Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

358 results found

navy

(Encyclopedia)navy, originally, all ships of a nation, whether for war or commerce; the term navy now designates only such vessels as are built and maintained specifically for war. There have been three major devel...

Freemasonry

(Encyclopedia)Freemasonry, teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Because of its identification with 19th-cent...

Arab Spring

(Encyclopedia)Arab Spring, in modern North African and Middle Eastern history, antigovernment demonstrations and uprisings that, from late 2010, swept many of the regions' Arab nations. Arising in large part in rea...

mosque

(Encyclopedia)mosque mŏsk [key], building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (a.d. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the...

Mussolini, Benito

(Encyclopedia)Mussolini, Benito bānēˈtō mo͞os-sōlēˈnē [key], 1883–1945, Italian dictator and leader of the Fascist movement. Mussolini was at first cool to Adolf Hitler and opposed his designs on Aus...

Chinese architecture

(Encyclopedia)Chinese architecture, the buildings and other structures created in China from prehistoric times to the present day. Since the late 19th cent. the Chinese have adopted European architectural styles....

gravitation

(Encyclopedia)gravitation, the attractive force existing between any two particles of matter. The term gravitygravity is commonly used synonymously with gravitation, but in correct usage a definite distinction is...

Japanese architecture

(Encyclopedia)Japanese architecture, structures created on the islands that constitute Japan. Evidence of prehistoric architecture in Japan has survived in the form of models of terra-cotta houses buried in tombs a...

Saint Petersburg, city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Saint Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, Rus. Sankt-Peterburg, city (1990 est. pop. 5,036,000), capital of the Leningrad region (although not administratively part of it) and the administrative center of...

Roman architecture

(Encyclopedia)Roman architecture, structures produced by the ancient Romans. Most important among the structures developed by the Romans themselves were basilicas, baths, amphitheaters, and triumphal arches. U...