Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

478 results found

religion

(Encyclopedia)religion, a system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social...

liberty, in political science

(Encyclopedia)liberty, term used to describe various types of individual freedom, such as religious liberty, political liberty, freedom of speech, right of self-defense, and others. It is also used as a general ter...

labor law

(Encyclopedia)labor law, legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. The Industrial Revolution, by introducing the machine and factory production, greatly expanded the class ...

flight

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Aircraft motions and control surfaces: Yaw, or motion to the left or right, is controlled by the rudder. Pitch, or climbing or dropping, is controlled by the elevators, which move in the same d...

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...

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...

Wagner, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Wagner, Richard vägˈnər [key], 1813–83, German composer, b. Leipzig. Wagner's second wife, Cosima Wagner, 1837–1930, was the daughter of Liszt and the comtesse d'Agoult. From 1857 to 1870 sh...

small arms

(Encyclopedia)small arms, firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery. Automatic small arms were develope...

Paul, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paul, Saint, d. a.d. 64? or 67?, the apostle to the Gentiles, b. Tarsus, Asia Minor. He was a Jew. His father was a Roman citizen, probably of some means, and Paul was a tentmaker by trade. His Jewish...

carpet

(Encyclopedia)carpet or rug, thick fabric, usually woolen (but often synthetic), commonly used today as a floor covering. In North America the Navajos and other tribes have for generations produced substantial ru...

Browse by Subject