Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Konrad, George

(Encyclopedia)Konrad, George, or György Konrád dyûrˈdyēkônˈräd [key], 1933–2019, Hungarian novelist and dissident. Konrad's first novel, The Case Worker (1969; tr. 1974), was based on his experiences as a...

Kraepelin, Emil

(Encyclopedia)Kraepelin, Emil krĕpəlēnˈ [key], 1856–1926, German psychiatrist, educated at Würzburg (M.D., 1878). He also studied under Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, and was appointed professor of psychiatry at ...

Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

anointing of the sick

(Encyclopedia)anointing of the sick, sacrament of the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church, formerly known as extreme unction. In it a sick or dying person is anointed on eyes, ears, nostrils, lips...

Formulas for Various Areas (table)

(Encyclopedia)Formulas for Various Areas 1 The abbreviations used are: b = base (length of any side of a plane figure); a = altitude (perpendicular distance from the farthest point of the figure to t...

echo, in acoustics

(Encyclopedia)echo, reflection of a sound wave back to its source in sufficient strength and with a sufficient time lag to be separately distinguished. If a sound wave returns within 1⁄10 sec, the human ear is in...

fine

(Encyclopedia)fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the altern...

Fastolf, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fastolf, Sir John făsˈtŏlf [key], 1378?–1459, English soldier. He won distinction for his long service in the latter part of the Hundred Years War. He was knighted some time prior to 1418 for ser...

Pérez Rodríguez, Carlos Andrés

(Encyclopedia)Pérez Rodríguez, Carlos Andrés kärˈlōs ändrāsˈ pāˈrās rôdrēˈgās [key], 1922–2010, president of Venezuela (1974–78, 1989–93). An aide to President Rómulo Betancourt, he was secre...

petal

(Encyclopedia)petal, one of the four basic parts of a flower, next innermost organ from the sepal. The whorl of petals is known collectively as the corolla [Lat.,=little crown]. The number of petals is usually cons...

Browse by Subject