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hygrometer

(Encyclopedia)hygrometer hīgrŏmˈətər [key], instrument used to measure the moisture content of a gas, as in determining the relative humidity of air. The temperature at which dew or frost forms is a measure of...

Vidal, Gore

(Encyclopedia)Vidal, Gore (Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, Jr.), 1925–2012, American writer, b. West Point, N.Y. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where a formative influence was his witty and scholarly grandfather, Sena...

casino

(Encyclopedia)casino or cassino both: kəsēˈnō [key]. 1 Card game played with a full deck by two to four players. Its origins are obscure though it probably traces back to the Italian game of Scopa. It is a very...

school

(Encyclopedia)school, term commonly referring to institutions of pre-college formal education. It also properly includes colleges, universities, and many types of special training establishments (see adult educatio...

Fournier, Pierre Simon

(Encyclopedia)Fournier, Pierre Simon pyĕr sēmôNˈ fo͞ornyāˈ [key], 1712–68, Parisian type founder. Fournier devised the first point system for measuring and naming sizes of type in 1737. He designed a numbe...

Malakhov

(Encyclopedia)Malakhov məläˈkhəf [key], hill overlooking Sevastopol, S Crimea, just east of the city. A major fortified point in the Crimean War, it was stormed (1855) by the French after an 11-month siege. The...

Kofu

(Encyclopedia)Kofu kōˈfo͞o [key], city (1990 pop. 200,626), capital of Yamanashi prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. It is an industrial center, with manufactures of silk textiles, jewelry, and crystal ware, as w...

La Guajira

(Encyclopedia)La Guajira lä gwähēˈrä [key], peninsula, c.100 mi (160 km) long, N Colombia, extending into the Caribbean Sea. Punta Gallinas, at the tip, is the northernmost point of South America. On the spars...

Posadas

(Encyclopedia)Posadas pōsäˈᵺäs [key], city (1991 pop. 211,297), capital of Misiones prov., NE Argentina, a port on the upper Paraná River. Its industries include woodworking and metallurgy. It is a point of ...

Post, Wiley

(Encyclopedia)Post, Wiley, 1899–1935, American aviator, b. Grand Plain, Tex. He won fame in 1931 when he and Harold Gatty flew around the northern part of the earth in 8 days 15 hr 51 min. In 1933 he made a secon...