(Encyclopedia) spire, high, tapering structure crowning a tower and having a general pyramidal outline. The simplest spires were the steeply pitched timber roofs capping Romanesque towers and…
(Encyclopedia) District of Columbia, University of the, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; land-grant and federally supported; est. 1976 with the merger of three existing colleges; predominantly…
(Encyclopedia) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), agency of the United Nations, with headquarters in Amman, Jordan and Gaza City, Gaza Strip.…
(Encyclopedia) Saint Bernard, breed of massive working dog developed in Switzerland in the 18th cent. and perfected by British breeders during the 19th cent. It stands from 25 to 29 in. (64–74 cm)…
(Encyclopedia) tomahawk [from an Algonquian dialect of Virginia], hatchet generally used by Native North Americans as a hand weapon and as a missile. The earliest tomahawks were made of stone, with…
(Encyclopedia) Hamilton, William Hamilton, 2d duke of, 1616–51, Scottish nobleman. With his brother James Hamilton, 3d marquess and 1st duke of Hamilton, he gained favor with Charles I of England. He…
(Encyclopedia) Wirtz, Jacques, 1924–2018, Belgian landscape architect. Highly influential, he used classical techniques in new and innovative ways in the more than 100 gardens and grounds he designed…
(Encyclopedia) mandolinmandolinmănˌdəlĭnˈ, mănˈdəlĭnˌ [key], musical instrument of the lute family, with a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, plucked with the…
(Encyclopedia) leather, skin or hide of animals, cured by tanning to prevent decay and to impart flexibility and toughness. Prehistoric and primitive peoples preserved pelts with grease and smoke and…
(Encyclopedia) soup, liquid food in which different kinds of solid food have been cooked, e.g., meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, cereals, or fruit. Many soups are peculiar to certain localities, e.g.,…
