Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

triggerfish

(Encyclopedia)triggerfish, any of several species of tropical reef fishes with laterally compressed bodies, heavy scales, and tough skins. They are named for the mechanism of the three spines of the dorsal fin: whe...

shrub

(Encyclopedia)shrub, any woody, perennial, bushy plant that branches into several stems or trunks at the base and is smaller than a tree. Shrubs are an important feature of permanent landscape planting, being used ...

roulette

(Encyclopedia)roulette ro͞olĕtˈ [key], game of chance popular in gambling casinos, and in a simplified form elsewhere. In gambling houses the roulette wheel is set in an oblong table. Its outer area is marked of...

canary

(Encyclopedia)canary kənârˈē [key], common name for a familiar cage bird of the family Ploceidae (Old World finch family), descended from either the wild serin finch or from the very similar wild canary, Serinu...

cankerworm

(Encyclopedia)cankerworm, name for two destructive inchworms, or larvae of geometrid moths. The spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria) are named for the seasons at whic...

cassowary

(Encyclopedia)cassowary kăsˈəwârˌē [key], common name for a flightless, swift-running, pugnacious forest bird of Australia and the Malay Archipelago, smaller than the ostrich and emu. The plumage is dark and ...

piculet

(Encyclopedia)piculet pĭkˈyələt [key], common name for a small bird of the family Picidae, which includes the woodpecker and the wryneck. Like the true woodpeckers, piculets are large-headed and have long, stic...

Ozu, Yasujiro

(Encyclopedia)Ozu, Yasujiro, 1903–63, Japanese film director. Ozu began working at a Tokyo studio in 1923, became an assistant director in 1926, and directed his first feature in 1927. He made 35 silent films bef...

cuesta

(Encyclopedia)cuesta kwĕsˈtə [key], asymmetric ridge characterized by a short, steep escarpment on one side, and a long, gentle slope on the other. The steep side exposes the edge of erosion-resistant rock layer...

Juvenal

(Encyclopedia)Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenalis) jo͞oˈvənəl [key], fl. 1st to 2d cent. a.d., Roman satirical poet. His verse established a model for the satire of indignation, in contrast to the less harsh sati...