Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sewing machine

(Encyclopedia)sewing machine, device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England (1790) with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread ch...

Daniel, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Daniel, book of the Bible. It combines “court” tales, perhaps originating from the 6th cent. b.c., and a series of apocalyptic visions arising from the time of the Maccabean emergency (167–164 b...

Burlington, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Burlington. 1 City (2020 pop. 23,982), seat of Des Moines co., SE Iowa, on four hills overlooking the Mississippi (spanned there by rail and highway ...

Chiavenna

(Encyclopedia)Chiavenna kyävānˈnä [key], town, Lombardy, N Italy. It is a commercial center and transpo...

Cinto, Monte

(Encyclopedia)Cinto, Monte mônˈtā chēnˈtō [key], peak, 8,891 ft (2,710 m) high, NW Corsica, France, NW of Corte. It is the highest point on Corsica. ...

Phou Bia

(Encyclopedia)Phou Bia fo͞o byä [key], peak, 9,242 ft (2,817 m) high, in the Annamese Cordillera, N Laos. It is the highest point in Laos. ...

Borah, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Borah, Mount [for William E. Borah], peak, 12,662 ft (3,859 m) high, central Idaho, in the Lost River Mts.; highest point in the state. ...

Samarkand

(Encyclopedia)Samarkand sămərkăndˈ, Rus. səmərkäntˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 395,000), capital of Samarkand region, in Uzbekistan, on the Trans-Caspian RR. It is one of the oldest existing cities in the world...

life preserver

(Encyclopedia)life preserver, a personal flotation device (PFD) intended to keep the wearer afloat, particularly in case of shipwreck. A Type I PFD will keep even unconscious people afloat in a face–up position; ...

Nadal, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Nadal, Rafael (Rafael Nadal Parera), 1986–, Spanish tennis player, b. Majorca. Widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player ever, “Rafa” turned professional at 15. In 2005 he won his first ...

Browse by Subject