Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hippocrates

(Encyclopedia)Hippocrates hĭpŏkˈrətēz [key], c.460–c.370 b.c., Greek physician, recognized as the father of medicine. He is believed to have been born on the island of Cos, to have studied under his father, ...

Gama, Vasco da

(Encyclopedia)Gama, Vasco da văˈskō də găˈmə, Port. väshˈkō dä gäˈmə [key], c.1469–1524, Portuguese navigator, the first European to journey by sea to India. His epochal voyage (1497–99) was made ...

Le Châtelier's principle

(Encyclopedia)Le Châtelier's principle, chemical principle that states that if a system in equilibrium is disturbed by changes in determining factors, such as temperature, pressure, and concentration of components...

ballade

(Encyclopedia)ballade bəlädˈ [key], in literature, verse form developed in France in the 14th and 15th cent. The ballade usually contains three stanzas of eight lines with three rhymes and a four-line envoy (a s...

isomer

(Encyclopedia)isomer īˈsəmər [key], in chemistry, one of two or more compounds having the same molecular formula but different structures (arrangements of atoms in the molecule). Isomerism is the occurrence of ...

Lenin Peak

(Encyclopedia)Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina Peak, formerly Kaufmann Peak koufˈmən [key], 23,405 ft (7,134 m) high, on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Also known as Kuh-i-Gamo [warm mountain], it is the highest ...

Westmoreland, William Childs

(Encyclopedia)Westmoreland, William Childs, 1914–2005, U.S. general, b. Spartanburg co., S.C. He graduated from West Point in 1936 and fought with distinction in North Africa and Europe during World War II and la...

baccarat

(Encyclopedia)baccarat bäˈkəräˌ, băkˈ–, Fr. bäkäräˈ [key], French card game formerly widely played in European casinos but now supplanted in popularity by chemin de fer. The banker plays against the ha...

Micronesia, Federated States of

(Encyclopedia)Micronesia, Federated States of, independent nation (2015 est. pop. 104,000), c.271 sq mi (702 sq km), an island group in the W Pacific Ocean. It comprises four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei (formerly Ponap...

Delta Plan

(Encyclopedia)Delta Plan, flood control and reclamation project, S Netherlands, in the Rhine River delta. Built in 1957–81, it involved construction of four major dikes (up to 131 ft/40 m high) across the Rhine's...