Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

apocalypse

(Encyclopedia)apocalypse əpŏkˈəlĭps [key] [Gr.,=uncovering], genre represented in early Jewish and in Christian literature in which the secrets of the heavenly world or of the world to come are revealed by ang...

alpaca

(Encyclopedia)alpaca ălpăkˈə [key], partially domesticated South American mammal, Lama pacos, of the camel family. Genetic studies show that it is a descendant of the vicuña. Although the flesh is sometimes us...

clan

(Encyclopedia)clan, social group based on actual or alleged unilineal descent from a common ancestor. Such groups have been known in all parts of the world and include some that claim the parentage or special prote...

Chihuahua, breed of dog

(Encyclopedia)Chihuahua chəwäˈwə [key], a breed of small toy dog probably of Asian origin and introduced into Mexico by Spanish settlers. It stands about 5 in. (12.7 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 1 t...

clothes moth

(Encyclopedia)clothes moth, name for several species of moths of the family Tineidae, whose larvae feed on wool, furs, feathers, upholstery, and a variety of animal products. Clothes moths are of Old World origin. ...

snail

(Encyclopedia)snail, name commonly used for a gastropod mollusk with a shell. Included in the thousands of species are terrestrial, freshwater, and marine forms. Some eat both plant and animal matter; others eat on...

Siegfried and Roy

(Encyclopedia) Siegfried and Roy (Siegfried Fischbacher, 1939-2021, b. Rosenheim, Germany; and Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn, 1944-2020, b. Nordenham, Germany), noted German-A...

Cassirer, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Cassirer, Ernst ĕrnst käsērˈər [key], 1874–1945, German philosopher. He was a professor at the Univ. of Hamburg from 1919 until 1933, when he went to Oxford; he later taught at Yale and Columbi...

tetanus

(Encyclopedia)tetanus tĕtˈnəs, –ənəs [key] or lockjaw, acute infectious disease of the central nervous system caused by the toxins of Clostridium tetani. The organism has a widespread distribution and is com...

Western Cape

(Encyclopedia)Western Cape, province (2011 pop. 5,822,734), 49,986 sq mi (129,462 sq km), SW South Africa, on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, Western Cape ...