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personal digital assistant

(Encyclopedia)personal digital assistant (PDA), lightweight, hand-held computer designed for use as a personal organizer with communications capabilities; also called a handheld. A typical PDA has no keyboard, rely...

Trincomalee

(Encyclopedia)Trincomalee trĭngˌkəməlēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 50,000), capital of Eastern prov., NE Sri Lanka, on the Bay of Bengal. Trincomalee has one of the world's finest natural harbors and can acc...

iceboating

(Encyclopedia)iceboating, sport of sailing a specially prepared boat equipped with runners over ice. The first iceboats were probably sailed by the Dutch during the 18th cent., although the Finns and Sami (Lapps) m...

savings bank

(Encyclopedia)savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its deposi...

Charest, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Charest, Jean zhäN shäˈrĕ [key], 1958–, Canadian politician. A lawyer and member of the Progressive Conservative party, he was a member of parliament from Quebec from 1984. From 1986 to 1993 Cha...

Schulz, Bruno

(Encyclopedia)Schulz, Bruno, 1892–1942, Polish short-story writer and artist. Unrecognized until after World War II, Schulz is now considered the finest modern Polish-language prose stylist and a significant visu...

Butler, Samuel, 1835–1902, English author

(Encyclopedia)Butler, Samuel, 1835–1902, English author. He was the son and grandson of eminent clergymen. In 1859, refusing to be ordained, he went to New Zealand, where he established a sheep farm and in a few ...

Urban VI

(Encyclopedia)Urban VI, 1318?–1389, pope (1378–89), whose election was the immediate cause of the Great Schism; a Neapolitan named Bartolomeo Prignano; successor of Gregory XI. He was made archbishop of Acerenz...

Michoacán

(Encyclopedia)Michoacán mēchōäkänˈ [key], state (1990 pop. 3,548,199), 23,202 sq mi (60,093 sq km), S Mexico. Morelia is the capital. Dominated by the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental and the volcanic...

Narayan, R. K.

(Encyclopedia)Narayan, R. K. (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) nərīˈyän [key], 1906–2001, Indian novelist, b. Madras (now Chennai). Narayan, who wrote in English, published his first novel, Swami and Friends, ...

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