Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kraft, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Kraft or Krafft, Adam both: äˈdäm kräft [key], c.1455–1509, German sculptor of Nuremberg. He moved from an ornamental late Gothic style toward clarity, symmetry, and a powerful use of rounded, o...

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...

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...

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...

Browse by Subject