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tantalum

(Encyclopedia)tantalum tănˈtələm [key] [from Tantalus], metallic chemical element; symbol Ta; at. no. 73; at. wt. 180.94788; m.p. 2,996℃; b.p. 5,400±100℃; sp. gr. 16.65 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5....

voodoo

(Encyclopedia)voodoo vo͞oˈdo͞o [key] [from the god Vodun], native W African religious beliefs and practices that also has adherents in the New World. Voodoo believers are most numerous in Haiti, where voodoo was...

Wegener, Alfred Lothar

(Encyclopedia)Wegener, Alfred Lothar älˈfrĕt lōtärˈ vĕgˈənər [key], 1880–1930, German geologist, meteorologist, and Arctic explorer. Early in his life, he was on the staff of the aeronautical observator...

caudillo

(Encyclopedia)caudillo kôdēlˈyō Span. kouᵺēˈyō [key], [Span.,= military strongman], type of South American political leader that arose with the 19th-century wars of independence. The first caudillos were o...

pompano

(Encyclopedia)pompano pŏmˈpənō [key], common name for fishes of the genus Trachinotus, members of a large and important family (Carangidae) of mackerellike fishes, abundant in warm seas around the world. They h...

Garibaldi, Giuseppe

(Encyclopedia)Garibaldi, Giuseppe gărĭbôlˈdē, Ital. jo͞ozĕpˈpā gärēbälˈdē [key], 1807–82, Italian patriot and soldier, a leading figure in the Risorgimento. He remains perhaps the most popular of al...

Native American languages

(Encyclopedia)Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arriv...

Mitre, Bartolomé

(Encyclopedia)Mitre, Bartolomé bärˌtōlōmāˈ mēˈtrā [key], 1821–1906, Argentine statesman, general, and author, president of the republic (1862–68). An opponent of Juan Manuel de Rosas, he was forced in...

asbestos, mineral

(Encyclopedia)asbestos, common name for any of a variety of silicate minerals within the amphibole and serpentine groups that are fibrous in structure and more or less resistant to acid and fire. Chrysotile asbesto...

rhea, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)rhea rēˈə [key], common name for a South American bird of the family Rheidae, which is related to the ostrich. Weighing from 44 to 55 lb (20–25 kg) and standing up to 60 in. (152 cm) tall, the rh...