Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Brzezinski, Zbigniew Kazimierz

(Encyclopedia)Brzezinski, Zbigniew Kazimierz zbĭgˈnyĕv käzēmˈyĕsh brəzhĭnˈskē ...

Walker, Robert John

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Robert John, 1801–69, American public official, b. Northumberland, Pa. A lawyer, he practiced for a time in Pittsburgh. In 1826 he moved to Natchez, Miss. As a Democratic Senator (1836–45)...

Waterford, town, United States

(Encyclopedia)Waterford, town (1990 pop. 17,930), New London co., SE Conn., on Long Island Sound; settled c.1653, inc. as a separate town from New London, 1801. Mainly residential, it has a recording and film studi...

bear, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)bear, large mammal of the family Ursidae in the order Carnivora, found almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Bears have large heads, bulky bodies, massive hindquarters, short, powerful limbs,...

Chinese

(Encyclopedia)Chinese, subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages), which is also sometimes grouped with the Tai, or Thai, languages in a Sinitic subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan lan...

induction, in electricity and magnetism

(Encyclopedia)induction, in electricity and magnetism, common name for three distinct phenomena. Electromagnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (emf) in a conductor as a result of a changing ...

Hermes, in Greek religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Hermes, in Greek religion and mythology, son of Zeus and Maia. His functions were many, but he was primarily the messenger of the gods, particularly of Zeus, and conductor of souls to Hades. He was go...

Beach Boys, The

(Encyclopedia)Beach Boys, The, American rock music band formed in 1961 by brothers Brian Wilson, 1942–, Dennis Wilson, 1944–83, and Carl ...

inflection

(Encyclopedia)inflection, in grammar. In many languages, words or parts of words are arranged in formally similar sets consisting of a root, or base, and various affixes. Thus walking, walks, walker have in common ...