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lumber

(Encyclopedia)lumber, term for timber that has been cut into boards for use as a building material. The major steps in producing lumber involve logging (the felling and preparation of timber for shipment to sawmill...

llama

(Encyclopedia)llama läˈmə [key], South American domesticated ruminant mammal, Lama glama, of the camel family. Genetic studies indicate that it is descended from the guanaco. Smaller than the camel and lacking a...

Kim, Jim Yong

(Encyclopedia)Kim, Jim Yong, 1959–, Korean-American physician, university administrator, and global health specialist, b. Seoul, grad. Brown (A.B., 1982), Harvard (M.D., 1991, Ph.D., 1993). He moved to Iowa with ...

wolverine

(Encyclopedia)wolverine or glutton, largest member of the weasel family, Gulo gulo, found in the northern parts of North America and Eurasia, usually in high mountains near the timberline or in tundra. It is a heav...

bongo

(Encyclopedia)bongo bŏngˈgō [key], spiral-horned antelope, Tragelaphus eurycerus, found in jungles and thick bamboo forests of equatorial Africa. Shy, elusive animals, bongos never emerge into the open and are s...

Snorri Sturluson

(Encyclopedia)Snorri Sturluson or Sturleson snôrˈrē stürˈlüsôn, –lĕsôn [key], 1178–1241, Icelandic chieftain, historian, critic, and saga teller, the leading figure in medieval Norse literature. He was...

Vaughan, Sarah

(Encyclopedia)Vaughan, Sarah (Sarah Lois Vaughan), 1924–90, American jazz singer, b. Newark, N.J. Nicknamed “Sassie” and “the divine one,” she studied piano and organ, began singing in her church choir, a...

sandstone

(Encyclopedia)sandstone, sedimentary rock formed by the cementing together of grains of sand. The usual cementing material in sandstone is calcium carbonate, iron oxides, or silica, and the hardness of sandstone va...

cankerworm

(Encyclopedia)cankerworm, name for two destructive inchworms, or larvae of geometrid moths. The spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) are named for the seasons at whic...

alpaca

(Encyclopedia)alpaca ălpăkˈə [key], partially domesticated South American mammal, Lama pacos, of the camel family. Genetic studies show that it is a descendant of the vicuña. Although the flesh is sometimes us...