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cloth of gold

(Encyclopedia)cloth of gold, fabric woven wholly or partly of gold threads. From remote times gold has been used as material for weaving either alone or with other fibers. In India tapestries were made from gold th...

Paris, University of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, University of, at Paris, France; founded 12th cent., confirmed 1215 by papal bull. The most famous of its colleges was the Sorbonne, which opened in 1253 and gained academic and theological dis...

part of speech

(Encyclopedia)part of speech, in traditional English grammar, any one of about eight major classes of words, based on the parts of speech of ancient Greek and Latin. The parts of speech are noun, verb, adjective, a...

Adana, Plain of

(Encyclopedia)Adana, Plain of äˈdänäˌ [key], fertile region along the Mediterranean coast, S central Turkey. It has a subtropical climate and receives rainfall mainly during the autumn and winter months. The p...

Trevisa, John of

(Encyclopedia)Trevisa, John of trəvēˈsə [key], c.1326–c.1402, English writer. He was the vicar of Berkeley. In 1387 he translated into English Ranulph Higden's Polychronicon, a history of the world, and in 13...

Quinte, Bay of

(Encyclopedia)Quinte, Bay of kwĭnˈtē [key], arm of Lake Ontario, S Ont., Canada, between the mainland and the peninsula of Prince Edward co. With its approach, Adolphus Reach, it is 60 mi (97 km) long. The Trent...

Justus of Tiberia

(Encyclopedia)Justus of Tiberia, fl. 1st cent. a.d., Jewish historian. Friendly to Rome, he opposed the Jewish war against the Romans and fled to Beirut where he became the private secretary of Agrippa II. He is ma...

Washington, University of

(Encyclopedia)Washington, University of, at Seattle; state supported; coeducational; chartered and opened 1861 as the Territorial Univ. of Washington, renamed 1889. There are noted schools of medicine and engineeri...

Shiloh, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Shiloh, battle of, Apr. 6–7, 1862, one of the great battles of the American Civil War. The battle took its name from Shiloh Church, a meetinghouse c.3 mi (5 km) SSW of Pittsburg Landing, which was a...

Hermas, Shepherd of

(Encyclopedia)Hermas, Shepherd of herˈməs [key], Christian apocalyptic work, composed in Rome c.a.d. 139–a.d. 155. It is a collection of revelations given to Hermas, a devout Christian, by an angel (Shepherd) a...