Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bouquet, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Bouquet, Henry bo͞okāˈ [key], 1719–65, British army officer in the French and Indian Wars. A French Swiss, he came to America in 1756 and distinguished himself as second in command to Gen. John F...

African art

(Encyclopedia)African art, art created by the peoples south of the Sahara. The predominant art forms are masks and figures, which were generally used in religious ceremonies. The decorative arts, especially in text...

French Polynesia

(Encyclopedia)French Polynesia, officially Overseas Lands of French Polynesia, internally self-governing dependency (2015 est. pop. 278,000) of France, consisting of 118 islands in the South Pacific. The capital is...

gyroscope

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Three-frame gyroscope gyroscope jīˈrəskōpˌ [key], symmetrical mass, usually a wheel, mounted so that it can spin about an axis in any direction. When spinning, the gyroscope has special p...

Kim Il Sung

(Encyclopedia)Kim Il Sung kĭm jông ĭl [key], 1941?–2011, was groomed as his successor. Active in the Korean Workers' party leadership from 1964, Kim Jong Il became secretary of its central committee in 1973. I...

anteater

(Encyclopedia)anteater, name applied to various animals that feed on ants, termites, and other insects, but more properly restricted to a completely toothless group of the order Edentata. There are four species cla...

frigate

(Encyclopedia)frigate frĭgˈĭt [key], originally a long, narrow nautical vessel used on the Mediterranean, propelled by either oars or sail or both. Later, during the 18th and early 19th cent., the term was appli...

totem

(Encyclopedia)totem tōˈtəm [key], an object, usually an animal or plant (or all animals or plants of that species), that is revered by members of a particular social group because of a mystical or ritual relatio...

terrarium

(Encyclopedia)terrarium, a miniature garden in an artificial environment, in which small plants and animals may be kept as ornament or for educational purposes. Fish bowls, small fish tanks, large bottles, and carb...

Kitakyushu

(Encyclopedia)Kitakyushu kētäˈkyo͞osho͞o [key], city (1990 pop. 1,026,455), Fukuoka prefecture, N Kyushu, Japan, on the Shimonoseki Strait between the Inland Sea and the Korea Strait. It was formed in 1963 by ...