Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

National Museum of African American History and Culture

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution. Devoted to the collection, presentation, and preservation of the culture of Africa...

mutton

(Encyclopedia)mutton, flesh of mature sheep prepared as food (as opposed to the flesh of young sheep, which is known as lamb). Mutton is deep red with firm, white fat. In Middle Eastern countries it is a staple mea...

oyster catcher

(Encyclopedia)oyster catcher, common name for members of the family Haematopodidae, ploverlike shorebirds, cosmopolitan in distribution. Their distinctive red bills are long, blunt, and flattened, efficient for cat...

Patchen, Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Patchen, Kenneth, 1911–72, American poet and novelist, b. Niles, Ohio. His writings, characterized by complete freedom of form, embrace genres as diverse as satire, fantasy, and metaphysical love po...

phenolphthalein

(Encyclopedia)phenolphthalein fēˈnôlthălˈēən [key], or 2,2-Bis(p-hydroxyphenyl) phthalide, C20H14O4, crystalline organic compound. It is used medicinally as a laxative and is widely employed in the laborator...

Buller, Sir Redvers Henry

(Encyclopedia)Buller, Sir Redvers Henry bŭlˈər [key], 1839–1908, British general. His military career began in China, and he later took part in the suppression of the Red River Rebellion (1870) in Canada. In A...

bougainvillea

(Encyclopedia)bougainvillea or bougainvillaea both: bo͞oˌgənvĭlˈēə [key] [for L. A. de Bougainville], any plant of the genus Bougainvillea of the family Nyctaginaceae (four-o'clock family); chiefly tropical ...

Russell, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Russell, Bill (William Felton Russell), 1934–, American basketball player, b. Monroe, La. Named an All-American while on the Univ. of San Francisco team, he played on the gold-medal-winning U.S. tea...

begonia

(Encyclopedia)begonia bĭgōnˈyə [key], any plant of the large genus Begonia and common name for the family Begoniaceae, mostly succulent perennial herbs of the American tropics cultivated elsewhere as bedding or...

timothy , in botany

(Encyclopedia)timothy or herd's-grass, perennial plant (Phleum pratense) of the family Poaceae (grass family), native to Europe and W Asia and one of the most widely cultivated hay grass of North America. Adaptable...