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Clinton, De Witt

(Encyclopedia)Clinton, De Witt də wĭtˈ [key], 1769–1828, American statesman, b. New Windsor, N.Y.; son of James Clinton. He was admitted (1790) to the New York bar but soon became secretary to his uncle, Georg...

Clisson, Olivier de

(Encyclopedia)Clisson, Olivier de ōlēvyāˈ də klēsôNˈ [key], 1336–1407, French soldier, b. Brittany. He fought on the English side in the War of the Breton Succession but entered the French service as comp...

Falla, Manuel de

(Encyclopedia)Falla, Manuel de mänwĕlˈ dā fäˈlyä [key], 1876–1946, Spanish composer; pupil of Felipe Pedrell. In Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Dukas, and Ravel, and was to some extent influenced...

Feckenham, John de

(Encyclopedia)Feckenham, John de fĕkˈənəm [key], 1518?–1585, English abbot. He became a Benedictine monk at Evesham, studied at Oxford, and later served as chaplain to the bishop of Worcester and to Edmund Bo...

Feira de Santana

(Encyclopedia)Feira de Santana fāˈrə dĭ səntäˈnə [key], city, Bahia state, E Brazil, betwee...

fer-de-lance

(Encyclopedia)fer-de-lance fĕrˌ-də-lănsˈ [key], highly poisonous snake, Bothrops atrox, found in tropical South America and the West Indies. A pit viper, related to the bushmaster and the rattlesnake, it has h...

Fermat, Pierre de

(Encyclopedia)Fermat, Pierre de pyĕr də fĕrmäˈ [key], 1601–65, French mathematician. A magistrate whose avocation was mathematics, Fermat is known as a founder of modern number theory and probability theory....

Fernando de Noronha

(Encyclopedia)Fernando de Noronha fərnänˈdo͝o dĭ no͝orôˈnyə [key], group of 21 islands, c.10 sq mi (26 sq km), in the Atlantic Ocean, c.225 mi (360 km) off the northeast coast of Brazil. A federal territor...

Saussure, Ferdinand de

(Encyclopedia)Saussure, Ferdinand de fĕrdēnäNˈ də sōsürˈ [key], 1857–1913, Swiss linguist. One of the founders of modern linguistics, he established the structural study of language, emphasizing the arbit...

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