Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Gad

(Encyclopedia)Gad, in the Bible, son of Jacob and Zilpah and eponymous founder of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Its allotment was half of Gilead; this was the land best suited to the pastoral life, which Gad, lik...

curling

(Encyclopedia)curling, winter sport, similar in principle to bowls and quoits (see horseshoe pitching), played on an ice court called a sheet by teams of four. Each player hurls a squat, circular stone—weighing 3...

Anaxagoras

(Encyclopedia)Anaxagoras ănˌəksăgˈərəs [key], c.500–428 b.c., Greek philosopher of Clazomenae. He is credited with having transferred the seat of philosophy to Athens. He was closely associated with many f...

Karmathians

(Encyclopedia)Karmathians or Carmathians kärmāˈthēənz [key], a Muslim sect of the 9th and 10th cent., similar to the Assassin sect. They were part of a movement for social reform that spread widely through Isl...

Petrified Forest National Park

(Encyclopedia)Petrified Forest National Park, 93,533 acres (37,881 hectares), E Ariz.; est. as a national monument 1906, designated a national park 1962. A part of the Painted Desert, it contains the largest known ...

Mayfield

(Encyclopedia)Mayfield, city (2020 pop. 10,017), seat of Graves co., SW Ky., in an area of farms and clay deposits; founded 1823. It is an agricultural trade center w...

crusher

(Encyclopedia)crusher, machine used to reduce materials such as ore, coal, stone, and slag to particle sizes that are convenient for their intended uses. Crushers operate by slowly applying a large force to the mat...

Pontypridd

(Encyclopedia)Pontypridd pôntəprēᵺˈ [key], town (1981 pop. 32,992), Rhondda Cynon Taff, S Wales, on the Taff River. Electrical equipment, cables, and chains are made. The famous stone single-span bridge over ...

Kingsville

(Encyclopedia)Kingsville, city (1990 pop. 25,276), seat of Kleberg co., S Tex.; inc. 1911. It is headquarters of the gigantic King Ranch. The city is a processing center for cotton, livestock, vegetables, and dairy...

Beth-baal-meon

(Encyclopedia)Beth-baal-meon bĕth-bāˈəl-mēˈən [key], town of Moab, E of the Jordan, now called Main (Jordan), 12 mi (19 km) SW of Hisban. It also appears as Baal-meon and Beth-meon. Beon in the Book of Numbe...

Browse by Subject