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Las Vegas

(Encyclopedia)Las Vegas läs vāˈgəs [key], city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United ...

Dobruja

(Encyclopedia)Dobruja dōˈbro͝ojə, dôˈ– [key], Rom. Dobrogea, Bulg. Dobrudza, historic region, c.9,000 sq mi (23,300 sq km), SE Europe, in SE Romania and NE Bulgaria, between the lower Danube River and the B...

tourniquet

(Encyclopedia)tourniquet to͝orˈnĭkĕt, –kā, tûrˈ– [key], compression device used to cut off the flow of blood to a part of the body, most often an arm or leg. It may be a special surgical instrument, a ru...

actinometer

(Encyclopedia)actinometer ăkˌtənŏmˈətər [key], instrument used to measure the heating power of radiation. Actinometers are used chiefly in meteorology to measure solar radiation as transmitted directly by th...

tallit

(Encyclopedia)tallit tälētˈ [key], in Judaism, four-cornered, fringed shawl worn by males during the morning prayers. It is donned before putting on the phylacteries, except on Yom Kippur when it is worn all thr...

Demetrius I, king of Macedon

(Encyclopedia)Demetrius I (Demetrius Poliorcetes) dĭmēˈtrēəs pŏlˌēôrsēˈtēz [key], c.337–283 b.c., king of Macedon. The son of Antigonus I, he proved himself a very able commander in his father's wars,...

Molise

(Encyclopedia)Molise mōlēˈzā [key], region (1991 pop. 330,900), 1,714 sq mi (4,439 sq km), S central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east. Campobasso is the capital of the region, which is divided i...

Cubango

(Encyclopedia)Cubango ōkəvängˈgō [key], river, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long, rising in the highlands of central Angola, W central Africa, and flowing southeast, across the Caprivi Strip, Namibia, to the Okavango...

Riviera

(Encyclopedia)Riviera rĭvēârˈə [key], narrow coastal strip between the Alps and the Mediterranean, extending, roughly, from La Spezia (Italy) to Hyères (France). Famous for its scenic beauty and for its mild ...

Bayeux tapestry

(Encyclopedia)Bayeux tapestry. This so-called tapestry is in fact an embroidery that chronicles the Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror (William I) in 1066. It is a long, narrow strip of coarse line...