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Armenian literature

(Encyclopedia)Armenian literature. The Armenian Church fostered literature, and the principal early works are religious or hagiographical, most of them translations. The first major Armenian literary work is a 5th ...

Pharisees

(Encyclopedia)Pharisees fârˈĭsēz [key], one of the two great Jewish religious and political parties of the second commonwealth. Their opponents were the Sadducees, and it appears that the Sadducees gave them th...

tent caterpillar

(Encyclopedia)tent caterpillar, common name for the larvae of the members of a family of moths (Lasiocampidae), easily recognized by the large silk tents, or webs, that the larvae construct during the spring in the...

pigeon

(Encyclopedia)pigeon, common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy pl...

Michelangelo Buonarroti

(Encyclopedia)Michelangelo Buonarroti mīkəlănˈjəlō, Ital. mēkālänˈjālō bwōnär-rôˈtē [key], 1475–1564, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet, b. Caprese, Tuscany. In his architectura...

egret

(Encyclopedia)egret ēgrĕtˈ [key], common name for several species of herons of the Old and New Worlds, belonging to the family Ardeidae. Before they were protected by law the birds were nearly exterminated by hu...

Doberman pinscher

(Encyclopedia)Doberman pinscher dōˈbərmən pĭnˈshər [key], breed of large, compact working dog originating in Germany c.1890. It stands from 24 to 28 in. (61–71 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 t...

Dalmatian

(Encyclopedia)Dalmatian dălmāˈshən [key], breed of hardy, strong-bodied nonsporting dog probably developed in the Austrian province of Dalmatia (now Croatia) several hundred years ago. It stands from 19 to 23 i...

cowbird

(Encyclopedia)cowbird, New World bird of the blackbird and oriole (hangnest) family. The male eastern, or common, cowbird is glossy black, about 8 in. (20 cm) long, with a brown head and breast; the female is gray....

curlew

(Encyclopedia)curlew kûrˈlo͞o [key], common name for large shore birds of both hemispheres, generally brown and buff in color and with decurved bills. There are eight species, belonging to the genus Numenius. Th...