Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) alimony, in law, allowance for support that an individual pays to his or her former spouse, usually as part of a divorce settlement. It is based on the common law right of a wife to be supported by he...

(Encyclopedia) blood bank, site or mobile unit for collecting, processing, typing, and storing whole blood, blood plasma and other blood constituents. Most hospitals maintain their own blood reserves, and the Americ...

(Encyclopedia) Boyle, T. C. (Thomas John Coraghessan Boyle), 1948–, American writer, b. Peekskill, N.Y., grad. State Univ. of New York (B.A. 1968), Univ. of Iowa (M.F.A. 1974, Ph.D. 1977). He published under the n...

(Encyclopedia) insanity, mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or of conforming to social standards. Today, the term insanity is used chiefly in criminal law, to ...

(Encyclopedia) Dakar dəkärˈ, dä– [key], city (1988 pop. 672,991), capital of Senegal, W Senegal, on Cape Verde Peninsula, a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Situated in a market-gardening region, Dakar is Senegal's...

(Encyclopedia)  Jarrett, Keith , 1945- , American jazz pianist and composer, b. Allentown, Pa. A child prodigy on the piano, Jarrett was exposed to contemporary jazz d...

(Encyclopedia) Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson sĭrlēfˈ [key], 1938–, Liberian economist and political leader. Educated in the United States (M.P.A. Harvard, 1971), she worked in the Liberian government (1964–67, 1977�...

(Encyclopedia) premenstrual syndrome (PMS), any of various symptoms experienced by women of childbearing age in the days immediately preceding menstruation. It is most common in women in their twenties and thirties....

(Encyclopedia) Plath, Sylvia, 1932–63, American poet, b. Boston. Educated at Smith College and Cambridge, Plath published poems even as a child and won many academic and literary awards. Her first volume of poetry...

(Encyclopedia) Theresa or Thérèse, Saint (Theresa of Lisieux), 1873–97, French Carmelite nun, one of the most widely loved saints of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Alençon. Her original name was Marie-Françoise...