Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) evil eye, principally Sicilian and Mesoamerican superstition, although it is known in other cultures. According to the Native American version, a person who stares fixedly at a pregnant woman or a chi...

(Encyclopedia) Anthony of Padua, Saint, 1195–1231, Portuguese Franciscan, Doctor of the Church, b. Lisbon. He was renowned for his eloquence. According to tradition, in a vision he received the child Jesus in his ...

(Encyclopedia) Cavedone, Giacomo jäˈkōmō kävādôˈnā [key], 1577–1660, Italian painter, of the Bolognese school. He assisted Guido Reni in Rome, but his reputation as a master of color and composition was w...

(Encyclopedia) Fong, Hiram Leong, 1906–2004, U.S. politician, b. Honolulu as Yau Leong Fong. The child of poor Chinese immigrants, he graduated from the Univ. of Hawaii (1930) and Havard Law School (1935). He prac...

(Encyclopedia) Spyri, Johanna yōhänˈä shpēˈrē [key], 1827–1901, Swiss author. Her many stories of child life in Switzerland include Heidi (1880; tr. 1884), a classic among children's books. Heidi, the story...

(Encyclopedia) couvade ko͞ovädˈ [key], imitation by the father of many of the concomitants of childbirth, at the time of his wife's parturition. The father may retire into seclusion as well as observe various tab...

(Encyclopedia) artificial respiration, any measure that causes air to flow in and out of a person's lungs when natural breathing is inadequate or ceases, as in respiratory paralysis, drowning, electric shock, chokin...

(Encyclopedia) games, children's, amusements or pastimes involving more than one child and in which there is some sort of formalized dramatic element, contest, or plot. Games are a cultural universal; for example, t...

(Encyclopedia) name. Personal identifying names are found in every known culture, and they often pass from one language to another. Hence the occurrence of Native American place names throughout the United States an...

(Encyclopedia) Perlman, Itzhak, 1945–, Israeli musician, one of the greatest violinists of his generation, b. Tel Aviv. A child prodigy, he gave a solo violin recital at age ten, appeared on American television in...