Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Haidar Ali

(Encyclopedia)Haidar Ali or Hyder Ali both: hīˈdər älēˈ [key], 1722–82, Indian ruler. A Muslim of peasant stock, he rose by military brilliance to command the army of the Hindu state of Mysore. By 1761 he w...

conglomerate, in business

(Encyclopedia)conglomerate, corporation whose asset growth, often very rapid, comes largely through the acquisition of, or merger with, other firms whose products are largely unrelated to each other or to that of t...

barley

(Encyclopedia)barley, annual cereal plant (Hordeum vulgare and sometimes other species) of the family Poaceae (grass family), cultivated by humans probably as early as any cereal. It was known to the ancient Greeks...

Shoshone

(Encyclopedia)Shoshone or Shoshoni shəshōˈnē [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American lang...

Ponca

(Encyclopedia)Ponca, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). According to tradition the group lived in the Ohio valle...

pistachio

(Encyclopedia)pistachio pĭstăshˈēō, pĭstäˈshēō [key], tree or shrub (of the genus Pistacia) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The species that yields the pistachio nut of commerce is P. vera, na...

profit

(Encyclopedia)profit, in economics, return on capital, also called earnings, minus the costs of maintaining land, labor, and capital. It is also known as net income. Economic theorists generally make a distinction ...

Bannock

(Encyclopedia)Bannock bănˈək [key], Native North Americans who formerly ranged over wide territory of the N Great Plains and into the foothills of the Rocky Mts. They were concentrated in S Idaho. Their language...

Quechua

(Encyclopedia)Quechua, Kechua kēchˈwä [key], linguistic family belonging to the Andean branch of the Andean-Equatorial stock of Native American languages (mainly in South America). Encompassing far more native ...

Oceanic languages

(Encyclopedia)Oceanic languages, aboriginal languages spoken in the region known as Oceania. If Oceania is restricted to the Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian islands, the indigenous tongues spoken on these i...