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Root, George Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Root, George Frederick, 1820–95, American composer, b. Sheffield, Mass. He taught at schools in Boston and New York City. He wrote gospel songs and composed sentimental ballads to Fanny Crosby's lyr...

Ophion

(Encyclopedia)Ophion ōfīˈən [key], in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. An orphic god who ruled the world with his mother, Eurynome, before the reign of Kronos. When he became unruly, Eurynome banished him to th...

Abigail

(Encyclopedia)Abigail ăbˈəgāl [key], in the Bible. 1 The wife of Nabal. She persuaded David not to take vengeance on her husband. When Nabal died, she married David. 2 David's stepsister, mother of Amasa. ...

Asteria

(Encyclopedia)Asteria ăstērˈēə [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, mother of Hecate by Perses. To escape Zeus' amorous advances, she turned into a quail, jumped into the sea, an...

Head, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Head, Richard, c.1637–c.1686, English writer. His best-known work is The English Rogue (1665), a collection of crude picaresque stories. Sequels to this work were written by Francis Kirkman. Among h...

Cybele

(Encyclopedia)Cybele sĭbˈəlē [key], in ancient Asian religion, the Great Mother Goddess. The chief centers of her early worship were Phrygia and Lydia. In the 5th cent. b.c. her cult was introduced into Greece,...

Aquino, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco, 3d

(Encyclopedia)Aquino, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco, 3d, 1960–2021, Philippine businessman and political leader, son of Benigno Aquino 2d and Corazon Aquino. After earning his college degree in econo...

Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann

(Encyclopedia)Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann, 1774–1821, American Roman Catholic leader, usually called Mother Seton, b. Elizabeth Ann Bayley, New York City. She was the daughter of a prominent physician. Her husband...

Fox, Paula

(Encyclopedia)Fox, Paula, 1923–, American writer, b. New York City. Fox's six cooly acute novels reflect her own life, particularly her miserable childhood and its psychological aftermath. Poor George (1967), her...

creole language

(Encyclopedia)creole language krēōlˈ [key], any language that began as a pidgin but was later adopted as the mother tongue by a people in place of the original mother tongue or tongues. Examples are the Gullah o...
 

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