Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

433 results found

Villa d'Este

(Encyclopedia)Villa d'Este vēˈlä dĕˈstā [key], name of two famous villas in Italy. One lies near Tivoli, c.20 mi (30 km) E of Rome. Built in 1550 by Pirro Ligorio for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, it is decora...

strawflower

(Encyclopedia)strawflower, garden annual (Helichrysum bracteatum) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), a favorite as an everlasting but also grown for its fresh flowers. The plant is native to Australia. The fl...

Warner, Charles Dudley

(Encyclopedia)Warner, Charles Dudley, 1829–1900, American editor and author, b. Plainfield, Mass., grad. Hamilton College, 1851, LL.B. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1858. After practicing law in Chicago, he was associat...

Britton, Nathaniel Lord

(Encyclopedia)Britton, Nathaniel Lord, 1859–1934, American botanist, grad. Columbia School of Mines, 1879. He taught geology and botany at Columbia, 1879–96. He was the New York Botanical Garden's first directo...

Taj Mahal

(Encyclopedia)Taj Mahal täzh məhälˈ, täj məhŭlˈ [key], mausoleum, Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Yamuna River. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest ex...

eggplant

(Encyclopedia)eggplant, name for Solanum melongena, a large-leaved woody perennial shrub (often grown as an annual herb) of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), and also cultivated for its ovoid fruit. Native...

conceit

(Encyclopedia)conceit, in literature, fanciful or unusual image in which apparently dissimilar things are shown to have a relationship. The Elizabethan poets were fond of Petrarchan conceits, which were conventiona...

cornflower

(Encyclopedia)cornflower, common herb (Centaurea cyanus) of the family Asteraceae (aster family). It is a garden flower in the United States but a weed in the grainfields of Europe. It is called bluebottle or bluet...

Christchurch, city, New Zealand

(Encyclopedia)Christchurch, city, E South Island, New Zealand, on the Avon River. It is the second largest city in New Zealand by population (2020) and the commercial...

herb

(Encyclopedia)herb ûrb, hûrb [key], name for any plant that is used medicinally or as a spice and for the useful product of such a plant. Herbs as condiments and seasonings are still important in culinary art; th...