Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zion, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Zion sīˈən [key], section of Jerusalem, defined in the Bible as the City of David. Originally the name referred to the Jebusite fortress conquered by David, on the southeastern hill of Jerusalem. Z...

Louis XVI, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XVI, 1754–93, king of France (1774–92), third son of the dauphin (Louis) and Marie Josèphe of Saxony, grandson and successor of King Louis XV. In 1770 he married the Austrian archduchess Ma...

Leeuwenhoek, Antony van

(Encyclopedia)Leeuwenhoek, Antony van änˈtōnē vän lāˈvənho͞okˌ [key], 1632–1723, Dutch student of natural history and maker of microscopes, b. Delft. His use of lenses in examining cloth as a draper's a...

Artevelde, Jacob van

(Encyclopedia)Artevelde, Jacob van yäˈkôp vän ärˈtəvĕldə [key], c.1290–1345, Flemish statesman, of a wealthy family of Ghent. In 1337 the Flemish cloth industry underwent a severe crisis. The pro-French ...

Cork, county, Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Cork, county, 2,881 sq mi (7,462 sq km), SW Republic of Ireland. Cork is the county seat. Largest of the Irish counties, it has a rocky and much-indente...

felt

(Encyclopedia)felt, fabric made by matting or felting together wool, hair, or fur, most of which have a natural tendency to snarl or cling together owing to their notched or scaly surfaces. Processes of manufacture...

Phoenician art

(Encyclopedia)Phoenician art. The Phoenician region developed as a major trade center of the ancient world; consequently Phoenician art clearly reflects the influences of Egypt, Syria, and Greece. Phoenician deitie...

Saint-Quentin

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Quentin săN-käNtăNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 62,085), Aisne dept., N France, on the Somme River. Foundry products, machinery, textiles, and food products are manufactured. Saint-Quentin was fa...

baobab

(Encyclopedia)baobab bäˈōbăbˌ, bāˈō– [key], gigantic tree, Adansonia digitata, of India and Africa, exceeded in trunk diameter only by the sequoia. The hollow trunks of living baobabs have been used for d...

Vishakhapatnam

(Encyclopedia)Vishakhapatnam kˌəpŭtˈnəm [key], city (1991 pop. 1,057,118), Andhra Pradesh state, SE India, a port on the Bay of Bengal. Established by the British in the 17th cent. and known as Waltair under B...