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De Long, George Washington

(Encyclopedia)De Long, George Washington də lôngˈ [key], 1844–81, American arctic explorer, b. New York City, grad. Annapolis, 1865. In 1873 he was assigned to the Juniata, which was sent to the arctic to sear...

slang

(Encyclopedia)slang, vernacular vocabulary not generally acceptable in formal usage. It is notable for its liveliness, humor, emphasis, brevity, novelty, and exaggeration. Most slang is faddish and ephemeral, but s...

Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Highlands, mountain region in the northern extremity of Scotland. It consists roughly of the Scottish area north of the imaginary line from Dumbarton to Stonehaven excluding the Orkneys, the Shetlands...

Antarctic Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Antarctic Peninsula, glaciated mountain region of W Antarctica, extending c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) N toward South America. In the south, volcanic peaks rise to c.11,000 ft (3,350 m); other volcanic cones...

Hainan

(Encyclopedia)Hainan hīˈnänˈ [key], island and province, c.13,100 sq mi (33,940 sq km), China, in the S...

Lyons, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, Fr. Lyon both: lyôNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 422,444), capital of Rhône dept., E central France, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. As an economic center and a densely populat...

England

(Encyclopedia)England, the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2022Se pop. 68,429,595), 50,334 sq mi (130,3...

Czech language

(Encyclopedia)Czech language chĕk [key], in the past sometimes also called Bohemian, member of the West Slavic group of the Slavic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Slavic languages). The off...

root, in botany

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Longitudinal cross section of a root root, in botany, the descending axis of a plant, as contrasted with the stem, the ascending axis. In most plants the root is underground, but in epiphytes ...

fencing

(Encyclopedia)fencing, sport of dueling with foil, épée, and saber. Swords have been in use since the Bronze Age, and nearly all people of antiquity practiced swordsmanship. Fencing as a contest has existed at ...