Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

ruby

(Encyclopedia)ruby, precious stone, the transparent red variety of corundum, found chiefly in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka and classified among the most valuable of gems. The Myanmarese stones are blood red, th...

cat's-eye

(Encyclopedia)cat's-eye, gemstone that displays a thin band of reflected light on its surface when cut as a cabochon. Its name is derived from its supposed resemblance to the eye of a cat. The optical effect, known...

Díaz Mirón, Salvador

(Encyclopedia)Díaz Mirón, Salvador sälväᵺōrˈ dēˈäs mērōnˈ [key], 1853–1928, Mexican poet. Díaz Mirón's life abounded with revolutionary plots, political quarrels, duels, and vigorous journalistic ...

amethyst

(Encyclopedia)amethyst ămˈəthĭst [key] [Gr.,=non-drunkenness], variety of quartz, violet to purple in color, used as a gem. It is the most highly valued of the semiprecious quartzes. It is associated with a num...

Hoy

(Encyclopedia)Hoy, island, 13 mi (21 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, off N Scotland, second largest of the Orkney Islands. It is located at the southwestern side of the Scapa Flow anchorage. Ward Hill (1,565 ft/47...

hypostyle

(Encyclopedia)hypostyle hĭpˈəstīl, hīˈpə– [key], the chamber in Egyptian temples in which a number of columns supported a flat stone roof. Forming the chief and largest inner space of the temple, it was en...

oilcloth

(Encyclopedia)oilcloth, originally, cloth treated with oil or other substances so as to be waterproof and used for fishermen's and sailors' wear, for coach robes and covers, and later as a floor covering, called fl...

Öland

(Encyclopedia)Öland öˈländ [key], narrow island (1995 pop. 25,690), 520 sq mi (1,347 sq km), Kalmar co., SE Sweden, in the Baltic Sea, separated from mainland Sweden by the Kalmarsund. Borgholm is the chief tow...

Lidman, Sara

(Encyclopedia)Lidman, Sara säˈrä lēdˈmän [key], 1923–2004, Swedish writer. Her novels The Tar Still (1953), Cloudberry Land (1955), and The Rain Bird (1958, tr. 1962), treating rural life in N Sweden, estab...

Mankato

(Encyclopedia)Mankato mănkāˈtō [key], city (1990 pop. 31,477), seat of Blue Earth co., S Minn., at the confluence of the Blue Earth and Minnesota rivers; inc. 1865. It is a trade and processing center for a far...