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liturgy, Jewish

(Encyclopedia)liturgy, Jewish, rites, observances, and procedures of Judaism. Communal prayer, with a quorum of ten men (or in some modern communities, ten people), replaced the priests of the Temple cult. There ar...

l-dopa

(Encyclopedia)l-dopa ĕl-dōˈpə [key], drug used to alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, particularly trembling, rigidity, and slow movements; the drug is also called levodopa. Parkinson's disea...

Lourenço, João Manuel Gonçalves

(Encyclopedia)Lourenço, João Manuel Gonçalves, 1954–, Angolan political leader and military officer. A member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), he fought against the Portuguese in th...

Mayröcker, Friederike

(Encyclopedia) Mayröcker, Friederike, 1924-2021, German-language poet, b. Vienna, Austria. Mayröcker served in World War II as a secretary in the German airforce a...

Hooke, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Hooke, Robert ho͝ok [key], 1635–1703, English physicist, mathematician, and inventor. He became curator of experiments for the Royal Society (1662), professor of geometry at Gresham College (1665),...

Handlin, Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Handlin, Oscar, 1915–2011, American historian, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Brooklyn College (B.A., 1934). He received his Ph.D (1940) from Harvard and taught there from 1939 to 1984. Most of his work i...

Filene, Edward Albert

(Encyclopedia)Filene, Edward Albert fīlēnˈ, fĭl– [key], 1860–1937, American merchant, b. Salem, Mass. As president of the Boston firm of William Filene's Sons he pioneered in scientific and ingenious method...

fin

(Encyclopedia)fin, organ of locomotion characteristic of fish and consisting of thin tissue supported by cartilaginous or bony rays. In some fish, e.g., the eel, a single fin extends from the back, around the tail,...

pseudocyesis

(Encyclopedia)pseudocyesis so͞oˌdōsīēˈsĭs [key], imaginary pregnancy in women usually resulting from a strong desire or need for motherhood. In the absence of conception, the menstrual periods nevertheless c...

Vasarely, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Vasarely, Victor, 1908–97, French artist, one of the originators of op art, b. Pécs, Hungary. Educated at art institutes in Budapest, Vasarely was profoundly impacted by Bauhaus thought. He settled...