Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Old Testament, Christian name for the Hebrew Bible, which serves as the first division of the Christian Bible (see New Testament). The designations “Old” and “New” seem to have been adopted af...

(Encyclopedia) culture, in anthropology, the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society. Cultural differences dist...

(Encyclopedia) modern dance, serious theatrical dance forms that are distinct from both ballet and the show dancing of the musical comedy or variety stage. By the late 20th cent., distinctions among modern da...

(Encyclopedia) mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Delaware dĕlˈəwâr, –wər [key], one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States, the country's second smallest state (after Rhode Island). It is bordered by Maryland (W, S), and th...

(Encyclopedia)  Supreme Court Justices(including dates on bench) Chief Justices Associate Justices ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Switzerland swĭtˈsərlənd [key], Fr. Suisse, Ger. Schweiz, Ital. Svizzera, officially Swiss Confederation, federal republic (2015 est. pop. 8,320,000), 15,941 sq mi (41,287 sq km), central E...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Supreme Court, United States, highest court of the United States, established by Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States. With the emergence of a working conservative majority,...