Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Alfonso V, Spanish king of León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso V (Alfonso the Noble), 994?–1027, Spanish king of León (999–1027). While he was still a minor, the Moorish ruler al-Mansur died, and the Spanish court recovered the city of León. Alfonso...

North Haven

(Encyclopedia)North Haven, town (1990 pop. 22,249), New Haven co., S Conn., on the Quinnipiac River; settled c.1650, set off from New Haven 1786. Chiefly residential, it has some manufactures, such as aircraft part...

Cary, Henry Francis

(Encyclopedia)Cary, Henry Francis, 1772–1844, English translator. A graduate of Christ Church College, Oxford, he was assistant librarian in the British Museum from 1826 to 1837. He translated several classical w...

French horn

(Encyclopedia)CE5 French horn French horn, brass wind musical instrument. Fundamentally a metal tube of narrow conical bore, it is curved into circles because of its great length. The horn ends in a wide flare....

basketry

(Encyclopedia)basketry, art of weaving or coiling and sewing flexible materials to form vessels or other commodities. The materials used include twigs, roots, strips of hide, splints, osier willows, bamboo splits, ...

carpe diem

(Encyclopedia)carpe diem kärˈpĕ dēˈĕm [key], a descriptive term for literature that urges readers to live for the moment [from the Latin phrase “seize the day,” used by Horace]. The theme, which was widel...

Kuldiga

(Encyclopedia)Kuldiga ko͝olˈdĭgä [key], Ger. Goldingen, town, W Latvia. Founded in 1244, Kuldiga was a residence of the dukes of Courland and still retains a medieval character. The city has two 17th-century ch...

Knights of Columbus

(Encyclopedia)Knights of Columbus, American Roman Catholic society for men, founded (1882) at New Haven, Conn. (where its headquarters are still located), by Father Michael J. McGivney. Its mission is to encourage ...

Dor

(Encyclopedia)Dor or Dora, Canaanite seaport, ancient Palestine (modern Israel), N of Caesarea Palestinae. It was never a Jewish city but rather a Phoenician outpost. It was rebuilt by the Romans; still visible are...

Coventry, town, United States

(Encyclopedia)Coventry, town (2020 pop. 35,688), Kent co., W R.I.; settled 1643, set off from Warwick and inc. 1741. Formerly a noted lace center, it still has textil...