Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

alkyl group

(Encyclopedia)alkyl group ălˈkĭl [key], in chemistry, group of carbon and hydrogen atoms derived from an alkane molecule by removing one hydrogen atom (see radical). The name of the alkyl group is derived from t...

ministry

(Encyclopedia)ministry, in religion, term used to designate the clergy of Protestant churches, particularly those who repudiate the claims of apostolic succession. The ceremony by which the candidate receives the o...

political action committee

(Encyclopedia)political action committee (PAC), U.S. organization formed by a corporation, labor union, or association to raise money for political activity. Funds can be gathered by voluntary contributions from me...

Wappinger

(Encyclopedia)Wappinger wŏpˈĭnjər [key], confederation of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. the...

du Plessix Gray, Francine

(Encyclopedia)du Plessix Gray, Francine, 1930–2019, French-American writer, b. Warsaw, studied Bryn Mawr, Black Mountain College, B.A. Barnard, 1952. She worked first as a writer and editor for radio and magazine...

delirium tremens

(Encyclopedia)delirium tremens trēˈmənz, trĕmˈənz [key], hallucinatory episodes that may occur during withdrawal from chronic alcoholism, popularly known as the DTs. An episode of delirium tremens is usually ...

Collot d'Herbois, Jean Marie

(Encyclopedia)Collot d'Herbois, Jean Marie zhäN märēˈ kōlōˈ dĕrbwäˈ [key], 1750–96, French revolutionary, originally an actor and playwright. Although a member of his Jacobin club, he favored a constitu...

coagulation

(Encyclopedia)coagulation kōăgˌyo͞olāˈshən [key], the collecting into a mass of minute particles of a solid dispersed throughout a liquid (a sol), usually followed by the precipitation or separation of the s...

Hunter, John

(Encyclopedia)Hunter, John, 1728–93, Scottish anatomist and surgeon, studied under his brother, William Hunter. A pioneer in comparative anatomy and morphology who is sometimes called the father of modern surgery...

Houghton, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Houghton, Michael, 1949–, Canadian biochemist, Ph.D. King's College, London, 1977. He joined G.D. Searle & Co. in 1977, then became (1982) a researcher at the Chiron Corp. In 2007 Houghton was a...