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Condillac, Étienne Bonnot de

(Encyclopedia)Condillac, Étienne Bonnot de ātyĕnˈ bônōˈ də kôNdēyäkˈ [key], 1715–80, French philosopher who developed the theory of sensationalism (i.e., that all knowledge comes from the senses and t...

Legendre, Adrien Marie

(Encyclopedia)Legendre, Adrien Marie ädrēăNˈ märēˈ ləzhäNˈdrə [key], 1752–1833, French mathematician. He is noted especially for his work on the theory of numbers, on which he wrote an essay (1798) con...

Opitz, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Opitz, Martin märˈtĭn ōˈpĭts [key], 1597–1639, leader of the Silesian school of German poetry. His influence as poet, critic, and metrical reformer was widely recognized during his time; he wa...

Guinea, archaic term for Africa's west coast

(Encyclopedia)Guinea gĭnˈē [key], an archaic term for the west coast of Africa. In its widest sense it has been applied to the region from Angola to Senegal. Parts of the region bore names originating in early c...

Cuvier, Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Cuvier, Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron zhôrzh lāôpôldˈ krātyăNˈ frādārēkˈ dägôbĕrˈ bärôNˈ küvyāˈ [key], 1769–1832, French naturalist, b. Montbéliard, st...

Fénelon, François de Salignac de la Mothe

(Encyclopedia)Fénelon, François de Salignac de la Mothe fräNswäˈ də sälēnyäkˈ də lä môt fānəlôNˈ [key], 1651–1715, French theologian and writer, a leader of the quietism heresy, archbishop of Cam...

Park Ridge

(Encyclopedia)Park Ridge, city (1990 pop. 36,175), Cook co., NE Ill., a suburb adjacent to Chicago, on the Des Plaines River; inc. 1873. It is chiefly residential. Several national and international corporations ha...

Romeoville

(Encyclopedia)Romeoville, village (1990 pop. 14,074), Will co., NE Ill., on the Des Plaines River, with access to the Illinois and Mississippi Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal; inc. 1901. A suburb of t...

Steep Rock Lake

(Encyclopedia)Steep Rock Lake, 4 mi (6.4 km) long and 3 mi (4.8 km) wide, SW Ont., Canada, W of Lac des Mille Lacs. It is the site of important iron ore mining. Part of the lake was drained to facilitate the mining...

Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Amadeus

(Encyclopedia)Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Amadeus ĕrnst tāˈōdōr ämädāˈo͝os hôfˈmän [key], 1776–1822, German romantic novelist and composer, a lawyer. At one time an opera composer and musical director at...