Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

food preservation

(Encyclopedia)food preservation, methods of preparing food so that it can be stored for future use. Because most foods remain edible for only a brief period of time, people since the earliest ages have experimented...

mombin

(Encyclopedia)mombin mōmˈbēn [key], any tree of the tropical genus Spondias of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The plum-shaped fruits, 1 to 2.5 in. (2.54–6.38 cm) long, are much eaten in the tropics. ...

Kosrae

(Encyclopedia)Kosrae, island and state (1990 est. pop. 7,435), c.42 sq mi (110 sq km), Federated States of Micronesia. The easternmost island group of the Caroline Islands, Kosrae consist of a larger central island...

Kirkuk

(Encyclopedia)Kirkuk kĭrko͞okˈ [key], city (1987 pop. 418,624), NE Iraq. It is a center of Iraq's oil industry and is connected by pipelines to ports on the Mediterranean Sea. Kirkuk is a market for the region's...

Kermanshah

(Encyclopedia)Kermanshah kĕrmänˌshäˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 624,084), capital of Kermanshah prov., W Iran. It is the trade center for a rich agricultural region that produces grain, rice, vegetables, fruits, a...

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic

(Encyclopedia)Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic or Naxçivan Autonomous Republic näkˌchĭvänˈ [key], autonomous republic (1990 est. pop. 310,000), 2,124 sq mi (5,501 sq km), an exclave of Azerbaijan, bordered on t...

Hillsboro

(Encyclopedia)Hillsboro. <1> City (2020 pop. 6481), seat of Highland co., SW Oh.; founded 1807. It was long a center of bell making and is known for its ...

geranium

(Encyclopedia)geranium, common name for some members of the Geraniaceae, a family of herbs and small shrubs of temperate and subtropical regions. Their long, beak-shaped fruits give them the popular names crane's-b...

chewing gum

(Encyclopedia)chewing gum, confection consisting usually of chicle, flavorings, and corn syrup and sugar (or artificial sweeteners). Prehistoric people are believed to have chewed resins. Spruce resin was chewed as...

plane tree

(Encyclopedia)plane tree, sycamore, or buttonwood, any species of the genus Platanus, deciduous trees of most temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, exclusive of Africa. The hairy, dry, seedlike fruits are ...