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rape, in law

(Encyclopedia)rape, in law, the crime of sexual relations, often specifically sexual intercourse, without the consent of the victim, often through force or threat of violence. The victim is deemed legally incapable...

Olmsted, Frederick Law

(Encyclopedia)Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822–1903, American landscape architect and writer, b. Hartford, Conn. Although his Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England had appeared in 1852, Olmsted first attai...

will, in law

(Encyclopedia)will, in law, document expressing the wishes of a person (known as a testator) concerning the disposition of her property after her death. If a person dies intestate, i.e., without a valid will, statu...

tenure, in law

(Encyclopedia)tenure, in law, manner in which property in land is held. The nature of tenure has long been of great importance, both in law and in the broader economic and political context. Tenure has varied great...

electrostatics

(Encyclopedia)electrostatics, study of phenomena associated with charged bodies at rest (see charge; electricity). A charged body has an excess of positive or negative charges, a condition usually brought about by ...

farad

(Encyclopedia)farad fărˈəd [key] [for Michael Faraday], unit of electrical capacitance, equivalent to 1 coulomb of stored charge per volt of applied potential difference. ...

law of the sea

(Encyclopedia)law of the sea: see maritime law; sea, law of the; seas, freedom of the. ...

Anti-Corn-Law League

(Encyclopedia)Anti-Corn-Law League, organization formed in 1839 to work for the repeal of the English corn laws. It was an affiliation of groups in various cities and districts with headquarters at Manchester and w...

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