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overture

(Encyclopedia)overture, instrumental musical composition written as an introduction to an opera, ballet, oratorio, musical, or play. The earliest Italian opera overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music and w...

Autun

(Encyclopedia)Autun ōtöNˈ [key], town, Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, on the Arroux River. It is an industrial center producing metals, machinery, leather, cloth, timber, a...

Khotin

(Encyclopedia)Khotin khətyēnˈ [key], city, SW Ukraine, on the Dniester River. It lies in Bessarabia in an agricultural district and has agricultural and food-processing industries. Located on the site of an anci...

defibrillator

(Encyclopedia)defibrillator, device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart in order to stop certain forms of rapid heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). The shock changes a fibrillation to an organized r...

pitch, in music

(Encyclopedia)pitch, in music, the position of a tone in the musical scale, today designated by a letter name and determined by the frequency of vibration of the source of the tone. Pitch is an attribute of every m...

Mymensingh

(Encyclopedia)Mymensingh mīˈmĕnsĭng [key], town (1991 pop. 188,713), N central Bangladesh, on an old channel of the Brahmaputra River. It is a trading center for rice, jute, sugar cane, oilseeds, tobacco, musta...

genius

(Encyclopedia)genius, in Roman religion, guardian spirit of a man, a family, or a state. In some instances, a place, a city, or an institution had its genius. As the guardian spirit of an individual, the genius (co...

Csepel

(Encyclopedia)Csepel chĕˈpĕl [key], island, c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), 30 mi (48 km) long, in the Danube, N central Hungary, just S of Budapest. In the northern section are the city and harbor of the same name, an...

colic

(Encyclopedia)colic, intense pain caused by spasmodic contractions of one of the hollow organs, e.g., the stomach, intestine, gall bladder, ureter, or oviduct. The cause of colic is irritation and/or obstruction, a...

Tôrres Vedras

(Encyclopedia)Tôrres Vedras tōˈrəsh vāˈdrəsh [key], town (1991 pop. 13,300), Lisboa dist., W central Portugal, in Estremadura. Located in an agricultural center, it produces wine and minor manufactures. The ...