(Encyclopedia) skylark, common name for a passerine songbird (Alauda arvensis) famous for the soaring, melodious flight of the courting male. Found in Europe (except in the Mediterranean area), it is…
(Encyclopedia) smilax, common name for a florists' plant of two separate genera (Asparagus and Smilax), both of the family Liliaceae (lily family, although some botanists recognize smilax as a…
(Encyclopedia) balsam fir, common name for the evergreen tree Abies balsamea of NE North American boreal forests. It has small needles and cones and is used for lumber. It is also called Canada…
(Encyclopedia) SwahiliSwahiliswähēˈlē [key] [Arab.,=coast people], name for some of the inhabitants of the Kenya, Tanzania, Somali, and Mozambique coasts, Zanzibar, and E Congo. Descendants of black…
(Encyclopedia) Stevin, SimonStevin, Simonsēˈmôn stəvīnˈ [key], 1548–1620, Dutch engineer and mathematician. His experiments in hydrostatics showed that the pressure exerted by a liquid is dependent…
(Encyclopedia) StresaStresastrāˈzä [key], town (1991 pop. 4,684), Piedmont, N Italy, on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. Its lovely gardens and villas and the scenic Borromean Islands nearby have…
(Encyclopedia) petunia, any plant of the genus Petunia, South American herbs of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). The common garden petunias, planted also in window boxes, are all considered…
(Encyclopedia) AhijahAhijahəhīˈjə [key], common name in the Bible, occasionally spelled Ahiah. 1 Prophet from Shiloh. 2 Priest in the time of Saul, perhaps the same as Ahimelech (1.) 3 One of David's…
(Encyclopedia) pondweed, common name for the family Potamogetonaceae, and for weedy aquatic herbs of the genus Potamogeton, of which about 50 known species inhabit North American ponds and slow…
(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;…
