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Khiva

(Encyclopedia)Khiva khēˈvə, khēväˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 40,001), S Uzbekistan, in the Khiva oasis and on the Amu Darya River. Industries include metalworking, cotton and silk spinning, wood carving, and car...

loom

(Encyclopedia)loom, frame or machine used for weaving; there is evidence that the loom has been in use since 4400 b.c. Modern looms are of two types, those with a shuttle (the part that carries the weft through the...

click beetle

(Encyclopedia)click beetle, common name for members of the widespread beetle family Elateridae. Also called elater beetle, the click beetle has a hinge across the front of the body that allows it to flex, and a spi...

Clark, Dick

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Dick,, 1929-2012, American radio and TV broadcaster and producer, b. Bronxville, N.Y., as Richard Wagstaff Clark; Syracuse Univ. (B.A., 1951). Be...

Faiyum, El

(Encyclopedia)Faiyum, El fīyo͞omˈ [key], region, coextensive with El Faiyum governorate, N Egypt, W of the Nile River, a depression (entirely below sea level) in the Libyan (or Western) Desert. It is an irrigat...

water beetle

(Encyclopedia)water beetle, name for aquatic beetles of several families. They should not be confused with water bugs, which are true bugs (order Hemiptera). The predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae) are a ...

pewter

(Encyclopedia)pewter, any of a number of ductile, silver-white alloys consisting principally of tin. The properties vary with the percentage of tin and the nature of the added materials. Lead, when added, imparts a...

jute

(Encyclopedia)jute jo͞ot [key], name for any plant of the genus Corchorus, tropical annuals of the family Tiliaceae (linden family), and for its fiber. Many species yield fiber, but the chief sources of commercial...

linen

(Encyclopedia)linen, fabric or yarn made from the fiber of flax, probably the first vegetable fiber known to people. Linens more than 3,500 years old have been recovered from Egyptian tombs. Phoenician traders mark...

vinegar

(Encyclopedia)vinegar, sour liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, produced by the action of bacteria on dilute solutions of ethyl alcohol derived from previous yeast fermentation. The coloring and flav...

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