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piano

(Encyclopedia)piano or pianoforte, musical instrument whose sound is produced by vibrating strings struck by felt hammers that are controlled from a keyboard. The piano's earliest predecessor was the dulcimer. The ...

compulsive gambling

(Encyclopedia)compulsive gambling or pathological gambling, a psychological disorder characterized by a persistent inability to resist the impulse to gamble. The disorder is progressive and typically results in dif...

cinéma vérité

(Encyclopedia)cinéma vérité, a style of filmmaking that attempts to convey candid realism. Often employing lightweight, hand-held cameras and sound equipment, it shows people in everyday situations and uses auth...

Estrada, Joseph Marcelo Ejercito

(Encyclopedia)Estrada, Joseph Marcelo Ejercito, 1937–, Filipino actor and politician, b. Jose Marcelo Ejercito. Under the name Erap Estrada, he became a popular action-film star whose roles often cast him as a he...

Hartmann, Nicolai

(Encyclopedia)Hartmann, Nicolai nēˈkōlī [key], 1882–1950, German philosopher, b. Latvia. He taught at Marburg (1922–25), Cologne (1925–31), Berlin (1931–45), and Göttingen (1945–50). Abandoning his e...

Harney, William Selby

(Encyclopedia)Harney, William Selby, 1800–1889, American general, b. Haysboro, near Nashville, Tenn. He entered the army in 1818 and gained a colonel's rank in the Florida campaigns against Native Americans. Rank...

mutiny

(Encyclopedia)mutiny, concerted disobedient or seditious action by persons in military or naval service, or by sailors on commercial vessels. Mutiny may range from a combined refusal to obey orders to active revolt...

Mount Desert Island

(Encyclopedia)Mount Desert Island dĭzûrtˈ [key], c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), largest island off the coast of Maine; separated from the mainland by Frenchman Bay, Mt. Desert Narrows, and Western Bay. The island's ru...

nihilism

(Encyclopedia)nihilism nīˈəlĭzəm [key], theory of revolution popular among Russian extremists until the fall of the czarist government (1917); the theory was given its name by Ivan Turgenev in his novel Father...

limestone

(Encyclopedia)limestone, sedimentary rock wholly or in large part composed of calcium carbonate. It is ordinarily white but may be colored by impurities, iron oxide making it brown, yellow, or red and carbon making...