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coup

(Encyclopedia)coup ko͞o [key] [Fr.,=blow], among Native North Americans of the Plains culture, a war honor, awarded for striking an enemy in such a way that it was considered an extreme act of bravery. Generally, ...

Fink, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Fink, Mike, 1770?–1823?, American border hero, whose exploits have been so elaborated in legend that the actual facts of his life are difficult to discover. He was born probably at the frontier post...

Ellicott City

(Encyclopedia)Ellicott City, city (2020 pop. 75,947), seat of Howard co., in Baltimore and Howard cos., central Md., on the Patapsco River; settled 1774 as Ellicott M...

Guericke, Otto von

(Encyclopedia)Guericke, Otto von ôˈtō fən gāˈrĭkə [key], 1602–86, German physicist, noted for his study of pneumatics. He carried out his most important researches while burgomaster (1646–81) of Magdebu...

stirrup

(Encyclopedia)stirrup, foot support for the rider of a horse in mounting and while riding. It is a ring with a horizontal bar to receive the foot and is attached by a strap to the saddle. To avoid the danger of hav...

Pegasus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pegasus pĕgˈəsəs [key], in astronomy, northern constellation lying SW of Andromeda and SE of Cygnus. It is named for the mythological winged horse Pegasus. The constellation is easily recognized b...

Bagnold, Enid

(Encyclopedia)Bagnold, Enid băgˈnəld [key], 1889–1981, English novelist and playwright, b. Rochester, Kent, England. She was a nurse in a military hospital in World War I. In 1920 she married Sir Roderick Jone...

Pierce, Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Pierce, Franklin, 1804–69, 14th President of the United States (1853–57), b. Hillsboro, N.H., grad. Bowdoin College, 1824. Admitted to the bar in 1827, he entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat...

Poole, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Poole, Ernest po͞ol [key], 1880–1950, American writer, b. Chicago, grad. Princeton, 1902. He was a magazine correspondent in Russia, France, and Germany before and during World War I. His best-know...

springtail

(Encyclopedia)springtail, common name for any of the minute, primitive six-legged arthropods of the order Collembola. The springtail is named for a springlike mechanism on the underside of the abdomen. When at rest...