Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ossetia

(Encyclopedia)Ossetia älänˈyä [key], Ossetian Iryston, region of the central Caucasus, divided between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation. On the northern slope is North Ossetia-Alania (1990 est...

helicopter

(Encyclopedia)helicopter, type of aircraft in which lift is obtained by means of one or more power-driven horizontal propellers called rotors. When the rotor of a helicopter turns it produces reaction torque which ...

curfew

(Encyclopedia)curfew [O.Fr.,=cover fire], originally a signal, such as the ringing of a bell, to damp the fire, extinguish all lights in the dwelling, and retire for the night. The custom originated as a precaution...

Heyden, Jan van der

(Encyclopedia)Heyden, Jan van der yän vän dər hīˈdən [key], 1637–1712, Dutch architectural and landscape painter. He worked chiefly in Amsterdam. His charming pictures of towns, buildings, and public square...

Parsis

(Encyclopedia)Parsis or Parsees both: pärˈsēz, pärsēzˈ [key], religious community of India, practicing Zoroastrianism. The Parsis (numbering about 75,000) are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, e...

Outer Barrier

(Encyclopedia)Outer Barrier, series of sandy barrier islands or offshore bars, extending c.75 mi (120 km) along the south shore of Long Island, SE N.Y., from Rockaway Beach at the west to the east end of Shinnecock...

Braddock, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Braddock, Edward, 1695–1755, British general in the French and Indian War (see under French and Indian Wars). Although he had seen little active campaigning before 1754, Braddock was reputed to have...

tank, military

(Encyclopedia)tank, military, armored vehicle having caterpillar traction and armed with machine guns, cannon, rockets, or flame throwers. The tank, together with the airplane, opened up modern warfare, which had b...

Centralia

(Encyclopedia)Centralia sĕntrāˈlēə [key]. 1 City (2020 pop. 12,182), Clinton and Marion counties, S Il...

Waziristan

(Encyclopedia)Waziristan wəzēˈrĭstänˌ [key], region (1981 est. pop. 545,000), 4,473 sq mi (11,585 sq km), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), Pakistan, on the Afghanistan border. An ex...

Browse by Subject