Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Roanne

(Encyclopedia)Roanne rôänˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 42,848), Loire dept., E central France, on the Loire River. Cotton and metals are the chief products; other industries include tanning, machine and vehicle manuf...

Barker, James Nelson

(Encyclopedia)Barker, James Nelson, 1784–1858, American playwright, b. Philadelphia. In 1838, Van Buren appointed him comptroller of the Treasury, and with slight interruptions he worked in the Treasury Dept. unt...

Shimazaki Toson

(Encyclopedia)Shimazaki Toson shēˈmäˈzäˈkē tōˈsōn [key], 1872–1943, Japanese poet and novelist. A pioneer in the establishment of a new Japanese verse form, Toson later turned his talents to prose ficti...

Cornbury, Edward Hyde, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Cornbury, Edward Hyde, Viscount kôrnˈbərē [key], 1661–1723, colonial governor of New York and New Jersey (1702–8). Appointed governor by William III, he became extremely unpopular, and his adm...

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�...

Chittenden, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Chittenden, Thomas chĭtˈəndən [key], 1730–97, governor of Vermont, b. East Guilford, Conn. After moving to Vermont in 1774, he was active in the Windsor Convention, which declared (1777) Vermont...

F

(Encyclopedia)F, sixth letter of the alphabet. The Greek letter corresponding to it, digamma, which probably represented a sound like w, disappeared before the classical period. In Western alphabets f has usually r...

era of good feelings

(Encyclopedia)era of good feelings, period in U.S. history (1817–23) when, the Federalist party having declined, there was little open party feeling. After the War of 1812 all sections were anxious to return to a...

ablaut

(Encyclopedia)ablaut äpˈlout [key] [Ger.,=off-sound], in inflection, vowel variation (as in English sing, sang, sung, song) caused by former differences in syllabic accent. In a prehistoric period the correspondi...

Amakusa Islands

(Encyclopedia)Amakusa Islands ämäko͞oˈsä [key], archipelago, c.340 sq mi (880 sq km), Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, in the East China Sea, off W Kyushu, Japan. There are about 70 islands in the group. Sh...