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Vidal, Gore

(Encyclopedia)Vidal, Gore (Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, Jr.), 1925–2012, American writer, b. West Point, N.Y. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where a formative influence was his witty and scholarly grandfather, Sena...

Epirus

(Encyclopedia)Epirus ĕpīˈrəs [key], ancient country of Greece, on the Ionian Sea and W of Macedon and Thessaly, a region now occupied by NW Greece and S Albania. At the time of Homer, Epirus was known as the ho...

dialect

(Encyclopedia)dialect, variety of a language used by a group of speakers within a particular speech community. Every individual speaks a variety of his language, termed an idiolect. Dialects are groups of idiolects...

Kickapoo

(Encyclopedia)Kickapoo kĭkˈəpo͞o [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and who in the late 17t...

de Mille, Agnes

(Encyclopedia)de Mille, Agnes (Agnes George de Mille) də mĭl [key], 1905–93, American choreographer and dancer, b. New York City; granddaughter of Henry George, daughter of playwright director W. C. de Mille, a...

Pawnee

(Encyclopedia)Pawnee pônēˈ [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). At one time the Pawnee lived in what is...

Ottawa, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Ottawa ōdäˈwə [key], Native Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Traditionally of the Eastern Wood...

Cambrian period

(Encyclopedia)Cambrian period [Lat. Cambria=Wales], first period of the Paleozoic geologic era (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) extending from approximately 570 to 505 million years ago. It ...

Acadia

(Encyclopedia)Acadia əkāˈdēə [key], Fr. Acadie, region and former French colony, E Canada, encompassing modern Nova Scotia but also New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and coastal areas of E Maine. After an a...

militia

(Encyclopedia)militia məlĭshˈə [key], military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. An...