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Ammon, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Ammon ămˈən [key], in the Bible, people living E of the Dead Sea. Their capital was Rabbath-Ammon, the present-day Amman (Jordan). Their god was Milcom, to whom Solomon built an altar. A Semitic pe...

epithalamium

(Encyclopedia)epithalamium ĕpˌĭthəlāˈmēəm [key], song or poem written to celebrate a marriage. An elaborate form of pastoral, the epithalamium usually tells of the happenings of the wedding day. Nymphs, she...

Queiros, Pedro Fernandes de

(Encyclopedia)Queiros, Pedro Fernandes de pĕˈdro͝o fərnəNˈdəsh dĭ kārôshˈ [key], c.1560–1614, Portuguese navigator. In Spanish service, he sailed (1595) as second in command of the expedition of Alvaro...

Guggenheim, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Guggenheim, Peggy (Marguerite Guggenheim), 1898–1979, American modern art patron and collector, b. New York City. The daughter of Benjamin, niece of Solomon, and grand-daughter of Meyer Guggenheim, ...

Melanesia

(Encyclopedia)Melanesia mĕlənēˈzhə, –shə [key], one of the three main divisions of Oceania, in the SW Pacific Ocean, NE of Australia and S of the equator. Melanesia includes the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Ne...

radioimmunoassay

(Encyclopedia)radioimmunoassay (RIA), highly sensitive laboratory technique used to measure minute amounts of substances including antigens, hormones, and drugs present in the body. The substance or antigen (a fore...

rhizome

(Encyclopedia)rhizome rīˈzōm [key] or rootstock, fleshy, creeping underground stem by means of which certain plants propagate themselves. Buds that form at the joints produce new shoots. Thus if a rhizome is cut...

Elah

(Encyclopedia)Elah ēˈlə [key], in the Bible. 1 King of Israel, son and successor of Baasha. He was murdered, and succeeded, by Zimri. 2 Father of Hoshea, last king of Israel. 3 Duke of Edom. 4 Father of one of S...

Cornell, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Cornell, Joseph, American artist, 1903–72, b. Nyack, N.Y. Cornell is best known for his surrealist-flavored shadow boxes. These are relatively small constructions, within glass-fronted shallow boxes...

Aksum

(Encyclopedia)Aksum or Axum both: äkso͞omˈ [key], town , Tigray region, N Ethiopia. Aksum was the capital of an empire (c.1st–8th cent. a.d.) that controlled much of what is now N ...