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franchise

(Encyclopedia)franchise, in government, a right specifically conferred on a group or individual by a government, especially the privilege conferred by a municipality on a corporation of operating public utilities, ...

domestic service

(Encyclopedia)domestic service, work performed in a household by someone who is not a member of the family. It was performed by slaves in many early civilizations, e.g., in Greece and Rome. Under the feudal system ...

stratigraphy

(Encyclopedia)stratigraphy, branch of geology specifically concerned with the arrangement of layered rocks (see stratification). Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition, which states that in a normal sequ...

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...

Ob

(Encyclopedia)Ob ôp [key], river, c.2,300 mi (3,700 km) long, W Siberian Russia. With the Irtysh River, its chief tributary, it is c.3,460 mi (5,600 km) long and is the world's fourth longest river. Formed by the ...

Liepaja

(Encyclopedia)Liepaja or Liepaya both: lēĕˈpäyä [key], Ger. Libau, city (2011 provisional pop. 76,570), W Latvia. An ice-free port on the Baltic Sea, it is located at the end of an isthmus separating the Balti...

Kodiak Island

(Encyclopedia)Kodiak Island kōˈdēăkˌ [key], 5,363 sq mi (13,890 sq km), c.100 mi (160 km) long and 10–60 mi (16–96 km) wide, off S Alaska, separated from the Alaska Peninsula by Shelikof Strait. Alaska's l...

Tethys , in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Tethys tēˈthĭs [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn III (or S3), Tethys is 659 mi (1060 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean dista...

coast guard

(Encyclopedia)coast guard, special naval force assigned to seaboard duties. Its primary responsibilities usually consist in suppressing contraband trade and aiding vessels in distress. The British coast guard was e...

Dalian

(Encyclopedia)Dalian or Talien both: däˈlyĕnˈ [key], Rus. Dalny, Jap. Dairen, city (1994 est. pop. 1,855,200), S Liaoning prov., China, on the Liaodong peninsula in the Bay of Korea. It has annexed Lüshun (Por...