Columbia Encyclopedia

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fountain

(Encyclopedia)fountain, natural or artificially conveyed flow of water. In ancient Greece columnar shrines were built over springs and dedicated to deities or nymphs. In ancient Rome fountains fed by the great aque...

humidity

(Encyclopedia)humidity, moisture content of the atmosphere, a primary element of climate. Humidity measurements include absolute humidity, the mass of water vapor per unit volume of natural air; relative humidity (...

burlesque

(Encyclopedia)burlesque bûrlĕskˈ [key] [Ital.,=mockery], form of entertainment differing from comedy or ...

buttress

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Types of buttresses buttress, mass of masonry built against a wall to strengthen it. It is especially necessary when a vault or an arch places a heavy load or thrust on one part of a wall. In t...

Liberal party, former British political party

(Encyclopedia)Liberal party, former British political party, the dominant political party in Great Britain for much of the period from the mid-1800s to World War I. By 1914 the Liberal government had passed subst...

magnesium

(Encyclopedia)magnesium măgnēˈzēəm, –zhəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Mg; at. no. 12; at. wt. 24.3050; m.p. about 648.8℃; b.p. about 1,090℃; sp. gr. 1.738 at 20℃; valence +2. In 1808, Sir...

matter

(Encyclopedia)matter, anything that has mass and occupies space. Matter is sometimes called koinomatter (Gr. koinos=common) to distinguish it from antimatter, or matter composed of antiparticles. The atomic th...

chemistry

(Encyclopedia)chemistry, branch of science concerned with the properties, composition, and structure of substances and the changes they undergo when they combine or react under specified conditions. Organic chemi...

molding

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Moldings molding, in architecture, furniture, and decorative objects, a surface or group of surfaces of projecting or receding contours. A molding may serve as a defining element, terminating ...

murder

(Encyclopedia)murder, criminal homicide, usually distinguished from manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. The most direct case of malicious intent occurs when the killer is known to have adopted the d...