Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

rubella

(Encyclopedia)rubella or German measles, acute infectious disease of children and young adults. It is caused by a filterable virus that is spread by droplet spray from the respiratory tract of an infected individua...

salivary glands

(Encyclopedia)salivary glands sălˈəvârˌē [key], in humans, three pairs of glands that secrete the alkaline digestive fluid, saliva, into the mouth. Most animals have salivary glands that resemble those in hum...

O'Keeffe, Georgia

(Encyclopedia)O'Keeffe, Georgia ōkēfˈ [key], 1887–1986, American painter, b. Sun Prairie, Wis. After working briefly as a commercial artist in Chicago, O'Keeffe abandoned painting until she began the study of ...

governor, in government

(Encyclopedia)governor, chief executive of a dependent or component unit in a political system. In the United States, a governor is the chief executive of each state and is elected by the people of the state. In th...

Goren, Charles Henry

(Encyclopedia)Goren, Charles Henry gôrˈən [key], 1901–91, American expert on bridge, b. Philadelphia, grad. McGill Univ., 1922. Goren played bridge as a law student and by 1931 was competing in major tournamen...

Heisman, John William

(Encyclopedia)Heisman, John William hīsˈmən [key], 1869–1936, American football coach, b. Cleveland. He studied and played football at Brown (1887–89) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1890–91). He coached fo...

Haverhill

(Encyclopedia)Haverhill hāˈvərĭl [key], city (2020 pop. 67,787), Essex co., NE Mass., on the Merrimack ...

interdict

(Encyclopedia)interdict ĭnˈtərdĭkt [key], ecclesiastical censure notably used in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the Middle Ages. When a parish, state, or nation is placed under the interdict no public...

Eggleston, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Eggleston, Edward, 1837–1902, American author, Methodist clergyman, b. Vevay, Ind., educated in frontier schools. Before 1870 he was a Bible agent, a farm worker, a circuit rider in Minnesota and In...

Arista, Mariano

(Encyclopedia)Arista, Mariano märyäˈnō ärēˈstä [key], 1802–55, Mexican general and president (1851–53). A royalist in the revolt against Spain, he later joined Agustín de Iturbide. He fought in the Mex...
 

Browse by Subject