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Capuchins

(Encyclopedia)Capuchins kăpˈyo͞ochĭnz [key] [Ital.,=hooded ones], Roman Catholic religious order of friars, one of the independent orders of Franciscans, officially the Friars Minor Capuchin [Lat. abbr., O.M.Ca...

Arnold, Sir Edwin

(Encyclopedia)Arnold, Sir Edwin, 1832–1904, English author. After serving as principal of the government college in Pune, India, he joined (1861) the staff of the London Daily Telegraph. He won fame for his blank...

Saint-Denis, city, Réunion

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Denis, city (1990 pop. 122,875), capital of the French overseas department of Réunion. It is a port on the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the St.-Denis River and exports sugar and rum. St.-Denis ...

Ustyurt

(Encyclopedia)Ustyurt o͝ostˌyo͞ortˈ [key], desert plateau, c.62,000 sq mi (160,600 sq km), Central Asia, between the Caspian and Aral seas. It rises to between c.490 and 980 ft (150–300 m). It occupies the so...

incense

(Encyclopedia)incense, perfume diffused by the burning of aromatic gums or spices. Incense was used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and is mentioned in the Old and the New Testaments. It is also found in the maj...

Syrian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Syrian Desert, Arabic Badiyat Ash Sham, arid wasteland, SW Asia, between the cultivated lands along the E Mediterranean coast and the fertile Euphrates River valley. It extends N from the Nafud Desert...

pith

(Encyclopedia)pith, in botany, core of the stem of most plants. Pith is composed of large, loosely packed food-storage cells. As the stem grows older the pith usually dries out, and in some it disintegrates and the...

CARE

(Encyclopedia)CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), nonprofit, nonsectarian federation of agencies devoted to channeling relief and self-help materials to needy people in foreign countries. Organ...

cheetah

(Encyclopedia)cheetah chēˈtə [key], carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa and SW Asia as far east as India. Formerly numerous all over their range, they are extinct now in Asia except f...

dengue fever

(Encyclopedia)dengue fever dĕngˈgē, –gā [key], acute infectious disease caused by four closely related viruses and transmitted by the bite of the female Aedes mosquito; it is also known as breakbone fever and...