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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...

portcullis

(Encyclopedia)portcullis pôrtkŭlˈĭs [key], grating or framework of strong bars of wood or iron, sharp-pointed at their lower ends, sliding vertically in the grooved jambs of a fortified portal as a protection i...

Pine Bluff

(Encyclopedia)Pine Bluff, city (1990 pop. 57,140), seat of Jefferson co., S central Ark., on the Arkansas River; inc. 1839. It is a port and trade center for an agricultural area and has industries producing metal,...

Pori

(Encyclopedia)Pori pôˈrē [key], Swed. Björneborg, city (1998 pop. 76,375), Western Finland prov., SW Finland, near the mouth of the Kokemaënjoki River. Timber and metals are exported, and chemical and wood pro...

Pacher, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Pacher, Michael mĭkhˈäĕl päˈkhər [key], c.1435–1498, German religious painter and probably a wood carver, a native of the Tyrol. He painted figures reminiscent of the art of Mantegna, whose w...

Peto, John F.

(Encyclopedia)Peto, John F. pēˈtō [key], 1854–1907, American painter, b. Philadelphia. Largely self-taught, Peto worked in the exacting style of trompe l'oeil illusionism perfected by William Harnett. He sough...

hemlock

(Encyclopedia)hemlock, any tree of the genus Tsuga, coniferous evergreens of the family Pinaceae (pine family) native to North America and Asia. The common hemlock of E North America is the eastern hemlock, T. cana...

ash, in botany

(Encyclopedia)ash, in botany, any plant of the genus Fraxinus of the family Oleaceae (olive family), trees and shrubs mainly of north temperate regions. The ashes are characterized by small clusters of greenish flo...

windmill

(Encyclopedia)windmill, apparatus that harnesses wind power for a variety of uses, e.g., pumping water, grinding corn, driving small sawmills, and driving electrical generators. Windmills were probably not known in...

termite

(Encyclopedia)termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now ...