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nicotine

(Encyclopedia)nicotine, C10H14N2, poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid alkaloid with a pungent odor and an acrid taste. It turns brown on exposure to air. Nicotine, a naturally occurring constituent of tobacco, is t...

crayon

(Encyclopedia)crayon, any drawing material available in stick form. The term includes charcoal, conte crayon, chalk, pastel, grease crayon, litho crayon, and children's wax colors. The pigment is often bound with g...

louse

(Encyclopedia)louse, common name for members of either of two distinct orders of wingless, parasitic, disease-carrying insects. Lice of both groups are small and flattened with short legs adapted for clinging to th...

Kayes

(Encyclopedia)Kayes kāz [key], town (1993 est. pop. 50,000), W Mali, a port on the Senegal River. It is the administrative and commercial center for a region where peanuts and gum arabic are produced. The town has...

mesquite, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mesquite mĭskētˈ, mĕsˈkēt [key], any plant of the genus Prosopis, leguminous spiny trees or shrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to tropical and subtropical regions. The seed ...

Louga

(Encyclopedia)Louga lo͞oˈgä [key], town (1988 pop. 52,763), W Senegal. Located in a region where peanuts, cassava, and gum arabic are produced, the town manufactures peanut oil and processes hides and skins. Lou...

silverpoint

(Encyclopedia)silverpoint, method of drawing whereby a silver-tipped instrument is dragged across paper prepared with ground bone dust and gum water and then tinted with a pigment. The procedure results in drawings...

varnish

(Encyclopedia)varnish, homogeneous solution of gum or of natural or synthetic resins in oil (oil varnish) or in a volatile solvent (spirit varnish), which dries on exposure to air, forming a thin, hard, usually glo...

bdellium

(Encyclopedia)bdellium dĕlˈēəm [key], aromatic gum resin obtained from trees of the genus Commiphora, or Balsamodendron, of the incense-tree family. It is similar to myrrh. Bdellium is used in medicines and per...

Nordhausen

(Encyclopedia)Nordhausen nôrtˈhouˌzən [key], city (1994 pop. 44,744), Thuringia, central Germany, at the southern foot of the Harz Mts. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures include clothin...

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