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Negro, Río, river, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Negro, Río rēˈō nāˈgrō [key], river, c.1,400 mi (2,250 km) long, rising as the Guainía River in E Colombia where it flows NE before turning south to form part of the Colombia-Venezuela border....

obsidian

(Encyclopedia)obsidian ŏbsĭdˈēən [key], a volcanic glass, homogeneous in texture and having a low water content, with a vitreous luster and a conchoidal fracture. The color is commonly black, but may be some s...

lignite

(Encyclopedia)lignite lĭgˈnīt [key] or brown coal, carbonaceous fuel intermediate between coal and peat, brown or yellowish in color and woody in texture. It contains more moisture than coal and tends to dry and...

Müller, Johannes Peter

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Johannes Peter mŭlˈər [key], 1801–58, German physiologist and anatomist. From 1833 until the end of his career he was professor at Berlin. He was famed as a teacher; for his extensive r...

Labrador retriever

(Encyclopedia)Labrador retriever, breed of large sporting dog whose origins are obscure but whose immediate ancestors were developed in Newfoundland and brought to England in the early 1800s. It stands about 23 in....

latex

(Encyclopedia)latex, emulsion of a polymer (e.g., rubber) in water (see colloid). Natural latexes are produced by a number of plants, are usually white in color, and often contain, in addition to rubber, various gu...

Cullen, Countee

(Encyclopedia)Cullen, Countee kounˈtēˈ [key], 1903–46, American poet, b. New York City, grad. New York Univ. 1925, M.A. Harvard, 1926. A major writer of the Harlem Renaissance—a flowering of black artistic a...

Chesapeake Bay retriever

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake Bay retriever, breed of large sporting dog developed in the United States. It stands about 24 in. (61 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Its thick, short double coat...

cochineal

(Encyclopedia)cochineal kŏchĭnēlˈ, kŏchˈĭnēl [key], natural dye obtained from an extract of the bodies of the females of the cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus) found on certain species of cactus, especial...

German silver

(Encyclopedia)German silver, name for various alloys of copper, zinc, and nickel, sometimes also containing lead and tin. They were originally named for their silver-white color, but use of the term silver is now p...