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Uralic and Altaic languages

(Encyclopedia)Uralic and Altaic languages yo͝orălˈĭk, ăltāˈĭk [key], two groups of related languages thought by many scholars to form a single Ural-Altaic linguistic family. However, other authorities hold ...

Serbia and Montenegro

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Serbia and Montenegro mŏnˌtənēˈgrō [key], Serbian Srbija i Crna Gora, former country of SE Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula, a short-lived union (2003–6) of the republics of Serbia...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

Thule , ancient name for extreme N Europe

(Encyclopedia)Thule tho͞oˈlē [key], name given by the ancients to the most northerly land of Europe. It was an island discovered and described (c.310 b.c.) by the Greek navigator Pytheas and variously identified...

Jordan, river, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Jordan, river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, formed in the Hula basin, N Israel, by the confluence of three headwater streams and meandering S through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; the region of Pales...

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(Encyclopedia)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), international financial institution that invests primarily in the private sector to promote entrepreneurship and foster the development of demo...

foot-and-mouth disease

(Encyclopedia)foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease, highly contagious disease almost exclusive to cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and other cloven-hoofed animals. It is caused by a virus, specifically an a...

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