Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dionne, Narcisse Eutrope

(Encyclopedia)Dionne, Narcisse Eutrope närsēsˈ ötrôpˈ dyôn [key], 1848–1917, French Canadian historian. He was a prolific writer and produced biographies in French of Samuel de Champlain, Jacques Cartier, ...

Absalom

(Encyclopedia)Absalom ăbˈsəlŏm [key], in the Bible, son of David. He murdered his half-brother Amnon for the rape of their sister Tamar, and fled. No sooner was he reconciled with his father than he incited a r...

Holden, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Holden, Oliver hōlˈdən [key], 1765–1844, American composer and compiler of hymns, b. Shirley, Mass. His popular tune Coronation, to Edward Perronet's hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name, first...

Gilgal

(Encyclopedia)Gilgal gĭlˈgăl [key], in the Bible. 1 First encampment of the Israelites near Jericho, W of the Jordan; Saul was made king there. It was also the scene of Saul's impetuous sacrifice before battle i...

Penobscot Bay

(Encyclopedia)Penobscot Bay, inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, 35 mi (56 km) long and 27 mi (43 km) wide, S Maine. The bay was entered by the English explorer Martin Pring in 1603; the French explorer Samuel de Champlai...

Pseudo-Philo

(Encyclopedia)Pseudo-Philo, early Jewish work extant in Latin, probably written originally in Hebrew and emanating from Palestine. It was attributed to Philo (c.20 b.c.–a.d. 50) because it circulated with his wri...

Bryophyta

(Encyclopedia)Bryophyta brīˈəfīˌtə, brīˌəfīˈtə [key], division of green land plants that includes the mosses (class Bryopsida), the liverworts (Marchantiopsida), and the hornworts (Anthocerotopsida). Th...

garnierite

(Encyclopedia)garnierite gärˈnēərītˌ [key], pale apple-green mineral, chemically a hydrous silicate of nickel and magnesium. An important ore of nickel, it is found in New Caledonia, Russia, and S Africa. In ...

Tokorozawa

(Encyclopedia)Tokorozawa tōkōˌrōˈzäwä [key], city (1990 pop. 303,040), Saitama prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. It is a suburb of Tokyo and an agricultural market for locally grown green tea. It is the bas...

Chrysophyta

(Encyclopedia)Chrysophyta krəsŏfˈətə [key], phylum (division) of unicellular marine or freshwater organisms of the kingdom Protista consisting of the diatoms (class Bacillariophyceae), the golden, or golden-br...

Browse by Subject