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Weston-super-Mare

(Encyclopedia)Weston-super-Mare wĕstˈən-so͞oˈpər-mâr [key], city (1991 pop. 60,821), North Somerset, SW England, on the Bristol Channel. It is a seaside resort with attractions that include Worlebury Hill, w...

Obadiah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Obadiah, short prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet is otherwise unknown. The oracle which comprises this book dates from after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 b.c. The prop...

Mélusine

(Encyclopedia)Mélusine mĕlyo͝osēˈnä [key], in French legend, a fairy who changed into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She married a mortal, Count Raymond, said to be the ancestor of the house of...

kneecap

(Encyclopedia)kneecap (patella), saucer-shaped bone at the front of the knee joint; it protects the ends of the femur, or thighbone, and the tibia, the large bone of the foreleg. The kneecap is embedded in the tend...

Red Rock chicken

(Encyclopedia)Red Rock chicken, the only chicken still popular to any large extent in the United States today for both meat and eggs. It resulted from a cross between a Rhode Island Red male and a Plymouth Rock fem...

Claudius II

(Encyclopedia)Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Claudius), d. 270, Roman emperor (268–70), called Gothicus. A successful general under Valerian, Claudius put down the revolt in which Gallienus was killed. He succeeded...

divining rod

(Encyclopedia)divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig....

upholstery

(Encyclopedia)upholstery, general term for household fittings, hangings, curtains, cushions, and covers. It refers to stuffed, padded, and spring-cushioned furniture, such as chairs and sofas, or to the usually dec...

Pacaya

(Encyclopedia)Pacaya, volcanic massif, 8,373 ft (2,552 m) high, S central Guatemala, 19 mi (30 km) S of Guatemala City, on the southern edge of the ancient caldera that contains Lake Amatitlán. One of the world's ...

Flint, Timothy

(Encyclopedia)Flint, Timothy, 1780–1840, American author, b. North Reading, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1800, and entered the ministry. As a missionary he traveled up and down the Mississippi valley from 1815 until 182...