Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

stalactite ornament

(Encyclopedia)stalactite ornament, type of ornament characteristic of Islamic architecture. Generally executed in wood or in plaster over a wood or brick base, it consists of little vertical polygonal or curved nic...

Bartoli, Cecilia

(Encyclopedia)Bartoli, Cecilia chāchēlˈyä bärtōˈlē [key], 1966–, Italian mezzo-soprano, b. Rome. Bartoli debuted at Verona (1987), first performed in the United States at Lincoln Center (1990), and in 199...

Store Bælt and Lille Bælt

(Encyclopedia)Store Bælt lĭlˈə [key] [Great Belt and Little Belt], two shallow straits, S Denmark, connecting the Kattegat with the Baltic Sea. The Store Bælt, c.40 mi (60 km) long and from 10 to 20 mi (16–3...

credit

(Encyclopedia)credit, granting of goods, services, or money in return for a promise of future payment. Most credit is accompanied by an interest charge, which usually makes the future payment greater than an immedi...

Somme, Battles of the

(Encyclopedia)Somme, Battles of the, two engagements fought during World War I near the Somme River, N France. The first battle (July–Nov., 1916) was an Allied offensive. The British, commanded by Field Marshal S...

Delft

(Encyclopedia)Delft dĕlft [key], city, South Holland prov., W Netherlands. It has varied industries and is...

chickenpox

(Encyclopedia)chickenpox or varicella vârˌəsĕlˈə [key], infectious disease usually occurring in childhood. It is caused by the same herpesvirus, varicella-zoster, that produces shingles; the virus can hide in...

chariot

(Encyclopedia)chariot, earliest and simplest type of carriage and the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. The chariot was known among the Babylonians before the introduction of horses c.2000 b.c. and was first d...

Fields, W. C.

(Encyclopedia)Fields, W. C. (William Claude Fields), 1880–1946, American comic actor, b. Philadelphia as Claude William Dukenfield. He began his career as a juggler, and much later appeared in the Ziegfeld Follie...

fetal alcohol syndrome

(Encyclopedia)fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), pattern of physical, developmental, and psychological abnormalities seen in babies born to mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy. The abnormalities include low bi...