Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

equinox

(Encyclopedia)equinox ēˈkwĭnŏks [key], either of two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. The vernal equinox, also known as “the first point of Aries,” is t...

handball, court

(Encyclopedia)handball, court, indoor or outdoor game played by striking a ball against a wall or walls with the palm of the hand. Play may be for singles or doubles (four players) on a court with one, three, or fo...

Cartesian coordinates

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cartesian coordinates Cartesian coordinates kärtēˈzhən [key] [for René Descartes], system for representing the relative positions of points in a plane or in space. In a plane, the point P...

Avarua

(Encyclopedia)Avarua, town (est. pop. 2,600), capital, largest town, and main port of the Cook Islands, located on the N coast of Rarotonga. A trading center for locally produced fruit and fish, it is also a touris...

Paysandú

(Encyclopedia)Paysandú pīsändo͞oˈ [key], city (1996 pop. 84,172), capital of Paysandú dept., W Uruguay, a port on the Uruguay River. It is Uruguay's third largest city and the commercial center for a rich sto...

Taylor, Brook

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Brook, 1685–1731, English mathematician. He originated Taylor's theorem, a formula important in differential calculus, which relates a function to its derivatives by means of a power series....

Titus , epistle of the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)Titus, letter of the New Testament. With First and Second Timothy, it comprises the Pastoral Epistles, purportedly written by St. Paul. Titus resembles First Timothy in detail; it consists of points r...

Repplier, Agnes

(Encyclopedia)Repplier, Agnes rĕpˈlēr [key], 1858–1950, American essayist, b. Philadelphia. Her essays, esteemed for their scholarship and wit, are collected in several volumes, including Books and Men (1888),...

short circuit

(Encyclopedia)short circuit, abnormal connection of low resistance between two points of a circuit that usually causes a high, potentially damaging current to flow. To protect against damage, devices such as a fuse...

quadrature

(Encyclopedia)quadrature, in astronomy, arrangement of two celestial bodies at right angles to each other as viewed from a reference point. If the reference point is the earth and the sun is one of the bodies, a pl...