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midsummer day and midsummer night

(Encyclopedia)midsummer day and midsummer night, names given to the feast of the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24) and the preceding night (St. John's Eve, June 23). Because midsummer is about the time of ...

exile, in politics and government

(Encyclopedia)exile, removal of a national from his or her country, or the civilized parts of it, for a long period of time or for life. Exile may be a forceful expulsion by the government or a voluntary removal by...

hand, foot, and mouth disease

(Encyclopedia)hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), infectious viral disease that most commonly occurs in children under five years of age. Symptoms include fever, poor appetite, and a sore throat, followed by pain...

Swansea, city and county, Wales

(Encyclopedia)Swansea swŏnˈzē, –sē [key], Welsh Abertawe, city (1981 pop. 172,433) and county, 146 sq mi (378 sq km), S Wales. Located on Swansea Bay at the mouth of the Tawe River, the city of Swansea is a m...

age grade and age set

(Encyclopedia)age grade and age set, differentiation of social role based on age, commonly found in small-scale societies of North America and East Africa. Age sets are a type of sodality (nonresidential groups tha...

Denali National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Denali National Park and Preserve dənälˈē [key], in the Alaska Range, S central Alaska; comprising Denali National Park (4,740,912 acres/1,919,398 hectares), est. as Mt. McKinley National Park 191...

Aratus, Greek statesman and general

(Encyclopedia)Aratus, d. 213 b.c., Greek statesman and general of Sicyon, prime mover and principal leader of the Second Achaean League. His objective at first was to free the Peloponnesus from Macedonian dominatio...

functionalism, in art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)functionalism, in art and architecture, an aesthetic doctrine developed in the early 20th cent. out of Louis Henry Sullivan's aphorism that form ever follows function. Functionalist architects and art...

Highlander Research and Education Center

(Encyclopedia)Highlander Research and Education Center, New Market, Tenn.; founded as the Highlander Folk School in 1932 in Monteagle, Tenn., by Myles Horton (1905–90), who was influenced Denmark's folk high scho...

Warwick, town and district, England

(Encyclopedia)Warwick, town (1991 pop. 21,701) and district, county seat of Warwickshire, central England, on the Avon River. The town has some commerce and manufacturing. Warwick is best known for Warwick Castle, ...