by someone who is not a member of the family. It was performed by slaves in many early civilizations, e.g., in Greece and Rome. Under the feudal system ...

malpractice

(Encyclopedia)malpractice, failure to provide professional services with the skill usually exhibited by responsible and careful members of the profession, resulting in injury, loss, or damage to the party contracti...

Knox, Philander Chase

(Encyclopedia)Knox, Philander Chase fəlănˈdər [key], 1853–1921, U.S. cabinet member, b. Brownsville, Pa. He built up a fortune as a corporation lawyer in Pittsburgh. He was Attorney General (1901–4) in the ...

Whitney, William Collins

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, William Collins, 1841–1904, American financier and political leader, b. Conway, Mass. After attending (1863–64) Harvard law school, he moved to New York City, became successful as a corpo...

Iceland spar

(Encyclopedia)Iceland spar, colorless variety of crystallized calcite, characterized by its properties of transparency and double refraction. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of Nicol prisms, which are essenti...

kitchen midden

(Encyclopedia)kitchen midden, refuse heap left by a prehistoric settlement; more specifically, a deposit consisting primarily of discarded shell and related cultural material in coastal environments. First studied ...