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Shikoku

(Encyclopedia)Shikoku shĭkōˈko͞o [key], island (1990 pop. 4,240,265), 7,247 sq mi (18,770 sq km), S Japan, separated from Honshu and Kyushu by the Inland Sea. The smallest of the major islands of Japan, its hig...

Epée, Charles Michel, Abbé de l'

(Encyclopedia)Epée, Charles Michel, Abbé de l' shärl mēshĕlˈ äbāˈ də lāpāˈ [key], 1712–89, French pioneer teacher of deaf-mutes. A Jansenist priest, he developed a manual system of communication for ...

Sacré-Cœur

(Encyclopedia)Sacré-Cœur säkrā-körˈ [key], basilica in Paris, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a famous landmark atop the Montmartre, from which it dominates the city. Built (1875–1914) by subs...

Jezreel

(Encyclopedia)Jezreel jĕzˈrēĕl [key] [Heb.,=God sows]. 1 City, ancient Palestine, in the plain of Esdraelon, halfway from Megiddo to the Jordan, and mentioned in the Bible. Situated on land allotted to Issachar...

hysteria

(Encyclopedia)hysteria hĭstĕrˈēə [key], in psychology, a disorder commonly known today as conversion disorder, in which a psychological conflict is converted into a bodily disturbance. It is distinguished from...

Kozhikode

(Encyclopedia)Kozhikode kăˈlĭkət [key], city (1991 pop. 419,531), Kerala state, SW India, on the Malabar coast of the Arabian Sea. Once the leading port of S India, it declined in the 19th cent. but remains the...

ribbon

(Encyclopedia)ribbon, relatively narrow width of woven fabric edged with selvage. Ribbons have been used for centuries as girdles, headdresses, and badges and for ornamentation. At first called ribbands, they were ...

water glass

(Encyclopedia)water glass or soluble glass, colorless, transparent, glasslike substance available commercially as a powder or as a transparent, viscous solution in water. Chemically it is sodium silicate, potassium...

blueprint

(Encyclopedia)blueprint, white-on-blue photographic print, commonly of a working drawing used during building or manufacturing. The plan is first drawn to scale on a special paper or tracing cloth through which lig...

shipwreck

(Encyclopedia)shipwreck, complete or partial destruction of a vessel as a result of collision, fire, grounding, storm, explosion, or other mishap. In the ancient world sea travel was hazardous, but in modern times ...