Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

lock and key

(Encyclopedia)lock and key, fastening fitted to an entryway, such as a gate or door, or a container, such as a cabinet, drawer or safe, to keep it closed and/or prevent unauthorized access or use. Locks typically c...

Lofoten and Vesterålen

(Encyclopedia)Lofoten vĕstˈərôlən [key], two contiguous island groups (1995 est. pop. 56,700), Nordland and Troms counties, NW Norway, in the Norwegian Sea. Situated within the Arctic Circle, the islands exten...

parent and child

(Encyclopedia)parent and child, legal relationship, created by biological (birth) relationship or by adoption, that confers certain rights and duties on parent and child; in some states the courts have given the no...

Nuneaton and Bedworth

(Encyclopedia)Nuneaton and Bedworth nənēˈtən [key], district (1991 pop. 115,300), Warwickshire, central England. The district primarily comprises the city of Nuneaton and the town of Bedworth. The district's gr...

oxidation and reduction

(Encyclopedia)oxidation and reduction, complementary chemical reactions characterized by the loss or gain, respectively, of one or more electrons by an atom or molecule. Originally the term oxidation was used to re...

orchestra and orchestration

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Typical seating plan of a symphony orchestra orchestra and orchestration, an orchestra is a musical ensemble of mixed instruments based on strings and winds, under the direction of a conductor...

acids and bases

(Encyclopedia)acids and bases, two related classes of chemicals; the members of each class have a number of common properties when dissolved in a solvent, usually water. Another theory that provides a very broad ...

arts and crafts

(Encyclopedia)arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement dir...

Lymington and Pennington

(Encyclopedia)Lymington and Pennington lĭmˈĭngtən [key], town (1991 pop. 11,614), Hampshire, S England, on the Solent channel at the mouth of the Lymington River. It is a market town, resort, and port; coast tr...

Masters and Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Masters and Johnson, pioneering research team in the field of human sexuality, consisting of the gynecologist William Howell Masters, 1915–2001, b. Cleveland, and the psychologist Virginia Eshelman ...