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bullfighting

(Encyclopedia)bullfighting, national sport and spectacle of Spain. Called the corrida de toros in Spanish, the bullfight takes place in a large outdoor arena known as the plaza de toros. The object is for one of th...

earthquake

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Worldwide pattern of earthquake activity: The dots indicate the epicenters of all earthquakes recorded during a recent 10-year period. CE5 earthquake, trembling or shaking movement of the ea...

Hudson, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Hudson, river, c.315 mi (510 km) long, rising in Lake Tear of the Clouds, on Mt. Marcy in the Adirondack Mts., NE N.Y., and flowing generally S to Upper New York Bay at New York City; the Mohawk River...

Caribbean Sea

(Encyclopedia)Caribbean Sea kârˌĭbēˈən, kərĭbˈēən [key], tropical sea, c.970,000 sq mi (2,512,950 sq km), arm of the Atlantic Ocean, Central America. It is bordered on the N and E by the West Indies arch...

nicotine

(Encyclopedia)nicotine, C10H14N2, poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid alkaloid with a pungent odor and an acrid taste. It turns brown on exposure to air. Nicotine, a naturally occurring constituent of tobacco, is t...

Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint klrvōˈ [key], 1090?–1153, French churchman, mystic, Doctor of the Church. Born of noble family, in 1112 he entered the Cistercian abbey of Cîteaux, taking along 4 or 5...

sleep

(Encyclopedia)sleep, resting state in which an individual becomes relatively quiescent and relatively unaware of the environment. During sleep, which is in part a period of rest and relaxation, most physiological f...

Resnais, Alain

(Encyclopedia)Resnais, Alain älăNˈ rānāˈ [key], 1922–2014, French filmmaker. Although not an official member of the French cinema's New Wave movement, he shared its innovative and personal approach to style...

gravitation

(Encyclopedia)gravitation, the attractive force existing between any two particles of matter. The term gravitygravity is commonly used synonymously with gravitation, but in correct usage a definite distinction is...