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Bernadette, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bernadette, Saint bûrnədĕtˈ [key], 1844–79, French peasant girl who reported seeing the Virgin Mary in apparitions at a grotto near Lourdes, her home, in 1858. She was born Marie Bernarde Soubir...

Marburg virus disease

(Encyclopedia)Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever, disease caused by infection with a Marburg virus, a filovirus that belongs to a family (Filoviridae) of RNA viruses that also ...

seasonal affective disorder

(Encyclopedia)seasonal affective disorder (SAD), recurrent fall or winter depression characterized by excessive sleeping, social withdrawal, depression, overeating, and pronounced weight gain. SAD effects an estima...

day

(Encyclopedia)day, period of time for the earth to rotate once on its axis. The ordinary day, or solar day, is measured relative to the sun, being the time between successive passages of the sun over a stationary o...

papal election

(Encyclopedia)papal election, election of the pope by the college of cardinals meeting in secret conclave in the Sistine Chapel not less than 15 nor more than 18 days after the death of the previous pontiff. In the...

blue crab

(Encyclopedia)blue crab, common name for a crustacean, Callinectes sapidus, found on the S Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America. The blue crab is a member of the family of swimming crabs known as the Portunida...

Assyrian art

(Encyclopedia)Assyrian art. An Assyrian artistic style distinct from that of Babylonian art (see Sumerian and Babylonian art), which was the dominant contemporary art in Mesopotamia, began to emerge c.1500 b.c. and...

St. Clair, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)St. Clair, Arthur, 1734–1818, American general, b. Thurso, Scotland. He left the Univ. of Edinburgh to become (1757) an ensign in the British army and served in the French and Indian War at Louisbur...

Upper Austria

(Encyclopedia)Upper Austria, Ger. Oberösterreich, province (1991 pop. 1,333,480), 4,625 sq mi (11,979 sq km), NW Austria. Linz is the capital. Bordering on Germany in the west and the Czech Republic in the north, ...

Gage, Thomas, English general in North America

(Encyclopedia)Gage, Thomas, 1721–87, English general in North America. He came to America (1754) with Gen. Edward Braddock and took part in the ill-fated expedition against Fort Duquesne (1755). Later in the last...

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