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ibex

(Encyclopedia)ibex īˈbĕks [key], wild goat, genus Capra, found in rugged country on mountain ranges from central Asia to the Himalayas, S Europe, and NE Africa. Ibexes are surefooted and agile; they usually trav...

kaleidoscope

(Encyclopedia)kaleidoscope kəlīˈdəskōp [key], optical instrument that uses mirrors to produce changing symmetrical patterns. Invented by the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster in 1816, the device is usually...

Kelly, Ellsworth

(Encyclopedia)Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923–2015, American painter, b. Newburgh, N.Y. He moved to New York City in 1941, studying at Pratt Institute, and later attended the Boston Museum Arts School. In Paris during the...

Kensington and Chelsea

(Encyclopedia)Kensington and Chelsea, inner borough (1991 pop. 127,600) of Greater London, SE England. Kensington is largely residential with fashionable shopping streets and several luxurious hotels. Portobello Ro...

Smith, Dame Maggie

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Dame Maggie (Dame Margaret Natalie Cross), 1934–, English actress. Smith first appeared on stage in Twelfth Night (1952). With her precise, sometimes rapid-fire, articulation and her meticulo...

plumbing

(Encyclopedia)plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipes�...

palm

(Encyclopedia)palm, common name for members of the Palmae, a large family of chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, and vines. Most species are treelike, characterized by a crown of compound leaves, called fronds, termina...

Narayan, R. K.

(Encyclopedia)Narayan, R. K. (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) nərīˈyän [key], 1906–2001, Indian novelist, b. Madras (now Chennai). Narayan, who wrote in English, published his first novel, Swami and Friends, ...

McEwan, Ian

(Encyclopedia)McEwan, Ian (Ian Russell McEwan) məkyo͞oˈən [key], 1948–, English novelist, b. Aldershot, B.A. Univ. of Sussex, 1970, M.A. Univ. of East Anglia, 1971. His early short-story collections, First Lo...

Rao, Raja

(Encyclopedia)Rao, Raja rou [key], 1909–2006, Indian novelist, b. Hassan, Mysore (now Karnataka), as Raja. Rao took his surname as an adult, and was educated in India and France and for many years divided his ti...