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sperm oil

(Encyclopedia)sperm oil, liquid wax obtained from the sperm whale, or cachalot, and related marine mammals. It flows readily, is clear, and varies in color from pale yellow to brownish yellow. Chemically it is not ...

Shetland pony

(Encyclopedia)Shetland pony, smallest breed of horse, originating in the Shetland Islands some 200 mi (322 km) N of Scotland. The Shetland resembles a miniature draft horse and has long been used for working purpos...

phenolphthalein

(Encyclopedia)phenolphthalein fēˈnôlthălˈēən [key], or 2,2-Bis(p-hydroxyphenyl) phthalide, C20H14O4, crystalline organic compound. It is used medicinally as a laxative and is widely employed in the laborator...

dye

(Encyclopedia)dye, any substance, natural or synthetic, used to color various materials, especially textiles, leather, and food. Natural dyes are so called because they are obtained from plants (e.g., alizarin, cat...

Dufy, Raoul

(Encyclopedia)Dufy, Raoul räo͞olˈ düfēˈ [key], 1877–1953, French painter, illustrator, and decorator, studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. After meeting Matisse he abandoned his early impressionist style a...

Cullen, Countee

(Encyclopedia)Cullen, Countee kounˈtēˈ [key], 1903–46, American poet, b. New York City, grad. New York Univ. 1925, M.A. Harvard, 1926. A major writer of the Harlem Renaissance—a flowering of black artistic a...

cochineal

(Encyclopedia)cochineal kŏchĭnēlˈ, kŏchˈĭnēl [key], natural dye obtained from an extract of the bodies of the females of the cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus) found on certain species of cactus, especial...

Chesapeake Bay retriever

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake Bay retriever, breed of large sporting dog developed in the United States. It stands about 24 in. (61 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Its thick, short double coat...

Hall, John Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Hall, John Lewis, 1934–, American physicist, b. Denver, Colo., Ph.D. Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1961. He has been a researcher at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colo., since 196...

Greenberg, Clement

(Encyclopedia)Greenberg, Clement, 1909–94, American art critic, b. New York City. Greenberg's criticism was primarily concerned with art produced after abstract expressionism. This art, now known as color-field p...