Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount kăˈsəlrā [key], 1769–1822, British statesman, b. Ireland. Entering the Irish Parliament in 1790 and the British Parliament in 1794, he was acting chief s...

Labrador-Ungava

(Encyclopedia)Labrador-Ungava lăbˈrədôrˌ-əngāˈvə, –əngävˈə [key], peninsular region of E Canada, c.550,000 sq mi (1,424,500 sq km), bounded on the W by Hudson Bay, on the N by Hudson Strait and Ungav...

thunderstorm

(Encyclopedia)thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. The typical thunderstorm caused by convect...

fainting

(Encyclopedia)fainting or syncope sĭngˈkəpē [key], temporary loss of consciousness caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. It can be concurrent with any serious disease or condition, such as he...

pain

(Encyclopedia)pain, unpleasant or hurtful sensation resulting from stimulation of nerve endings. The stimulus is carried by nerve fibers to the spinal cord and then to the brain, where the nerve impulse is interpre...

Hudson, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Hudson, Henry, fl. 1607–11, English navigator and explorer. He was hired (1607) by the English Muscovy Company to find the Northeast Passage to Asia. He failed, and another attempt (1608) to find a ...

Capote, Truman

(Encyclopedia)Capote, Truman käpōˈtē [key], 1924–84, American author, b. New Orleans as Truman Streckfus Persons. During his lifetime, the witty, diminutive writer was a well-known public personage, hobnobbin...

catecholamine

(Encyclopedia)catecholamine kătˌəkôlˈəmēn [key], any of several compounds occurring naturally in the body that serve as hormones or as neurotransmitters in the sympathetic nervous system. The catecholamines ...

Hochhuth, Rolf

(Encyclopedia)Hochhuth, Rolf rôlf hōkhˈho͞ot [key], 1931–2020, German dramatist. His provocative first drama, The Deputy (1963), accuses Pope Pius XII and the Roman Catholic clergy of tolerating Nazi crimes a...

Charles XII, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he ...