Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Diamond Head

(Encyclopedia)Diamond Head, peak, 761 ft (232 m) high, along the rim of an extinct volcano, SE Oahu island, Hawaii. A prominent point in the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head was designated a national natural landmark...

Cierva, Juan de la

(Encyclopedia)Cierva, Juan de la hwän dā lä thyārˈvä [key], 1895–1936, Spanish aeronautical engineer, inventor of a rotary-wing aircraft called an autogiro. He flew his first autogiro in 1923 and crossed th...

firth

(Encyclopedia)firth or frith, Scottish term applied to an arm of the sea, usually an estuary or strait. For Firth of Clyde, see Clyde; for Firth of Forth, see Forth. ...

apostrophe, figure of speech

(Encyclopedia)apostrophe, figure of speech in which an absent person, a personified inanimate being, or an abstraction is addressed as though present. The term is derived from a Greek word meaning “a turning away...

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

(Encyclopedia)International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), an international organization est. 1919 to advance the chemical sciences and contribute to the application of chemistry to the service of hum...

Hope, Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Hope, Anthony, pseud. of Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, 1863–1933, English novelist. A lawyer, he wrote novels in his spare time. The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), a romantic novel of impersonation set in an...

Jundiaí

(Encyclopedia)Jundiaí zho͞ondyīˈ [key], city (1996 pop. 293,237), São Paulo state, S Brazil, on the Jundiaí River. It is an agricultural and industrial center. Among its products are textiles, ceramics, furni...

Motala

(Encyclopedia)Motala mo͞oˈtäˌlä [key], city (1990 pop. 29,630), Östergötland co., S Sweden, on Lake Vättern and on the Göta Canal. It is an important lake port and an industrial center. Manufactures includ...

Moradabad

(Encyclopedia)Moradabad môrədəbădˈ, mōrädäbädˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 443,701), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. It is an important rail junction and an agricultural market center. There are industri...

Palu

(Encyclopedia)Palu, city (2010 pop. 310,168) and port, capital of Central Sulawesi prov., Sulawesi, Indonesia. Located in an area of coconut, coffee, and cocoa farms, it has food-processing, fishing, and boat-build...