Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

seasonal affective disorder

(Encyclopedia)seasonal affective disorder (SAD), recurrent fall or winter depression characterized by excessive sleeping, social withdrawal, depression, overeating, and pronounced weight gain. SAD effects an estima...

Raoult's law

(Encyclopedia)Raoult's law räo͞olzˈ [key] [for F. M. Raoult, a French physicist and chemist] states that the addition of solute to a liquid lessens the tendency for the liquid to become a solid or a gas, i.e., r...

monetarism

(Encyclopedia)monetarism, economic theory that monetary policy, or control of the money supply, is the primary if not sole determinant of a nation's economy. Monetarists believe that management of the money supply ...

Manych

(Encyclopedia)Manych mäˈnĭch [key], two rivers, SE European Russia. The Western Manych, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rises near Stavropol in the N Caucasus and flows NW through Lake Manych-Gudilo into the lower Don R...

Hamaguchi, Osachi

(Encyclopedia)Hamaguchi, Osachi or Yuko ōˈsächē hämägo͞oˈchē, yo͞oˈkō [key], 1870–1931, Japanese statesman. He was finance minister (1924–26) and home minister (1926–27) before becoming (1927) pre...

Dow Jones Average

(Encyclopedia)Dow Jones Average, indicators used to measure and report value changes in representative stock groupings on the New York stock exchange. There are four different averages—industrial stocks, transpor...

Leguía, Augusto Bernardino

(Encyclopedia)Leguía, Augusto Bernardino ougo͞osˈtō bārnärdēˈnō lāgēˈä [key], 1863–1932, president of Peru (1908–12, 1919–30). In his second administration Leguía promulgated a new constitution ...

Socialist Labor party

(Encyclopedia)Socialist Labor party, in the United States, begun in 1877 by New York City socialists. Its membership came largely from German-American workingmen. During the 1880s a national organization was establ...

Raimund, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Raimund, Ferdinand fĕrˈdēnänt rīˈmo͝ont [key], 1790–1836, Austrian actor and dramatist. From 1817 he was a popular comedian in Vienna, and in 1823 he began to produce his own plays. Raimund w...

lake, body of water

(Encyclopedia)lake, inland body of standing water occupying a hollow in the earth's surface. The study of lakes and other freshwater basins is known as limnology. Lakes are of particular importance since they act a...