Columbia Encyclopedia

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dictionary

(Encyclopedia)dictionary, published list, in alphabetical order, of the words of a language. In monolingual dictionaries the words are explained and defined in the same language; in bilingual dictionaries they are ...

espionage

(Encyclopedia)espionage ĕsˈpēənäzhˌ [key], the act of obtaining information clandestinely. The term applies particularly to the act of collecting military, industrial, and political data about one nation for ...

whaling

(Encyclopedia)whaling, the hunting of whales for the oil that can be rendered from their flesh, for meat, and for baleen (whalebone). Historically, whale oil was economically the most important. In 1932–33, par...

Massachusetts

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Massachusetts măsəcho͞oˈsĭts [key], most populous of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by New York (W), Vermont and New Hampshire (N), the Atlantic Ocean (E, S...

Hebrew literature

(Encyclopedia)Hebrew literature, literary works, from ancient to modern, written in the Hebrew language. The rise of Zionism, particularly reflected in the writings of Ahad Ha-am (Asher Ginzberg), gave Hebrew ...

Communist party, in the United States

(Encyclopedia)Communist party, in the United States, political party that espoused the Marxist-Leninist principles of communism. In 1945, Browder's policy was attacked as being one of the “right deviationism,â€...

nervous system

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nerve cell CE5 Nervous system nervous system, network of specialized tissue that controls actions and reactions of the body and its adjustment to the environment. Virtually all members of ...

Guinea-Bissau

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Guinea-Bissau bĭsˌsouˈ [key], officially Republic of Guinea-Bissau, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,771,000), 13,948 sq mi (36,125 sq km), W Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, ...

Supreme Court Justices (table)

(Encyclopedia)Supreme Court Justices(including dates on bench) Chief Justices Associate Justices ...

Civil War, in U.S. history

(Encyclopedia)Civil War, in U.S. history, conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the So...