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East Coolgardie Goldfield

(Encyclopedia)East Coolgardie Goldfield ko͞olgärˈdē [key], Western Australia, SW Australia. It is the richest gold field in Australia. The chief mining center is the town of Kalgoorlie. Coolgardie, of little im...

Davidson, John

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, John, 1857–1909, Scottish poet. After teaching in Scotland he went to London. There, struggling with poverty and illness, he wrote Fleet Street Eclogues (1893; Ser. 2, 1896), Ballads and S...

Minch

(Encyclopedia)Minch mĭnch [key] or North Minch, strait, 20 to 45 mi (32–72 km) wide, separating the N Outer Hebrides from the mainland of Scotland. Little Minch, to the southwest, 14 to 20 mi (23–32 km) wide, ...

Marais des Cygnes

(Encyclopedia)Marais des Cygnes mĕrˈē də sēn [key], river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, rising in E central Kans., SW of Topeka, and flowing SE into W Mo. to join the Little Osage River and form the Osage River. Su...

Cerdic

(Encyclopedia)Cerdic kûrˈdĭk, sûrˈ– [key], d. 534, traditional founder of the kingdom of Wessex. A Saxon, he and his son Cynric landed on the southern coast of England in 495. Little is certain about him exc...

Beer, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Beer bēˈər [key], in the Bible. 1 Unidentified place, to which Gideon's son Jotham fled. 2 Unidentified place, E of the Dead Sea between the Arnon and the Jordan, where Israel camped and dug a well...

teraphim

(Encyclopedia)teraphim tĕrˈəfĭm [key], in the Bible, a plural term of uncertain origin referring either to household idols or to idols set up in a local sanctuary, or consulted for purposes of divination. Littl...

Wynants, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Wynants or Wijnants, Jan both: yän vīˈnänts [key], c.1625–84, Dutch landscape painter. A follower of Ruisdael, he worked chiefly in Haarlem. The little figures in his paintings are the work of o...

Qeshm

(Encyclopedia)Qeshm or Qishm both: kēˈshəm [key], largest island of Iran, c.500 sq mi (1,300 sq km), S Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz. It is mostly rocky and has little vegetation; dates and fruits are raised. Qe...

pillar

(Encyclopedia)pillar, freestanding columnar supporting member. It is a general term, little used as an exact architectural definition except as applied to an upright support in the medieval styles, consisting of an...