Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

478 results found

Whitby, Synod of

(Encyclopedia)Whitby, Synod of, called by King Oswy of Northumbria in 663 at Whitby, England. Its purpose was to choose between the usages of the Celtic and Roman churches, primarily in the matter of reckoning the ...

Jeannette

(Encyclopedia)Jeannette jənĕtˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 11,221), Westmoreland co., SW Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh; laid out 1888, inc. as a city 1937. Located in a coal and natural gas area, Jeannette produces mac...

Bermuda Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Bermuda Triangle, area in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida where a number of ships and aircraft have vanished. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, it is bounded at its points by Melbourne, Fla.; Bermuda...

Damanhur

(Encyclopedia)Damanhur dämänho͝orˈ [key], city (1986 pop. 188,939), capital of Beheira governorate, N Egypt, in the Nile River delta. It is a communications center and a market for cotton and rice. Industries i...

An Nasiriyah

(Encyclopedia)An Nasiriyah än näsĭrĭˈyä [key], city (1987 pop. 265,937), provincial capital, SE Iraq, on the Euphrates River. It is the center of a date-growing region. Founded in 1870, the city was captured ...

Corinna

(Encyclopedia)Corinna kərĭnˈə [key], fl. c.500? b.c., Greek poet of Tanagra. Her verse, fragments of which remain, deals with mythological themes and is written in Boeotian dialect. There exists no consensus on...

Lons-le-Saunier

(Encyclopedia)Lons-le-Saunier lôN-lə-sōnyāˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 20,140), capital of Jura dept., E France, at the foot of the Jura Mts. A saltwater spa since Roman times, the town has food and textile indust...

tax exemption

(Encyclopedia)tax exemption, immunity from the requirement of paying taxes. Federal, state, and usually local law provide exemption from taxation for a wide variety of organizations, usually not-for-profit, such as...

Eccles

(Encyclopedia)Eccles ekˈəlz [key], town, Salford metropolitan district, NW England, in the Manchester met...

hourglass

(Encyclopedia)hourglass, glass instrument for measuring time, usually consisting of two bulbs united by a narrow neck. One bulb is filled with fine sand that runs through the neck into the other bulb in an hour's t...