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Bellerophon

(Encyclopedia)Bellerophon bəlĕrˈəfŏn, –fən [key], in Greek mythology, son of Glaucus (3;) originally called Hipponoüs. He changed his name after he murdered a countryman and was forced to flee to exile. He...

Schirra, Wally

(Encyclopedia)Schirra, Wally, (Walter Marty Schirra, Jr.), 1923–2007, the only American astronaut to fly in all of NASA's first three manned spaceflight programs, b. Hackensack, N.J., grad. U.S. Naval Academy (19...

carpe diem

(Encyclopedia)carpe diem kärˈpĕ dēˈĕm [key], a descriptive term for literature that urges readers to live for the moment [from the Latin phrase “seize the day,” used by Horace]. The theme, which was widel...

simile

(Encyclopedia)simile sĭmˈəlē [key] [Lat.,=likeness], in rhetoric, a figure of speech in which an object is explicitly compared to another object. Robert Burns's poem “A Red Red Rose” contains two straightfo...

celestial sphere

(Encyclopedia)celestial sphere, imaginary sphere of infinite radius with the earth at its center. It is used for describing the positions and motions of stars and other objects. For these purposes, any astronomical...

holography

(Encyclopedia)holography hŏlŏgˈrəfē, hō– [key], method of reproducing a three-dimensional image of an object by means of light wave patterns recorded on a photographic plate or film. Holography is sometimes...

airplane

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Side view of jet-propelled airplane B. Top view airplane, aeroplane, or aircraft, heavier-than-air vehicle, mechanically driven and fitted with fixed wings that support it in flight thro...

clerestory

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Clerestory clerestory or clearstory both: klĭrˈstōrˌē, –stôrˌē [key], a part of a building whose walls rise higher than the roofs of adjoining parts of the structure. Pierced by wind...

festoon

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Festoon festoon, sculptured or painted architectural or interior ornament consisting of a garland of leaves, flowers, or fruit, or some combination of these, held by ribbons or folds and drape...

xylophone

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Xylophone xylophone zīˈləfōn [key] [Gr.,=wood sound], musical instrument having graduated wooden slabs that are struck by the player with small, hard mallets. The slabs are usually arrange...