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Aberhart, William

(Encyclopedia)Aberhart, William āˈbərhärt [key], 1878–1943, premier of Alberta, Canada, b. Ontario. He was a schoolteacher and a founder and dean of the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute (opened 1927). About ...

Cardston

(Encyclopedia)Cardston, town, SW Alta., Canada, near the U.S. boundary. It was founded in 1887 by Mormons from Utah under the leadership of Charles Ora Card, son-in-l...

interest

(Encyclopedia)interest, charge for the use of credit or money, usually figured as a percentage of the principal and computed annually. Simple interest is computed annually on the principal. Compound interest, paid ...

lock and key

(Encyclopedia)lock and key, fastening fitted to an entryway, such as a gate or door, or a container, such as a cabinet, drawer or safe, to keep it closed and/or prevent unauthorized access or use. Locks typically c...

combing

(Encyclopedia)combing, process that follows carding in the preparation of fibers for spinning, lays the fibers parallel, and removes noils (short fibers). The modern combing machine is a specialized carding machine...

five hundred

(Encyclopedia)five hundred, card game, similar in principle to euchre, usually played by three persons with a pack of 32 cards and a joker. Each player receives 10 cards, and highest bidder for the widow (the three...

chemin de fer

(Encyclopedia)chemin de fer shəmănˈ də fûr, Fr. shəmăNˈ də fĕr [key] [Fr.,=railroad], the most popular gambling card game in Europe. The present day versions are variations of Italian baccara which Charle...

Netscher, Caspar

(Encyclopedia)Netscher, Caspar käsˈpär nĕchˈər [key], 1639–84, Dutch portrait and genre painter, b. Heidelberg. He moved to Holland, where he studied with Ter Borch. Netscher was especially adept in the ren...

Hoyle, Edmond

(Encyclopedia)Hoyle, Edmond hoil [key], 1672–1769, English writer on games, b. London. He codified the rules of whist in his book A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist (1742) and in successive editions of the boo...

fingerprint

(Encyclopedia)fingerprint, an impression of the underside of the end of a finger or thumb, used for identification because the arrangement of ridges in any fingerprint is thought to be unique and permanent with eac...

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