Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

231 results found

loris

(Encyclopedia)loris, name for slow-moving, nocturnal, arboreal primates of the family Lorisidae, found Africa and Asia. True lorises, found in India, Sri Lanka, and SE Asia, have round heads, large round eyes, and ...

mustang

(Encyclopedia)mustang [Sp. mesteño=a stray], small feral horse of the W United States. Mustangs are descended from escaped Native American horses, which in turn were descended from horses of North African blood, b...

Enlightenment

(Encyclopedia)Enlightenment, term applied to the mainstream of thought of 18th-century Europe and America. Centered in Paris, the movement gained international character at cosmopolitan salons. Masonic lodges pla...

Maccabees, Jewish family

(Encyclopedia)Maccabees or Machabees both: măkˈəbēz [key], Jewish family of the 2d and 1st cent. b.c. that brought about a restoration of Jewish political and religious life. They are also called Hasmoneans or ...

hartebeest

(Encyclopedia)hartebeest härˈtĭbēstˌ [key], large African antelope, Alcelaphus bucelaphus. The hartebeest resembles a horse with horns. It has a very long face and a small hump between the shoulders; its coat ...

Mindszenty, József

(Encyclopedia)Mindszenty, József mĭndˈsĕntē [key], 1892–1975, Hungarian prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of Veszprém during the German occupation of Hungary in World War II. His...

Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich

(Encyclopedia)Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich vyēkˈtôr styĭpänˈəvyĭch chərˌnōmĭrˈdən [key], 1938–2010, Soviet and Russian government official. Beginning in 1957, he held positions in the Soviet nat...

killer whale

(Encyclopedia)killer whale, orca, or grampus, a large, rapacious marine mammal of the dolphin family. Historically considered one species, Orcinus orca, killer whales may be classified into several types, based on...

Cantabria

(Encyclopedia)Cantabria käntäˈbrēä [key], autonomous community and coextensive prov., 2,057 sq mi (5,328 sq ...

tachyon

(Encyclopedia)tachyon tăkˈēŏnˌ [key], hypothetical elementary particle that travels only at speeds exceeding that of light. According to the theory of relativity, the speed of light is the limiting velocity fo...
 

Browse by Subject