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Arcturus

(Encyclopedia)Arcturus ärkto͝orˈəs [key], brightest star in the constellation Boötes and 4th-brightest star in the entire sky; Bayer designation Alpha Boötis; 1992 position R.A. 14h15.3m, Dec. +19°13′. An ...

harvest customs

(Encyclopedia)harvest customs, practices associated with the celebration of the gathering of agricultural crops. The gathering of the harvest—the climax of the year's labors wherever the soil is cultivated—has ...

Kaesong

(Encyclopedia)Kaesong or Kaisong both: kăˈsŭngˈ [key], Jap. Kaijo, city (1993 pop. 334,433), S North Korea. A long-time commercial center, it is important for its exports of ginseng, a valuable medicinal root. ...

dictator

(Encyclopedia)dictator, originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers. From 501 b.c. unti...

Évreux

(Encyclopedia)Évreux āvröˈ [key], town , capital of Eure dept., N France, in Normandy. It is an industr...

Northamptonshire

(Encyclopedia)Northamptonshire nôrth-hăntsˈ [key], county (1991 pop. 568,900), 914 sq mi (2,367 sq km), central England. The county seat is Northampton. The county comprises seven districts: South Northamptonshi...

Simms, William Gilmore

(Encyclopedia)Simms, William Gilmore, 1806–70, American novelist, b. Charleston, S.C. He wrote prolifically, both prose and poetry, but it is for his historical romances about his own state that he is remembered ...

Cambridge, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Cambridge, city and district, Cambridgeshire, E central England, on the River Cam. The city, set in flat country, is most famous as the site of the Univ...

arrack

(Encyclopedia)arrack ârˈək [key], strong spirits distilled chiefly in Asia from fermented fruits, grains, or sugarcane. In the 19th cent., Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became quite noted for palm toddy arrack and in m...

Kaz Daği

(Encyclopedia)Kaz Daği käz däŭˈ [key], anc. Ida Mts., range, NW Turkey, SE of the location of ancient Troy. Mt. Gargarus (5,797 ft/1,767 m) is the highest point. The mountain was dedicated in ancient times to ...