Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Oulu

(Encyclopedia)Oulu ōˈlo͞o [key], Swed. Uleåborg, city (1998 pop. 115,493), capital of Oulu prov., W central Finland, at the mouth of the Oulu River on the Gulf of Bothnia. It is a seaport and has metal shops, l...

streamline

(Encyclopedia)streamline, path of a fluid flowing steadily and without appreciable turbulence. A body is said to be streamlined if its shape offers the least possible resistance to a current of air, water, or other...

Watts, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Watts, Isaac, 1674–1748, English clergyman and hymn writer, b. Southampton. He was one of the most eminent Dissenting divines of his day. As a pastor in London he was known for his sermons, but begi...

Saint Peter's Church

(Encyclopedia)Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the Vatican c...

Baal-zephon

(Encyclopedia)Baal-zephon bāˈəl-zēˈfŏn [key], in the Bible, place near the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea. ...

stork

(Encyclopedia)stork, common name for members of a family of long-legged wading birds. The storks are related to the herons and ibises and are found in most of the warmer parts of the world. Storks have long, broad,...

Ibizan hound

(Encyclopedia)Ibizan hound ēbēˈzŏn, ĭbˈə– [key], also called Ibizan Podenco, breed of tall, swift dog of ancient origin now found chiefly in the Balearic Islands and other areas of Spain. It stands from 22...

Ross, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Alexander, 1783–1856, Canadian fur trader and pioneer, b. Scotland. He went to Canada in 1805, taught school in Upper Canada, and in 1810 left for Oregon as a clerk in John Jacob Astor's Pacif...

nitrogen mustard

(Encyclopedia)nitrogen mustard, any of various poisonous compounds originally developed for military use (see poison gas). Like mustard gas and lewisite, it is a vesicant (blistering agent). In the form of its crys...

Uslar Pietri, Arturo

(Encyclopedia)Uslar Pietri, Arturo ärto͞oˈrō o͞osˈlär pyāˈtrē [key], 1906–2001, Venezuelan novelist and essayist. Uslar Pietri is considered one of the most powerful regional writers in modern Spanish-A...