Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

molly

(Encyclopedia)molly or mollie, New World fish of the genus Poecilia, which includes the guppy or rainbow fish, Poecilia reticulata. Mollies, which are related to the killifishes, are found from the E and central Un...

Muñoz Marín, Luis

(Encyclopedia)Muñoz Marín, Luis lo͞oēsˈ mo͞onyōsˈ märēnˈ [key], 1898–1980, Puerto Rican political leader, governor of Puerto Rico (1949–65). He abandoned a career as poet and journalist in New York C...

Ignatius of Antioch, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Ignatius of Antioch, Saint ĭgnāˈshəs, ănˈtēŏk [key], d. c.107, bishop of Antioch and Christian martyr, called Theophorus [Gr.,= God-bearer]. He was probably a convert and a disciple of St. Joh...

Paul, Les

(Encyclopedia)Paul, Les, 1915–2009, American guitarist and inventor, b. Waukesha, Wis., as Lester William Polsfuss (later Polfuss). He began playing country music a...

testis

(Encyclopedia)testis tĕsˈtĭkəl [key], one of a pair of glands that produce the male reproductive cells, or sperm. In fetal life the testes develop in the abdomen, then descend into an external sac, the scrotum....

Culp, Curley

(Encyclopedia)Culp, Curley, 1946-2021, American football Hall-of-Famer, b. Yuma, Az., Arizona State Univ. (B.Bus., 1970), Univ. of Houston (M.A., 1990). Considered th...

Chang Tso-lin

(Encyclopedia)Chang Tso-lin jäng tsōˈ-lĭnˈ [key], 1873–1928, Chinese general. Chang was of humble birth. As the leader of a unit of Manchurian militia he assisted (1904–5) the Japanese in the Russo-Japanes...

Godwin, William

(Encyclopedia)Godwin, William, 1756–1836, English author and political philosopher. A minister in his youth, he was, however, plagued by religious doubts and gave up preaching in 1783 for a literary career. His E...

Greeley, Andrew Moran

(Encyclopedia)Greeley, Andrew Moran, 1928–2013, American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, and author, b. Oak Park, Ill.; studied St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill. (ordained 1954). He was (1954–6...

ultrasound

(Encyclopedia)ultrasound or sonography, in medicine, technique that uses sound waves to study and treat hard-to-reach body areas. In scanning with ultrasound, high-frequency sound waves are transmitted to the area ...

Browse by Subject