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cane, in botany

(Encyclopedia)cane, in botany, name for the hollow or woody, usually slender and jointed stems of plants (particularly rattan and other bamboos) and for various tall grasses, e.g., sugarcane, sorghum, and also othe...

canon, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)canon, in Christianity, in the Roman Catholic Church, decrees of church councils are usually called canons; since the Council of Trent the expression has been especially reserved to dogmatic pronounce...

canon, in music

(Encyclopedia)canon, in music, a type of counterpoint employing the strictest form of imitation. All the voices of a canon have the same melody, beginning at different times. Successive entrances may be at the same...

canzone, in literature

(Encyclopedia)canzone –nä [key], in literature, Italian term meaning lyric or song. It is used to designate such various literary forms as Provençal troubadour poems and the lyrics of Dante, Petrarch, and other...

canzone, in music

(Encyclopedia)canzone or canzona, in music, a type of instrumental music in Italy in the 16th and 17th cent. The term had previously been given to strophic songs for five or six voices; usually the canzone had thre...

capital, in architecture

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Types of capitals B. Parts of a capital capital, in architecture, the crowning member of a column, pilaster, or pier. It acts as the bearing member beneath the lintel or arch supported by t...

capital, in economics

(Encyclopedia)capital, in economics, the elements of production from which an income is derived, usually defined with the exception of land and labor. As originally used in business, capital denoted interest-bearin...

Capitol, in Rome

(Encyclopedia)Capitol, in Rome: see Capitoline Hill. ...

cardinal, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)cardinal or redbird, common name for a North American songbird of the family Fringillidae (New World finch family). In the eastern cardinal, Richmondena cardinalis, the male is bright scarlet with bla...

caribou, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)caribou, name in North America for the genus (Rangifer) of deer from which the Old World reindeer was originally domesticated. Caribou are found in arctic and subarctic regions. They are the only deer...