Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

armyworm

(Encyclopedia)armyworm, larva, or caterpillar, of a moth, Pseudaletia unipuncta or Mythimna unipuncta, found in North America E of the Rocky Mts.; also known as the common, or true, armyworm. When numerous, armywor...

magnolia, in botany

(Encyclopedia)magnolia, common name for plants of the genus Magnolia, and for the Magnoliaceae, a family of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, often with showy flowers. They are principally of north temperate...

Carroll, John

(Encyclopedia)Carroll, John, 1735–1815, American Roman Catholic churchman, b. Maryland. He studied as a child with Jesuits at Bohemia, Md., and later at Saint-Omer in Flanders, since Catholic secondary education ...

Atlantic Ocean

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Atlantic Ocean [Lat.,=of Atlas], second largest ocean (c.31,800,000 sq mi/82,362,000 sq km; c.36,000,000 sq mi/93,240,000 sq km with marginal seas). The North Atlantic Ocean has some of the w...

couvade

(Encyclopedia)couvade ko͞ovädˈ [key], imitation by the father of many of the concomitants of childbirth, at the time of his wife's parturition. The father may retire into seclusion as well as observe various tab...

agrarian reform

(Encyclopedia)agrarian reform, redistribution of the agricultural resources of a country. Traditionally, agrarian, or land, reform is confined to the redistribution of land; in a broader sense it includes related c...

lake dwelling

(Encyclopedia)lake dwelling, prehistoric habitation built over the shallow waters of a lake shore or a marsh, usually erected on pile-supported platforms, but sometimes on artificial islands or mounds. Such a site ...

isthmus

(Encyclopedia)isthmus ĭsˈməs [key], narrow neck of land connecting two larger land areas. Since it commands the only land route between two large areas and is on two seas, an isthmus has great strategical and co...

savanna

(Encyclopedia)savanna or savannah both: səvănˈə [key], tropical or subtropical grassland lying on the margin of the trade wind belts. The climate of a savanna is characterized by a rainy period during the summe...

tinamou

(Encyclopedia)tinamou tĭnˈəmo͞o [key], common name for a South American game bird related to the ostrich. It is protectively colored in browns and grays. The females are the aggressors in courtship, and the mal...