Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) belief, in philosophy, commitment to something, involving intellectual assent. Philosophers have disagreed as to whether belief is active or passive; René Descartes held that it is a matter of will, ...

(Encyclopedia) Entente: see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente; Balkan Entente; Little Entente. ...

(Encyclopedia) Bethlen, Count Stephen, 1874–1947?, Hungarian premier (1921–31). A Transylvanian, he entered the Hungarian parliament in 1901, and in 1919 he was a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference. Called t...

(Encyclopedia) Minch mĭnch [key] or North Minch, strait, 20 to 45 mi (32–72 km) wide, separating the N Outer Hebrides from the mainland of Scotland. Little Minch, to the southwest, 14 to 20 mi (23–32 km) wide, ...

(Encyclopedia) Marais des Cygnes mĕrˈē də sēn [key], river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, rising in E central Kans., SW of Topeka, and flowing SE into W Mo. to join the Little Osage River and form the Osage River. Su...

(Encyclopedia) pillar, freestanding columnar supporting member. It is a general term, little used as an exact architectural definition except as applied to an upright support in the medieval styles, consisting of an...

(Encyclopedia) East Coolgardie Goldfield ko͞olgärˈdē [key], Western Australia, SW Australia. It is the richest gold field in Australia. The chief mining center is the town of Kalgoorlie. Coolgardie, of little im...

(Encyclopedia) Cerdic kûrˈdĭk, sûrˈ– [key], d. 534, traditional founder of the kingdom of Wessex. A Saxon, he and his son Cynric landed on the southern coast of England in 495. Little is certain about him exc...

(Encyclopedia) Wynants or Wijnants, Jan both: yän vīˈnänts [key], c.1625–84, Dutch landscape painter. A follower of Ruisdael, he worked chiefly in Haarlem. The little figures in his paintings are the work of o...

(Encyclopedia) Qeshm or Qishm both: kēˈshəm [key], largest island of Iran, c.500 sq mi (1,300 sq km), S Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz. It is mostly rocky and has little vegetation; dates and fruits are raised. Qe...