Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

485 results found

Lapland

(Encyclopedia)Lapland lăpˈlăndˌ [key], Finn. Lappi, Nor. Lapland, Swed. Lappland, vast region of N Europe, largely within the Arctic Circle. It includes the Norwegian provinces of Finnmark and Troms and part of...

poison

(Encyclopedia)poison, any agent that may produce chemically an injurious or deadly effect when introduced into the body in sufficient quantity. Some poisons can be deadly in minute quantities, others only if relati...

pressure group

(Encyclopedia)pressure group, body, organized or unorganized, that actively seeks to promote its particular interests within a society by exerting pressure on public officials and agencies. Pressure groups direct t...

Manila

(Encyclopedia)Manila mənĭlˈə [key], city (1990 pop. 1,601,234), capital of the Philippines, SW Luzon, on Manila Bay. Manila is the center of the country's largest metropolitan area, its chief port, and the focu...

Assange, Julian Paul

(Encyclopedia)Assange, Julian Paul äsänjˈ [key], 1971–, Australian Internet journalist and activist, founder of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website that publishes documents and imag...

Alzheimer's disease

(Encyclopedia)Alzheimer's disease ălsˈhīˌmərz, ôls– [key], degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia and, ultimately, death. The disea...

Gracchi

(Encyclopedia)Gracchi grăkˈī [key], two Roman statesmen and social reformers, sons of the consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and of Cornelia. The brothers were brought up with great care by their mother. Tiberi...

anemia

(Encyclopedia)anemia ənēˈmēə [key], condition in which the concentration of hemoglobin in the circulating blood is below normal. Such a condition is caused by a deficient number of erythrocytes (red blood cell...

monopoly

(Encyclopedia)monopoly mənōpˈəlē [key], market condition in which there is only one seller of a certain commodity; by virtue of the long-run control over supply, such a seller is able to exert nearly total con...

Michigan, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Michigan, Lake, 22,178 sq mi (57,441 sq km), 307 mi (494 km) long and 30 to 120 mi (48–193 km) wide, bordered by Mich., Ind., Ill., and Wis.; third largest of the Great Lakes and the only one entire...