Columbia Encyclopedia

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pigeon

(Encyclopedia)pigeon, common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy pl...

fashion

(Encyclopedia)fashion, in dress, the prevailing mode affecting modifications in costume. Styles in Asia have been characterized by freedom from change, and ancient Greek and Roman dress preserved the same flowing l...

Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques än rōbĕrˈ zhäk türgōˈ [key], 1727–81, French economist, comptroller general of finances (1774–76). The son of a rich merchant, he showed precocious ability at s...

egret

(Encyclopedia)egret ēgrĕtˈ [key], common name for several species of herons of the Old and New Worlds, belonging to the family Ardeidae. Before they were protected by law the birds were nearly exterminated by hu...

Doberman pinscher

(Encyclopedia)Doberman pinscher dōˈbərmən pĭnˈshər [key], breed of large, compact working dog originating in Germany c.1890. It stands from 24 to 28 in. (61–71 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 t...

Dalmatian

(Encyclopedia)Dalmatian dălmāˈshən [key], breed of hardy, strong-bodied nonsporting dog probably developed in the Austrian province of Dalmatia (now Croatia) several hundred years ago. It stands from 19 to 23 i...

cowbird

(Encyclopedia)cowbird, New World bird of the blackbird and oriole (hangnest) family. The male eastern, or common, cowbird is glossy black, about 8 in. (20 cm) long, with a brown head and breast; the female is gray....

curlew

(Encyclopedia)curlew kûrˈlo͞o [key], common name for large shore birds of both hemispheres, generally brown and buff in color and with decurved bills. There are eight species, belonging to the genus Numenius. Th...

Coleman, William Thaddeus, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Coleman, William Thaddeus, Jr., 1920–2017, African-American lawyer and U.S. cabinet official, b. Philadelphia, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1941, Harvard Law School, 1946. He clerked for Justice Fra...

Alaska Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Alaska Peninsula, SW Alaska, extending 500 mi (800 km) SW from the mainland, separating Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea from Cook Inlet, the Shelikof Strait, and Pacific Ocean. The Aleutian Range, runn...