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nux vomica

(Encyclopedia)nux vomica nŭks vŏmˈəkə [key], bitter-tasting drug obtained from the poisonous seeds of Strychnos nux-vomica, a tree that grows in Sri Lanka, India, and N Australia. The dried seeds contain stryc...

Kuprin, Aleksandr Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Kuprin, Aleksandr Ivanovich əlyĭksänˈdər ēväˈnəvĭch ko͞oˈprĭn [key], 1870–1938, Russian novelist and short-story writer. Kuprin was an army officer for several years before he resigned ...

Winkelried, Arnold von

(Encyclopedia)Winkelried, Arnold von ärˈnôlt fən vĭngˈkəlrēt [key], d. 1386, Swiss hero. His action at the battle of Sempach (July 9, 1386) is credited in legend with the Swiss defeat of the Austrians under...

Adrian, Edgar Douglas Adrian, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Adrian, Edgar Douglas Adrian, Baron, 1889–1977, English physiologist, M.D. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1915. He was research professor (1929–37) of the Royal Society and professor of physiology (1...

bloat

(Encyclopedia)bloat, excessive accumulation of gases in the rumen, the first stomach of a cud-chewing animal. Bloat is probably formed to a large extent by bacterial action. It occurs in all ruminants, but is most ...

Samuel, Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Samuel, Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount, 1870–1963, British statesman. Entering Parliament as a Liberal in 1902, he was postmaster general (1910–14, 1915–16) and home secretary (1916). He los...

Perry, William James

(Encyclopedia)Perry, William James, 1927–, U.S. government official, b. Vandergrift, Pa. A Ph.D. in mathematics, former Stanford engineering professor, and founder of a military electronics firm, he served (1977�...

Veterans of Foreign Wars

(Encyclopedia)Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), organization created (1899) at Columbus, Ohio, by veterans of the Spanish-American War. It received a charter from Congress in 1936. The organization later admitted vet...

cheese

(Encyclopedia)cheese, food known from ancient times and consisting of the curd of milk separated from the whey. The numerous cheeses (often named for their place of origin) depend for their distinctive qualities ...

Doubleday, Abner

(Encyclopedia)Doubleday, Abner, 1819–93, once credited as originator of baseball and Union general in the American Civil War, b. Saratoga co., N.Y., grad. West Point, 1842. The A. G. Mills commission (1905–8) i...