Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

pardon

(Encyclopedia)pardon, in law, exemption from punishment for a criminal conviction granted by the grace of the executive of a government. A general pardon to a class of persons guilty of the same offense (e.g., insu...

Occitan

(Encyclopedia)Occitan prôväNsälˈ [key], member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Romance languages). The language label Provençal is often restricted in...

pea

(Encyclopedia)pea, hardy, annual, climbing leguminous plant (Pisum sativum) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), grown for food by humans at least since the early Bronze Age; no longer known in the wild form. ...

Liguria

(Encyclopedia)Liguria lĭgo͝orˈēə, Ital. lēgo͞oˈryä [key], region (1991 pop. 1,676,282), 2,098 sq mi (5,434 sq km), NW Italy, extending along the Ligurian Sea and bordering France on the west. The generally...

linen

(Encyclopedia)linen, fabric or yarn made from the fiber of flax, probably the first vegetable fiber known to people. Linens more than 3,500 years old have been recovered from Egyptian tombs. Phoenician traders mark...

lingua franca

(Encyclopedia)lingua franca lĭngˈgwə frăngˈkə [key], an auxiliary language, generally of a hybrid and partially developed nature, that is employed over an extensive area by people speaking different and mutua...

Leinster

(Encyclopedia)Leinster lĕnˈstər, lĭnˈ– [key], province (1991 pop. 1,860,949), 7,580 sq mi (19,632 sq km), E Republic of Ireland, comprising the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laoighis, Longfo...

Podolia

(Encyclopedia)Podolia pōdōˈlyə [key], region, SW Ukraine, separated in the south from Moldova by the Dniester and in the west from W Galicia by the Southern Buh. It borders on Volhynia in the north. Kamyanets-P...

physical education and training

(Encyclopedia)physical education and training, organized instruction in motor activities that contribute to the physical growth, health, and body image of the individual. The historical roots of physical education ...

cement

(Encyclopedia)cement, binding material used in construction and engineering, often called hydraulic cement, typically made by heating a mixture of limestone and clay until it almost fuses and then grinding it to a ...