Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) husband and wife, the legal aspects of the married state (for the sociological aspects, see marriage). The former Anglo-American law of marriage was chiefly characterized by the view that husband an...

(Encyclopedia) Waianae Mountains wīänäˈā [key], volcanic range, along SW side of Oahu island, Hawaii. It rises to Mt. Kaala (4,025 ft/1,227 m), the highest point on the island. ...

(Encyclopedia) windsurfing, also called boardsailing or sailboarding, water sport that employs a board-and-sail device and combines elements of sailing and surfing. The sailboard was first developed in 1964 by boate...

(Encyclopedia) Stephen, Saint, or Stephen I, 975–1038, duke (997–1001) and first king (1001–38) of Hungary, called the Apostle of Hungary. The Hungarian state may be said to date from his reign. Because he con...

(Encyclopedia) Montpelier mŏntpēlˈyər [key], city (1990 pop. 8,247), state capital (since 1805) and seat of Washington co., central Vt., at the junction of the Winooski and North Branch rivers; inc. 1855. The ec...

(Encyclopedia) New York State Canal System, waterway system, 524 mi (843 km) long, traversing New York state and connecting the Great Lakes with the Finger Lakes, the Hudson River, and Lake Champlain. The waterway, ...

(Encyclopedia) euthanasia yo͞oˌthənāˈzhə [key], either painlessly putting to death or failing to prevent death from natural causes in cases of terminal illness or irreversible coma. The term comes from the Gre...

(Encyclopedia) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: see Great Britain. ...

(Encyclopedia) Niagara nīăgˈrə [key], river, 34 mi (55 km) long, issuing from Lake Erie between Buffalo, N.Y., and Fort Erie, Ont., Canada. It flows north around Grand Island and over Niagara Falls to Lake Ontar...

(Encyclopedia) coffee, a tree, its seeds, and the beverage made from them. The coffee tree, a small evergreen of the genus Coffea, has smooth, ovate leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that mature into dee...