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rubella

(Encyclopedia)rubella or German measles, acute infectious disease of children and young adults. It is caused by a filterable virus that is spread by droplet spray from the respiratory tract of an infected individua...

exchange-traded fund

(Encyclopedia)exchange-traded fund (ETF), in finance, an investment company that in exchange for the deposit of a portfolio of stocks, bonds, commodities, or other assets issues securities that represent those asse...

sphere of influence

(Encyclopedia)sphere of influence, term formerly applied to an area over which an outside power claims hegemony with the intention of subsequently gaining more definite control, as in colonization, or with the inte...

attorney

(Encyclopedia)attorney, agent put in place of another to manage particular affairs of the principal. An attorney in fact is an agent who conducts business under authority that is controlled and limited by a written...

appeal

(Encyclopedia)appeal, in law, hearing by a superior court to consider correcting or reversing the judgment of an inferior court, because of errors allegedly committed by the inferior court. The party appealing the ...

carboxyl group

(Encyclopedia)carboxyl group kärbŏkˈsĭl [key], in chemistry, functional group that consists of a carbon atom joined to an oxygen atom by a double bond and to a hydroxyl group, OH, by a single bond. Carboxylic a...

flame

(Encyclopedia)flame, phenomenon associated with the chemical reaction of a gas that has been heated above its kindling temperature with some other gas, usually atmospheric oxygen (see combustion). The heat and ligh...

maser

(Encyclopedia)maser māˈzər [key], device for creation, amplification, and transmission of an intense, highly focused beam of high-frequency radio waves. The name maser is an acronym for microwave amplification b...

Parry Sound

(Encyclopedia)Parry Sound, town (1991 pop. 6,125), S Ont., Canada, on Parry Sound, an inlet of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. It is an active port and the center of a popular vacation area. ...

Norwich University

(Encyclopedia)Norwich University, at Northfield and Montpelier, Vt.; coeducational; founded 1819 as a private military college, opened 1820 at Norwich, Vt.; chartered under present name 1834, moved to Northfield 18...

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