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daylight saving time

(Encyclopedia)daylight saving time (DST), time observed when clocks and other timepieces are set ahead so that the sun will rise and set later in the day as measured by civil time. The amount of daylight on a given...

El Niño–Southern Oscillation

(Encyclopedia)El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ĕl nēnˈyō [key], large-scale climatic fluctuation of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the overlying atmosphere. The El Niño [Span.,=the child] is the South Am...

Guangdong

(Encyclopedia)Guangdong or Kwangtung both: gwängˈdo͝ongˈ [key], province, c.76,000 sq mi (196,891 s...

budget

(Encyclopedia)budget, inclusive list of proposed expenditures and expected receipts of any person, enterprise, or government for a specified period, usually one year. Budget estimates are based on the expenditures ...

Leyte

(Encyclopedia)Leyte lāˈtē, –tā [key], island (1990 pop. 1,689,756), 2,785 sq mi (7,213 sq km), one of the Visayan Islands, the Philippines, between Luzon and Mindanao. A fertile agricultural land, it is the n...

mesquite, in botany

(Encyclopedia)mesquite mĭskētˈ, mĕsˈkēt [key], any plant of the genus Prosopis, leguminous spiny trees or shrubs of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to tropical and subtropical regions. The seed ...

lapwing

(Encyclopedia)lapwing, common name for some members of the family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers. Lapwings are almost all inland or upland birds, found in all temperate and tropical regions except North A...

leishmaniasis

(Encyclopedia)leishmaniasis lēshˌmənīˈəsĭs [key], any of a group of tropical diseases caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Leishmania. The parasites live in dogs, foxes, rodents, and humans; they are ...

clove

(Encyclopedia)clove, name for a small evergreen tree (Syzygium aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata) of the family Myrtaceae (myrtle family) and for its unopened flower bud, an important spice. The buds, whose folde...

Colima, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Colima kōlēˈmä [key], state, 2,010 sq mi (5,206 sq km), SW Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. ...