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Aryan

(Encyclopedia)Aryan âr´n [key], [Sanskrit,=noble], term formerly used to designate the Indo-European race or language family or its Indo-Iranian subgroup. Originally a group of nomadic tribes, the Aryans were...

Indo-Aryan

(Encyclopedia)Indo-Aryan, variant name for Indic languages. Broader uses referring to racial stocks are now obsolete. See Indo-Iranian.

Vindhya Range

(Encyclopedia)Vindhya Range vn´dy [key], chain of hills, c.600 mi (970 km) long, rising to c.3,000 ft (910 m), Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The Vindhya Range has been the historic dividing line between...

Great Pyrenees

(Encyclopedia)Great Pyrenees, breed of large working dog whose fossil remains date its existence in Europe from the Bronze Age (1800–1000 BC). It stands from 25 to 32 in. (63.5–81.3 cm) high at the shoulder and...

Allahabad

(Encyclopedia)Allahabad lhbd´, –bäd´ [key], city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. On the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city, Allahabad was renamed Prayagraj by ...

Schmeling, Max

(Encyclopedia)Schmeling, Max (Maximilian Schmeling), 1905–2005, German boxer. He debuted as a professional fighter in 1924 and came to the United States in 1928. Two years later the methodical slugger beat heavyw...

Ludendorff, Erich

(Encyclopedia)Ludendorff, Erich ´rkh loo´dndôrf [key], 1865–1937, German general. A disciple of Schlieffen, he served in World War I as chief of staff to Field Marshal Hindenburg and was largely respon...

Indo-Iranian

(Encyclopedia)Indo-Iranian, subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages, spoken by more than a billion people, chiefly in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (see The Indo-Eu...

Owens, Jesse

(Encyclopedia)Owens, Jesse, 1913–80, U.S. track star, b. Alabama. He was also called John Cleveland Owens, although his original name was said to be simply J. C. Owens. After his family moved to Cleveland he exce...

amulet

(Encyclopedia)amulet m´ylt [key], object or formula that credulity and superstition have endowed with the power of warding off harmful influences. The use of the amulet to avert danger and to dispel evil has...

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