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soap

(Encyclopedia)soap, a cleansing agent. It cleanses by lowering the surface tension of water, by emulsifying grease, and by absorbing dirt into the foam. Ancient peoples are believed to have employed wood ashes and ...

bow and arrow

(Encyclopedia)bow and arrow, weapon consisting of two parts; the bow is made of a strip of flexible material, such as wood, with a cord linking the two ends of the strip to form a tension from which is propelled th...

Nordhausen

(Encyclopedia)Nordhausen nôrtˈhouˌzən [key], city (1994 pop. 44,744), Thuringia, central Germany, at the southern foot of the Harz Mts. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures include clothin...

lye

(Encyclopedia)lye, name commonly used for a strongly alkaline solution. It originally meant a solution of potassium carbonate (potash) prepared by leaching wood ashes with water, but now the name also means a solut...

meranti

(Encyclopedia)meranti, any of several species of Shorea, the most important timber genus in tropical Asia, of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Meranti is an important emergent tree of the tropical forests of Asia. The ...

Lahti

(Encyclopedia)Lahti läˈtē, läkhˈ– [key], city (1998 pop. 96,227), Southern Finland prov., S central Finland. Connected with the southern end of the Päijänne lake system, it is an important lake port as wel...

Krasnoyarsk

(Encyclopedia)Krasnoyarsk krəsnəyärskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 913,000), capital of Krasnoyarsk Territory, W Siberian Russia, on the Yenisei River. A major river port and rail center, it has industries producing...

Tirupati

(Encyclopedia)Tirupati, city (1991 pop. 188,904), in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh state in S India. It is located in a valley of the Eastern Ghats some 35 mi (56 km) NNE of Chittoor. The city is noted fo...

shawm

(Encyclopedia)shawm shôm [key], double-reed woodwind instrument used in Europe from the 13th through the 17th cent. The term denotes a family of instruments of different sizes. The shape and tone of the soprano sh...

Aleijadinho

(Encyclopedia)Aleijadinho älāzhädēˈnyō [key] [Port.,=little cripple], 1730–1814, Brazilian sculptor. His real name was Antônio Francisco Lisboa. Although he was maimed in hands and feet, he is known for th...