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Manila hemp

(Encyclopedia)Manila hemp, the most important of the cordage fibers. It is obtained chiefly from the Manila hemp plant (Musa textilis) of the family Musaceae (banana family). It is grown mainly in its native Philip...

Arlington, county, United States

(Encyclopedia)Arlington, county (2020 pop. 238,643), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Arlington is a residential and commercial suburb of Washington. Within its boundaries are Arlin...

speedometer

(Encyclopedia)speedometer, instrument that indicates speed. A cable from an automotive speedometer is attached to the rear of the transmission of an automobile; the cable turns at a rate proportional to the speed o...

toadfish

(Encyclopedia)toadfish, common name for the sluggish, bottom-feeding fishes of the family Batrachoididae, found mainly in marine and brackish waters worldwide. Toadfishes feed largely on crustaceans and small fishe...

bonefish

(Encyclopedia)bonefish, common name for a fish belonging to several species in the two genera of the family Albulidae. Albula vulpes, the bonefish, is widespread in warm, shallow marine waters; it is the only bonef...

Black, Hugo LaFayette

(Encyclopedia)Black, Hugo LaFayette, 1886–1971, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1937–71), b. Harlan, Clay co., Ala. He received his law degree from the Univ. of Alabama in 1906. He practiced law an...

sailfish

(Encyclopedia)sailfish, common name for a marine game and food fish, genus Istiophorus, belonging to the family Istiophoridae and related to the marlin. It is named for its high, wide dorsal fin (or “sail”), co...

Roon, Albrecht Theodor Emil, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Roon, Albrecht Theodor Emil, Graf von älˈbrĕkht tāˈōdôr āˈmēl gräf fən rōn [key], 1803–79, Prussian field marshal. A military reformer, he insistently pleaded for the reorganization of ...

scallop

(Encyclopedia)scallop or pecten, marine bivalve mollusk. Like its close relative the oyster, the scallop has no siphons, the mantle being completely open, but it differs from other mollusks in that both mantle edge...

semaphore

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Positions of a railroad semaphore: (A) clear, (B) caution, (C) stop semaphore sĕmˈəfôrˌ [key], device for the visible transmission of messages. The marine semaphore, used by day between s...