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Magendie, François

(Encyclopedia)Magendie, François fräNswäˈ mäzhäNdēˈ [key], 1783–1855, French physician. He taught at the Collège de France and is considered a founder of experimental physiology. He distinguished the mot...

Heredia, José María de

(Encyclopedia)Heredia, José María de, 1842–1905, French poet, a leading exponent of the poetic ideals of the Parnassians, b. Cuba. His reputation rests on Les Trophées (1893), containing 118 masterful sonnets ...

William of Newburgh

(Encyclopedia)William of Newburgh, 1136?–1198?, English chronicler, monk of Newburgh, Yorkshire. He wrote the Historia rerum Anglicarum, a history of England from 1066 to 1198. Its chief value lies in the comment...

tartar emetic

(Encyclopedia)tartar emetic, poisonous, odorless, transparent rhombic crystals or white powder with a metallic, sweetish taste. Chemically, it is potassium antimony tartrate, KSbC4H4O7·1⁄2H2O. It is used as a mo...

depressant

(Encyclopedia)depressant, any one of various substances that diminish functional activity, usually by depressing the nervous system. Barbiturates, sedatives, alcohol, and meprobamate are all depressants. Depressant...

Thurow, Lester Carl

(Encyclopedia)Thurow, Lester Carl tho͝orˈō, thərōˈ [key], 1938–2016, American economist, b. Livingston, Mont.; B.A. Williams College, 1960; M.A. Oxford, 1962; Ph.D. Harvard, 1964. Professor of management an...

neostigmine

(Encyclopedia)neostigmine nēˌōstĭgˈmēn, –mĭn [key], drug used to mimic the effects of stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Along with several other drugs that have a similar mode of action, i...

Fyt, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Fyt, Jan yän fīt [key], 1611–61, Flemish animal and still-life painter and etcher. A pupil of Frans Snyders, Fyt spent 10 years in France and Italy. Returning to Antwerp in 1641, he enjoyed consid...

incantation

(Encyclopedia)incantation, set formula, spoken or sung, for the purpose of working magic. An incantation is normally an invocation to beneficent supernatural spirits for aid, protection, or inspiration. It may also...

evil eye

(Encyclopedia)evil eye, principally Sicilian and Mesoamerican superstition, although it is known in other cultures. According to the Native American version, a person who stares fixedly at a pregnant woman or a chi...