Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sin, in religion

(Encyclopedia)sin, in religion, unethical act. The term implies disobedience to a personal God, as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and is not used so often in systems such as Buddhism where there is no persona...

siren, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)siren: see salamander.

bast, in botany

(Encyclopedia)bast: see bark.

baroque, in music

(Encyclopedia)baroque, in music, a style that prevailed from the last decades of the 16th cent. to the first decades of the 18th cent. Its beginnings were in the late 16th-century revolt against polyphony that gave...

set, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Union and intersection of sets A and B: The union of A and B, A∪B, contains all members belonging to either A or B. The intersection of A and B, A∩B, contains all members common to both A a...

Shammai, in 1 Chronicles

(Encyclopedia)Shammai shămˈāī [key], in 1 Chronicles. 1 Jerahmeelite. 2, 3 Descendants of Caleb. ...

Shammai, in Judaism

(Encyclopedia)Shammai shäˈmī [key], c.50 b.c.–c.a.d. 30, Jewish sage known for his opposition to the liberal teachings of Hillel. He and his school interpreted the Law extremely rigorously, emphasizing deed ra...

share, in agriculture

(Encyclopedia)share, in agriculture: see plow.

share, in finance

(Encyclopedia)share, in finance: see stock.

barrow, in archaeology

(Encyclopedia)barrow, in archaeology, a burial mound. Earth and stone or timber are the usual construction materials; in parts of SE Asia stone and brick have entirely replaced earth. A barrow built primarily of st...