Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) translation [Lat.,=carrying across], the rendering of a text into another language. Applied to literature, the term connotes the art of recomposing a work in another language without losing its origin...

(Encyclopedia) Sand, George ämäNdēnˈ ôrôrˈ lüsēˈ düpăN, bärônˈ düdväNˈ [key], 1804–76, French novelist. Other variant forms of her maiden name include Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin. Born of an ari...

(Encyclopedia) census, periodic official count of the number of persons and their condition and of the resources of a country. In ancient times, among the Jews and Romans, such enumeration was mainly for taxation an...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Joseph, 1805–44, American Mormon leader, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, b. Sharon, Vt. When he was a boy his family moved to Palmyra, N.Y., where he experienc...

(Encyclopedia) Psalms sôlˈtər [key], book of the Bible, a collection of 150 hymnic pieces. Since the last centuries b.c., this book has been the chief hymnal of Jews, and subsequently, of Christians. The hymns ar...

(Encyclopedia) Defoe or De Foe, Daniel dĭfōˈ [key], 1660?–1731, English writer, b. London. He was nearly sixty when he turned to writing novels. In 1719 he published his famous Life and Strange Surprising Adv...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Longitudinal cross section of a flower at the time of fertilization, showing a pollen grain and a pollen tube. flower, name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive orga...

(Encyclopedia) poker, card game, believed to have originated in Asia and first played in the United States in the 19th cent. A traditional cutthroat gambling game at first, it is now also an internationally popular ...

(Encyclopedia) Stein, Gertrude, 1874–1946, American author and patron of the arts, b. Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh), Pa. A celebrated personality, she encouraged, aided, and influenced—through her patronage...

(Encyclopedia) public health, field of medicine and hygiene dealing with the prevention of disease and the promotion of health by government agencies. In the United States, public health authorities are engaged in m...