Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Verwey, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Verwey, Albert älˈbĕrt vĕrvīˈ [key], 1865–1937, Dutch poet. His early verse was melodious, spontaneous, and evocative and showed the influence of Wordsworth; later works became increasingly di...

ahimsa

(Encyclopedia)ahimsa əhĭmˈsä [key] [Sanskrit,=noninjury], ethical principle of noninjury to both men and animals, common to Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Ahimsa became influential in India after 600 b.c., co...

Somme, river, France

(Encyclopedia)Somme, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising near Saint-Quentin, N France, and flowing generally NW past Amiens into the English Channel; connected by canal with the Scheldt and Oise rivers. Once an o...

Thunberg, Greta

(Encyclopedia)Thunberg, Greta, 2003–, Swedish climate activist. She came to public notice in 2018 when she encouraged students to skip school on Fridays to protest societal inaction on climate change. Through soc...

Schoelcher, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Schoelcher, Victor vēktôrˈ shölshĕrˈ [key], 1804–93, French humanitarian and statesman. Long involved in the abolition movement, he presided (1848) over a commission that secured the abolition...

Sant' Elia, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Sant' Elia, Antonio äntôˈnyō sänt āˈlēä [key], 1888–1916, Italian architect. Associated with the movement known as futurism, he created visionary drawings of futurist houses that he likened...

Christian socialism

(Encyclopedia)Christian socialism, term used in Great Britain and the United States for a kind of socialism growing out of the clash between Christian ideals and the effects of competitive business. In Europe, it u...

hydrology

(Encyclopedia)hydrology, study of water and its properties, including its distribution and movement in and through the land areas of the earth. The hydrologic cycle consists of the passage of water from the oceans ...

gymnastics

(Encyclopedia)gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called...

Melanchthon, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Melanchthon, Philip məlăngkˈthən [key], 1497–1560, German scholar and humanist. He was second only to Martin Luther as a figure in the Lutheran Reformation. His original name was Schwarzerd [Ger...

Browse by Subject