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Markham, Sir Clements Robert

(Encyclopedia)Markham, Sir Clements Robert märˈkəm [key], 1830–1916, English geographer and writer. While in the navy he served on a British expedition (1850–51) to the Arctic to search for the explorer Sir ...

Davis, Lydia

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Lydia, 1947–, American writer known for innovative, very short stories, b. Northampton, Mass., studied Barnard College. Davis earned early praise for her translations from the French and has ...

farce

(Encyclopedia)farce, light, comic theatrical piece in which the characters and events are greatly exaggerated to produce broad, absurd humor. Early examples of farce can be found in the comedies of Aristophanes, Pl...

pointer

(Encyclopedia)pointer, breed of large sporting dog developed in England more than 300 years ago. It stands between 23 and 26 in. (58.4–66.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 50 and 60 lb (22.7–27.2 kg...

Osceola

(Encyclopedia)Osceola ŏsēōˈlə, ō– [key], c.1800–1838, leader of the Seminole. He was also called Powell, the surname of his supposed white father. In the early 1830s, Osceola was living close to Fort King...

Frazer, Sir James George

(Encyclopedia)Frazer, Sir James George, 1854–1941, Scottish classicist and anthropologist, b. Glasgow, educated at the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge. He is known especially for his masterpiece, The Golden...

Iona

(Encyclopedia)Iona īōnˈə [key] [Irish Ioua=island] or Icolmkill [Irish,=island of Columba of the church], island (1985 est. pop. 267), 3.5 mi (5.6 km) long and 1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide, Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland...

Khiva

(Encyclopedia)Khiva khēˈvə, khēväˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 40,001), S Uzbekistan, in the Khiva oasis and on the Amu Darya River. Industries include metalworking, cotton and silk spinning, wood carving, and car...

bean beetle

(Encyclopedia)bean beetle, common name for a destructive beetle, Epilachna varivestis, of the ladybird beetle family. Although nearly all other members of this family are beneficial carnivores, the bean beetle atta...

Picts

(Encyclopedia)Picts, ancient inhabitants of central and N Scotland, of uncertain origin. First mentioned (a.d. 297) by the Roman writer Eumenius as northern invaders of Roman Britain, they were probably descendants...