Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ophion

(Encyclopedia)Ophion ōfīˈən [key], in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. An orphic god who ruled the world with his mother, Eurynome, before the reign of Kronos. When he became unruly, Eurynome banished him to th...

jeep

(Encyclopedia)jeep, small, durable automotive vehicle intended for heavy-duty applications and sometimes provided with the capability of delivering driving power to all four wheels. The last feature allows superior...

Hawes, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Hawes, Stephen, c.1475–1530, English poet. His best-known works, the two allegories Example of Virtue (1504?) and Pastime of Pleasure (1505?), use typically medieval conventions, but they differ fro...

Stassfurt

(Encyclopedia)Stassfurt shtäsˈfo͝ort [key], city (1994 pop. 24,025), Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is a center of one of the world's great potash-mining regions. City manufactures include chemicals, foodstu...

Bad Nauheim

(Encyclopedia)Bad Nauheim bät nouˈhīm [key], town, Hesse, central Germany, in the Taunus Mts. It is a wo...

Capelle, Eduard von

(Encyclopedia)Capelle, Eduard von āˈdo͞oärt fən käpĕlˈə [key], 1855–1931, German admiral. As secretary for the navy (1916–18) he reinstituted (1917) unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I. ...

military government

(Encyclopedia)military government, rule of enemy territory under military occupation. It is distinguished from martial law, which is the temporary rule by domestic armed forces over disturbed areas. The practices o...

Pan-Arabism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Arabism, general term for the modern movement for political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. Since the Ottoman Turks rose to power in the 14th cent., there have been stirring...

Pentecostalism

(Encyclopedia)Pentecostalism, worldwide 20th–21st-century Christian movement that emphasizes the experience of Spirit baptism, generally evidenced by speaking in tongues (glossolalia). The name derives from Pente...

Morris Jesup, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Morris Jesup, Cape jĕsˈəp [key], northernmost land point in the world, N Greenland. At lat. 83°39′N, it is 440 mi (708 km) from the North Pole. U.S. explorer Robert Peary reached the cape in 189...

Browse by Subject