Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Termez

(Encyclopedia)Termez tyĭrmyĕsˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 99,000), capital of Surkhandaryo region, S Uzbekistan, a port on the Amu Darya River, near the Afghanistan border. It is the center of an agricultural region...

butane

(Encyclopedia)butane byo͞oˈtān [key], C4H10, gaseous alkane, a hydrocarbon that is obtained from natural gas or by refining petroleum. It can be liquefied at room temperature by compression. There are two struct...

ladybird beetle

(Encyclopedia)ladybird beetle or ladybug, member of a cosmopolitan beetle family with over 4,000 species, including 350 species in the United States. Ladybird beetles are mostly under 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) long and are ...

model and modeling

(Encyclopedia)model and modeling, in painting, the use of light and shade to simulate volume in the representation of solids. In sculpture the terms denote a technique involving the use of a pliable material such a...

Loos, Adolf

(Encyclopedia)Loos, Adolf äˈdôlf lōs [key], 1870–1933, Austrian architect. His rationalist design theories were strongly influenced by his stay in the United States from 1893 to 1896, where he admired America...

Aroostook War

(Encyclopedia)Aroostook War, Feb.–May, 1839, border conflict between the United States and Canada. In 1838, Maine and New Brunswick both claimed territory left undetermined on the U.S.-Canadian border, including ...

match

(Encyclopedia)match, small stick whose chemically coated tip bursts into flame when struck on a rough surface. Before the introduction of the match, fire was made by friction methods using the stick and the groove,...

Abadan

(Encyclopedia)Abadan ăbədănˈ, äbädänˈ [key], city, Khuzestan prov., SW Iran, on Abadan Island, in the delta of the Shatt al Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf. It is the term...

mealybug

(Encyclopedia)mealybug, common name for certain unarmored scale insects that exude a granular white secretion, giving them a mealy appearance. Many are common greenhouse and crop pests. Adult females are wingless, ...

Klinger, Max

(Encyclopedia)Klinger, Max klĭngˈər [key], 1857–1920, German painter, sculptor, and etcher. Before 1886 he produced cycles of original and somewhat morbidly imaginative etchings, such as Deliverances of Sacri...