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Merlin

(Encyclopedia)Merlin, in Arthurian legend, magician, seer, and teacher at the court of King Vortigern and later at the court of King Arthur. He was a bard and culture hero in early Celtic folklore. In Arthurian leg...

Masson, André

(Encyclopedia)Masson, André äNdrāˈ mäsôNˈ [key], 1896–1987, French painter and graphic artist. An exponent of surrealism until 1928, Masson developed “automatic writing”—spontaneous linear expression...

Kildare

(Encyclopedia)Kildare, county (1991 pop. 122,656), 654 sq mi (1,694 sq km), E central Republic of Ireland. The county seat is Kildare. The region is a flat plain, containing the greater portion of the Bog of Allen,...

Emory University

(Encyclopedia)Emory University ĕmˈərē [key], near Atlanta, Ga.; coeducational; United Methodist; chartered as Emory College 1836, opened 1837 at Oxford. It became Emory Univ. in 1915 and in 1919 moved to Atlant...

Dodona

(Encyclopedia)Dodona dōdōˈnə [key], in Greek religion, the oldest oracle, in inland Epirus, near modern Janina, sacred to Zeus and Dione. According to Herodotus, an old oak tree there became an oracle when a bl...

Guernica

(Encyclopedia)Guernica gārnēˈkä [key], officially Gernika-Lumo, historic town, Bizkaia (Vizcaya or Biscay) ...

Whipple, Fred Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906–2004, American astronomer, b. Red Oak, Iowa. After graduating from the Univ. of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1931), he accepted a position at Harvard, where he remained f...

Sierra Morena

(Encyclopedia)Sierra Morena syāˈrä mōrāˈnä [key], mountain range, SW Spain, extending c.375 mi (600 km) eastward along the southern edge of the Meseta (central plateau) from the Portuguese border to the Sier...

astringent

(Encyclopedia)astringent əstrĭnˈjənt [key], substance that shrinks body tissues. Astringent medicines cause shrinkage of mucous membranes or exposed tissues and are often used internally to check discharge of s...

Marshall

(Encyclopedia)Marshall. 1 City (1990 pop. 12,711), seat of Saline co., N central Mo.; inc. 1839. In a large farm area, it is a processing center for grain, eggs, meat, and dairy products. Marshall is the seat of Mi...