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belles-lettres

(Encyclopedia)belles-lettres bĕl-lĕˈtrə [key] [from the French for literature, literally “fine letters”], literature that is appreciated for the beauty, artistry, and originality of its style and tone rathe...

terrarium

(Encyclopedia)terrarium, a miniature garden in an artificial environment, in which small plants and animals may be kept as ornament or for educational purposes. Fish bowls, small fish tanks, large bottles, and carb...

Nashua

(Encyclopedia)Nashua năshˈo͞oə [key], city (1990 pop. 79,662), seat of Hillsborough co., S N.H., on the Merrimack and Nashua rivers near the Mass. line; settled c.1655, inc. as a city 1853. Because of the avail...

Huygens, Christiaan

(Encyclopedia)Huygens, Christiaan krĭsˈtyän hoiˈgəns [key], 1629–95, Dutch mathematician and physicist; son of Constantijn Huygens. He improved telescopic lenses and discovered (1655) a satellite of Saturn a...

Pan, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pan, in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn XVIII (or S18), Pan is 12.5 mi (20 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 83,000 mi (133...

Leeuwarden

(Encyclopedia)Leeuwarden lāˈvärˌdən [key], Frisian Ljouwert, city (1994 est. pop. 87,500), capital of Friesland prov., N Netherlands. It is the center of an agricultural and dairying region and has a noted cat...

graining

(Encyclopedia)graining, process of painting by which natural wood grain is imitated. It was common practice in the late 19th cent. to grain cheap, soft woods to give them the appearance of rare, expensive ones. A l...

glaze, in pottery

(Encyclopedia)glaze, translucent layer that coats pottery to give the surface a finish or afford a ground for decorative painting. Glazes—transparent, white, or colored—are fired on the clay. Of the various art...

Dee, rivers, Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Dee. 1 River, c.90 mi (140 km) long, rising in the Cairngorms, Aberdeenshire, E Scotland, and flowing E past Ballater to the North Sea through an artificial channel at Aberdeen. The channel was constr...

De-shima

(Encyclopedia)De-shima dāˈ-jĭmä [key], artificial island, c.40 acres (16 hectares), Nagasaki prefecture, W Kyushu, Japan, in Nagasaki harbor. It has many docks and is connected by bridge to the city of Nagasaki...