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foreign exchange

(Encyclopedia)foreign exchange, methods and instruments used to adjust the payment of debts between two nations that employ different currency systems. A nation's balance of payments has an important effect on the ...

antiseptic

(Encyclopedia)antiseptic, agent that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the external surfaces of the body. Antiseptics should generally be distinguished from drugs such as antibiotics that destroy mi...

Dawes Plan

(Encyclopedia)Dawes Plan, presented in 1924 by the committee headed (1923–24) by Charles G. Dawes to the Reparations Commission of the Allied nations. It was accepted the same year by Germany and the Allies. The ...

chinoiserie

(Encyclopedia)chinoiserie shēnwäzrēˈ [key], decorative work produced under the influence of Chinese art, applied particularly to the more fanciful and extravagant manifestations. Intimations of Eastern art reac...

fine

(Encyclopedia)fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the altern...

Sato, Eisaku

(Encyclopedia)Sato, Eisaku āsäˈko͞o säˈtō [key], 1901–75, Japanese politician, prime minister (1964–72), brother of Nobusuke Kishi. After receiving a law degree from Tokyo Imperial Univ. (1924) he entere...

search warrant

(Encyclopedia)search warrant, in law, written order by an official of a court authorizing an officer to search in a specified place for specified objects and to seize them if found. The objects sought may be stolen...

Rouault, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Rouault, Georges zhôrzh ro͞o-ōˈ [key], 1871–1958, French expressionist artist. First apprenticed to a stained-glass maker, Rouault studied after 1891 under Gustave Moreau. He exhibited several p...

Pandulf

(Encyclopedia)Pandulf pănˈdŭlfˌ [key], Ital. Pandolfo, d. 1226, Italian churchman. He was first sent to England in 1211 by Pope Innocent III on an unsuccessful mission to settle the pope's dispute with King Joh...

Pacific Rim

(Encyclopedia)Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important...