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infantry

(Encyclopedia)infantry, body of soldiers who fight in an army on foot and are equipped with hand-carried weapons, in contradistinction originally to cavalry and other branches of an army. Infantry has often been di...

cold war

(Encyclopedia)cold war, term used to describe the shifting struggle for power and prestige between the Western powers and the Communist bloc from the end of World War II until 1989. Of worldwide proportions, the co...

achene

(Encyclopedia)achene əkēnˈ [key], dry, simple, one-seeded fruit with the seed attached to the inner wall at only one point. Achenes are indehiscent, i.e., they do not split open at maturity. The so-called seed o...

Taiping Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Taiping Rebellion, 1850–64, revolt against the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty of China. It was led by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, a visionary from Guangdong who evolved a political creed and messianic religious ide...

Tarim

(Encyclopedia)Tarim dārēmˈ [key], Mandarin Dayan, chief river of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China, c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) long, formed by the union of the Aksu and the Yarkant rivers at the western end ...

hernia

(Encyclopedia)hernia, protrusion of an internal organ or part of an organ through the wall of a body cavity. The hernia is enclosed by a sac formed by the lining of the cavity. It results from a weakness or rupture...

Datong

(Encyclopedia)Datong or Tatung both: däˈto͞ong [key], city, N Shanxi prov., China. It is an important industrial and ...

Pompeii

(Encyclopedia)Pompeii pŏmpāˈ, Ital. pōmpĕˈē [key], ancient city of S Italy, a port near Naples and at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. Possibly an old Oscan settlement, it was a Samnite city for centuries before it...

fence

(Encyclopedia)fence [short for defense], humanly erected barrier between two divisions of land, used to mark a legal or other boundary, to keep animals or people in or out, and sometimes as an ornament. In newly se...

facade

(Encyclopedia)facade fəsädˈ [key], exterior face or wall of a building. The term implies ordered placement of its openings and other features and thus seems inapplicable to a wall without design. Any freestandin...