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divorce
(Encyclopedia)divorce, partial or total dissolution of a marriage by the judgment of a court. Partial dissolution is a divorce “from bed and board,” a decree of judicial separation, leaving the parties official...transmigration of souls
(Encyclopedia)transmigration of souls or metempsychosis mətĕmˌsəkōˈsĭs [key] [Gr.,=change of soul], a belief common to many cultures, in which the soul passes from one body to another, either human, animal, ...ion, in chemistry
(Encyclopedia)ion, atom or group of atoms having a net electric charge. Ionization has many applications. Vapor lamps and fluorescent lamps take advantage of the light given off when positive ions recombine with ...Melville, Herman
(Encyclopedia)Melville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature. Like Moby-Dick, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (18...laissez-faire
(Encyclopedia)laissez-faire lĕsˌā fârˈ [key] [Fr.,=leave alone], in economics and politics, doctrine that an economic system functions best when there is no interference by government. It is based on the belie...libel and slander
(Encyclopedia)libel and slander, in law, types of defamation. In common law, written defamation was libel and spoken defamation was slander. Today, however, there are no such clear definitions. Permanent forms of d...civil service
(Encyclopedia)civil service, entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the military and excluding elected officials. The term was used in designating the British administration of I...Rubens, Peter Paul
(Encyclopedia)Rubens, Peter Paul, 1577–1640, foremost Flemish painter of the 17th cent., b. Siegen, Westphalia, where his family had gone into exile because of his father's Calvinist beliefs. Almost every princ...God
(Encyclopedia)God, divinity of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as many other world religions. See also religion and articles on individual religions. There are se...musical notation
(Encyclopedia) CE5 Musical notation musical notation, symbols used to make a written record of musical sounds. Two different systems of letters were used to write down the instrumental and the vocal music of anc...Browse by Subject
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