(Encyclopedia) rheumatismrheumatismr&oomacr;ˈmətĭzəm [key], general term for a number of disorders that cause inflammation and pain in muscles, bones, joints, or nerves. In common usage arthritis…
(Encyclopedia) rhizomerhizomerīˈzōm [key] or rootstock, fleshy, creeping underground stem by means of which certain plants propagate themselves. Buds that form at the joints produce new shoots. Thus…
(Encyclopedia) self-heal or heal-all, weedy perennial (Prunella vulgaris) with the typical angular stems and bluish flowers of the family Labiatae (mint family). Although it probably originated in…
(Encyclopedia) shepherd's-purse, annual herb (Capsella bursa-pastoris) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), indigenous to Europe but now a nearly cosmopolitan weed in temperate…
(Encyclopedia) compurgationcompurgationkŏmˌpərgāˈshən [key], in medieval law, a complete defense. A defendant could establish his innocence or nonliability by taking an oath and by getting a required…
(Encyclopedia) Glauber's salt, common name for sodium sulfate decahydrate, Na2SO4·10H2O; it occurs as white or colorless monoclinic crystals. Upon exposure to fairly dry air it effloresces, forming…
(Encyclopedia) Eyre, Sir James, 1734–99, English jurist. As a young lawyer he was counsel (1763) for John Wilkes in the suit against the government that established the illegality of general warrants…
(Encyclopedia) family leave, social policy permitting workers to take a specified amount of time off from the job to attend to pressing family needs. The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)…
(Encyclopedia) essence, in philosophy, the nature of a thing. Aristotle maintained that there is a distinction between the form of a thing—its intelligible, verbally formulable character—and the…
(Encyclopedia) trench mouth, common term for Vincent's infection, an ulcerative membranous infection of the gums and mouth, by noncontagious infection, associated with a fusiform bacillus and a…
