Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hague Tribunal

(Encyclopedia)Hague Tribunal, popular name for the Permanent Court of Arbitration established in 1899 by a convention of the First Hague Peace Conference to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolut...

woodpecker

(Encyclopedia)woodpecker, common name for members of the Picidae, a large family of climbing birds found in most parts of the world. Woodpeckers typically have sharp, chisellike bills for pecking holes in tree trun...

bramble

(Encyclopedia)bramble, name for plants of the genus Rubus [Lat.,=red, for the color of the juice]. This complex genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), with representatives in many parts of the world, includes ...

salmon, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)salmon sămˈən [key], member of the Salmonidae, a family of marine fish that spawn in freshwater, including the salmons, the trouts, and the chars (subfamily Salmoninae), the whitefish and the cisco...

newt

(Encyclopedia)newt, name for members of a large salamander family, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and including the common European salamanders. Newts are lizardlike in shape and are usually under 6 ...

fox, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)fox, carnivorous mammal of the dog family, found throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a pointed face, short legs, long, thick fur, and a tail about one half to two thirds as long as the ...

Denison

(Encyclopedia)Denison dĕnˈĭsən [key], city (2020 pop. 24,479), Grayson co., N Tex., near the Red River; ...

chrysoberyl

(Encyclopedia)chrysoberyl krĭsˈəbĕrˌĭl [key] [Gr.,=golden beryl], a beryllium aluminate used as a gem. It has a vitreous luster and is transparent to translucent. The more valuable cat's-eye is a variety of c...

ribbon

(Encyclopedia)ribbon, relatively narrow width of woven fabric edged with selvage. Ribbons have been used for centuries as girdles, headdresses, and badges and for ornamentation. At first called ribbands, they were ...

Hubble's law

(Encyclopedia)Hubble's law, in astronomy, statement that the distances between galaxies (see galaxy) or clusters of galaxies are continuously increasing and that therefore the universe is expanding. Hubble's law ...

Browse by Subject