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sword

(Encyclopedia)sword, weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. Th...

Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan

(Encyclopedia)Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan mo͞oēnˈ äd-dĭn häsänˈ chĭshˈtē [key], 1142–1236, Indian Muslim saint, b. Sistan, Persia. He founded a Sufi mystic order responsible for spreading Islamic teachi...

absentee ownership

(Encyclopedia)absentee ownership, system under which a person (or a corporation) controls and derives income from land in a region where he does not reside. Abuses existed in absenteeism in pre-Revolutionary France...

Jarring, Gunnar

(Encyclopedia)Jarring, Gunnar gŭnˈär yärˈĭng [key], 1907–2002, Swedish diplomat. He entered diplomatic service during World War II and was minister to India (1948–51), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka; 1950–51), a...

Tedder, Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Tedder, Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron, 1890–1967, British air marshal. He saw service in the infantry and the Royal Flying Corps in World War I. After 1919 he held important positions in the Roya...

balalaika

(Encyclopedia)balalaika băləlīˈkə [key], Russian stringed musical instrument, with a triangular body and a long fretted neck fretted instrument. Usually there are three strings, which are generally plucked wit...

Bedouin

(Encyclopedia)Bedouin bĕdˈo͞oĭn [key] [Arab.,=desert dwellers], primarily nomad Arab peoples of the Middle East, where they form about 10% of the population. They are of the same Semitic stock as their sedentar...

damascening

(Encyclopedia)damascening –skēnˈ– [key], the art of decorating iron, steel, or bronze with inlaid threads of gold or silver, or producing a watered effect in forging, as in sword blades, gun barrels, and vari...

Goodell, William

(Encyclopedia)Goodell, William go͝odĕlˈ [key], 1792–1867, American missionary in the Middle East, b. Templeton, Mass. He went in 1823, for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to what is n...

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

(Encyclopedia)Ashmore and Cartier Islands ăshˈmōr, cärˌtē-āˈ [key], unhabited tropical islands, 2 sq mi (5 sq km), E Indian Ocean, a dependency of Australia located 190 mi (300 km) NW of N Western Australia...