Columbia Encyclopedia

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vase

(Encyclopedia)vase, vessel of pottery, glass, metal, stone, wood, or synthetic material. The pottery vase was anciently employed as a container for water (a hydria), wine and other products (an amphora), or oil (a ...

scurvy

(Encyclopedia)scurvy, deficiency disorder resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the diet. Scurvy does not occur in most animals because they can synthesize their own vitamin C, but humans, other pri...

rye, in botany

(Encyclopedia)rye, cereal grain of the family Poaceae (grass family). The grain, Secale cereale, is important chiefly in Central and N Europe. It seems to have been domesticated later than wheat and other staple gr...

QAnon

(Encyclopedia) QAnon , a widely believed right-wing conspiracy theory. QAnon developed in the early years of Donald Trump’s presidency through the anonymous posts o...

rail

(Encyclopedia)rail, common name for some members of the large family Rallidae, marsh and tropical forest birds that include the gallinule and the coot, two specialized rails. Rails are cosmopolitan in distribution,...

Wisconsin, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Wisconsin wĭskŏnˈsən, –sĭn [key], upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bounded by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from which it is divided in part by the...

Dinoflagellata

(Encyclopedia)dinoflagellata dīˌnōflăjˌəlätˈə, –lāˈtə [key], phylum (division) of unicellular, mostly marine algae, called dinoflagellates. In some classification systems this division is called Pyrrh...

alliteration

(Encyclopedia)alliteration əlĭtˌərāˈshən [key], the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence. Probably the most powerful rhythmic and thematic uses of alliteration are contained i...

hummingbird

(Encyclopedia)hummingbird, common name for members of the family Trochilidae, small, strictly New World birds, related to the swifts, and found chiefly in the mountains of South America. Hummingbirds vary in size f...

hemlock

(Encyclopedia)hemlock, any tree of the genus Tsuga, coniferous evergreens of the family Pinaceae (pine family) native to North America and Asia. The common hemlock of E North America is the eastern hemlock, T. cana...