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Esperanto

(Encyclopedia)Esperanto ĕspəränˈtō [key], an artificial language introduced in 1887 and intended by its inventor, Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859–1917), a Polish oculist and linguist, to ease communication ...

Negro, Río, river, Uruguay and Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Negro, Río rēˈō nāˈgrō [key], principal river of Uruguay, c.500 mi (800 km) long, rising in S Brazil and flowing SW across central Uruguay to the Uruguay River. It traverses a sheep-raising reg...

Krefeld

(Encyclopedia)Krefeld krāˈfĕlt [key], city (1994 pop. 249,560), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, a port on the Rhine River. It is the center of the German silk and velvet industry, and is a major rail hub an...

castor oil

(Encyclopedia)castor oil, yellowish oil obtained from the seed of the castor bean. The oil content of the seeds varies from about 20% to 50%. After the hulls are removed the seeds are cold-pressed. Medicinal castor...

denture

(Encyclopedia)denture, artificial replacement for natural teeth and surrounding tissue. Dentures are classified as partial or complete. The former are removable and maintained by clasps, or are fixed bridges with c...

Ives, Frederic Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Ives, Frederic Eugene, 1856–1937, American inventor, b. Litchfield, Conn. A pioneer in the development of orthochromatic and trichromatic photography and of photoengraving, he followed an earlier su...

Hahn, Otto

(Encyclopedia)Hahn, Otto ôˈtō hän [key], 1879–1968, German chemist and physicist. His important contributions in the field of radioactivity include the discovery of several radioactive substances, the develop...

Mogilev

(Encyclopedia)Mogilev məgēlyôfˈ [key], Belarusian Mahilyow, city (1989 pop. 359,188), capital of Mogilev region, in E Belarus, on the Dnieper River. It is an important rail and highway junction, a river port, a...

Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich

(Encyclopedia)Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich kənstəntyēnˈ ĕdwärˈdəvĭchˈ tsēōlkŏvˈskē [key], 1857–1935, Russian inventor and rocket expert. He lost his hearing in childhood, and, as he could no...

buckthorn

(Encyclopedia)buckthorn, common name for some members of the Rhamnaceae, a family of woody shrubs, small trees, and climbing vines widely distributed throughout the world. The buckthorns (several species of the gen...