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tendril

(Encyclopedia)tendril, slender, sensitive structure of many climbing plants that by a response to contact (see auxin) supports the plant. Tendrils are modified stems, leaves, or leaf parts or roots. Most young tend...

acta

(Encyclopedia)acta ăkˈtə [key], official texts of ancient Rome, written or carved on stone or metal. Usually acta were texts made public, although publication was sometimes restricted. Acta were first posted or ...

breakwater

(Encyclopedia)breakwater, offshore structure to protect a harbor from wave energy or deflect currents. When it also serves as a pier, it is called a quay; when covered by a roadway it is called a mole. In the Unite...

Breshkovsky, Catherine

(Encyclopedia)Breshkovsky, Catherine brĕshkôfˈskē [key], 1844–1934, Russian revolutionary, called “the little grandmother (babushka) of the Russian Revolution.” Of a noble family, she began on her father'...

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Rainbow Bridge National Monument, 160 acres (65 hectares), S Utah; est. 1910. Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world, is a symmetrical, pink, sandstone arch, 309 ft (94 m) high, 33 ft...

Bangor, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Bangor băngˈgôr, bănˈ–, băngˈgər [key], city (2020 pop. 31,753), seat of Pe...

rood

(Encyclopedia)rood ro͞od [key], crucifix mounted above the entrance to the chancel and flanked by large figures of the Virgin and St. John, an almost invariable feature in the 14th- and 15th-century European churc...

San Angelo

(Encyclopedia)San Angelo săn ănˈjəlō [key], city (1990 pop. 84,474), seat of Tom Green co., W Tex., where two forks join to form the Concho River; laid out 1869, inc. 1903. It is an important wool and mohair m...

Díaz, Porfirio

(Encyclopedia)Díaz, Porfirio pôrfēˈryō dēˈäs [key], 1830–1915, Mexican statesman, a mestizo, christened José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz. He gained prominence by supporting Benito Juárez and the liberals ...

Swedenborg, Emanuel

(Encyclopedia)Swedenborg, Emanuel swēdˈənbôrg; āmäˈno͞oĕl svāˌdənbōrkˈ [key], 1688–1772, Swedish scientist, religious teacher, and mystic. His religious system, sometimes called Swedenborgianism, is...