Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

484 results found

San Jose, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)San Jose sănəzāˈ, săn hōzāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. Along with San Francisco and Oakland the city comprises the fou...

rape, in botany

(Encyclopedia)rape, in botany, annual herb (Brassica napus) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), belonging to the same genus as the cabbage, the mustard plant, and the turnip (which it resemb...

Nauman, Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Nauman, Bruce nouˈmən [key], 1941–, American artist, b. Fort Wayne, Ind., B.A. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (1964), M.F.A. Univ. of California, Davis (1966). One of the most innovative and influent...

adhesive

(Encyclopedia)adhesive, substance capable of sticking to surfaces of other substances and bonding them to one another. The term adhesive cement is sometimes used in place of adhesive, especially when referring to a...

stethoscope

(Encyclopedia)stethoscope stĕthˈəskōpˌ [key] [Gr.,=chest viewer], instrument that enables the physican to hear the sounds made by the heart, the lungs, and various other organs. The earliest stethoscope, devis...

Hiroshima

(Encyclopedia)Hiroshima hĭrˌōshēˈmə, hērōˈshmä [key], city, capital of Hiroshima prefectu...

antioxidant

(Encyclopedia)antioxidant, substance that prevents or slows the breakdown of another substance by oxygen. Synthetic and natural antioxidants are used to slow the deterioration of gasoline and rubber, and such antio...

Intifada

(Encyclopedia)Intifada ĭntēfăˈdĕ [key] [Arab.,=uprising, shaking off], the Palestinian uprising during the late 1980s and early 90s in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas that had been occupied by Israel since...

Dayton

(Encyclopedia)Dayton, city (2020 pop. 137,644), seat of Montgomery co., SW Ohio, on the Great Miami River where it is joined by the Stillwater River; inc. 1805. It is...

Browse by Subject