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Hammerstein, Oscar, 2d

(Encyclopedia)Hammerstein, Oscar, 2d, 1895–1960, American lyricist and librettist, b. New York City, grad. Columbia, 1916; grandson of Oscar Hammerstein. His first success was Wildflower (1923), with music by Vin...

gazelle

(Encyclopedia)gazelle, name for the many species of delicate, graceful antelopes of the genera Gazella, Eudorcas, and Nanger, inhabiting arid, open country. Most gazelles are found only in Africa, but several speci...

Curaçao

(Encyclopedia)Curaçao kyo͝oˈrəsō, ko͞oräsouˈ [key], island (2015 est. pop. 158,000), 178 sq mi (461 sq km), an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Lesser Antilles off the co...

Death Valley

(Encyclopedia)Death Valley, SE Calif. and SW Nev., a deep, arid basin, 140 mi (225 km) long, bordered on the W by the Panamint Range and on the E by the Amargosa Range. In summer the valley has recorded some of the...

pigment

(Encyclopedia)pigment, substance that imparts color to other materials. In paint, the pigment is a powdered substance which, when mixed in the liquid vehicle, imparts color to a painted surface. The pigments used i...

Beersheba

(Encyclopedia)Beersheba bērshēˈbə, bērˈshēbə [key] [Heb.,=seven wells or well of the oath],...

transpiration

(Encyclopedia)transpiration, in botany, the loss of water by evaporation in terrestrial plants. Some evaporation occurs directly through the exposed walls of surface cells, but the greatest amount takes place throu...

Valdivia, Pedro de

(Encyclopedia)Valdivia, Pedro de pāˈdhrō dā väldēˈvyä [key], c.1500–1554, Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Chile. One of Francisco Pizarro's best officers in the conquest of Peru, educated, energetic, s...

yucca

(Encyclopedia)yucca yŭkˈə [key], any plant of the genus Yucca, stiff-leaved stemless or treelike succulents of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native chiefly to the tablelands of Mexico and the American Sout...

Wavell, Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl

(Encyclopedia)Wavell, Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl wāˈvəl [key], 1883–1950, British field marshal and viceroy of India. Wavell first saw service in the South African War and in India. During World War I...