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tang, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)tang, common name for certain members of the Acanthuridae, a family of mostly small, mainly reef-dwelling tropical fishes with compressed bodies and small mouths and teeth. Other members of the family...

trunkfish

(Encyclopedia)trunkfish, any member of a family of fishes, Ostraciidae, also called boxfishes, that have short triangular bodies covered by firmly united hexagonal bony plates. Only the jaw, the bases of the fins, ...

rattan

(Encyclopedia)rattan rătănˈ [key], name for a number of plants of the genera Calamus, Daemonorops, and Korthalsia climbing palms of tropical Asia, belonging to the family Palmae (palm family). Rattan leaves, unl...

sarsaparilla

(Encyclopedia)sarsaparilla särsˌpərĭlˈə, săsˌ– [key], common name for various plants belonging to two different classes and also for an extract from their roots, formerly much used in medicine and in beve...

pineapple

(Encyclopedia)pineapple, common name for one member of and for the Bromeliaceae, a family of chiefly epiphytic herbs and small shrubs native to the American tropics and subtropics. The spiny leaves of various speci...

sisal hemp

(Encyclopedia)sisal hemp sīˈsəl, sĭsˈəl, sēsälˈ [key] [from Sisal, former chief port of Yucatan], important cordage fiber obtained from the leaves of the sisal hemp plant, an extensively cultivated tropica...

South Sudan

(Encyclopedia)South Sudan so͞odănˈ [key], officially Republic of South Sudan, republic (2015 est. pop. 11,882,000), 248,777 sq mi (644,329 sq km), E Africa. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan (N), Ethiopia (E), Ke...

Rosh ha-Shanah

(Encyclopedia)Rosh ha-Shanah hə-shäˈnə [key] [Heb.,=head of the year], the Jewish New Year, also known as the Feast of the Trumpets. It is observed on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri, occurring usual...

Fools, Feast of

(Encyclopedia)Fools, Feast of, burlesque religious festival of the Middle Ages. It occurred during the Christmas and New Year's revels, on or near New Year's Day. In many places a Lord of Misrule ruled over the rev...

Moos, Ludwig von

(Encyclopedia)Moos, Ludwig von lo͝otˈvĭkh fən mo͞os [key], 1910–90, Swiss political leader. Entering politics in his native town of Sachseln, he served (1941–46) as its president. He was later a government...