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carp

(Encyclopedia)carp, hardy freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio, the largest member of the minnow family; it is also known as the common carp. A native of Black, Caspian, and Aral sea basins of Eurasia, the carp has bee...

Buck, Pearl Sydenstricker

(Encyclopedia)Buck, Pearl Sydenstricker sīˈdənstrĭkˌər [key], 1892–1973, American author, b. Hillsboro, W.Va., grad. Randolph-Macon Women's College, 1914, the first American woman to receive (1938) the Nobe...

African swine fever

(Encyclopedia)African swine fever (ASF), highly contagious, deadly viral disease of swine. Its acute form, which is typically fatal, is characterized by high fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, and redness in the sk...

Booker Prize

(Encyclopedia)Booker Prize, an award of £50,000 (originally £5,000) for the best novel of the year published in English in Great Britain; prior to 2014, it was only given to a British, Irish, or Commonwealth writ...

lacquer

(Encyclopedia)lacquer, solution of film-forming materials, natural or synthetic, usually applied as an ornamental or protective coating. Quick-drying synthetic lacquers are used to coat automobiles, furniture, text...

Hesse, Hermann

(Encyclopedia)Hesse, Hermann hĕsˈə [key], 1877–1962, German novelist and poet. A pacifist, he went to Switzerland at the outbreak of World War I and became (1923) a Swiss citizen. The spiritual loneliness of ...

Jagan, Cheddi

(Encyclopedia)Jagan, Cheddi chĕdˈē jäˈgän [key], 1918–97, prime minister of British Guiana (1961–64) and president (1992–97) of independent Guyana. Of South Asian descent, he was trained at Northwestern...

almond

(Encyclopedia)almond, name for a small tree (Prunus amygdalus) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for the nutlike, edible seed of its drupe fruit. The “nuts” of sweet-almond varieties are eaten raw or roa...

ephedrine

(Encyclopedia)ephedrine ĭfĕdˈrĭn, ĕfˈĭdrēnˌ [key], drug derived from plants of the genus Ephedra (see Pinophyta), most commonly used to prevent mild or moderate attacks of bronchial asthma. Unlike epinephr...

pit viper

(Encyclopedia)pit viper, poisonous snake of the family Crotalidae, primarily a New World family. Like the Old World true vipers (family Viperidae), pit vipers have long, hollow, erectile fangs that are folded back ...