Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

stalactite and stalagmite

(Encyclopedia)stalactite stəlăgˈmīt [key], mineral forms often found in caves; sometimes collectively called dripstone. A stalactite is an icicle-shaped mass of calcite attached to the roof of a limestone caver...

Romanesque architecture and art

(Encyclopedia)Romanesque architecture and art, the artistic style that prevailed throughout Europe from the 10th to the mid-12th cent., although it persisted until considerably later in certain areas. The term Roma...

Hammersmith and Fulham

(Encyclopedia)Hammersmith and Fulham, inner borough of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. It has various industries (such as wharves and pottery kilns) ...

orchestra and orchestration

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Typical seating plan of a symphony orchestra orchestra and orchestration, an orchestra is a musical ensemble of mixed instruments based on strings and winds, under the direction of a conductor...

Brigue and Tende

(Encyclopedia)Brigue and Tende brēg, täNd [key], Ital. Briga and Tenda, two small districts, Alpes-Maritimes dept., SE France, on the French-Italian border. The districts are on the “Route Royal,” opened in 1...

Ross and Cromarty

(Encyclopedia)Ross and Cromarty, former county, N Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Ross and Cromarty was divided between the new Highland and Western Isles regions (now council areas). ...

butter-and-eggs

(Encyclopedia)butter-and-eggs, common name for a plant of the family Scrophulariaceae (figwort family) and sometimes for other yellow-and-orange flowers. Butter-and-eggs plants are classified in the division Magnol...

acids and bases

(Encyclopedia)acids and bases, two related classes of chemicals; the members of each class have a number of common properties when dissolved in a solvent, usually water. Another theory that provides a very broad ...

Harmodius and Aristogiton

(Encyclopedia)Harmodius and Aristogiton härmōˈdēəs, ârˌĭstōjīˈtən [key], d. c.514 b.c., Athenian tyrannicides. Provoked by a personal quarrel, the two friends planned to assassinate Hipparchus and his b...

Blues and Greens

(Encyclopedia)Blues and Greens, political factions in the Byzantine Empire in the 6th cent. They took their names from two of the four colors worn by the circus charioteers. Their clashes were intensified by religi...