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Nicaea, empire of

(Encyclopedia)Nicaea, empire of, 1204–61. In 1204 the armies of the Fourth Crusade set up the Latin Empire of Constantinople, but the Crusaders' influence did not extend over the entire Byzantine Empire. Several ...

Nicholas of Cusa

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas of Cusa (Nicolaus Cusanus), 1401?–1464, German humanist, scientist, statesman, and philosopher, from 1448 cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The son of a fisherman, Nicholas was educate...

Nicodemus, Gospel of

(Encyclopedia)Nicodemus, Gospel of, book composed of the Acts of Pilate and Christ's Descent into Hell, part of the loosely defined New Testament Apocrypha. The Acts of Pilate is an amplified account of the trial, ...

Nicoya, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Nicoya, Gulf of nēkōˈyä [key], inlet of the Pacific Ocean, Central America, between the Nicoya Peninsula and the northwest mainland of Costa Rica. The catch from the fine fishing in the gulf is ca...

Nod, Land of

(Encyclopedia)Nod, Land of, [Heb.,=wandering], in the Bible, the traditional refuge of Cain somewhere E of Eden.

nodes of Ranvier

(Encyclopedia)nodes of Ranvier: see nervous system. ...

Ockham, William of

(Encyclopedia)Ockham, William of: see William of Occam. ...

oil of vitriol

(Encyclopedia)oil of vitriol: see sulfuric acid. ...

oil of wintergreen

(Encyclopedia)oil of wintergreen: see salicylic acid. ...

Okhotsk, Sea of

(Encyclopedia)Okhotsk, Sea of ōkŏtskˈ [key], Rus. Okhotskoye More, 590,000 sq mi (1,528,100 sq km), northwest arm of the Pacific Ocean, W of the Kamchatka peninsula and the Kuril Islands. It is connected with th...