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rebate

(Encyclopedia)rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. The ...

Cretan bull

(Encyclopedia)Cretan bull, in Greek mythology, giant bull that Hercules captured as his seventh labor. Some versions of the legend state that this bull was the same one that carried Europa to Crete; others claim th...

court

(Encyclopedia)court, in law, official body charged with administering justice. The term is also applied to the judge or judges who fill the office and to the courtroom itself. Courts come into existence when legal ...

Esch, John Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Esch, John Jacob ĕsh [key], 1861–1941, U.S. Congressman and federal administrator, b. Norwalk, Wis. A lawyer in La Crosse, he became a member of the House of Representatives in 1899 and served unti...

Underwood, Oscar Wilder

(Encyclopedia)Underwood, Oscar Wilder, 1862–1929, American political leader, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1915–27), b. Louisville, Ky. A lawyer in Birmingham, Ala., he became important in Democratic party politic...

food adulteration

(Encyclopedia)food adulteration, act of intentionally debasing the quality of food offered for sale either by the admixture or substitution of inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredient. The ...

Hydra, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Hydra, in Greek mythology, many-headed water serpent; offspring of Typhon and Echidna. When one of its heads was cut off, two new heads appeared. The second labor of Hercules was to kill the monster. ...

Kellogg, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Kellogg, Edward, 1790–1858, American economist, b. Norwalk, Conn. He advocated a financial scheme to abolish interest, which was often usurious at the time he wrote. Kellogg devised a system of fina...

Kok, Wim

(Encyclopedia)Kok, Wim (Willem Kok), 1936–2018, Dutch political leader. He worked for the National Association of Trade Unions (later the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions), and served as its chairman from 1973 to...

corvée

(Encyclopedia)corvée kôrvāˈ [key], under the feudal system, compulsory, unpaid labor demanded by a lord or king and the system of such labor in general. There were national and local variations, but in broad te...