Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

tempo

(Encyclopedia)tempo [Ital.,=time], in music, the speed of a composition. The composer's intentions as to tempo are conventionally indicated by a set of Italian terms, of which the principal ones are presto (very fa...

Eudoxus of Cnidus

(Encyclopedia)Eudoxus of Cnidus yo͞odŏkˈsəs, nīˈdəs [key], 408?–355? b.c., Greek astronomer, mathematician, and physician. From the accounts of various ancient writers, he appears to have studied with Plat...

Simonides of Ceos

(Encyclopedia)Simonides of Ceos sīmŏnˈĭdēz, sēˈŏs [key], c.556–468? b.c., Greek lyric poet, b. Ceos. At Athens for a time under the patronage of Hipparchus, he seems then to have gone to Thessaly, returni...

Young, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Young, Edward, 1683–1765, English poet and dramatist. After a disappointing political life he took holy orders about 1724, serving for a time as the royal chaplain before becoming rector of Welwyn i...

Wambach, Abby

(Encyclopedia)Wambach, Abby (Mary Abigail Wambach) wämˈbäk [key], 1980–, American soccer player, b. Rochester, N.Y. A forward, she was the all-time leading scorer for the Univ. of Florida Gators (1998–2001)....

transit instrument

(Encyclopedia)transit instrument or transit, telescope devised to observe stars as they cross the meridian and used for determining time. Its viewing tube swings on a rigid horizontal axis restricting its movements...

Turner, Ted

(Encyclopedia)Turner, Ted (Robert Edward Turner 3d), 1938–, American television network executive, b. Cincinnati. After inheriting his father's billboard company, he founded (1976) a television station, WTBS, and...

United States Naval Observatory

(Encyclopedia)United States Naval Observatory, a federal astronomical observatory, located in Washington, D. C. It evolved from the Navy's oldest scientific institution, the Depot of Charts and Instruments, founded...

Browse by Subject