Columbia Encyclopedia

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puppet

(Encyclopedia)puppet, human or animal figure, generally of a small size and performing on a miniature stage, manipulated by an unseen operator who usually speaks the dialogue. A distinction is made between marionet...

intelligent design

(Encyclopedia)intelligent design, theory that some complex biological structures and other aspects of nature show evidence of having been designed by an intelligence. Such biological structures are said to have int...

meteorite

(Encyclopedia)meteorite, meteor that survives the intense heat of atmospheric friction and reaches the earth's surface. Because of the destructive effects of this friction, only the very largest meteors become mete...

Newfoundland, breed of dog

(Encyclopedia)Newfoundland, breed of massive, powerful working dog developed in Newfoundland, probably in the 17th cent., and later perfected in England. It stands from 25 to 28 in. (63.5–71.1 cm) high at the sho...

Nicholas Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas Brothers, African-American tap dance team consisting of Fayard Antonio Nicholas, 1914–2006, b. Mobile, Ala., and Harold Lloyd Nicholas, 1921–2000, b. Winston-Walem, N.C. Performing on sta...

Norwalk

(Encyclopedia)Norwalk nôrˈwôkˌ [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 94,279), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; settled in the 1850s, inc. 1957. With the arrival (1875) of the Southern Pacific RR, it became a center for the dairy ...

Line Islands

(Encyclopedia)Line Islands or Equatorial Islands, coral group, 43 sq mi (111 sq km), central and S Pacific. Once valuable for their guano deposits, the islands now have coconut groves, airfields, and meteorological...

mimosa, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mimosa mĭmōˈsə [key], any tree, shrub, or herb of the genus Mimosa of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), chiefly tropical plants. They usually have feathery foliage and rounded clusters of fra...

La Tour, Georges de

(Encyclopedia)La Tour, Georges de zhôrzh də lä to͞or [key], 1593–1652, French painter. By 1618 he was settled at Lunéville, in his native Lorraine. He bore the title of painter to the king in 1639. La Tour p...

aschelminths

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Internal anatomy of a female rotifer, representative of the phylum Aschelminthes aschelminths ăsk-hĕlmĭnˈthz [key], large assemblage of loosely related, wormlike organisms of extremely var...