Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ermanaric

(Encyclopedia)Ermanaric ûrmănˈərĭk [key], d. c.375, king of the Ostrogoths. He extended his power over other barbarian tribes and thus built up in eastern Europe an empire stretching from the Dneister River no...

ermine

(Encyclopedia)ermine, name for a number of northern species of weasel having white coats in winter, and highly prized for their white fur. It most commonly refers to the white phase of Mustela erminea, called short...

European Investment Bank

(Encyclopedia)European Investment Bank, nonprofit bank created in 1958 by the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (now part of the European Union [EU]). The bank makes or guarantees loans to E...

Green, Theodore Francis

(Encyclopedia)Green, Theodore Francis, 1867–1966, American politician, b. Providence, R.I. After studying law at Harvard and in Europe, he was admitted to the bar (1892) and practiced in Providence. Active in Dem...

Vänern

(Encyclopedia)Vänern vĕˈnərn [key], lake, c.2,145 sq mi (5,560 sq km), SW Sweden, fed by the Klarälven and drained by the Götaälv SW into the Kattegat. It is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest ...

Balaton

(Encyclopedia)Balaton băˈlətŏn, Hung. bŏˈlŏtôn [key], lake, 230 sq mi (596 sq km), W central Hungary, at the foot of the Bakony Forest. The Zala River is its main tributary; the lake is drained by the Sió ...

organum

(Encyclopedia)organum ôrˈgənəm [key], in music, compositional technique, developed in Europe during the 10th cent., in which each note of Gregorian chant melody was doubled by another note. In the earliest exam...

Palmas, Las

(Encyclopedia)Palmas, Las läs pälˈmäs [key], city (1990 pop. 373,846), capital of Las Palmas prov., Spain, on Grand Canary. The harbor nearby, at Puerto de la Luz, is the chief port of the Canary Islands and th...

Flagstad, Kirsten

(Encyclopedia)Flagstad, Kirsten kĭrˈstən flăgˈstăd, Nor. khĭshˈtən flägˈstä [key], 1895–1962, Norwegian soprano. She made her debut in 1913 but sang only in Scandinavia until 1934, when she appeared a...

Flygare-Carlén, Emilie

(Encyclopedia)Flygare-Carlén, Emilie flüˈgärĕˌ-kärlānˈ [key], 1807–92, Swedish novelist. In The Rose of Thistle Island (1842, tr. 1844) and A Merchant's House on the Skerry (1860–61), she wrote of sea ...