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Branner, Hans Christian

(Encyclopedia)Branner, Hans Christian, 1903–66, Danish writer. Branner's early novels, often concerned with the irrational fears of childhood, include The Child Playing on the Shore (1937). With The Riding Master...

Tibullus

(Encyclopedia)Tibullus (Albius Tibullus) tĭbŭlˈəs [key], c.55? b.c.–19 b.c., Roman elegiac poet, b. Pedum, near Praeneste. Probably of the equestrian order, he was a friend of Messala, whom he accompanied on ...

belt

(Encyclopedia)belt, girdle or band worn around the body, originally to confine loose garments. Later the girdle became a decorative accessory and was used to carry belongings. The Greeks and Romans wore ornamental ...

veil

(Encyclopedia)veil, a feature of female costume from antiquity, especially in the East, where it was worn primarily to conceal the features. In modern times it is worn to enhance the face. The Egyptian woman of ran...

Maracay

(Encyclopedia)Maracay märäkīˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 354,196), capital of Aragua state, N Venezuela, at the eastern end of Lake Valencia. It is a commercial, agricultural, and industrial city. Its products incl...

Bannu

(Encyclopedia)Bannu bənˈno͞o [key], town (1981 pop. 35,170), N Pakistan. It is a district administrative center and an important road junction and market town. The major industries are cloth weaving and the manu...

Cartwright, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Cartwright, Edmund, 1743–1823, English inventor and clergyman. He was the inventor of an imperfect power loom that, when finally patented (1785), became the parent of the modern loom. It was the fir...

polyvinyl chloride

(Encyclopedia)polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic that is a polymer of vinyl chloride. Resins of polyvinyl chloride are hard, but with the addition of plasticizers a flexible, elastic plastic can be made. This ...

absinthe

(Encyclopedia)absinthe ăbˈsĭnth [key], an emerald-green liqueur distilled from wormwood and other aromatics, including angelica root, sweet-flag root, star anise, and dittany, which have been macerated and steep...

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

(Encyclopedia)Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence mĕkˈlənbûrgˌ [key], resolution alleged to have been proclaimed at Charlotte, N.C., by the citizens of Mecklenburg co. on May 20, 1775. Although North Carol...