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Antoninus Pius

(Encyclopedia)Antoninus Pius (Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus) pīˈəs [key], a.d. 86–a.d. 161, Roman emperor (138–161). After a term as consul (120) he went as proconsul to Asia, where he gove...

pier

(Encyclopedia)pier, in engineering, term applied to a mass of reinforced concrete or masonry supporting a large structure, such as a bridge. When piers are built on ground of poor bearing value, it is often necessa...

racquetball

(Encyclopedia)racquetball, sport played indoors by two or four players, combining elements of court handball and such racket games as squash racquets. It is played on a standard handball court 40 ft (12.2 m) long, ...

Pyramus and Thisbe

(Encyclopedia)Pyramus and Thisbe pĭrˈəməs, thĭzˈbē [key], in classical mythology, youth and maiden of Babylon, whose parents opposed their marriage. Their homes adjoined, and they conversed through a crevice...

peritoneum

(Encyclopedia)peritoneum pĕrətənēˈəm [key], multilayered membrane which lines the abdominal cavity, and supports and covers the organs within it. The part of the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity is ca...

peritonitis

(Encyclopedia)peritonitis pĕrˌĭtənīˈtĭs [key], acute or chronic inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and surrounds the internal organs. It is caused by invasion of bac...

Autun

(Encyclopedia)Autun ōtöNˈ [key], town, Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, on the Arroux River. It is an industrial center producing metals, machinery, leather, cloth, timber, a...

Ordos

(Encyclopedia)Ordos ôrˈdōs [key], Mandarin Erdesi, sandy desert plateau region, c.35,000 sq mi (90,650 sq km), Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, N China; almost encircled by the great northern bend of the Huang...

Virginia creeper

(Encyclopedia)Virginia creeper, native woody vine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) of the family Vitaceae (grape family), tall growing and popular as a wall covering in the temperate United States. It has blue-black b...

Stegner, Wallace

(Encyclopedia)Stegner, Wallace (Wallace Earle Stegner), 1909–93, American writer, b. Lake Mills, Iowa, grad. Univ. of Utah (1930). He wrote perceptively of the American West in short stories, e.g., The Woman on t...