Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

grammar

(Encyclopedia)grammar, description of the structure of a language, consisting of the sounds (see phonology); the meaningful combinations of these sounds into words or parts of words, called morphemes; and the arran...

domino theory

(Encyclopedia)domino theory, the notion that if one country becomes Communist, other nations in the region will probably follow, like dominoes falling in a line. The analogy, first applied (1954) to Southeast Asia ...

Mattoon

(Encyclopedia)Mattoon mătˌo͞onˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 18,441), Coles co., E central Ill.; inc. 1859. It is a processing, rail, and industrial center for a farming region. Among its manufactures are paper produ...

meadow beauty

(Encyclopedia)meadow beauty, any plant of the genus Rhexia, herbaceous perennials of wet places E of the Rockies, particularly damp pine barrens and sands along the southeast coast. A widespread species, R. virgini...

Moosehead Lake

(Encyclopedia)Moosehead Lake, 35 mi (56 km) long, from 2 to 10 mi (3.2–16.1 km) wide, with an area of 120 sq mi (311 sq km), W Maine, N of Augusta. It is the largest lake in Maine and has an irregular shoreline a...

kratom

(Encyclopedia)kratom, drug obtained from the leaves of the tropical evergreen tree Mitragyna speciosa, also called kratom, a relative of the coffee tree found in Southeast Asia. The leaves are chewed, boiled for a ...

Mahoning

(Encyclopedia)Mahoning məhōnˈĭng [key], river, c.90 mi (140 km) long, rising in NE Ohio, E of Canton. It flows northwest to Alliance, then northeast past Warren, where it turns southeast to flow past Youngstown...

Bakhtegan

(Encyclopedia)Bakhtegan bäkhtĕgänˈ [key], salt lake, c.60 mi (100 km) long, in the Zagros Mts., S Iran; fed by the Kor River. The town of Neyriz was once on its shores, but because of the lake's shrinkage it is...

Bryan

(Encyclopedia)Bryan, city (2020 pop. 83,980), seat of Brazos co., E central Tex.; inc. 1872. Settled in the early 19th cent. in an area of large plantations, Bryan wa...

Buskerud

(Encyclopedia)Buskerud bo͞osˈkəro͞od [key], county, c.5,725 sq mi (14,830 sq km), SE Norway. Drammen (the ...