Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lycia

(Encyclopedia)Lycia lĭshˈə [key], ancient country, SW Asia Minor. Egyptian sources ally the Lycians to the Hittites at the time of Ramses II; the Lycians spoke an Anatolian language. Lycia was frequently mention...

Kilauea

(Encyclopedia)Kilauea kēˈläwāˈə [key], volcano and caldera, 3,646 ft (1,111 m) deep, central Hawaii island, Hawaii, on the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. One of the largest...

gesneria

(Encyclopedia)gesneria gĕsnĭrˈēə [key], common name for some members of the Gesneriaceae, a family of chiefly tropical and subtropical perennial herbs and shrubs with showy blossoms. The best-known members of ...

Anuradhapura

(Encyclopedia)Anuradhapura ənäˈräjə– [key], city (1995 est. pop. 40,000), N central Sri Lanka, on the Aruvi River. Rice plantations and vegetable gardens surround the city, which is famous chiefly for its va...

Absheron

(Encyclopedia)Absheron əp– [key], peninsula, c.40 mi (60 km) long, extending into the Caspian Sea, E Azerbaijan. It is a dry, hilly area at the eastern end of the Greater Caucasus Mts. and is underlain by rich o...

Edgerton, Harold

(Encyclopedia)Edgerton, Harold, 1903–90, American inventor and educator, b. Fremont, Nebr. He was educated at the Univ. of Nebraska and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (D.Sc., 1931), and taught at the l...

dipper

(Encyclopedia)dipper, common name for the only aquatic member of the order Perciformes (perching birds) found near cold mountain streams. With their short, stubby wings and tails and their thick brownish plumage, d...

disco

(Encyclopedia)disco, style of popular music that flourished during the 1970s. Originating in the United States, it evolved mainly from funk, soul, and salsa and became popular worldwide. Characterized by a heavy, t...

Albert I, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert I, 1875–1934, king of the Belgians (1909–34), nephew and successor of Leopold II. He married (1900) Elizabeth, a Bavarian princess. In World War I his heroic resistance (1914) to the German...

Feld, Eliot

(Encyclopedia)Feld, Eliot, 1942–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As a teenager he danced in musicals, notably West Side Story on Broadway and film, and on television. While a dancer (1963–...

Browse by Subject