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brocade

(Encyclopedia)brocade brōkādˈ [key], fabric, originally silk, generally reputed to have been developed to a high state of perfection in the 16th and 17th cent. in France, Italy, and Spain. In China the weaving o...

modulation, in communications

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Modulation modulation, in communications, process in which some characteristic of a wave (the carrier wave) is made to vary in accordance with an information-bearing signal wave (the modulatin...

Martínez Ruiz, José

(Encyclopedia)Martínez Ruiz, José hōsāˈ märtēˈnĕth ro͞oēthˈ [key], 1873?–1967, Spanish writer. He often used the pseudonym Azorín. A political radical in the 1890s, he moved steadily to the right. In...

Connecticut, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Connecticut, longest river in New England, 407 mi (655 km) long, rising in the Connecticut Lakes, N N.H., near the Quebec border, and flowing S along the Vt.-N.H. line, then across Mass. and Conn. to ...

Norwich terrier

(Encyclopedia)Norwich terrier, breed of small, sturdy terrier developed in England in the second half of the 19th cent. It stands about 10 in. (25.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 11 lb (4.9 kg). The har...

Carver, John

(Encyclopedia)Carver, John, c.1576–1621, first governor of Plymouth Colony. A wealthy London merchant, in 1609 he emigrated to Holland, where he soon joined the Pilgrims at Leiden. His excellent character and his...

Brittany spaniel

(Encyclopedia)Brittany spaniel, breed of medium-sized sporting dog whose origins may be traced back hundreds of years to France and Spain. It stands about 19 in. (48.3 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 30...

Roche limit

(Encyclopedia)Roche limit, the closest distance that a celestial body held together only by its own gravity can come to a planet without being pulled apart by the planet's tidal (gravitational) force. This distance...

Michel, Charles Yves Jean Ghislaine

(Encyclopedia)Michel, Charles Yves Jean Ghislaine, 1975–, Belgian political leader, b. Namur, grad. Free Univ. of Brussels and Univ. of Amsterdam (1998). A French-speaking Liberal, he served (1994–99) on the Wa...

Doberman pinscher

(Encyclopedia)Doberman pinscher dōˈbərmən pĭnˈshər [key], breed of large, compact working dog originating in Germany c.1890. It stands from 24 to 28 in. (61–71 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 t...