Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sap

(Encyclopedia)sap, fluid in plants consisting of water and dissolved substances. Cell sap refers to this fluid present in the large vacuole, or cell cavity, that occupies most of the central portion of mature plant...

Dilthey, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Dilthey, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm dĭlˈtī [key], 1833–1911, German philosopher. He taught at the universities of Basel, Kiel, Breslau, and Berlin. He was one of the first to claim the independence of t...

Cincinnatus

(Encyclopedia)Cincinnatus (Lucius or Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus) sĭnsĭnāˈtəs, –nătˈəs [key], fl. 5th cent. b.c., Roman patriot. He was consul in 460 b.c. and dictator twice (458 and 439). According to tr...

fiber, dietary

(Encyclopedia)fiber, dietary, bulky part of food that cannot be broken down by enzymes in the small intestine of the digestive system. Almost all natural fiber comes from plants. Although fiber has little nutrition...

Herbert of Cherbury, Edward Herbert, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Herbert of Cherbury, Edward Herbert, 1st Baron, 1583–1648, English philosopher, poet, and diplomat; elder brother of George Herbert, the metaphysical poet. He was ambassador to France (1619–24) an...

Anne de Beaujeu

(Encyclopedia)Anne de Beaujeu də bōzhöˈ [key], c.1460–1522, regent of France, daughter of the French King Louis XI. With her husband, Pierre de Beaujeu, duc de Bourbon, she acted as regent for her brother, Ch...

Milanović, Zoran

(Encyclopedia)Milanović, Zoran zōˈrän mēläˈnōvĭch [key], 1966–, Croatian political leader, b. Zagreb. He studied law at the Univ. of Zagreb (grad. 1990) and the Univ. of Brussels (M.A. 1998). A member of...

Kassites

(Encyclopedia)Kassites or Cassites both: kăsˈīts [key], ancient people, probably of Indo-European origin. They were first mentioned in historical texts as occupying the W Iranian plateau. In the 18th cent. b.c. ...

Kitab al-Aghani

(Encyclopedia)Kitab al-Aghani kētäbˈ äl-ägänēˈ [key] [Arab.,=book of songs], collection of poems in many volumes compiled by Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan. It contains poems from the oldest epoch of Arabic li...

Browse by Subject