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diphtheria

(Encyclopedia) diphtheriadiphtheriadĭfthērˈēə [key], acute contagious disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Klebs-Loffler bacillus) bacteria that have been infected by a bacteriophage. It…

facsimile

(Encyclopedia) facsimilefacsimilefăksĭmˈəlē [key] or fax, in communications, system for transmitting pictures or other graphic matter by wire or radio. Facsimile is used to transmit such materials as…

niobium

(Encyclopedia) niobiumniobiumnīōˈbēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Nb; at. no. 41; at. wt. 92.90638; m.p. about 2,468℃; b.p. 4,742℃; sp. gr. 8.57 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5.…

buffalo, in zoology

(Encyclopedia) buffalo, name commonly applied to the American bison but correctly restricted to certain related African and Asian mammals of the cattle family. The water buffalo, or Indian buffalo,…

bustard

(Encyclopedia) bustardbustardbŭsˈtərd [key], a heavy-bodied, ground-running bird of the family Otididae. Various species are found throughout the arid regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and S Europe…

tantalum

(Encyclopedia) tantalumtantalumtănˈtələm [key] [from Tantalus], metallic chemical element; symbol Ta; at. no. 73; at. wt. 180.94788; m.p. 2,996℃; b.p. 5,400±100℃; sp. gr. 16.65 at 20℃; valence +2, +3…

pitta

(Encyclopedia) pittapittapĭtˈə [key], name used to refer to a genus (Pitta) of small, plump, brightly colored birds. The genus, including some twenty-three species, constitutes the whole of the…

Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois

(Encyclopedia) Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois, 1947–, Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder, and politician, b. Thal, Austria. He began competing in bodybuilding contests in his teens, and won his first…

parody

(Encyclopedia) parody, mocking imitation in verse or prose of a literary work. The following poem by Robert Southey was parodied by Lewis Carroll: “You are old, Father William,” the young man cried…

smog

(Encyclopedia) smogsmogsmŏg [key] [smoke+fog], dense, visible air pollution. Smog is commonly of two types. The gray smog of older industrial cities like London and New York derives from the massive…