Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

123 results found

Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas Seymour, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas Seymour, Baron, 1508?–1549, English nobleman. After the marriage (1536) of his sister Jane to Henry VIII, he served on various diplomatic missions, was in command of the E...

sloth

(Encyclopedia)sloth slōth, slôth [key], arboreal mammal found in Central and South America distantly related to armadillos and anteaters. Sloths live in tropical forests, where they sleep, eat, and travel through...

Signoret, Simone

(Encyclopedia)Signoret, Simone, 1921–85, French actress, b. Wiesbaden, Germany, as Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker. The sultry blonde actress began as a movie extra; she became well known after she starred in...

extinction

(Encyclopedia)extinction, in biology, disappearance of species of living organisms. Extinction usually occurs as a result of changed conditions to which the species is not suited. If no member of the affected speci...

Fonda, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Jane, 1937–, American actress, b. New York City; daughter of Henry Fonda and sister of Peter Fonda. First cast in pert and sexy roles, she later distinguished herself in dramatic parts, often...

Rao, Raja

(Encyclopedia)Rao, Raja rou [key], 1909–2006, Indian novelist, b. Hassan, Mysore (now Karnataka), as Raja. Rao took his surname as an adult, and was educated in India and France and for many years divided his ti...

Simic, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Simic, Charles sĭmˈĭc [key], 1938–2023, American poet, b. Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now in S...

Henze, Hans Werner

(Encyclopedia)Henze, Hans Werner häns vĕrˈnər hĕnˈtsə [key], 1926–2012, German composer, b. Gütersloh. Henze was a pupil of Wolfgang Fortner and René Leibowitz. His early works were influenced by Stravin...

foot, in anatomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Foot foot, in anatomy, terminal part of the land vertebrate leg. The term is also applied to any invertebrate appendage used either for locomotion or attachment, e.g., the legs of insects and ...

flea

(Encyclopedia)flea, common name for any of the small, wingless insects of the order Siphonaptera. The adults of both sexes eat only blood and are all external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas have hard bodies ...

Browse by Subject