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Herder, Johann Gottfried von

(Encyclopedia)Herder, Johann Gottfried von yōˈhän gôtˈfrēt fən hĕrˈdər [key], 1744–1803, German philosopher, critic, and clergyman, b. East Prussia. Herder was an enormously influential literary critic ...

Eliot, John

(Encyclopedia)Eliot, John, 1604–90, English missionary in colonial Massachusetts, called the Apostle to the Indians. Educated at Cambridge, he was influenced by Thomas Hooker, became a staunch Puritan, and emigra...

Guaraní

(Encyclopedia)Guaraní gwäränēˈ [key], indigenous group living in the eastern lowland area of South America, related to the Tupí of the Rio São Francisco and the Tupinambá on the Atlantic coast. The Guaraní...

Haneke, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Haneke, Michael häˈnəkə [key], 1942–, Austrian film director and screenwriter, b. Munich, Germany. In the 1970s and 80s, he wrote and directed for television and the theater. His first film, The...

Khoikhoi

(Encyclopedia)Khoikhoi koiˈkoiˌ [key], people numbering about 55,000 mainly in Namibia and in W South Africa. The Khoikhoi have been called Hottentots by whites in South Africa. In language and in physical type t...

Webster, Noah

(Encyclopedia)Webster, Noah, 1758–1843, American lexicographer and philologist, b. West Hartford, Conn., grad. Yale, 1778. After serving in the American Revolution, Webster practiced law in Hartford. His Grammati...

Norwich University

(Encyclopedia)Norwich University, at Northfield and Montpelier, Vt.; coeducational; founded 1819 as a private military college, opened 1820 at Norwich, Vt.; chartered under present name 1834, moved to Northfield 18...

lexicography

(Encyclopedia)lexicography, the applied study of the meaning, evolution, and function of the vocabulary units of a language for the purpose of compilation in book form—in short, the process of dictionary making. ...

Lope de Rueda

(Encyclopedia)Lope de Rueda lōˈpā dā ro͞oāˈᵺä [key], 1510?–1565, Spanish dramatist. A precursor of the Golden Age of Spanish literature, Rueda was an actor and a manager as well as a playwright. He is s...

Mingrelia

(Encyclopedia)Mingrelia mĭn-grēˈlēə [key], lowland region, W Georgia, bordering the Black Sea. Tea and grapes are the chief products. Poti is the main port. The Colchis of the ancients, Mingrelia was a vassal ...