Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

eagle

(Encyclopedia)eagle, common name for large predatory birds of the family Accipitridae (hawk family), found in all parts of the world. Eagles are similar to the buteos, or buzzard hawks, but are larger both in lengt...

coal

(Encyclopedia)coal, fuel substance of plant origin, largely or almost entirely composed of carbon with varying amounts of mineral matter. Coal is found in beds or seams interstratified with shales, clays, sands...

Estienne

(Encyclopedia)Estienne, Étienne stĕfˈənəs [key], family of Parisian and Genevan printers of the 16th and 17th cent., distinguished through five generations in scholarship as well as in their craft. The first ...

finch

(Encyclopedia)finch, common name for members of the Fringillidae, the largest family of birds (including over half the known species), found in most parts of the world except Australia. The true finches are charact...

acupuncture

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Acupuncture points for treating diseases of the large intestine. acupuncture ăkˈyo͝opŭngˌchər [key], technique of traditional Chinese medicine, in which a number of very fine metal needl...

Samarkand

(Encyclopedia)Samarkand sămərkăndˈ, Rus. səmərkäntˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 395,000), capital of Samarkand region, in Uzbekistan, on the Trans-Caspian RR. It is one of the oldest existing cities in the world...

balance

(Encyclopedia)balance, instrument used in laboratories and pharmacies to measure the mass or weight of a body. A balance functions by measuring the force of gravity that the earth exerts on an object, i.e., its wei...

Fergana Valley

(Encyclopedia)Fergana Valley or Ferghana Valley, region, 8,494 sq mi (22,000 sq km), Central Asia, divided among Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The Fergana Range (part of the Tian Shan system) rises in the...

fruit

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Types of fruit fruit, matured ovary of the pistil of a flower, containing the seed. After the egg nucleus, or ovum, has been fertilized (see fertilization) and the embryo plantlet begins to fo...

Melville, Herman

(Encyclopedia)Melville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature. Like Moby-Dick, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (18...