Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rion

(Encyclopedia)Rion rēônˈ [key], ancient Phasis, river, c.195 mi (310 km) long, rising in the Caucasus near the Mamison Pass, W Georgia, and flowing S and W past Kutaisi into the Black Sea at Poti. Its upper cour...

Davis, Benjamin Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Benjamin Oliver, 1877–1970, American general, b. Washington, D.C. After studying (1897–98) at Howard Univ., Davis served as a lieutenant in the Spanish-American War and in 1899 enlisted in ...

omen

(Encyclopedia)omen, sign or augury believed to foreshadow the future. Almost any occurrence can be interpreted as an omen. The typical omen was a natural phenomenon, such as a meteor, an eclipse, or the flight of b...

Paphlagonia

(Encyclopedia)Paphlagonia păfˌləgōˈnēə [key], ancient country of N Asia Minor, between Bithynia and Pontus on the Black Sea coast, in modern Turkey. A mountainous district with the Halys as its chief river, ...

antithesis

(Encyclopedia)antithesis ăntĭthˈĭsĭs [key], a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. Parallelism of expression serves...

Eboué, Félix Adolphe

(Encyclopedia)Eboué, Félix Adolphe fālēksˈ ädôlfˈ ĕbwāˈ [key], 1884–1944, French colonial official. After service in Martinique and in the Sudan, he became France's first black colonial governor. He se...

Elizabethtown

(Encyclopedia)Elizabethtown, city (2020 pop. 31,394), seat of Hardin co., central Ky.; inc. 1797. Originally developed as a trade center for agriculture, whiskey, and...

Elyria

(Encyclopedia)Elyria ēlērˈēə [key], city (2020 pop. 52,656), seat of Lorain co., N Ohio, on the Black ...

Gunnison

(Encyclopedia)Gunnison, river, 180 mi (290 km) long, rising in W central Colo. and flowing SW, W, and NW to the Colorado River at Grand Junction. It flows through magnificent canyons, notably the Black Canyon of th...

hearts

(Encyclopedia)hearts, card game played by three to six players with an ordinary deck. All the cards are dealt to the players. After a card is led, each hand must follow suit if possible. The object is to avoid accu...

Browse by Subject