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Gauck, Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Gauck, Joachim, 1940–, German political and human-rights activist, president of Germany (2012–17), b. Rostock. An anticommunist from his youth, Gauck was ordained a Lutheran minister and was pasto...

Beijing University

(Encyclopedia)Beijing University or Peking University, at Beijing, China; founded as Metropolitan Univ. 1898, renamed Peking Univ. 1911, absorbed nontechnical departments of Tsinghua Univ. and merged with and moved...

Saskatchewan, province, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Saskatchewan səskăchˈəwən, –wänˌ, săsˌ– [key], province (2001 pop. 978,933), 251,700 sq mi (651,903 sq km), W Canada. Original inhabitants of Saskatchewan include tribes of three...

abdomen

(Encyclopedia)abdomen, in humans and other vertebrates, portion of the trunk between the diaphragm and lower pelvis. In humans the wall of the abdomen is a muscular structure covered by fascia, fat, and skin. The a...

Molokai

(Encyclopedia)Molokai mōˈlōkīˈ [key], island (1990 pop. 6,587), 261 sq mi (676 sq km), Maui co., Hawaii, between Oahu and Maui islands. Molokai is generally mountainous, with Mt. Kamakou (4,970 ft/1,515 m) the...

stavkirke

(Encyclopedia)stavkirke stäfˈkērˌkĕ [key] [Nor.], medieval wooden church building of Scandinavian countries. Of hundreds erected in the 11th, 12th, and 13th cent., only a score survive, and these are all in No...

silk

(Encyclopedia)silk, fine, horny, translucent, yellowish fiber produced by the silkworm in making its cocoon and covered with sericin, a protein. Many varieties of silk-spinning worms and insects are known, but the ...

hurricane

(Encyclopedia)CE5 View into the eye of a hurricane showing the structure of the surrounding cloud wall hurricane, tropical cyclone in which winds attain speeds greater than 74 mi (119 km) per hr. Wind speeds gu...

Pingxiang

(Encyclopedia)Pingxiang or Pingsiang both: pĭng-shyäng [key], city (1994 est. pop. 451,700), W Jiangxi prov., China. It is a major coal-mining center, producing quality coking coal for the Huangshi iron and steel...

Siloam

(Encyclopedia)Siloam sīlōˈəm [key], pool, SW corner of Jerusalem in the Kidron valley, mentioned in the Bible. A nearby 1,700-foot-long (518 m) tunnel, dating from the time of Hezekiah, diverted water underneat...