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California

(Encyclopedia)CE5 California kălˌĭfôrˈnyə [key], most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), a...

numeral

(Encyclopedia)numeral, symbol denoting anumber. The symbol is a member of a family of marks, such as letters, figures, or words, which alone or in a group represent the members of a numeration system. The earliest ...

Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de

(Encyclopedia)Talleyrand or Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de tălˈērăndˌ, Fr. shärl mōrēsˈ də tälāräNˈ-pārēgôrˈ [key], 1754–1838, French statesman and diplomat. Born into the high nobilit...

utility, public

(Encyclopedia)utility, public, industry required by law to render adequate service in its field at reasonable prices to all who apply for it. Public utilities frequently operate as monopolies in their market. In th...

Plato

(Encyclopedia)Plato plāˈtō [key], 427?–347 b.c., Greek philosopher. Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization. Many of the late dialogues are devoted to te...

Eastern Question

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Question, term designating the problem of European territory controlled by the decaying Ottoman Empire in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th cent. The Turkish threat to Europe was checked by the H...

Communist party, in China

(Encyclopedia)Communist party, in China, ruling party of the world's most populous nation since 1949 and most important Communist party in the world since the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. After the People'...

Chinese architecture

(Encyclopedia)Chinese architecture, the buildings and other structures created in China from prehistoric times to the present day. Since the late 19th cent. the Chinese have adopted European architectural styles....

ethics

(Encyclopedia)ethics, in philosophy, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles. Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals have constructed fo...

garden

(Encyclopedia)garden, land set aside for the cultivation of flowers, herbs, vegetables, or small fruits, for either utility or ornament. Gardens range in size from window boxes and small dooryard plots to the publi...