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sainfoin

(Encyclopedia)sainfoin sānˈfoin [key] [Fr.,=holy hay], leguminous perennial herb (Onobrychis viciaefolia) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) indigenous in S Europe and in temperate W Asia. Sainfoin has for ...

scalping

(Encyclopedia)scalping, taking the scalp of an enemy. The custom, comparable to head-hunting, was formerly practiced in Europe and Asia (Herodotus describes its practice by the Scythians, for example), but it is ge...

sesame

(Encyclopedia)sesame sĕsˈəmē [key], herb (Sesamum indicum or orientale) cultivated for its seeds since ancient times, found chiefly in the tropics of Africa and Asia. Sesame seeds, also called bennes or gingell...

Stilwell, Joseph Warren

(Encyclopedia)Stilwell, Joseph Warren, 1883–1946, American general, b. Palatka, Fla. Commissioned in the army in 1904, he fought in World War I and later served for 13 years in China. In Feb., 1942, during World ...

River Brethren

(Encyclopedia)River Brethren, name used to designate certain Christian bodies originating in 1770, during a revival movement among German settlers in E Pennsylvania. In the 1750s, Mennonite refugees from Switzerlan...

abalone

(Encyclopedia)abalone ăbəlōˈnē [key], popular name in the United States for a univalve gastropod mollusk of the genus Haliotis, members of which are also called ear shells, or sea ears, as their shape resemble...

dust, atmospheric

(Encyclopedia)dust, atmospheric, minute particles slowly settling or suspended by slight currents and existing in varying amounts in all air. There is least dust at high levels over the ocean and most at low levels...

cobra

(Encyclopedia)cobra, name for African and Asian snakes of the family Elapidae that are equipped with inflatable neck hoods. The family also includes the African mambas, the Asian kraits, the New World coral snakes ...

flying squirrel

(Encyclopedia)flying squirrel, name for certain nocturnal tree squirrels adapted for gliding; they do not actually fly. Most are found in Asia, but one species of the genus Pteromys extends into SE Europe and the t...

Khwarazm

(Encyclopedia)Khwarazm khərĕzˈəm [key], ancient and medieval state of central Asia, situated in and around the basin of the lower Amu Darya River; now a region, NW Uzbekistan. Khwarazm is one of the oldest cent...