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primogeniture

(Encyclopedia)primogeniture, in law, the rule of inheritance whereby land descends to the oldest son. Under the feudal system of medieval Europe, primogeniture generally governed the inheritance of land held in mil...

Sainte-Chapelle

(Encyclopedia)Sainte-Chapelle săNt-shäpĕlˈ [key], former chapel in Paris. Forming part of the buildings of the Palais de Justice (once the royal palace) on the Île-de-la-Cité, it was built by Pierre de Montre...

trade winds

(Encyclopedia)trade winds, movement of air toward the equator, from the NE in the Northern Hemisphere and from the SE in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds originate on the equatorial sides of the horse latit...

nullity of marriage

(Encyclopedia)nullity of marriage, in law, an unlawful marriage that is either void or voidable because of conditions existing at the time of the marriage. A bigamous or incestuous marriage, for example, is void, a...

parcel post

(Encyclopedia)parcel post, sending of packages through the mail service. At the congress of the Universal Postal Union in Paris in 1878, an international parcel-post system was established. The British parcel-post ...

Perón, Eva Duarte de

(Encyclopedia)Perón, Eva Duarte de āˈvä do͞oärˈtā ᵺā pĕrōnˈ [key], 1919–52, Argentine political leader. The second wife of Juan Perón, whom she married in 1945, she virtually co-governed the countr...

statin

(Encyclopedia)statin, any of a class of drugs that reduces the amount of cholesterol in the blood by interfering with the production of cholesterol in the liver; commonly prescribed statins include atorvastatin, lo...

stereoscope

(Encyclopedia)stereoscope stĕrˈēəskōpˌ [key], optical instrument that presents to a viewer two slightly differing pictures, one to each eye, to give the effect of depth. In normal vision the two eyes, being a...

Black English

(Encyclopedia)Black English, distinctive dialect spoken at times by as many as 80% to 90% of African Americans; also called ebonics [from ebony and phonics]. Long considered merely substandard English, it is in fac...

morphine

(Encyclopedia)morphine, principal derivative of opium, which is the juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. It was first isolated from opium in 1803 by the German pharmacist F. W. A. S...