Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

359 results found

metaphor

(Encyclopedia)metaphor [Gr.,=transfer], in rhetoric, a figure of speech in which one class of things is referred to as if it belonged to another class. Whereas a simile states that A is like B, a metaphor states th...

USA PATRIOT Act

(Encyclopedia)USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists], 2001, U.S. federal law intended to give federal authorities increased ...

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

(Encyclopedia)Clinton, Hillary Rodham rŏdˈəm [key], 1947–, U.S. senator and secretary of state, wife of President Bill Clinton, b. Chicago, grad. Wellesley College (B.A. 1969), Yale Law School (LL.B., 1973). A...

ballad

(Encyclopedia)ballad, in literature and music, short, narrative poem or song usually relating a single, dramatic event. Two forms of the ballad are often distinguished—the folk ballad, dating from about the 12th ...

journalism

(Encyclopedia)journalism, the collection and periodic publication or transmission of news through media such as newspaper, periodical, television, and radio. By broadcasting events such as the Watergate hearin...

Shakespeare's Plays (table)

(Encyclopedia)Shakespeare's Plays(arranged by approximate date of composition) ...

alexandrine

(Encyclopedia)alexandrine ălˌĭgzănˈdrēnˌ, –drīnˌ [key], in prosody, a line of 12 syllables (or 13 if the last syllable is unstressed). Its name probably derives from the fact that some poems of the 12th ...

Cummins, Albert Baird

(Encyclopedia)Cummins, Albert Baird, 1850–1926, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1909–26), b. Green co., Pa. He studied law in Chicago and in 1878 joined his brother in practice in Des Moines. As governor of Iowa (1901�...

Katla

(Encyclopedia)Katla, volcano, 4,961 ft (1,512 m) high, SW Iceland. One of Iceland's most active volcanoes, it is partly buried under the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which covers its eruptive vents. Katla's most recent...

Rulers of France since 987 (table)

(Encyclopedia)Rulers of France since 987(including dates of reign) The Capetians House of Valois House of Bourbon The First Republic The First Empire Bourbon Restoration House of Bourbon-Orléans T...