(Encyclopedia) silverfish, common name for primitive, wingless insects of the family Lepismatidae. The silverfish, which has two long antennae and three long tail bristles, is named for its covering…
(Encyclopedia) decimal system [Lat.,=of tenths], numeration system based on powers of 10. A number is written as a row of digits, with each position in the row corresponding to a certain power of 10…
(Encyclopedia) quillwort, common name for several species of the plant genus Isoetes, which grow in ponds, slow streams, and swampy places. See Lycopodiophyta.
(Encyclopedia) Gorgas, William Crawford, 1854–1920, American disease and sanitation expert, surgeon general of the United States, b. Mobile, Ala., grad. Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1879. He…
(Encyclopedia) Verkhoyansk Range, mountain chain, c.600 mi (970 km) long, E Siberian Russia, in the Sakha Republic. It forms a vast arc along the Lena and Aldan rivers and rises to c.8,150 ft (2,480…
(Encyclopedia) catacombscatacombskatˈəkōmz [key], cemeteries of the early Christians and contemporary Jews, arranged in extensive subterranean vaults and galleries. Besides serving as places of…