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sleet

(Encyclopedia)sleet, precipitation of small, partially melted grains of ice. As raindrops fall from clouds, they pass through layers of air at different temperatures. If they pass through a layer with a temperature...

oxygen

(Encyclopedia)oxygen, gaseous chemical element; symbol O; at. no. 8; interval in which at. wt. ranges 15.99903–15.99977; m.p. −218.4℃; b.p. −182.962℃; density 1.429 grams per liter at STP; valence −2. T...

Diophantus

(Encyclopedia)Diophantus dīəfănˈtəs [key], fl. a.d. 250, Greek algebraist. He pioneered in solving a type of indeterminate algebraic equation where one seeks integer values for the unknowns; work in this field...

intercolumniation

(Encyclopedia)intercolumniation ĭnˌtərkəlŭmˌnēāˈshən [key], in classical architecture, the clear space between the edges of two adjacent columns, as measured at the lower portion of their shafts. Vitruviu...

Münster, Sebastian

(Encyclopedia)Münster, Sebastian sābäsˈtyänˌ münˈstər [key], 1489–1552, German scholar and geographer. He was a Franciscan monk but after the Reformation became a Protestant and taught at Heidelberg and ...

Olney, Jesse

(Encyclopedia)Olney, Jesse ŏlˈnē, ōlˈnē [key], 1798–1872, American geographer and teacher. His Practical System of Modern Geography (1828), a standard work for decades, revolutionized the teaching of geogra...

Brugmann, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Brugmann, Karl kärl bro͝okˈmän [key], 1849–1919, German philologist. A professor at Leipzig, Brugmann believed that scientific rules of linguistics do not admit of exceptions. With the help of o...

warfarin

(Encyclopedia)warfarin wôrˈfərĭn [key], anticoagulant used to treat blood clots. In large doses it causes bleeding, and in patients with genetic variations that increase sensitivity to the drug and decrease the...

Tiffany, Charles Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Tiffany, Charles Lewis tĭfˈənē [key], 1812–1902, American merchant, b. Killingly, Conn. He founded the famous jewelry firm of Tiffany and Company, New York City. His improvements in styles of si...

Stanhope, Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl

(Encyclopedia)Stanhope, Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl, 1805–75, English historian. He was undersecretary for foreign affairs (1834–35) in Sir Robert Peel's first ministry and secretary of the board of control...