Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Arcade arcade, series of arches supported by columns or piers. An arcade may stand free; if it is attached to a wall it is called a wall arcade or a blind arcade. The earliest-known arcades we...

(Encyclopedia) Buss, Jerry (Gerald Hatten Buss), 1933–2013, American businessman and basketball executive, b. Salt Lake City. He worked in the aerospace industry unt...

(Encyclopedia) California, Gulf of, or Sea of Cortés, arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long and 50 to 130 mi (80–209 km) wide, NW Mexico; separates Baja California from the Mexican mainland. The gulf...

(Encyclopedia) Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), d. c.215, Greek theologian. Born in Athens, he traveled widely and was converted to Christianity. He studied and taught at the catechetical school in Ale...

(Encyclopedia) cloister, unroofed space forming part of a religious establishment and surrounded by the various buildings or by enclosing walls. Generally, it is provided on all sides with a vaulted passageway consi...

(Encyclopedia) Antigua Guatemala ăntēˈgwə gwätəmäˈlə, Span. äntēˈgwä gwätāmäˈlä [key] [Span.,=Old Guatemala] or Antigua, town, S central Guatemala. It is the ca...

(Encyclopedia) Hrabal, Bohumil, 1914–97, one of the most important and popular Czech writers of the 20th cent., b. Brünn, Austria-Hungary (now Brno, Czech Republic). After working at a number of jobs, he became a...

(Encyclopedia) Fife, council area (1993 est. pop. 351,200), 510 sq mi (1,322 sq km), and former county, E Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. The land rises to 1,500 ft (457 m) in the Lomond H...

(Encyclopedia) Strozzi strôtˈtsē [key], noble Florentine family. It grew rich through commerce and took an active part in the government of the city after the 13th cent. Later the Strozzi strongly opposed the Med...

(Encyclopedia) Baykal or Baikal both: bīkälˈ [key], lake, 12,160 sq mi (31,494 sq km), SE Siberian Russia. It is the largest freshwater lake of Eurasia, with a width up to 50 mi (80 km) and a length of c.395 mi (...