Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

rye grass

(Encyclopedia)rye grass, short-lived perennial, leafy, tufted plant belonging to the family Poaceae (grass family). Two species are grown in the United States—Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), the leading h...

referendum

(Encyclopedia)referendum, referral of proposed laws or constitutional amendments to the electorate for final approval. This direct form of legislation, along with the initiative, was known in Greece and other early...

rheostat

(Encyclopedia)rheostat rēˈəstătˌ [key], device whose resistance to electric current depends on the position of some mechanical element or control in the device. Typically a rheostat consists of a resistance el...

circuit breaker

(Encyclopedia)circuit breaker, electric device that, like a fuse, interrupts an electric current in a circuit when the current becomes too high. The advantage of a circuit breaker is that it can be reset after it h...

deed

(Encyclopedia)deed, in law, written document that is signed and delivered by which one person conveys land or other realty (see property) to another. A deed may assure the extent of the conveying party's ownership ...

eye bank

(Encyclopedia)eye bank, site for the collection, processing, and assignment of donated eyes. A donor's eyes are removed as soon as possible after death, sealed in a sterile container, and sent to the eye bank. Ther...

flotsam, jetsam, and ligan

(Encyclopedia)flotsam, jetsam, and ligan flŏtˈsəm, jĕtˈsəm, līˈgən [key] [O.Fr.], in maritime law, goods lost at sea as distinguished from goods washed ashore (wreck). Goods that remain floating on the sur...

hernia

(Encyclopedia)hernia, protrusion of an internal organ or part of an organ through the wall of a body cavity. The hernia is enclosed by a sac formed by the lining of the cavity. It results from a weakness or rupture...

injection

(Encyclopedia)injection, introduction of a fluid into the body, usually by means of a needle and syringe. The material injected may be a test substance (as in determining allergic sensitivity or immunity to a disea...

Jacobi, Friedrich Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Jacobi, Friedrich Heinrich, 1743–1819, German philosopher. Although educated for commerce, he early gave up business and became in 1770 a member of the council for the duchies of Berg and Jülich. A...