Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

grizzly bear

(Encyclopedia)grizzly bear or grizzly, large, powerful North American brown bear, characterized by gray-streaked, or grizzled, fur. Grizzlies are 6 to 8 ft (180–250 cm) long, stand 31⁄2 to 4 ft (105–120 cm) a...

sherry

(Encyclopedia)sherry [from Jérez], naturally dry fortified wine, pale amber to brown in tint. The term sherry originally referred to wines made from grapes grown in the region of Jérez de la Frontera, Andalusia, ...

yak

(Encyclopedia)yak, bovine mammal, Bos grunniens, of the Tibet region of China and adjacent areas. It is oxlike in build, with short, thick legs, humped shoulders, large upcurved horns, and a thick coat that hangs d...

Slater, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Slater, Samuel, 1768–1835, American pioneer in the cotton textile industry, b. Derbyshire, England. As an apprentice and later a mill supervisor, he gained a thorough knowledge of all the cotton-man...

bead test

(Encyclopedia)bead test, test used in the identification of certain metals. Some metallic ions that cannot be identified by a flame test are identified by a bead test. The test can also be used to confirm the resul...

cacomistle

(Encyclopedia)cacomistle kăkˈəmĭsˌəl [key], small New World mammal, genus Bassaricus, related to the raccoon. There are two species, one found in Mexico and the SW United States, the other in Central America....

bobwhite

(Encyclopedia)bobwhite, common name for an American henlike bird of the family Phasianidae, which also includes the pheasant and the partridge. The eastern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is about 10 in. (25 c...

Conrad, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Conrad, Joseph, 1857–1924, English novelist, b. Berdichev, Russia (now Berdychiv, Ukraine), originally named Jósef Teodor Konrad Walecz Korzeniowski. Born of Polish parents, he is considered one of...

Coen Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Coen Brothers, American filmmakers Joel Coen, 1955–, and Ethan Coen, 1958–, both b. St. Louis Park, Minn. Joel studied at New York Univ. Film School (B.A., 1978), Ethan at Princeton (B.A., 1979). ...

Cotton, George Edward Lynch

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, George Edward Lynch, 1813–66, English clergyman and educator, grad. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1836. From 1837 until 1852 he was an assistant master at Rugby and is the “young master” i...