Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bee

(Encyclopedia)bee, name for flying insects of the superfamily Apoidea, in the same order as the ants and the wasps. Bees are characterized by their enlarged hind feet, typically equipped with pollen baskets of stif...

Mozarabs

(Encyclopedia)Mozarabs mōzârˈəbz [key], Christians of Muslim Spain. Their position was the usual one of Christians and Jews in Islam: they were a separate community, locally autonomous, and they paid a special ...

Leovigild

(Encyclopedia)Leovigild lēŏvˈĭgĭldˌ, lēōˈ– [key], d. 586, Visigothic king of Spain (568–86), brother and successor of Athanagild. He was joint ruler to 573 with his brother Liuva. He reorganized the ad...

Jensen, Johannes Hans Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Jensen, Johannes Hans Daniel, 1907–73, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Hamburg, 1932. Jensen was a professor at the Technical Univ. of Hanover from 1941 to 1949, when he joined the faculty at Heide...

Randolph, Thomas, English diplomat

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Thomas, 1523–90, English diplomat. He was graduated from Oxford (1545) and served as principal of Broadgates Hall (later Pembroke College), Oxford, until forced because of his Protestant s...

Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, countess of shrōzˈbərē, shro͞ozˈ– [key], 1520–1608, English noblewoman, known as Bess of Hardwick. At the age of 15 she married Robert Barlow, who died shortly ...

Thersites

(Encyclopedia)Thersites thərsīˈtēz [key], in Greek legend, member of the Greek army in the Trojan War. He was famous for his ugliness, his unpleasant temper, and his love of argument. When he mocked Achilles fo...

Alcántara

(Encyclopedia)Alcántara älkänˈtärä [key], town, Cáceres prov., W Spain, in Extremadura, near the Tagus River. A fine Roman bridge (Arabic al-kantara) built (a.d. 105–106) in ...

spiraea

(Encyclopedia)spiraea spīrēˈə [key], any plant of the genus Spiraea, Northern Hemisphere deciduous shrubs of the family Rosaceae (rose family). Most are indigenous to central and E Asia, whence come most of the...

Browse by Subject