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chemin de fer

(Encyclopedia)chemin de fer shəmănˈ də fûr, Fr. shəmăNˈ də fĕr [key] [Fr.,=railroad], the most popular gambling card game in Europe. The present day versions are variations of Italian baccara which Charle...

Thoothukudi

(Encyclopedia)Thoothukudi or Tuticorin to͞oˌtĭkôrĭnˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 280,091), Tamil Nadu state, SE India. An important seaport and fishing center, it has a Fishing Technological Institute and is also ...

Ball, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Ball, Thomas, 1819–1911, American sculptor, b. Charlestown, Mass.; son of a house and sign painter. Thomas Ball was also a singer of reputation, the first in the United States to sing the title role...

ballade

(Encyclopedia)ballade bəlädˈ [key], in literature, verse form developed in France in the 14th and 15th cent. The ballade usually contains three stanzas of eight lines with three rhymes and a four-line envoy (a s...

Ramusio, Giambattista

(Encyclopedia)Ramusio, Giambattista jämˌbät–tēˈstä rämo͝oˈzyō [key], 1485–1557, Italian editor and compiler, b. Treviso. He served in diplomatic posts for the Venetian state and eventually in the Coun...

Adrastus

(Encyclopedia)Adrastus ədrăsˈtəs [key], in Greek legend, king of Argos. He organized the ill-fated Seven against Thebes expedition and was the only survivor. Ten years later he successfully assisted the sons of...

Arliss, George

(Encyclopedia)Arliss, George, 1868–1946, English actor. He first appeared on the stage in 1887. In 1901 he came to the United States with Mrs. Patrick Campbell to appear in the Belasco production of The Darling o...

Muallaqat

(Encyclopedia)Muallaqat mo͞oälˌäkätˈ [key], Pre-Islamic Arabic anthology compiled by the scholar Hammad al Rawiya (d. c.775). comprised of poems that were written in gold letters and hung on the walls of the ...

Flint, Timothy

(Encyclopedia)Flint, Timothy, 1780–1840, American author, b. North Reading, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1800, and entered the ministry. As a missionary he traveled up and down the Mississippi valley from 1815 until 182...

Delibes, Léo

(Encyclopedia)Delibes, Léo lāôˈ dəlēbˈ [key], 1836–91, French composer. After studying at the Conservatory in Paris, he became an accompanist at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1853, and, ten years later, at the ...