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contempt

(Encyclopedia)contempt, in law, interference with the functioning of a legislature or court. In its narrow and more usual sense, contempt refers to the despising of the authority, justice, or dignity of a court. A ...

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

(Encyclopedia)attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behav...

stall

(Encyclopedia)stall, small division of a larger space, sometimes partly partitioned. The term is used for a booth for display and selling at an exhibition, for a compartment in a stable or kennel, or, in England, f...

thrombolytic drug

(Encyclopedia)thrombolytic drug thrŏmˌbəlĭtˈĭk [key] or clot-dissolving drug, substance, such as streptokinase or tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), that causes the breakdown of blood clots (see thrombosis) ...

Fujita scale

(Encyclopedia)Fujita scale fo͞ojēˈtə, fo͞oˈjētə [key] or F-Scale, scale for rating the severity of tornadoes as a measure of the damage they cause, devised in 1951 by the Japanese-American meteorologist Tet...

wire

(Encyclopedia)wire, metal filament, strand, or solid rod usually having a round cross section. Metals and alloys used for wiremaking are chosen for high tensile strength and ductility or for their electrical conduc...

computer virus

(Encyclopedia)computer virus, rogue computer program, typically a short program designed to disperse copies of itself to other computers and disrupt those computers' normal operations. A computer virus usually atta...

protective coloration

(Encyclopedia)protective coloration, coloration or color pattern of an animal that affords it protection from observation either by its predators or by its prey. The most widespread form of protective coloration is...

cyst

(Encyclopedia)cyst, abnormal sac in the body, filled with a fluid or semisolid and enclosed in a membrane. Cysts can be congenital but are usually acquired, the most common locations being the skin and the ovaries....

bundling

(Encyclopedia)bundling, courtship custom, thought to have originated in Holland and the British Isles. It was extended to America, particularly to New England, and most widely practiced in the years prior to the Re...