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lapwing

(Encyclopedia)lapwing, common name for some members of the family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers. Lapwings are almost all inland or upland birds, found in all temperate and tropical regions except North A...

Scholes, Myron Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Scholes, Myron Samuel, 1941–, Canadian-American economist, b. Timmins, Ont., Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1969. He was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago (1968–83) and at Stanford (emeritus since 1996...

Fastolf, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fastolf, Sir John făsˈtŏlf [key], 1378?–1459, English soldier. He won distinction for his long service in the latter part of the Hundred Years War. He was knighted some time prior to 1418 for ser...

essay

(Encyclopedia)essay, relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. Although ...

jaeger

(Encyclopedia)jaeger yāˈgər [key], common name for several members of the family Stercorariidae, member of a family of hawklike sea birds closely related to the gull and the tern. The skua is also a member of th...

duiker

(Encyclopedia)duiker dīˈkər, dāˈ– [key], name for members of a group of small, light antelopes, found in thick brush and forest over most of Africa. All stand under 25 in. (64 cm) high at the shoulder. They ...

harrow, in agriculture

(Encyclopedia)harrow, farm implement, consisting of a wooden or metal framework bearing metal disks, teeth, or sharp projecting points, called tines, which is dragged over plowed land to pulverize the clods of eart...

spear

(Encyclopedia)spear, primitive weapon consisting of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharp point, usually 8 to 9 ft (2.4–2.7 m) in length. The point may be carved from the shaft and hardened in a fire, or made from a...

Plesiosaurus

(Encyclopedia)Plesiosaurus plēˌsēəsôrˈəs [key], genus of extinct predatory marine reptiles that arose in the Triassic period of geologic time and continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Plesiosau...

Frémont, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Frémont, John Charles, 1813–90, American explorer, soldier, and political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (18...