(Encyclopedia) Port Glasgow, town (1991 pop. 22,636), Inverclyde, W Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde. Its dry dock, built in 1762, was one of the first of its kind in Scotland. It was founded in 1668…
(Encyclopedia) polka, ballroom dance for couples in 2/4 time. Originated by Bohemian peasants about 1830 from steps of the schottische and other dances, the polka by 1835 reached the drawing rooms of…
(Encyclopedia) pontifex maximuspontifex maximuspŏnˈtĭfĕks măkˈsĭməs [key], highest priest of Roman religion and official head of the college of pontifices. As the chief administrator of religious…
(Encyclopedia) Viète or Vieta, FrançoisViète or Vieta, FrançoisfräNswäˈ vyĕt, vyātäˈ, vīēˈtə [key], 1540–1603, French mathematician. As a founder of modern algebra, he introduced the use of letters…
(Encyclopedia) echo sounder, an older instrumentation system for indirectly determining ocean floor depth. Echo sounding is based on the principle that water is an excellent medium for the…
(Encyclopedia) Alfonso X (Alfonso the Wise), 1221–84, Spanish king of Castile and León (1252–84); son and successor of Ferdinand III, whose conquests of the Moors he continued, notably by taking…
(Encyclopedia) draft, in banking, order by one party to another party to pay a stated sum to the person or firm in whose favor the draft is made. It is similar in form to the ordinary bank check.…
(Encyclopedia) Creeley, Robert, 1926–2005, American poet, b. Arlington, Mass. He lived in Asia, Europe, and Latin America and taught at various universities in the United States. With Charles Olson,…
(Encyclopedia) Clarendon Code, 1661–65, group of English statutes passed after the Restoration of Charles II to strengthen the position of the Church of England. The Corporation Act (1661) required…
(Encyclopedia) eutrophicationeutrophicationy&oomacr;trōˌfĭkāˈshən [key], aging of a lake by biological enrichment of its water. In a young lake the water is cold and clear, supporting little life…
