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aye-aye

(Encyclopedia)aye-aye īˈīˈ [key], name for an aberrant primate, Daubentonia madagascariensis, related to the lemurs but distinguished by its specialized teeth and fingers. A large nocturnal and arboreal primate...

Eisenstein, Sergei Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Eisenstein, Sergei Mikhailovich syĭrgāˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch īˈzənshtīn [key], 1898–1948, Russian film director. An architect and engineer, he became interested in a theatrical career and worked...

Altgeld, John Peter

(Encyclopedia)Altgeld, John Peter ältˈgĕlt [key], 1847–1902, American politician, governor of Illinois (1892–96), b. Germany. He was taken by his immigrant parents to Ohio, where he grew up with little forma...

Knights of Labor

(Encyclopedia)Knights of Labor, American labor organization, started by Philadelphia tailors in 1869, led by Uriah S. Stephens. It became a body of national scope and importance in 1878 and grew more rapidly after ...

rivet

(Encyclopedia)rivet, headed metal pin or bolt whose shaft is passed through holes in two or more pieces of metal, wood, plastic, or other material in order to unite them by forming the plain end into a second head....

Fisher, John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Fisher, John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron ärbŭthˈnət [key], 1841–1920, British admiral. Entering the navy in 1854, he specialized in gunnery and in 1872 was responsible for instituting the develo...

pyrite

(Encyclopedia)pyrite pīrīˈtēz, pə–, pīˈrīts [key], pale brass-yellow mineral, the bisulfide of iron, FeS2. It occurs most commonly in crystals (belonging to the isometric system and usually in the form of...

sloth

(Encyclopedia)sloth slōth, slôth [key], arboreal mammal found in Central and South America distantly related to armadillos and anteaters. Sloths live in tropical forests, where they sleep, eat, and travel through...

xerography

(Encyclopedia)xerography zərŏgˈrəfēˌ [key], also called electrophotography, method of dry photocopying in which the image is transferred by using the attractive forces of electric charges. A beam of light, us...

billiards

(Encyclopedia)billiards, any one of a number of games played with a tapered, leather-tipped stick called a cue and various numbers of balls on a rectangular, cloth-covered slate table with raised and cushioned edge...