Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Oceanic art

(Encyclopedia)Oceanic art, works produced by the island peoples of the S and NW Pacific, including Melanesia (New Guinea and the islands to its north and east), Micronesia (Mariana, Caroline, Marshall, and Gilbert ...

allegory

(Encyclopedia)allegory, in literature, symbolic story that serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the surface. The characters in an allegory often have no individual persona...

Langer, Susanne Knauth

(Encyclopedia)Langer, Susanne Knauth nouth lăngˈər [key], 1895–1986, American philosopher, b. New York City, grad. Radcliffe (B.A., 1920; Ph.D., 1926). After holding various teaching posts, she was a lecturer ...

Perse, St.-John

(Encyclopedia)Perse, St.-John, pseud. of Alexis Saint-Léger Léger, 1887–1975, French poet and diplomat, b. West Indies. Léger, an opponent of appeasement of the Nazis, was enormously influential in France's fo...

Dumah

(Encyclopedia)Dumah do͞oˈmə [key], in the Bible. 1 Descendants of Ishmael, an Arabic tribe in the desert of N Arabia. 2 Town, S ancient Palestine. 3 Apparently a symbolic name for Edom. ...

Newbury

(Encyclopedia)Newbury, town (1991 pop. 31,488), West Berkshire, S central England. In a farming region, Newbury trades in wool, malt, and farm products. Paper, furniture, and metal products are also made. In the Mi...

loom

(Encyclopedia)loom, frame or machine used for weaving; there is evidence that the loom has been in use since 4400 b.c. Modern looms are of two types, those with a shuttle (the part that carries the weft through the...

Revillagigedo Islands

(Encyclopedia)Revillagigedo Islands or Revillagigedo Archipelago rāvēˈyähēhāˈᵺō [key], volcanic island group in the Pacific Ocean, c.450 mi (720 km) W of Colima state and S of Baja California, Mexico. The...

Ariel, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Ariel āˈrēĕl [key], in the Bible, aide of Ezra. In two other passages AV calls them “lionlike men” (“two ariels of Moab” in RV). Nothing is known of them. Ariel is also used as a symbolic ...

Kurayoshi

(Encyclopedia)Kurayoshi ko͞oräˈyōshē [key], city (1990 pop. 51,834), Tottori prefecture, W Honshu, Japan, on the Tenjin River. It is an agricultural and communications center with textile, agricultural machine...