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hara-kiri

(Encyclopedia)hara-kiri härˈə-kērˈē, hărˈə– [key] [Jap.,=belly-cutting], the traditional Japanese form of honorable suicide, also known by its Chinese equivalent, seppuku. It was practiced by the Japanes...

Hariri, Rafik

(Encyclopedia)Hariri, Rafik or Rafiq räfēkˈ härēˈrē [key], 1944–2005, Lebanese tycoon and political leader, b. Sidon. The son of a poor Sunni Muslim farmer, he moved to Saudi Arabia in 1965. After teaching...

Hood, John Bell

(Encyclopedia)Hood, John Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Owingsville, Ky. He resigned from the army (Apr., 1861) and entered the Confederate service 1862. He fought in the Peninsu...

Achaean League

(Encyclopedia)Achaean League əkēˈən [key], confederation of cities on the Gulf of Corinth. The First Achaean League, about which little is known, was formed presumably before the 5th cent. b.c. and lasted throu...

Mahdi

(Encyclopedia)Mahdi mäˈdē [key] [Arab.,=he who is divinely guided], in Sunni Islam, the restorer of the faith. He will appear at the end of time to restore justice on earth and establish universal Islam. The Mah...

United States Naval Academy

(Encyclopedia)United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md.; for training young men and women to be officers of the U.S. navy or marine corps. George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, founded and opened (1845) it a...

Safra

(Encyclopedia)Safra, family of Brazilian bankers with Sephardic Jewish roots. They began as merchant bankers in Syria and Lebanon, financing caravans throughout the Middle East. The Safras are also noted philanthro...

Oxford and Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Oxford and Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st earl of, 1852–1928, British statesman. Of a middle-class family, he attended Oxford, became a barrister in London in 1876, and was elected to Parliamen...

Eznite

(Encyclopedia)Eznite ĕzˈnīt [key], ostensibly an epithet of Adino (one of David's men) in Second Samuel. The name with its qualifier is translated in the parallel passage in First Chronicles as “he lifted up h...

Shammah

(Encyclopedia)Shammah shămˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 Jesse's third son. Alternate forms are Shimea, Shimeah, and Shimma. 2 Duke of Edom, grandson of Esau. 3 In the confusing list of David's mighty men in the Book...