Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sunita, Narain

(Encyclopedia)Sunita, Narain, 1961–, Indian writer and environmentalist, b. New Delhi, India, graduated from University of Delhi, honorary degrees from Cranfield ...

katydid

(Encyclopedia)katydid, common name of certain large, singing, winged insects belonging to the long-horned grasshopper family (Tettigoniidae) in the order Orthoptera. Katydids are green or, occasionally, pink and ra...

arapaima

(Encyclopedia)arapaima ărˌəpīˈmə [key], tropical fish, genus Arapaima, of the Amazon basin. Arapaimas are perhaps the largest of the strictly freshwater fishes, reportedly reaching a length of 15 ft (4.5 m), ...

cyanobacteria

(Encyclopedia)cyanobacteria sīˌənōbăktĭrˈēə, sī-ănˌō– [key] or blue-green algae, photosynthetic bacteria that contain chlorophyll. For many years they were classified in the plant kingdom along with ...

Purdy, James Otis

(Encyclopedia)Purdy, James Otis, 1914–2009, American writer, b. near Hicksville, Ohio; studied Bowling Green State College (B.A., 1935), Univ. of Chicago (M.A., 1937), Univ. of Pueblo, Mexico. Idiosyncratic and a...

pika

(Encyclopedia)pika pīˈkə [key], short-haired mammal related to rabbits and hares, also called mouse hare and rock rabbit. Pikas live above the timber line in the mountains of N Asia and W North America. The pika...

Pearl, The

(Encyclopedia)Pearl, The, one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author, who flourished ...

opal

(Encyclopedia)opal ōˈpəl [key], a mineral consisting of poorly crystalline to amorphous silica, SiO2·nH2O; the water content is quite variable but usually ranges from 3% to 10%. Common opal is usually colorless...

Ford, John, American film director

(Encyclopedia)Ford, John, 1895–1973, American film director, b. Cape Elizabeth, Maine, as John Martin Feeney. Ford began directing in 1917 after an apprenticeship with his brother Francis. Over the next 50 years,...

Greensburg

(Encyclopedia)Greensburg. 1 City (2020 pop. 14,976), seat of Westmoreland co., SW Pa.; settled c.1770, inc. as a city 1928. Located in a coal area, the city ...
 

Browse by Subject