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idol

(Encyclopedia)idol, an object, frequently an image, which is worshiped as a deity. Idols are usually found in human or animal form and may be treated as though alive; they are fed, bathed, anointed, crowned, and so...

Estrées, Gabrielle d'

(Encyclopedia)Estrées, Gabrielle d' gäbrēĕlˈ dĕstrāˈ [key], 1573–99, famous beauty, mistress (1592–99) of Henry IV of France, who made her marquise of Monceaux and duchess of Beaufort. She divorced her ...

Star of Bethlehem, in the Gospels

(Encyclopedia)Star of Bethlehem, name given to the luminous celestial object rising in the sky that, as related in the Gospel of Matthew, led the Wise Men of the East to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was born...

stereopticon

(Encyclopedia)stereopticon stĕrēŏpˈtĭkən [key], optical projection instrument making multiple use of the magic lantern. The magic lantern uses lenses to throw on a screen a magnified image from a transparent ...

apsis

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Apsis points, or apsides, in the earth's orbit: At perihelion the earth is closest to the sun and at aphelion it is farthest from the sun. apsis (pl. apsides), point in the orbit of a body whe...

arcade

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Arcade arcade, series of arches supported by columns or piers. An arcade may stand free; if it is attached to a wall it is called a wall arcade or a blind arcade. The earliest-known arcades we...

Hemichordata

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Dorsal view of an acorn worm, Saccoglossus, representative of the phylum Hemichordata Hemichordata hĕmĭkôrˌdāˈtə [key], small phylum of marine invertebrates closely related to both the ...

hyperbola

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hyperbola hyperbola hīpûrˈbələ [key], plane curve consisting of all points such that the difference between the distances from any point on the curve to two fixed points (foci) is the sam...

chlorophyll

(Encyclopedia)CE5 chlorophyll klôrˈəfĭlˌ [key], green pigment that gives most plants their color and enables them to carry on the process of photosynthesis. Chemically, chlorophyll has several similar forms...

evening primrose

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Evening primrose, Oenothera biennis evening primrose, common name for the Onagraceae, a family of plants of worldwide distribution, most species of which grow as herbs in the temperate New Wor...