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Ribeirão Prêto

(Encyclopedia)Ribeirão Prêto rēbārouNˈ prāˈtō [key], city (1996 pop. 452,804), São Paulo state, SE Brazil. The former “coffee capital” of Brazil, the city grew during the late 19th cent., with railroad...

Ogbomosho

(Encyclopedia)Ogbomosho ōbo͞oˈmôshô, ŏgbōmōˈshō [key], city (1991 pop. 644,000), SW Nigeria. It is the trade center for a farming region. Yams, cassava, corn, and tobacco are grown. Cotton is grown and us...

splint

(Encyclopedia)splint, rigid or semiflexible device for the immobilization of displaced or fractured parts of the body. Most commonly employed for fractures of bones, a splint may be a first-aid measure that allows ...

canvas

(Encyclopedia)canvas, strong, coarse cloth of cotton, flax, hemp, or other fibers, early used as sailcloth. Left in its natural color, bleached, or dyed, it has a wide variety of uses, as for game, duffel, sport, m...

Hassam, Childe

(Encyclopedia)Hassam, Childe (Frederick Childe Hassam) chīld hăsˈəm [key], 1859–1935, American painter and printmaker, b. Boston, studied in Paris. With their flickering light and airy palette, Hassam's sprig...

Copeau, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Copeau, Jacques zhäk kôpōˈ [key], 1879–1949, French theatrical producer and critic. A founder (1909) and editor (1912–14) of the Nouvelle Revue française, he established the experimental Thé...

Nostradamus

(Encyclopedia)Nostradamus nŏsˌtrədāˈməs [key], 1503–66, French astrologer and physician, whose real name was Michel de Nostredame. He is reputed to have effected remarkable cures during outbreaks of the pla...

square

(Encyclopedia)square, closed plane figure bounded by four straight line segments of equal length and meeting at right angles. The points of intersection of the lines, or sides, are called vertices. The diagonals of...

Philomela and Procne

(Encyclopedia)Philomela and Procne fĭlōmēˈlə, prŏkˈnē [key], in Greek mythology, daughters of King Pandion of Attica. Procne married Tereus, king of Thrace, and bore him a son, Itys (or Itylus). Tereus late...

initiation

(Encyclopedia)initiation, the transition and attendant ceremonies, such as ordeals and rites, involved in passing from one state or status to another, often from childhood to adulthood. It was among the most import...