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ceremony

(Encyclopedia)ceremony, expression of shared feelings and attitudes through more or less formally ordered actions of an essentially symbolic nature performed on appropriate occasions. A ceremony involves stereotype...

polka

(Encyclopedia)polka, ballroom dance for couples in 2/4 time. Originated by Bohemian peasants about 1830 from steps of the schottische and other dances, the polka by 1835 reached the drawing rooms of Prague, from wh...

cerebellum

(Encyclopedia)cerebellum sĕrˌəbĕlˈəm [key], portion of the brain that coordinates movements of voluntary (skeletal) muscles. It contains about half of the brain's neurons, but these particular nerve cells are...

Aldhelm, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Aldhelm, Saint ôldˈhĕlm [key], 639?–709, English churchman and scholar. He was abbot of Malmesbury (from 675) and became the first bishop of Sherborne (705). A distinguished student of the classi...

Nanterre

(Encyclopedia)Nanterre näNtârˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 86,627), capital of Hauts-de-Seine dept., N central France, on the right bank of the Seine River. It is an administrative and industrial center where metals,...

Lyall, Sir Charles James

(Encyclopedia)Lyall, Sir Charles James līˈəl [key], 1845–1920, British Orientalist and civil servant in India. He held various offices in India and became chief commissioner of the Central Provs. (1895–98). ...

Keita, Ibrahim Boubacar

(Encyclopedia)Keita, Ibrahim Boubacar, 1945–2022, Malian politician. Keita was a member of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (1990–2001) ...

Sandys, Edwin

(Encyclopedia)Sandys, Edwin săndz [key], 1516?–1588, English prelate, archbishop of York (1576–88). While a student at Cambridge he turned to Protestantism. On the death (1553) of Edward VI, Sandys supported L...

Davis, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Andrew Jackson, 1826–1910, American spiritualist, b. Blooming Grove, N.Y. He became a professional clairvoyant, known as the “Poughkeepsie Seer,” after being mesmerized in 1843. He was po...

Estrada Cabrera, Manuel

(Encyclopedia)Estrada Cabrera, Manuel mänwĕlˈ esträˈᵺä käbrāˈrä [key], 1857–1924, president of Guatemala (1898–1920). He ruled as an absolute dictator, and there were several revolutionary movements...