Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

454 results found

arsenopyrite

(Encyclopedia)arsenopyrite mĭsˈpĭkəl [key], silver-white to steel-gray mineral with the metallic luster characteristic of a pyrite. It is a sulfarsenide of iron, FeAsS, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system ...

bayberry

(Encyclopedia)bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray “berries” of the North American wild...

whippet

(Encyclopedia)whippet, breed of small, slender hound developed in England in the mid-18th cent. It stands between 18 and 22 in. (45.7–55.8 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 20 lb (9 kg). Its close-lying, ...

quartzite

(Encyclopedia)quartzite, usually metamorphic rock composed of firmly cemented quartz grains. Most often it is white, light gray, yellowish, or light brown, but is sometimes colored blue, green, purple, or black by ...

stibnite

(Encyclopedia)stibnite stĭbˈnīt [key], antimony sulfide, Sb2S3, a mineral, silvery gray in color, with a metallic luster. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. Found in many parts of the world, it is the m...

Alliance

(Encyclopedia)Alliance. 1 City, seat of Box Butte co., NW Nebr., in the High Plains; founded 1887 as Grand Lake, renamed and inc. 1888. Located in a farming and ranching region, it is a shipping c...

Doulton ware

(Encyclopedia)Doulton ware dōlˈtən [key], English pottery produced at Lambeth after 1815, first by John Doulton and his partners, then by his descendants. It won the medal at the Exhibition of 1851 and more than...

hornbeam

(Encyclopedia)hornbeam or ironwood, name in North America for two groups of trees of the family Betulaceae (birch family), native to the eastern half of the continent. Carpinus caroliniana, also called blue beech a...

waxwing

(Encyclopedia)waxwing, any of three species of perching songbirds of the Northern Hemisphere. Waxwings have crests (raised only in alarm) and sleek brownish-gray plumage with flecks of red pigment resembling sealin...

Tibetan terrier

(Encyclopedia)Tibetan terrier, breed of medium-sized dog originating in Tibet probably several thousand years ago. It stands from 14 to 16 in. (35.6–40.6 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 15 to 30 lb (6.8�...