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Bank for International Settlements

(Encyclopedia)Bank for International Settlements (BIS), international financial institution est. (1930) in Basel, Switzerland, by bankers and diplomats from Europe, the United States, and Japan. It was originally s...

diaphragm

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Diaphragm diaphragm dīˈəfrămˌ [key], term used to describe any of several large muscles, found in humans and other mammals, which separate two adjacent regions of the body. The most commo...

fertility rites

(Encyclopedia)fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...

instinct

(Encyclopedia)instinct, term used generally to indicate an innate tendency to action, or pattern of behavior, elicited by specific stimuli and fulfilling vital needs of an organism. Examples of almost purely instin...

Hopkins, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Stephen, 1707–85, colonial governor of Rhode Island and political leader in the American Revolution, b. Providence, R.I. A member of the colonial assembly for many years, he also served as ...

green flash

(Encyclopedia)green flash or emerald flash, a refractive phenomenon of the atmosphere where the top edge of the setting (or, less frequently, rising) sun will momentarily turn emerald green. The green color lasts f...

John, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John, Saint, one of the Twelve Apostles, traditional author of the fourth Gospel, three letters, and the Book of Revelation (see John, Gospel according to Saint; John, letters; Revelation); it is high...

moment

(Encyclopedia)moment, in physics and engineering, term designating the product of a quantity and a distance (or some power of the distance) to some point associated with that quantity. The most theoretically useful...

meninges

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Meninges: Section of spine showing meningeal layers meninges mĭnĭnˈjēz [key], three membranous layers of connective tissue that envelop the brain and spinal cord (see nervous system). The ...

Bezos, Jeffrey Preston

(Encyclopedia)Bezos, Jeffrey Preston bāˈzōs [key], 1964– American business executive and on-line retailing pioneer, b. Albuquerque, N.M., grad. Princeton (B.S.E., 1986). He worked in computer technology for se...