Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Festus

(Encyclopedia)Festus (Sextus Pompeius Festus), fl. some time between a.d. 100 and 400, Roman lexicographer; his surviving work, On the Meaning of Words, is an abridgment of the lost glossary of Marcus Verrius Flacc...

Tulare Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tulare Lake, intermittent lake, in the Central Valley, central Calif. The Kings, Kaweah, and Kern rivers at one time flowed into the lake, but their waters have been diverted for irrigation. The land ...

Benda, Julien

(Encyclopedia)Benda, Julien zhülyăNˈ bäNdäˈ [key], 1867–1956, French novelist and critic. A humanist and rationalist, he led a sustained attack against the romantic philosophy of his time, especially that o...

William, crown prince of Germany

(Encyclopedia)William or Frederick William, 1882–1951, crown prince of Germany, son of William II. In World War I he commanded (1914) an army on the Western Front and was nominal commander in the German attack (1...

calf, golden

(Encyclopedia)calf, golden, erected by the Israelites on several occasions, as related in the Bible and the Qur'an. Aaron made one while Moses was on Mt. Sinai. Jeroboam placed one at Bethel and another at Dan. Hos...

Assiniboin

(Encyclopedia)Assiniboin əsĭnˈəboinˌ [key], Native North Americans whose culture is that of the N Great Plains; their language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native Amer...

Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

hippopotamus

(Encyclopedia)hippopotamus, herbivorous, river-living mammal of tropical Africa. The large hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius, has a short-legged, broad body with a tough gray or brown hide. The male stands about...

Guido d'Arezzo

(Encyclopedia)Guido d'Arezzo ârətīˈnəs [key], c.990–1050, Italian Benedictine monk, known for his contributions to musical notation and theory. His theoretical work Micrologus (c.1025) is one of the principa...

indulgence

(Encyclopedia)indulgence, in the Roman Catholic Church, the pardon of temporal punishment due for sin. It is to be distinguished from absolution and the forgiveness of guilt. The church grants indulgences out of th...