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quadratic

(Encyclopedia)quadratic, mathematical expression of the second degree in one or more unknowns (see polynomial). The general quadratic in one unknown has the form ax2+bx+c, where a, b, and c are constants and x is t...

spikenard

(Encyclopedia)spikenard spīkˈnärd [key], name for several plants. The biblical spikenard, or nard, was a costly aromatic ointment, preserved in alabaster boxes, whose chief ingredient is believed to have been de...

Hebrew language

(Encyclopedia)Hebrew language, member of the Canaanite group of the West Semitic subdivision of the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages). Hebrew was the language of t...

Job

(Encyclopedia)Job jōb [key], book of the Bible. The book is of unknown authorship and date, although many scholars assign it to a time between 600 b.c. and 400 b.c. A lament in narrative form, the subject is the p...

June beetle

(Encyclopedia)June beetle or May beetle, a blackish or mahogany-colored beetle of the scarab beetle family, widely distributed in North America and especially abundant in the NE United States and the adjacent parts...

Kaesong

(Encyclopedia)Kaesong or Kaisong both: kăˈsŭngˈ [key], Jap. Kaijo, city (1993 pop. 334,433), S North Korea. A long-time commercial center, it is important for its exports of ginseng, a valuable medicinal root. ...

dandelion

(Encyclopedia)dandelion [Eng. form of Fr.,=lion's tooth], any plant of the genus Taraxacum of the family Asteraceae (aster family), perennial herbs of wide distribution in temperate regions. The dandelion has a ros...

Norfolk, county, England

(Encyclopedia)Norfolk nôrˈfək [key], county (1991 pop. 736,700), 2,054 sq mi (5,320 sq km), E England. The county seat is Norwich. Administratively, Norfolk is divided into the districts of Great Yarmouth, North...

Young Men's Christian Association

(Encyclopedia)Young Men's Christian Association, (the Y or YMCA), organization having as its objective the development of values and behaviors that are consistent with Christian principles. Despite its name, member...

Bleuler, Eugen

(Encyclopedia)Bleuler, Eugen oiˈgən bloiˈ lər [key], 1857–1939, Swiss psychiatrist. He taught (1898–1927) at the Univ. of Zürich, serving concurrently as director of Zürich's Burghölzi Asylum. Bleuler is...