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root, in botany

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Longitudinal cross section of a root root, in botany, the descending axis of a plant, as contrasted with the stem, the ascending axis. In most plants the root is underground, but in epiphytes ...

family, in sociology

(Encyclopedia)family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functio...

draft, in banking

(Encyclopedia)draft, in banking, order by one party to another party to pay a stated sum to the person or firm in whose favor the draft is made. It is similar in form to the ordinary bank check. Often the drawer an...

mode, in music

(Encyclopedia)mode, in music. 1 A grouping or arrangement of notes in a scale with respect to a most important note (in the pretonal modes of Western music, this note is called the final or finalis), and the patter...

salmon, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)salmon sămˈən [key], member of the Salmonidae, a family of marine fish that spawn in freshwater, including the salmons, the trouts, and the chars (subfamily Salmoninae), the whitefish and the cisco...

ornament, in music

(Encyclopedia)ornament, in music, notes added to a melodic line for the purpose of embellishment or decoration, often called graces. Ornamentation was practiced as early as the Middle Ages by the singers of plainso...

tenure, in law

(Encyclopedia)tenure, in law, manner in which property in land is held. The nature of tenure has long been of great importance, both in law and in the broader economic and political context. Tenure has varied great...

emanation, in philosophy

(Encyclopedia)emanation ĕmənāˈshən [key] [Lat.,=flowing from], cosmological concept that explains the creation of the world by a series of radiations, or emanations, originating in the godhead. It is character...

mole, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)mole, in zoology, common name for the small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae, found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Moles are trapped as pests, although they prob...

fox, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)fox, carnivorous mammal of the dog family, found throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a pointed face, short legs, long, thick fur, and a tail about one half to two thirds as long as the ...