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Aran Islands

(Encyclopedia)Aran Islands ărˈən [key], 18 sq mi (47 sq km), Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, in Galway Bay. The three islands are Inishmore (the largest), Inisheer, and Inishmaan. The islands are barren; farm...

Kölcsey, Ferenc

(Encyclopedia)Kölcsey, Ferenc fĕˈrĕnts kölˈchĕĭ [key], 1790–1838, Hungarian writer and orator. A student of the Enlightenment, he aided his friend Krasiński in a reform of the Hungarian language, investi...

Pashto

(Encyclopedia)Pashto –to͞o [key], or Afghan, language belonging to the Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. See Indo-Iranian languages. ...

Burke, Kenneth Duva

(Encyclopedia)Burke, Kenneth Duva, 1897–1993, American critic, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. He was music critic for The Dial (1927–29) and The Nation (1934–36). A profound thinker whose writings have influenced other c...

Billingsgate

(Encyclopedia)Billingsgate bĭlˈĭngzgĭt, –gāt [key], wharf and fish market, London, England, on the north bank of the Thames River. The market was named after a river gate in the old city wall. The word Billi...

Zesen, Philipp von

(Encyclopedia)Zesen, Philipp von fēˈlĭp fən tsāˈzən [key], 1619–89, German poet and novelist. Zesen was a major champion of the purification of the German language. His works include Deutscher Helikon [Ger...

Smith, Sir George Adam

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Sir George Adam, 1856–1942, Scottish biblical scholar and Hebraist, b. Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. He was professor of Old Testament language, literature, and theology in the United Free C...

Svanetia

(Encyclopedia)Svanetia svänēˈshə [key], mountainous region, in Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. It is very difficult to access, and its inhabitants, the Svans, have retained many of thei...

Herder, Johann Gottfried von

(Encyclopedia)Herder, Johann Gottfried von yōˈhän gôtˈfrēt fən hĕrˈdər [key], 1744–1803, German philosopher, critic, and clergyman, b. East Prussia. Herder was an enormously influential literary critic ...

Guaraní

(Encyclopedia)Guaraní gwäränēˈ [key], indigenous group living in the eastern lowland area of South America, related to the Tupí of the Rio São Francisco and the Tupinambá on the Atlantic coast. The Guaraní...