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Caniapiscau

(Encyclopedia)Caniapiscau kănyəpĭsˈkôˌ [key], river, c.575 mi (930 km) long, issuing from Caniapiscau Lake, NE Que., Canada. It flows generally NW past Fort Mackenzie and joins the Mélèzes to form the Kokso...

anchor

(Encyclopedia)anchor, device cast overboard to secure a ship, boat, or other floating object by means of weight, friction, or hooks called flukes. In ancient times an anchor was often merely a large stone, a bag or...

Radio Free Europe

(Encyclopedia)Radio Free Europe (RFE), broadcasting organization established in 1950 with the stated mission of promoting democratic values and institutions. Its original purpose was to broadcast news to countries ...

Bly, Robert Elwood

(Encyclopedia)Bly, Robert Elwood, 1926–2021, American writer, translator, editor, and publisher, b. Lac qui Parle County, Mn., Harvard (B.A., 1950), Univ. of Iowa (...

geriatrics

(Encyclopedia)geriatrics jĕrēăˈtrĭks [key], the branch of medicine concerned with conditions and diseases of the aged. Many disabilities in old age are caused by or related to the deterioration of the circulat...

Down syndrome

(Encyclopedia)Down syndrome, congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live ...

autism

(Encyclopedia)autism ôˈtĭzəm [key], developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communica...

Astraea

(Encyclopedia)Astraea ăstrēˈə [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of justice; daughter of Zeus and Themis. Because of the wickedness of man, she withdrew from the earth at the end of the Golden Age ...

Lucy, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Lucy, Saint, d. 304?, Sicilian virgin martyr. According to legend, at an early age she vowed herself to God. She rejected a pagan suitor, who then denounced her during the persecutions under Diocletia...

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