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Hesdin, Jacquemart de

(Encyclopedia)Hesdin, Jacquemart de zhäkmärˈ də ādăNˈ [key], fl. c.1384–1411, Franco-Flemish manuscript illuminator. Jacquemart illustrated numerous books of hours, including a number of manuscripts for Je...

hypostyle

(Encyclopedia)hypostyle hĭpˈəstīl, hīˈpə– [key], the chamber in Egyptian temples in which a number of columns supported a flat stone roof. Forming the chief and largest inner space of the temple, it was en...

anecdote

(Encyclopedia)anecdote ănˈĭkdōtˌ [key], brief narrative of a particular incident. An anecdote differs from a short story in that it is unified in time and space, is uncomplicated, and deals with a single episo...

Stern, Otto

(Encyclopedia)Stern, Otto stûrn, Ger. ôˈtō shtĕrn [key], 1888–1969, American physicist, b. Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Breslau, 1912. After resigning from his post at the Univ. of Hamburg in 1933, he became prof...

Irwin, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Irwin, Robert, 1928–, American painter and sculptor, b. Long Beach, Calif. Irwin was one of the founders of the California-based Light and Space movement. Early in his career, he painted in the abst...

Death Valley

(Encyclopedia)Death Valley, SE Calif. and SW Nev., a deep, arid basin, 140 mi (225 km) long, bordered on the W by the Panamint Range and on the E by the Amargosa Range. In summer the valley has recorded some of the...

kaleidoscope

(Encyclopedia)kaleidoscope kəlīˈdəskōp [key], optical instrument that uses mirrors to produce changing symmetrical patterns. Invented by the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster in 1816, the device is usually...

cofferdam

(Encyclopedia)cofferdam, temporary barrier for excluding water from an area that is normally submerged. Made commonly of wood, steel, or concrete sheet piling (see pile), cofferdams are used in constructing the fou...

Greenbelt

(Encyclopedia)Greenbelt, city (2020 pop. 24,921), Prince Georges co., W central Md., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; chartered 1937. Greenbelt was planned a...

elevation

(Encyclopedia)elevation, vertical distance from a datum plane, usually mean sea level to a point above the earth. Often used synonymously with altitude, elevation is the height on the earth's surface and altitude, ...