Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

coma, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)coma, in astronomy: see comet.

coma, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)coma, in medicine, deep state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused even by painful stimuli. The patient cannot speak and does not respond to command. Coma is the result of damage t...

combination, in business

(Encyclopedia)combination, in business: see trust. ...

combinations, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)combinations, in mathematics: see probability. ...

commerce, in economics

(Encyclopedia)commerce, traffic in goods, usually thought of as trade between states or nations. Engaged in by all peoples from the earliest times, it has been carried on in some areas and by some peoples more than...

Charon, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Charon, in astronomy, the natural satellite, or moon, of Pluto. ...

Charon, in mythology

(Encyclopedia)Charon, in Greek mythology: see Hades. ...

chord, in geometry

(Encyclopedia)chord kôrd [key], in geometry, straight line segment both end points of which lie on the circumference of a circle or other curve; it is a segment of a secant. A chord passing through the center of a...

chord, in music

(Encyclopedia)chord, in music, two or more simultaneously sounding pitches. In tonal music the fundamental chord is called the triad. It consists of three pitches, two a perfect fifth apart and a third pitch a majo...

chorus, in music

(Encyclopedia)chorus, in music, large group of singers performing in concert; a group singing liturgical music is a choir. The term chorus may also be used for a group singing or dancing together in a musical or in...