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Inns of Court

(Encyclopedia)Inns of Court, collective name of the four legal societies in London that have the exclusive right of admission to the bar. These societies—Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, the Inner Temple, and the Middl...

nutcracker

(Encyclopedia)nutcracker, common name for a small crow of the genus Nucifraga in the family Corvidae (crow family). The Old World nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) is found throughout the colder regions of Europe, incl...

markhor

(Encyclopedia)markhor märˈkôr [key], wild goat, Capra falconeri, found in the rugged mountains of central Asia, from S Russia to the W Himalayas. Largest of the goats, the male may stand over 40 in. (100 cm) at ...

Marshall, Kerry James

(Encyclopedia)Marshall, Kerry James, 1955–, American painter, b. Birmingham, Ala., B.F.A. Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design), Los Angeles, 1978. A figurative and narrative artist whose subjec...

mildew

(Encyclopedia)mildew, name for certain fungi and protists, for the diseases they cause in various crops, and for the discoloration (and sometimes the weakening and disintegration) they cause in such materials as le...

Karakul sheep

(Encyclopedia)Karakul sheep kărˈəkəl [key], breed native to central Asia. The newborn lambs usually have tightly curled black fur and are skinned before they are three days old to provide the commercial lambski...

partridge

(Encyclopedia)partridge, common name applied to various henlike birds of several families. The true partridges of the Old World are members of the pheasant family (Phasianidae); the common European or Hungarian spe...

Berlin, Sir Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Sir Isaiah, 1909–97, English political scientist, b. Riga, Latvia (then in Russia). His family moved to St. Petersburg when he was a boy and emigrated to London in 1921. He was educated at O...

squash bug

(Encyclopedia)squash bug, name for a true bug, Anasa tristis, found throughout the United States and S Canada. It damages squash, pumpkin, and related plants by sucking the juices from leaves and stems. The adult i...

talc

(Encyclopedia)talc, mineral ranging in color from white through various shades of gray and green to the red and brown of impure specimens, translucent to opaque, and having a greasy, soapy feel. It is a hydrous sil...