Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Turnus

(Encyclopedia)Turnus tûrˈnəs [key], in Roman legend, king of the Rutulians. In the Aeneid he is a spirited warrior. When his betrothed, Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, was given to the Trojan Aeneas by her fa...

Armageddon

(Encyclopedia)Armageddon ärˌməgedˈən [key], in the New Testament, great battlefield where, at the end of the world, the powers of evil will fight the powers of good. If the usual etymology is correct, the name...

Brady, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Brady, Samuel, 1758–95, American frontiersman. He fought in several battles of the American Revolution but earned his name as a scout in the Ohio country under Daniel Brodhead and Anthony Wayne. His...

Knyphausen, Wilhelm, Baron von

(Encyclopedia)Knyphausen, Wilhelm, Baron von vĭlˈhĕlm bärônˈ fən kənüpˈhouzən [key], 1716–1800, German general in British service in the American Revolution. He served in the army of Frederick the Grea...

Seydlitz, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Seydlitz, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm frīˈhĕr fən zīdˈlĭts [key], 1721–73, Prussian general under Frederick II. He helped restore the effectiveness of the Prussia...

Matruh

(Encyclopedia)Matruh mätro͞oˈ [key], town (1986 pop. 43,157), NW Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea. Built at the site of the Roman town of Paraetonium, it is located on the coast road and is on a railway that li...

precession of the equinoxes

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Precession of the equinoxes (the points at which the earth's celestial equator intersects its ecliptic) is due to the slow rotation of the earth's axis around a perpendicular to the ecliptic. ...

air, law of the

(Encyclopedia)air, law of the, in the broadest sense, all law connected with the use of the air, including radio and satellite transmissions; more commonly, it refers to laws concerning civil aviation. The developm...

Gambia, The, country, Africa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Gambia, The gămˈbēə, gämˈ– [key], officially Republic of The Gambia, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,978,000), 4,361 sq mi (11,295 sq km), W Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on t...

Bel and the Dragon

(Encyclopedia)Bel and the Dragon, customary name for chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel, a passage included in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha. It was written possibly in the 1st cent. b.c. as a response to Gentile ...