Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

satinwood

(Encyclopedia)satinwood, name for a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indi...

Rodriguez

(Encyclopedia)Rodriguez or Rodrigues rōdrēˈgəs [key], island (1996 est. pop. 34,883), 42 sq mi (109 sq km), in the Indian Ocean, c.350 mi (560 km) E of Mauritius, of which it is a dependency. One of the Mascare...

Rajagopalachari, Chakravarti

(Encyclopedia)Rajagopalachari, Chakravarti chəkrəvärˈtē räˌjəgōpäˈləchäˌrē [key], 1878–1972, Indian political leader. He was educated in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and Madras (now Chennai) and admit...

Southern Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Southern Ocean or Antarctic Ocean, name sometimes given to those parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans that surround Antarctica S of roughly 60°S. These waters are marked by the Antarctic...

histamine

(Encyclopedia)histamine hĭsˈtəmēnˌ [key], organic compound derived in the body from the amino acid histidine by the removal of a carboxyl group (COOH). Although found in many plant and animal tissues, histamin...

Cushing, Harvey Williams

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, Harvey Williams, 1869–1939, American neurosurgeon, b. Cleveland, B.A. Yale, 1891, M.D. Harvard, 1895. Associated with Johns Hopkins (1896–1912), Harvard (1912–32), and Yale (1933–37),...

Shushkevich, Stanislav Stanislavovich

(Encyclopedia)Shushkevich, Stanislav Stanislavovich, Belarusian Stanislau Stanislavavich Shushkevich, 1934–, Belarusian political leader and scientist, first head of state of independent Belarus after the dissolu...

polycythemia

(Encyclopedia)polycythemia pŏlˌēsīthēˈmēə [key], condition characterized by an increase in the production of red blood cells, or erythrocytes, in the blood. Primary polycythemia, also called erythremia, or ...

Ross, John

(Encyclopedia)Ross, John, whose name in Cherokee is Kooweskoowe ko͞oˌwĭsˌko͞owēˈ [key], 1790–1866, Native American chief, b. near Lookout Mt., Tenn., of Scottish and Cherokee parents. He was educated at Ki...

oxalic acid

(Encyclopedia)oxalic acid ĕthˌāndīōĭk [key], HO2CCO2H, a colorless, crystalline organic carboxylic acid that melts at 189℃ with sublimation. Oxalic acid and oxalate salts are poisonous. Oxalic acid is found...

Browse by Subject