Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Al-Khowarizmi

(Encyclopedia)Al-Khowarizmi äl-khōwärēzˈmē [key], fl. 820, Arab mathematician of the court of Mamun in Baghdad. His treatises on Hindu arithmetic and on algebra made him famous. He is said to have given algeb...

crumhorn

(Encyclopedia)crumhorn, J-shaped, double-reed musical instrument used throughout Europe from the 15th cent. through the 17th cent. It possesses a soft, reedy tone. The reed is enclosed by a wooden cap with a hole a...

Aldana, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Aldana, Francisco de fränthēsˈkō ᵺā äldäˈnä [key], 1537–78, Spanish general, diplomat, and poet, b. Alcántara or Naples. He symbolizes the ideal of the Spanish Renaissance. As a soldier ...

chapbook

(Encyclopedia)chapbook, one of the pamphlets formerly sold in Europe and America by itinerant agents, or “chapmen.” Chapbooks were inexpensive—in England often costing only a penny—and, like the broadside, ...

fandango

(Encyclopedia)fandango făndăngˈgō [key], ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th cent. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of ...

Farrar, Geraldine

(Encyclopedia)Farrar, Geraldine fərärˈ [key], 1882–1967, American operatic soprano, b. Melrose, Mass.; pupil of Lilli Lehmann. She made her debut in Europe (1901) and sang at the Metropolitan Opera, New York C...

Hammerfest

(Encyclopedia)Hammerfest häˈmərfĕst [key], town, Finnmark co., N Norway, on Kvaløy island. It is the n...

Hansen, Marcus Lee

(Encyclopedia)Hansen, Marcus Lee, 1892–1938, American historian, b. Neenah, Wis. He spent almost four years in Europe gathering material for his studies on immigration. For The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860 (19...

Miller, Alfred Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Alfred Jacob, 1810–74, American artist, b. Baltimore, studied under Thomas Sully and in Europe. In 1837 he joined an expedition to the American West and was probably the first artist to depi...

menhir

(Encyclopedia)menhir mĕnˈhērˌ [key] [Breton,=long stone], in archaeology, name given to the single standing stones of Western Europe, and by extension to those of other lands. Their size varies and their shape ...