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glanders

(Encyclopedia)glanders, highly contagious disease of horses, mules, and donkeys, caused by the bacterium Actinobacillus mallei. Although it can be transmitted to humans, it is limited almost exclusively to handlers...

goby

(Encyclopedia)goby, common name for a member of the family Gobiidae, small marine fishes familiar in shallow waters, especially along southern shores. Gobies may be either scaled or scaleless; all species have the ...

flying dragon

(Encyclopedia)flying dragon, gliding lizard of the genus Draco, found in tropical forests of SE Asia. There are about 15 species. Most are about 8 in. (20 cm) long. On either side of the lizard's body are thin, win...

folk drama

(Encyclopedia)folk drama, noncommercial, generally rural theater and pageantry based on folk traditions and local history. This form of drama, common throughout the world, declined in popularity in the West (althou...

John III, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Ducas Vatatzes) do͝oˈkəs vətătˈzēz [key], d. 1254, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1222–54), successor and son-in-law of Theodore I. He extended his territory in Asia Minor and th...

Muscovy Company

(Encyclopedia)Muscovy Company mŭsˈkəvē [key] or Russia Company, first major English joint-stock trading company. It began in 1553 as a group supporting exploration of a possible northeast passage to Asia. An ex...

Nekhtnebf

(Encyclopedia)Nekhtnebf or Nekhtnebef both: nĕkhtˌnĕbˈəf [key], Gr. Nectanebo I, d. 361 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (379–361 b.c.), founder of the XXX dynasty. By the gallant defense of the fortresses of the...

Oceania

(Encyclopedia)Oceania ōshēănˈĭkə [key], collective name for the approximately 25,000 islands of the Pacific, usually excluding such nontropical areas as the Ryukyu and Aleutian islands and Japan, as well as T...

oracle

(Encyclopedia)oracle, in Greek religion, priest or priestess who imparted the response of a god to a human questioner. The word is also used to refer to the response itself and to the shrine of a god. Every oracula...

Konoye, Fumimaro

(Encyclopedia)Konoye, Fumimaro fo͞oˌmēmärōˈ kōnōyāˈ [key], 1891–1945, Japanese statesman. He was a scion of the ancient Fujiwara noble family. In June, 1937, he accepted the premiership. A former libera...