Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

346 results found

jellyfish

(Encyclopedia)jellyfish, common name for the free-swimming stage (see polyp and medusa), of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a jellyfish is shaped like a bell or ...

crossbill

(Encyclopedia)crossbill, bird of the genus Loxia, in the finch family. Its bill, crossed at the tips, is specialized for pulling apart pine cones and picking out the seeds. Crossbills are found in the evergreen for...

aniline

(Encyclopedia)aniline ănˈəlĭn [key], C6H5NH2, colorless, oily, basic liquid organic compound; chemically, a primary aromatic amine whose molecule is formed by replacing one hydrogen atom of a benzene molecule w...

Frederick Henry

(Encyclopedia)Frederick Henry, 1584–1647, prince of Orange; son of William the Silent by Louise de Coligny. He became stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands upon the death (1625) of his brother Ma...

gila monster

(Encyclopedia)gila monster hēˈlə [key], venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, found in the deserts of the SW United States and NW Mexico. It averages 18 in. (45 cm) in length, with a large head, stout body, thic...

Gascoigne, George

(Encyclopedia)Gascoigne, George găskoinˈ [key], c.1539–1577, English author, a pioneer in various fields of English literature. A reckless, dissipated youth, he left Cambridge without a degree to study law, but...

mountain ash, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mountain ash, name for any species of the genus Sorbus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), hardy ornamental trees and shrubs native to the Northern Hemisphere, not related to the true ashes. They ar...

Moro, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Moro, Antonio môˈrō [key], c.1519–c.1575, Flemish portrait painter, known as Antonis Mor or Moor and as Sir Anthony More. He studied with Jan van Scorel. In 1547 he was a free master at Antwerp ...

Middletown, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Middletown. 1 Industrial city (1990 pop. 42,762), Middlesex co., central Conn., on the west bank of the Connecticut River; settled 1650, inc. 1784, town and city consolidated 1923. Its manufactures in...

Ndebele

(Encyclopedia)Ndebele mătəbēˈlē [key], Bantu-speaking people inhabiting Matabeleland North and South, W Zimbabwe. The Ndebele, now numbering close to 2 million, originated as a tribal following in 1823, when M...