Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Fairfax

(Encyclopedia)Fairfax, city (2020 pop. 24,146), historic seat of Fairfax co., NE Va., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; inc. 1892, as a city 1961 (at which ti...

fandango

(Encyclopedia)fandango făndăngˈgō [key], ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th cent. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of ...

Black Watch

(Encyclopedia)Black Watch or Royal Highland Regiment, Scottish infantry regiment. The first companies were raised in 1725 to watch the rebellious Scottish highlands and keep the peace, and the regiment was formed 1...

Campoamor, Ramón de

(Encyclopedia)Campoamor, Ramón de rämōnˈ dā kämpōämōrˈ [key], 1817–1901, Spanish poet, the first to break with the romantic tradition of long, tragic, and emotional poetry. While no longer generally pop...

Carreño, Teresa

(Encyclopedia)Carreño, Teresa tārāˈsä kärāˈnyō [key], 1853–1917, Venezuelan pianist; pupil of L. M. Gottschalk and Anton Rubinstein. Her debut was made in New York in 1862. She appeared as an opera singe...

Toscanelli, Paolo dal Pozzo

(Encyclopedia)Toscanelli, Paolo dal Pozzo päˈōlō däl pôtˈtsō tōskänĕlˈlē [key], 1397–1482, Italian cosmographer and mathematician. A physician by training, he was also known as Paul the Physician. He...

Tracy, Honor

(Encyclopedia)Tracy, Honor, pseud. of Lilbush Wingfield, 1913–89, British writer, b. Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk. A long-time foreign correspondent, Tracy is best known as a travel writer. Her novels satirize Briti...

traffic regulation

(Encyclopedia)traffic regulation, control of the movement of vehicles and pedestrians, chiefly on city streets. Formal regulation of motor vehicle traffic was instituted in New York City in 1903; a set of Rules for...

dimension, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in mathematics, number of parameters or coordinates required locally to describe points in a mathematical object (usually geometric in character). For example, the space we inhabit is three...

Collins, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Collins, Michael, 1890–1922, Irish revolutionary leader. He spent the years from 1907 to 1916 in England, during which period he joined the Fenian movement. He took part in the Easter Rebellion in D...