Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

114 results found

Greenwich, borough, Greater London, England

(Encyclopedia)Greenwich grĭnˈīj, grĕnˈ– [key], inner borough of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. ...

cable television

(Encyclopedia)cable television, the transmission of televised images to viewers by means of coaxial cables. Cable systems receive the television signal, which is sent out over cables to individual subscribers, by a...

videotex

(Encyclopedia)videotex, communications service that is linked to an adapted television receiver or a personal computer by telephone lines, cable television facilities, or the like, and that allows a user to retriev...

lobbying

(Encyclopedia)lobbying, practice and profession of influencing governmental decisions, carried out by agents who present the concerns of special interests to legislators and administrators. The term originated in t...

Mafia

(Encyclopedia)Mafia mäˈfēä [key], name given to a number of organized groups of Sicilian brigands in the 19th and 20th cent. Unlike the Camorra in Naples, the Mafia had no hierarchic organization; each group op...

Nashville

(Encyclopedia)Nashville, city (1990 pop. 487,969), state capital, coextensive with Davidson co., central Tenn., on the Cumberland River, in a fertile farm area; inc. as a city 1806, merged with Davidson co. 1963. I...

code, in communications

(Encyclopedia)code, in communications, set of symbols and rules for their manipulation by which the symbols can be made to carry information. By this extended definition all written and spoken languages are codes. ...

telegraph

(Encyclopedia)telegraph, term originally applied to any device or system for distant communication by means of visible or audible signals, now commonly restricted to electrically operated devices. Attempts at long-...

signaling

(Encyclopedia)signaling, transmission of information by visible, audible, or other detectable means. Since prehistoric times humans have sought and employed ever more effective means of communicating over distance....

New Haven

(Encyclopedia)New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches...