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plumbing

(Encyclopedia)plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipes�...

ring, piece of jewelry

(Encyclopedia)ring, small ornamental hoop usually worn on finger or thumb, but it may be attached to the ear or the nose. Finger rings made of bronze, gold, and silver from the period c.2600–1500 b.c. have been f...

Maremma

(Encyclopedia)Maremma märāmˈmä [key], coastal area in Tuscany, central Italy, along the Tyrrhenian Sea and extending E to the Apennines. A flourishing region in Etruscan and early Roman times, it became marshy ...

Harwich

(Encyclopedia)Harwich hărˈĭj [key], town, Essex, E central England, on the estuary of the Stour and the ...

Elche

(Encyclopedia)Elche ĕlˈchā [key], Valencian Elx, city, Alicante prov., SE Spain, in Valencia. It is surr...

Dionysius Exiguus

(Encyclopedia)Dionysius Exiguus dīənĭshˈēəs ĕksĭgˈyo͞oəs [key], d. c.545, Roman monk, chronologist, and scholar, a transmitter of Greek thought to the Middle Ages. He made collections of 5th-century papa...

Dares Phrygius

(Encyclopedia)Dares Phrygius dârˈēz frĭjˈēəs [key], supposed author of a history of the Trojan War. Dares of Phrygia is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad as a priest of Troy. During the Middle Ages he was wide...

crèche

(Encyclopedia)crèche krĕsh, krāsh [key], representation of the Infant Jesus in the manger, usually surrounded by figures of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, animals, and the Wise Men; also called Christmas Crib. The cr�...

cittern

(Encyclopedia)cittern sĭtˈərn [key], stringed musical instrument of the guitar family having an oval body, a flat back, and a fretted neck. Its strings, made of wire and varying in number, were plucked. It was f...

Sassari

(Encyclopedia)Sassari säsˈsärē [key], city (1991 pop. 122,339), capital of Sassari prov., NW Sardinia, Italy. It is an administrative and agricultural trade center, handling cheese, wine, fruit, and olive oil. ...