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piracy

(Encyclopedia)piracy, robbery committed or attempted on the high seas. It is distinguished from privateering in that the pirate holds no commission from and receives the protection of no nation but usually attacks ...

Oman

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Oman ōmänˈ [key], officially Sultanate of Oman, independent sultanate (2015 est. pop. 3,287,000), c.82,000 sq mi (212,380 sq km), SE Arabian peninsula, on the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Se...

nutrition

(Encyclopedia)nutrition, study of the materials that nourish an organism and of the manner in which the separate components are used for maintenance, repair, growth, and reproduction. Nutrition is achieved in vario...

water pollution

(Encyclopedia)water pollution, contamination of water resources by harmful wastes; see also sewerage, water supply, pollution, and environmentalism. The United States has enacted extensive federal legislation to ...

Kyrgyzstan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Kyrgyzstan kērgĭstänˈ [key], officially Kyrgyz Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 5,865,000), c.76,600 sq mi (198,400 sq km), central Asia. It borders on China in the southeast, on Kazakhst...

Lithuania

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Lithuania lĭtho͞oāˈnēə [key], Lithuanian Lietuva, officially Republic of Lithuania, republic (2015 est. pop. 2,932,000), 25,174 sq mi (65,201 sq km), N central Europe. Lithuania borders o...

money

(Encyclopedia)money, term that refers to two concepts: the abstract unit of account in terms of which the value of goods, services, and obligations can be compared; and anything that is widely established as a mean...

magnetism

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Lines of induction around a single bar magnet and between opposite poles of different magnets magnetism, force of attraction or repulsion between various substances, especially those made of i...

Luxembourg, grand duchy, W Europe

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Luxembourg lŭkˈsəmbûrg, Ger. lo͝okˈsəmbo͝orkh [key], officially Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, grand duchy (2015 est. pop. 567,000), 998 sq mi (2,586 sq km), W Europe. Roughly triangular, i...

Inca

(Encyclopedia)Inca ĭngˈkə [key], pre-Columbian empire, W South America. The name Inca may specifically refer to the emperor, but is generally used to mean the empire or the people. When Francisco Pizarro lande...

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