Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Marx, Karl, 1818–83, German social philosopher, the chief theorist of modern socialism and communism. In 1847 Marx joined the Communist League and with Engels wrote for it the famous Communist M...

(Encyclopedia) tapestry, hand-woven fabric of plain weave made without shuttle or drawboy, the design of weft threads being threaded into the warp with fingers or a bobbin. The name has been extended to cover a vari...

(Encyclopedia) sexually transmitted disease (STD) or venereal disease, term for infections acquired mainly through sexual contact. Five diseases were traditionally known as venereal diseases: gonorrhea, syphilis, an...

(Encyclopedia) Freud, Sigmund froid [key], 1856–1939, Austrian psychiatrist, founder of psychoanalysis. Born in Moravia, he lived most of his life in Vienna, receiving his medical degree from the Univ. of Vienna i...

(Encyclopedia) Icelandic literature, the literature of Iceland. For the earliest literature of Iceland, see Old Norse literature. The 20th cent. saw the rise of a more introspective writing, influenced by Nietzsch...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Life cycle of a fern fern, any plant of the division Polypodiophyta. Fern species, numbering several thousand, are found throughout the world but are especially abundant in tropical rain fores...

(Encyclopedia) science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

(Encyclopedia) Pluto, in astronomy, a dwarf planet and the first Kuiper belt, or transneptunian, object (see comet) to be discovered (1930) by astronomers. Pluto has an elliptical orbit usually lying beyond that of ...

(Encyclopedia) Red Cross, international organization concerned with the alleviation of human suffering and the promotion of public health; the world-recognized symbols of mercy and absolute neutrality are the Red Cr...

(Encyclopedia) Sparta spärˈtə [key], city of ancient Greece, capital of Laconia, on the Eurotas (Evrótas) River in the Peloponnesus. By the 6th cent. b.c., Sparta was the strongest Greek city. In the Persian ...