Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

English horn

(Encyclopedia)CE5 English horn English horn, musical instrument, the alto of the oboe family, pitched a fifth lower than the oboe and treated as a transposing instrument. It has a pear-shaped bell, giving it a ...

English setter

(Encyclopedia)English setter, breed of large sporting dog developed over hundreds of years in England. It stands about 25 in. (63.5 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 60 lb (27.2 kg). Its flat or slightly wa...

English sheepdog

(Encyclopedia)English sheepdog: see old English sheepdog. ...

English sparrow

(Encyclopedia)English sparrow or house sparrow, small bird, Passer domesticus, common throughout most of the world. English sparrows are 4 to 7 in. (10–18 cm) long, with short, stout bills. The male is brown with...

borough-English

(Encyclopedia)borough-English, a custom of inheritance in parts of England whereby land passed typically to the youngest son in preference to his older brothers. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, the custom was abolished by l...

Black English

(Encyclopedia)Black English, distinctive dialect spoken at times by as many as 80% to 90% of African Americans; also called ebonics [from ebony and phonics]. Long considered merely substandard English, it is in fac...

pigeon English

(Encyclopedia)pigeon English: see pidgin.

Dutch literature

(Encyclopedia)Dutch literature: see Dutch and Flemish literature. ...

Cornish literature

(Encyclopedia)Cornish literature. The literature of the Celtic language of Cornwall, which has been spoken only by bilingual speakers since the late 18th cent. The surviving pre-1800 literature consists largely of ...

Finnish literature

(Encyclopedia)Finnish literature. The first printed work in Finnish was the ABC book published c.1542 by Bishop Michael Agricola (1508–57). In 1642 the first complete translation of the Bible in Finnish appeared ...