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Botticelli, Sandro

(Encyclopedia)Botticelli, Sandro älĕssänˈdrō dē märēäˈnō fēlēpāˈpē [key]. He was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi, whose delicate coloring can be seen in such early works as the Adoration of the Kin...

Vico, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Vico, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēˈstä vēˈkō [key], 1668–1744, Italian philosopher and historian, also known as Giambattista Vico, b. Naples. In 1699, Vico became professor of rhetor...

armadillo

(Encyclopedia)armadillo ärˌmədĭlˈō [key], New World armored mammal of the order Edentata, a group that also includes the sloth and the anteater, characterized by peglike teeth without roots or enamel. Armadil...

amniocentesis

(Encyclopedia)amniocentesis ămˌnēōˌsĕntēˈsĭs [key], diagnostic procedure in which a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus is removed from the uterus by means of a fine needle inserted through th...

Clinton, De Witt

(Encyclopedia)Clinton, De Witt də wĭtˈ [key], 1769–1828, American statesman, b. New Windsor, N.Y.; son of James Clinton. He was admitted (1790) to the New York bar but soon became secretary to his uncle, Georg...

feast

(Encyclopedia)feast, commemorative banquet symbolizing communal unity. Generally associated with primitive rituals and later with religious practices, feasts may also commemorate such events as births, marriages, h...

Uigurs

(Encyclopedia)Uigurs, Uighurs, or Uygurs all: wēˈgo͝orz [key], Turkic-speaking people of Asia who live mainly in W China. They were the Yue-che of ancient Chinese records and first rose to prominence in the 7th...

troubadours

(Encyclopedia)troubadours tro͞oˈbədôrz [key], aristocratic poet-musicians of S France (Provence) who flourished from the end of the 11th cent. through the 13th cent. Many troubadours were noblemen and crusader ...

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm nēˈchə [key], 1844–1900, German philosopher, b. Röcken, Prussia. The son of a clergyman, Nietzsche studied Greek and Latin at Bonn and Leipz...

Wyclif, John

(Encyclopedia)Wyclif, Wycliffe, Wickliffe, or Wiclif, John all: wĭkˈlĭf [key], c.1328–1384, English religious reformer. A Yorkshireman by birth, Wyclif studied and taught theology and philosophy at Oxford. He ...