(Encyclopedia) heronheronhĕrˈən [key], common name for members of the family Ardeidae, large wading birds including the bittern and the egret, found in most temperate regions but most numerous in…
(Encyclopedia) gnat, common name for any one of a number of small, fragile-looking two-winged flies of the suborder Nematocera, order Diptera, which includes the families Tipulidae (crane flies),…
(Encyclopedia) flying fish, common name for members of the Exocoetidae, a family of carnivorous or herbivorous fish of warmer seas. Flying fishes usually swim in schools. They average 7 to 12 in. (17…
(Encyclopedia) damaliskdamaliskdămˈəlĭskˌ [key], name for African antelopes of the genus Damaliscus, closely related to the hartebeest. Damalisks are slenderly built and rather horselike in form;…
(Encyclopedia) choleracholerakŏlˈərə [key] or Asiatic cholera, acute infectious disease caused by strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that have been infected by bacteriophages. The bacteria,…
(Encyclopedia) extraditionextraditionĕkstrədĭshˈən [key], delivery of a person, suspected or convicted of a crime, by the state where he has taken refuge to the state that asserts jurisdiction over…
(Encyclopedia) acne, common inflammatory disease of the hair follicles and sebaceous glands characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, nodules and, in the more severe forms, by cysts and…
(Encyclopedia) tribe [Lat., tribus: the tripartite division of Romans into Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans], a social group bound by common ancestry and ties of consanguinity and affinity; a common…
(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…
(Encyclopedia) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a drug that suppresses inflammation in a manner similar to steroids, but without the side effects of steroids; commonly referred to by the acronym…
