Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

436 results found

Haase, Hugo

(Encyclopedia)Haase, Hugo ho͞oˈgō häˈzə [key], 1863–1919, German Socialist leader. A Social Democratic member of the Reichstag, he opposed World War I, but initially followed his party's position in support...

toy

(Encyclopedia)toy, article designed to be played with, chiefly for children. Archaeological research has revealed numerous playthings from prehistoric civilizations. Early Egyptian, Greek, and Roman dolls, tops, ba...

classicism

(Encyclopedia)classicism, a term that, when applied generally, means clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It is sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic qual...

Fuseli, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Fuseli, Henry fyo͞oˈzĭlē [key], 1741–1825, Anglo-Swiss painter and draftsman, b. Zürich. He was known also as Johann Heinrich Fuessli or Füssli. He took holy orders but never practiced the pri...

John of Leiden

(Encyclopedia)John of Leiden, c.1509–1536, Dutch Anabaptist leader. His original name was Beuckelszoon, Beuckelzoon, Bockelszoon, Bockelson, Beukels, or Buckholdt. John of Leiden was attracted to the extreme left...

metronome

(Encyclopedia)metronome mĕˈtrənōmˌ [key], in music, originally pyramid-shaped clockwork mechanism to indicate the exact tempo in which a work is to be performed. It has a double pendulum whose pace can be alte...

Weiser, Conrad

(Encyclopedia)Weiser, Conrad wīzˈər [key], 1696–1760, American pioneer, b. Württemberg, Germany. Arriving in America in 1710, his family settled in Livingston Manor, N.Y., and later at Schoharie. While still ...

rococo, in music

(Encyclopedia)rococo, in music, 18th-century reaction against the baroque style. Less formal and grandiose in structure, it was a graceful rather than a profound style, more hedonistic than venturesome. Extreme man...

dialectic

(Encyclopedia)dialectic dīəlĕkˈtĭk [key] [Gr.,= art of conversation], in philosophy, term originally applied to the method of philosophizing by means of question and answer employed by certain ancient philosop...

Nelson, Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Leonard, 1882–1927, German philosopher. On the faculty of the Univ. of Göttingen from 1909, he was interested in the use of critical method to establish a scientific foundation for philosop...