Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

341 results found

Bryan, William Jennings

(Encyclopedia)Bryan, William Jennings brīˈən [key], 1860–1925, American political leader, b. Salem, Ill. Although the nation consistently rejected him for the presidency, it eventually adopted many of the refo...

aviation

(Encyclopedia)aviation, operation of heavier-than-air aircraft and related activities. Aviation can be conveniently divided into military aviation, air transport, and general aviation. Military aviation includes al...

science fiction

(Encyclopedia)science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

court

(Encyclopedia)court, in law, official body charged with administering justice. The term is also applied to the judge or judges who fill the office and to the courtroom itself. Courts come into existence when legal ...

ecology

(Encyclopedia)ecology, study of the relationships of organisms to their physical environment and to one another. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology; the study of groups of ...

vision

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Optic nerve vision, physiological sense of sight by which the form, color, size, movements, and distance of objects are perceived. Defects of vision include astigmatism, color blindness, far...

dog

(Encyclopedia)CE5 General anatomy of a dog dog, carnivorous, domesticated wolf (Canis lupus familiaris) of the family Canidae, to which the jackal, fox, and tanuki also belong. The family Canidae is sometimes r...

Muhammad, prophet of Islam

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad məhămˈəd [key] [Arab.,=praised], 570?–632, the name of the Prophet of Islam, one of the great figures of history, b. Mecca. The traditions concerning Muhammad's life, deeds, and sa...

museums of science

(Encyclopedia)museums of science, institutions or buildings where collections relevant to science and technology are preserved and displayed to promote education and research. While the preponderance of these museu...

religion

(Encyclopedia)religion, a system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social...