Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de

(Encyclopedia)Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de mŏntānˈ, Fr. mēshĕlˈ ākĕmˈ sānyörˈ də môNtĕnˈyə [key], 1533–92, French essayist. Montaigne was one of the greatest masters of the essay as a li...

Guantánamo

(Encyclopedia)Guantánamo gwäntäˈnämō [key], city (1994 est. pop. 200,000), capital of Guantánamo prov., SE Cuba, on the Guaso River. It is the processing center for a rich sugar- and coffee-producing region ...

Erasmus

(Encyclopedia)Erasmus dĕsĭdērˈēəs [key] [Gr. Erasmus, his given name, and Lat., Desiderius=beloved; both are regarded as the equivalent of Dutch Gerard, Erasmus' father's name], 1466?–1536, Dutch humanist, ...

folklore

(Encyclopedia)folklore, the body of customs, legends, beliefs, and superstitions passed on by oral tradition. It includes folk dances, folk songs, folk medicine (the use of magical charms and herbs), and folktales ...

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre pyĕr tāyärˈ də shärdăNˈ [key], 1881–1955, French paleontologist and philosopher. He entered (1899) the Jesuit order, was ordained (1911), and received a doctorate...

Laurencin, Marie

(Encyclopedia)Laurencin, Marie märēˈ lōräNsăNˈ [key], 1885–1956, French painter and print maker. She studied under Carrière and was influenced by the fauvist and cubist movements. By 1918 Laurencin had de...

Kent, William

(Encyclopedia)Kent, William, 1685–1748, English landscape gardener, architect, and painter. A minor painter, Kent made ceiling decorations for Kensington Palace. He greatly influenced landscape gardening by chang...

Luria, Alexander Romanovich

(Encyclopedia)Luria, Alexander Romanovich ŭlˌyĭksänˈdər rōmänˈəvyĭchˌ lo͝orˈēä [key], 1902–77, Soviet psychologist. Luria made advances in many areas, including cognitive psychology, the processes...

Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry, 1837–1915, English lexicographer. In 1879 he assumed the editorship of the New English Dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary), which was his life's work (see di...

Browse by Subject