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britannia metal

(Encyclopedia)britannia metal, silvery-white alloy of tin with antimony, copper, and sometimes bismuth and zinc. It is very similar in appearance to pewter, but is harder. It is used widely for the manufacture of t...

weasel

(Encyclopedia)weasel, name for certain small, lithe, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae (weasel family). Members of this family are generally characterized by long bodies and necks, short legs, small roun...

runner

(Encyclopedia)runner or stolon, slender, creeping stem capable of taking root where its nodes touch the ground and thereby producing new shoots. The runner itself usually dies at the end of the season, leaving inde...

Traverse, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Traverse, Lake trăvˈərs [key], c.30 mi (50 km) long, on the Minn.–S.Dak. line, drained to the N by the Bois de Sioux River. The lake is impounded by White Rock Dam, which was completed in 1948. ...

Carroll, Paul Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Carroll, Paul Vincent, 1900–1968, Irish playwright. His plays, vigorous commentaries on the conflicts of village life in Ireland, include Shadow and Substance (1937), The White Steed (1939), The Wis...

arborvitae

(Encyclopedia)arborvitae ärˌbərvīˈtē [key] [Lat.,=tree of life], aromatic evergreen tree of the genus Thuja of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), with scalelike leaves borne on flattened branchlets of ...

magpie

(Encyclopedia)magpie, common name for certain birds of the family Corvidae (crows and jays). The black-billed magpie, Pica pica or P. hudsonia, of W North America has iridescent black plumage, white wing patches an...

guinea fowl

(Encyclopedia)guinea fowl gĭnˈē [key], common name for any of the seven species of gallinaceous birds of the family Numididae, native to Africa and Madagascar. The helmeted guinea fowl, Numida meleagris, from wh...

inflammation

(Encyclopedia)inflammation, reaction of the body to injury or to infectious, allergic, or chemical irritation. The symptoms are redness, swelling, heat, and pain resulting from dilation of the blood vessels in the ...

corundum

(Encyclopedia)corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...