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Ponca

(Encyclopedia)Ponca, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). According to tradition the group lived in the Ohio valle...

Mosquito Coast

(Encyclopedia)Mosquito Coast or Mosquitia məskēˈtēə, mōskētēˈä [key], region, east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The name is derived from the Miskito, the indigenous inhabitants and remnants of the Cho...

Rajputana

(Encyclopedia)Rajputana räjˌpo͝otäˈnə [key], historic region, NW India; roughly coextensive with the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. The name means “land of the Rajputs.” Rajput tribal power rose here b...

William of Occam

(Encyclopedia)William of Occam or Ockham both: ŏkˈəm [key], c.1285–c.1349, English scholastic philosopher. A Franciscan, Occam studied and taught at Oxford from c.1310 until 1324, when he was summoned to the p...

capital levy

(Encyclopedia)capital levy, form of taxation by which the government takes part of the capital of any person or business, as distinguished from a tax on personal or business income. It is usually applied to all cap...

magnitude

(Encyclopedia)magnitude, in astronomy, measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial object. The stars cataloged by Ptolemy (2d cent. a.d.), all visible with the unaided eye, were ranked on a brightness sc...

Common Weights and Measures (table)

(Encyclopedia)Common Weights and Measures Length Area Volume and Capacity (Liquid and Dry) Weight (Mass) ...

Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Jackson. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,446), seat of Jackson co., S Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1857. It is an industrial and commercial center in a farm region. The city's chief manufactures are machinery...

shopping center

(Encyclopedia)shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marke...

Uist, North, and South Uist

(Encyclopedia)Uist, North yo͞oˈĭst, o͞oˈ– [key], and South Uist, islands, two of the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles council area, NW Scotland. North Uist (1985 est. pop. 3,300), is 18 mi (29 km) long and 13 m...