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business cycles

(Encyclopedia)business cycles, fluctuations in economic activity characterized by periods of rising and falling fiscal health. During a business cycle, an economy grows, reaches a peak, and then begins a downturn f...

Goujon, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Goujon, Jean zhäN go͞ozhôNˈ [key], c.1510–c.1566, French Renaissance sculptor and architect. Although his work reflects the Italian mannerist style, particularly of Cellini, he developed his own...

Fort-de-France

(Encyclopedia)Fort-de-France fôr-də-fräNs [key], city, capital of the French overseas dept. of Martinique, West Indies. It is a ...

absinthe

(Encyclopedia)absinthe ăbˈsĭnth [key], an emerald-green liqueur distilled from wormwood and other aromatics, including angelica root, sweet-flag root, star anise, and dittany, which have been macerated and steep...

Rochelle salt

(Encyclopedia)Rochelle salt, colorless to blue-white orthorhombic crystalline salt with a saline, cooling taste. It is also called Seignette salt after Pierre Seignette, an apothecary of La Rochelle, France, who wa...

Peter I, duke or count of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Peter I (Pierre Mauclerc), d. 1250, duke or count of Brittany (1213–37). The son of Robert II, count of Dreux, he married Alix, half-sister and heiress of Arthur I duke of Brittany. His surname, mea...

Petitot, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Petitot, Jean lwēˈ [key], 1653–c.1730, was in the service of Charles II of England. Specimens of his work are preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum. ...

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Germain-en-Laye săN-zhĕrmăNˈ-äN-lā [key], town (1990 pop. 41,710), Yvelines dept., N central France, on the Seine River, a residential suburb W of Paris. It is the last station on the expr...

parimutuel betting

(Encyclopedia)parimutuel betting părˌĭmyo͞oˈtyo͞oĕl [key], system of cooperative wagering invented (c.1870) in France by Pierre Oller. According to the system, the holders of winning tickets divide the total...

Biel

(Encyclopedia)Biel byĕn [key], city (1990 est. pop. 52,020), Bern canton, NW Switzerland, at the northeast end of the Lake of Biel. A watchmaking center, Biel also manufactures chains and machinery. There is a 16t...