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alcalde

(Encyclopedia)alcalde ălkălˈdē, Span. älkälˈdā [key] [Span., from Arab.,=the judge], Spanish official title, in existence at least from the 11th cent. Since the late 19th cent. it has been used for the mayo...

federal government

(Encyclopedia)federal government or federation, government of a union of states in which sovereignty is divided between a central authority and component state authorities. A federation differs from a confederation...

inclined plane

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Inclined plane inclined plane, simple machine, consisting of a sloping surface, whose purpose is to reduce the force that must be applied to raise a load. To raise a body vertically a force mu...

home economics

(Encyclopedia)home economics, study of homemaking and the relation of the home to the community. Formerly limited to problems of food (nutrition and cookery), clothing, sewing, textiles, household equipment, housec...

Gospel

(Encyclopedia)Gospel [M.E.,=good news; evangel from Gr.,= good news], a written account of the life of Jesus. Though the Gospels of the New Testament are all anonymous, since the 2d cent. they have been named Matth...

guanine

(Encyclopedia)guanine gwäˈnēn [key], organic base of the purine family. It was reported (1846) to be in the guano of birds; later (1879–84) it was established as one of the major constituents of nucleic acids....

liability

(Encyclopedia)liability, in law, an obligation of one party to another, usually to compensate financially. It is a fundamental aspect of tort law, although liability may also arise from duties entered into by speci...

veto

(Encyclopedia)veto [Lat.,=I forbid], power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or entered into by ...

belligerency

(Encyclopedia)belligerency bəlĭjˈərənsē [key], in international law, status of parties legally at war. Belligerency exists in a war between nations or in a civil war if the established government treats the i...

Wagner, Robert Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Wagner, Robert Ferdinand wăgˈnər [key], 1877–1953, American legislator, b. Germany. He arrived with his family in the United States in 1885 and grew up in poor surroundings in New York City. Afte...