Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

tall tale

(Encyclopedia)tall tale, extravagantly and humorously exaggerated story of the backwoods exploits of an American frontiersman. Originating in the 1820s, the genre remained popular well into the 20th cent. One of th...

pratincole

(Encyclopedia)pratincole prătˈənkōlˌ [key], common name for a large-winged shore bird including seven species in the subfamily Glareolinae of the family Glareolidae. Swift and graceful flyers, their sharply po...

Senegal, country, Africa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Senegal sĕnĭgôlˈ, sĕnˈĭgôl [key], officially Republic of Senegal, republic (2015 est. pop. 13,975,000), 76,124 sq mi (197,161 sq km), W Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in t...

Powell, Lewis Franklin, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Powell, Lewis Franklin, Jr., 1907–98, American lawyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1971–87), b. Suffolk, Va. He studied law at Washington and Lee Univ. and was admitted to the Vir...

De Coster, Charles Théodore Henri

(Encyclopedia)De Coster, Charles Théodore Henri də kŏsˈtər, Fr. shärl tāōdôrˈ äNrēˈ də kôstĕrˈ [key], 1827–79, Belgian author, b. Munich. His collected legends from Flemish folklore (1857), writt...

Croissy, Charles Colbert, marquis de

(Encyclopedia)Croissy, Charles Colbert, marquis de shärl kôlbĕrˈ märkē də krwäsēˈ [key], c.1625–96, French diplomat, brother of Jean Baptiste Colbert. He entered the service of Cardinal Mazarin and fill...

Charles IV, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Charles IV, 1316–78, Holy Roman emperor (1355–78), German king (1347–78), and king of Bohemia (1346–78). The son of John of Luxemburg, Charles was educated at the French court and fought the E...

Charles V, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Ho...

Browse by Subject