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Piccirilli

(Encyclopedia)Piccirilli pēˌchērēlˈlē [key], family of Italian-American marble cutters and sculptors. In 1888, the father and six sons, all sculptors, migrated from Italy and established a highly successful w...

Berdyaev, Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Berdyaev, Nicholas bĕrdyīˈəf [key], 1874–1948, Russian theologian and religious philosopher, b. Kiev. After an early period as a Marxist, Berdyaev became prominent in a brilliant circle of Russi...

Lake District

(Encyclopedia)Lake District, region of mountains and lakes, c.30 mi (50 km) in diameter, Cumbria, NW England. It includes the Cumbrian Mts. and part of the Furness peninsula. The district comprises 15 lakes, among ...

larch

(Encyclopedia)larch, any tree of the genus Larix, conifers of the family Pinaceae (pine family), which are unusual in that they are not evergreen. The various species are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphe...

mandala

(Encyclopedia)mandala mŭnˈdələ [key], [Skt.,=circular, round] a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism. The mandala may have derived from the circular stupa a...

Mayakovsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich

(Encyclopedia)Mayakovsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich vlədyēˈmĭr vlədyēˈmĭrəvĭch mīˌəkôfˈskē [key], 1893–1930, Russian poet and dramatist. Mayakovsky was a leader of the futurist school in 1912, and he...

Saint-Saëns, Charles Camille

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Saëns, Charles Camille shärl kämēˈyəˈ săN-säNs [key], 1835–1921, French composer. A child prodigy, he made his debut as a pianist at 10 and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1848. He ...

Coriolis effect

(Encyclopedia)Coriolis effect kôrˌē-ōˈlĭs [key] [for G.-G. de Coriolis, a French mathematician], tendency for any moving body on or above the earth's surface, e.g., an ocean current or an artillery round, to ...

jet stream

(Encyclopedia)jet stream, narrow, swift currents or tubes of air found at heights ranging from 7 to 8 mi (11.3–12.9 km) above the surface of the earth. They are caused by great temperature differences between adj...

ecliptic

(Encyclopedia)ecliptic ēklĭpˈtĭk, ĭ– [key], the great circle on the celestial sphere that lies in the plane of the earth's orbit (called the plane of the ecliptic). Because of the earth's yearly revolution a...