Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Afrofuturism

(Encyclopedia) Afrofuturism, artistic and cultural movement that is based on the wedding of African diasporic themes with modern technology and elements of science fiction and fantasy. The term is gener...

caviar

(Encyclopedia)caviar or caviare kăvˈēär [key], the roe (eggs) of various species of sturgeon prepared as a piquant table delicacy. The ovaries of the fish are beaten to loosen the eggs, which are then freed fro...

Dixon

(Encyclopedia)Dixon, city (2020 pop. 15,274), seat of Lee co., N Ill., on the Rock River; founded 1830, inc. 1857. Corn and soybeans are grown, cattle are raised, and...

Ohrid, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Ohrid, Lake, Albanian Ohrit, deepest lake of the Balkans, c.130 sq mi (340 sq km), on the North Macedonia–Albania border. It is connected with Lake Prespa by underground channels and is drained to t...

henna

(Encyclopedia)henna, name for a reddish or black hair dye obtained from the powdered leaves and young shoots of the mignonette tree, or henna shrub (Lawsonia inermis), an Old World shrub of the loosestrife family. ...

incantation

(Encyclopedia)incantation, set formula, spoken or sung, for the purpose of working magic. An incantation is normally an invocation to beneficent supernatural spirits for aid, protection, or inspiration. It may also...

Wien, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Wien, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm vēn [key], 1864–1928, German physicist. He was professor at the universities of Giessen (1899), Würzburg (1900–1920), and Munich (from 1920). He received the 1911 Nobel...

wolframite

(Encyclopedia)wolframite wo͝olˈfrəmītˌ [key], reddish-brown to grayish-black lustrous mineral, a tungstate of iron and manganese, (Fe,Mn)Wo4, occurring in crystals of the monoclinic system. It is the chief ore...

Hamer, Fannie Lou

(Encyclopedia)Hamer, Fannie Lou, 1917–1977, U.S. voting rights activist and civil rights leader, b. Montgomery County, Miss. Fannie Lou Hamer was the first woman fr...

Nicholson, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, Sir William, 1872–1949, English woodcut artist, illustrator, and painter. The striking contrasts of black and white of his woodcutting technique were used to great effect on posters, on w...

Browse by Subject