Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kabwe

(Encyclopedia)Kabwe käbˈwā [key], formerly Broken Hill, city (1990 pop. 166,519), central Zambia. During the 20th cent. it was an important lead and zinc mining and smelting center. As a result, the area suffers...

metonymy

(Encyclopedia)metonymy mĭtŏnˈəmē [key], figure of speech in which an attribute of a thing or something closely related to it is substituted for the thing itself. Thus, “sweat” can mean “hard labor,” an...

Perizzite

(Encyclopedia)Perizzite pĕrˈĭzīt, pērĭzˈ– [key], pre-Israelite inhabitants of ancient Palestine. According to the Book of Joshua, the Perizzites were located in the hill country. They were enslaved by Solo...

Colma

(Encyclopedia)Colma, city (2020 pop. 1,483), San Mateo co., W Calif., a suburb S of San Francisco, on Colma Creek, inc. 1924 as Lawndale, renamed 1941. Shopping ...

Milpitas

(Encyclopedia)Milpitas mĭlˌpēˈtəs [key], city (1990 pop. 50,686), Santa Clara co., W Calif., a suburb of San Jose, southeast of San Francisco; inc. 1954. Manufactures include computers and paint. Fruits, veget...

Yerba Buena Island

(Encyclopedia)Yerba Buena Island, 300 acres (121 hectares), W Calif., in San Francisco Bay. It is the midpoint of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, which crosses the island through a tunnel. There are coast g...

computer music

(Encyclopedia)computer music, term used to describe music composed or performed with the aid of a computer. The first substantial piece of music composed on a computer was the Illiac Suite (1956) by the avant-garde...

Santiago, city, Chile

(Encyclopedia)Santiago säntēäˈgō [key], city (1990 est. pop. 4,395,000), central Chile, capital of Chile and of Metropolitana de Santiago region, on the Mapocho River. It is the political, commercial, and fina...

Hayward

(Encyclopedia)Hayward. <1> City (2020 pop. 162,954), Alameda co., W Calif.; settled 1851, inc. 1876. It is an important commercial and distribution center for ...

Central Valley project

(Encyclopedia)Central Valley project, central Calif., long-term general scheme for the utilization of the water of the Sacramento River basin in the north for the benefit of the farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley ...