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Amharic

(Encyclopedia)Amharic ămhârˈĭk [key], language of Ethiopia belonging to the South Ethiopic group of South Semitic languages, which, in turn, belong to the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of language...

annual

(Encyclopedia)annual, plant that germinates from seed, blossoms, produces seed, and dies within one year. Annuals propagate themselves by seed only, unlike many biennials and perennials. They are thus especially su...

Gesner, Konrad von

(Encyclopedia)Gesner, Konrad von kônˈrät fən gĕsˈnər [key], 1516–65, Swiss scientist and bibliographer. Gesner was noted for his scholarship and erudition in almost every field of knowledge. He lived in Z�...

Udall, John

(Encyclopedia)Udall, Udal yo͞oˈdəl, yo͞ovˈdāl [key], 1560?–1592, English clergyman, educated at Cambridge. He adopted Puritan sympathies and aided John Penry in issuing the anticlerical pamphlets published ...

gazetteer

(Encyclopedia)gazetteer găzˌĭtērˈ [key], dictionary or encyclopedia listing alphabetically the names of places, political divisions, and physical features of the earth and giving some information about each. T...

etymology

(Encyclopedia)etymology ĕtĭmŏlˈəjē [key], branch of linguistics that investigates the history, development, and origin of words. It was this study that chiefly revealed the regular relations of sounds in the ...

Rabanus Maurus Magnentius

(Encyclopedia)Rabanus Maurus Magnentius rəbāˈnəs môˈrəs măgnĕnˈshəs [key], c.780–856, German scholar and theologian. His name appears also as Hrabanus and Rhabanus. A student under Alcuin, he was later...

Opie, Iona

(Encyclopedia)Opie, Iona, 1923–2017, b. Iona Margaret Balfour Archibald, and Peter Mason Opie, 1918–1982, British folklorists of the rhymes, games, and songs of children's culture and literature. They met durin...

Kimhi

(Encyclopedia)Kimhi kĭmˈkhē [key], family of Jewish scholars and grammarians in Spain and France. Joseph ben Isaac Kimhi, c.1105–c.1170, besides writing a Bible commentary, making numerous translations, and wr...

proverb

(Encyclopedia)proverb, short statement of wisdom or advice that has passed into general use. More homely than aphorisms, proverbs generally refer to common experience and are often expressed in metaphor, alliterati...