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Ormonde, James Butler, 12th earl and 1st duke of

(Encyclopedia)Ormonde, James Butler, 12th earl and 1st duke of ôrˈmənd [key], 1610–88, Irish statesman, most powerful royalist influence in Ireland during the English civil war. A ward of the crown after the d...

Quercy

(Encyclopedia)Quercy kĕrsēˈ [key], region and former county, SW France, now divided between Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne depts. Cahors is the chief city. It consists of arid limestone plateaus (causses), cut by ferti...

Østfold

(Encyclopedia)Østfold östˈfôlˌ [key], county (1995 pop. 239,371), 1,614 sq mi (4,180 sq km), SE Norway, between the Oslofjord in the west and the Swedish border in the east. Moss is the capital. The county's p...

Stoddert, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751–1813, U.S. government official, b. Charles County, Md. Joining the Continental Army as a captain at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he attained the rank of major. A ...

Perche

(Encyclopedia)Perche pĕrsh [key], region and former county, NW France, in portions of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, and Eure depts. Alençon, an important town of the region, is world famous for its lace. Horse breeding is ...

Toulon

(Encyclopedia)Toulon to͞olôNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 170,167), Var dept., SE France, in Provence, on the Mediterranean Sea. An important commercial port and industrial center, Toulon is France's principal naval ...

badminton

(Encyclopedia)badminton bădˈmĭntən [key], game played by volleying a shuttlecock (called a “bird”)—a small, cork hemisphere to which feathers are attached—over a net. Light, gut-strung rackets are used....

Newry

(Encyclopedia)Newry, town (1991 pop. 19,246), Newry and Mourne dist., SE Northern Ireland, on the Clanrye River and the Newry Canal. It has canal connections with Carlingford Lough, the Bann River, and Lough Neagh....

Erne

(Encyclopedia)Erne ûrn [key], river, 72 mi (116 km) long, rising in Lough Gowna, Co. Longford, N Republic of Ireland. It flows NW through SW Northern Ireland, then back through the Republic before entering the Atl...

Tone, Theobald Wolfe

(Encyclopedia)Tone, Theobald Wolfe, 1763–98, Irish revolutionary. He was called to the bar in 1789 but soon turned his attention to politics. Inspired by the example of the French Revolution, he helped found (179...