Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

169 results found

parachute

(Encyclopedia)parachute, umbrellalike device designed to retard the descent of a falling body by creating drag as it passes through the air. The development of modern aircraft has led to many experiments in the aer...

bowling

(Encyclopedia)bowling, indoor sport, also called tenpins, played by rolling a ball down an alley at ten pins; for lawn bowling, see bowls. Bowling is one of the most popular participatory sports in the United State...

Comaneci, Nadia

(Encyclopedia)Comaneci, Nadia nädyä kōmänēch [key], 1961–, Romanian-American gymnast. Under the tutelage of coach Bela Karolyi, she rose to prominence in the celebrated Romanian gymnastics program. Comaneci ...

marlin

(Encyclopedia)marlin, common name for open-sea fish related to the sailfish (family Istiophoridae) and prized in sport fishing. The best known is the Atlantic blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, found in the Gulf Strea...

Killy, Jean-Claude

(Encyclopedia)Killy, Jean-Claude zhäN-klōd kēlēˈ [key], 1943–, French skier. He grew up at his father's ski resort and began skiing at the age of 3. At 18 he was a senior member of the French national team. ...

pit bull

(Encyclopedia)pit bull, dog having a smooth coat, a stocky build, and a blocky head, originally bred for fighting from bulldog and terrier breeds. Pit bulls were used in bull- and bearbaiting for centuries and as g...

boomerang

(Encyclopedia)boomerang bo͞oˈmərăngˌ [key], special form of throwing stick, used mainly by the aborigines of Australia. Other forms of throwing sticks were used by the peoples of ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, and I...

Francis, Dick

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Dick (Richard Stanley Francis), 1920–2010, English novelist. He was a champion steeplechase jockey (1946–57) and a racing writer for a London newspaper (1957–73). Francis parlayed his k...

greyhound

(Encyclopedia)greyhound, breed of tall, swift, sight hound developed nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. It stands about 26 in. (66 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Its short, smooth coat may...

Jágr, Jaromír

(Encyclopedia)Jágr, Jaromír, 1972–, Czech ice hockey player, b. Kladno. Jágr played professional hockey in Czechoslovakia as a teenager, and joined the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League in 1990...