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mica

(Encyclopedia)mica mīˈkə [key], general term for a large group of minerals, hydrous silicates of aluminum and potassium, often containing magnesium, ferrous iron, ferric iron, sodium, and lithium and more rarely...

octopus

(Encyclopedia)octopus, cephalopod mollusk having no shell, eight muscular arms or tentacles, a pouch-shaped body, and two large, highly developed eyes. The prey (crabs, lobsters, and other shellfish) is seized by t...

Ohrid

(Encyclopedia)Ohrid both: ŏˈkrĭdə [key], town (1981 est. pop, 64,200), North Macedonia, on a rock above Lake Ohrid, on the Albanian border. North Macedonia's chief resort, it is a tourist and commercial center,...

Madonna

(Encyclopedia)Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone) mədŏnˈə, chĭkōˈnē [key], 1958–, American p...

Laval, François Xavier de

(Encyclopedia)Laval, François Xavier de fräNswäˈ zävyāˈ də lävälˈ [key], 1623–1708, French prelate in Canada, first bishop of Quebec. Of noble family (his family name in full was Laval-Montmorency), he...

Wight, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Wight, Isle of wīt [key], island and county (1991 pop. 126,600), 147 sq mi (381 sq km), S England, across the Solent and Spithead channels from Hampshire. The administrative center is Newport. The is...

Brooks, Garth

(Encyclopedia) Brooks, Garth , 1962- , American country singer/songwriter, b. Luba, OK, Oklahoma State Univ. (B.A., 1984). Brooks's mother was a country singer who pe...

Black Hawk War

(Encyclopedia)Black Hawk War, conflict between the Sac and Fox and the United States in 1832. After the War of 1812, whites settling the Illinois country exerted pressure on the Native Americans. A treaty of 1804, ...

Taylor, James Vernon

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, James Vernon, 1948-, American singer-songwriter, b. Boston, Ma. Taylor was born in Boston but raised in Chapel Hill, N.C. As a teenager, he be...