Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

219 results found

Adler, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Adler, Alfred ädˈlər [key], 1870–1937, Austrian psychologist, founder of the school of individual psychology. Although one of Sigmund Freud's earlier associates, he rejected the Freudian emphasis...

radish

(Encyclopedia)radish, herbaceous plant (Raphanus sativus) belonging to the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), with an edible, pungent root sliced in salads or used as a relish. It is thought to be...

Yale University

(Encyclopedia)Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1...

tropism

(Encyclopedia)tropism trōpˈĭzəm [key], involuntary response of an organism, or part of an organism, involving orientation toward (positive tropism) or away from (negative tropism) one or more external stimuli. ...

cyclosis

(Encyclopedia)cyclosis sīklōˈsĭs [key], streaming of cytoplasm within a living cell without deformation of the external cell membrane. In some plant cells there is a rapid rotatory cytoplasmic movement, which i...

Chuquet, Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Chuquet, Nicolas nēkôläˈ shükāˈ [key], c.1450–1500, French mathematician, probably b. Paris. Little is known of Chuquet's life. At Lyons in 1484 he composed a manuscript on the science of num...

abscess

(Encyclopedia)abscess, localized inflammation associated with tissue necrosis. Abscesses are characterized by inflamation, which is due to the accumulation of pus in the local tissues, and often painful...

escape velocity

(Encyclopedia)escape velocity, the velocity a body must be given in order to escape the gravitational hold of some other larger body, e.g., the earth, moon, or sun. A body given less than the escape velocity will f...

Burmese

(Encyclopedia)Burmese, language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages). It is spoken by about 30 million people in Myanmar, where it is both th...

Racine

(Encyclopedia)Racine rəsēnˈ [key], industrial city (1990 pop. 84,298), seat of Racine co., SE Wis., on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Root River; inc. 1848. It is a port of entry, and its manufactures includ...

Browse by Subject