Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
77 results found
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...Francis, French prince, duke of Alençon and Anjou
(Encyclopedia)Francis, 1554–84, French prince, duke of Alençon and Anjou; youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Although ill-shapen, pockmarked, and endowed with a curiously formed no...Hope, Bob
(Encyclopedia)Hope, Bob, 1903–2003, American comedian, b. London as Leslie Townes Hope; he came to the United States at the age of five. Famous for his “ski-jump” nose, topical humor, superb timing, brashly i...smart weapon
(Encyclopedia)smart weapon, missile or steerable bomb equipped with a laser, television, or satellite guidance system. Smart weapons, which use guidance systems that rely on external assistance, are distinguished f...smell
(Encyclopedia)smell, sense that enables an organism to perceive and distinguish the odors of various substances, also known as olfaction. In humans, the organ of smell is situated in the mucous membrane of the uppe...plastic surgery
(Encyclopedia)plastic surgery, surgical repair of congenital or acquired deformities and the restoration of contour to improve the appearance and function of tissue defects. Development of this specialized branch o...leprosy
(Encyclopedia)leprosy or Hansen's disease hănˈsənz [key], chronic, mildly infectious malady capable of producing, when untreated, various deformities and disfigurements. It is caused by the rod-shaped bacterium ...hamster
(Encyclopedia)hamster, Old World rodent, related to the voles, lemmings, and New World mice. There are many hamster species, classified in several genera. All are solitary, burrowing, nocturnal animals, with chunky...lungs
(Encyclopedia)lungs, elastic organs used for breathing in vertebrate animals, excluding most fish, which use gills, and a few amphibian species that respire through the skin. The word is sometimes applied to the re...koala
(Encyclopedia)koala kōäˈlə [key], arboreal marsupial, or pouched mammal, Phascolarctos cinereus, native to Australia. Although it is sometimes called koala bear, or Australian bear, and is somewhat bearlike in ...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
