Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) smut, name for an order of parasitic fungi (Ustilaginales) and the various diseases of plants caused by them. Smuts produce sootlike masses of spores on the host. The spore masses may break up into a ...

(Encyclopedia) verdict, in law, official decision of a jury respecting questions of fact that the judge has laid before it. In the United States, verdicts must be unanimous in federal courts; majority verdicts are c...

(Encyclopedia) rheumatic fever ro͞omătˈĭk [key], systemic inflammatory disease, extremely variable in its manifestation, severity, duration, and aftereffects. It is frequently followed by serious heart disease, ...

(Encyclopedia) Sea Peoples, modern term for any of the groups of people who attacked Egypt and the E Mediterranean by sea and sometimes by land c.1200 b.c. They are recorded as having fought in battles with Egypt du...

(Encyclopedia) fallout, minute particles of radioactive material produced by nuclear explosions (see atomic bomb; hydrogen bomb; Chernobyl) or by discharge from nuclear-power or atomic installations and scattered th...

(Encyclopedia) caste [Port., casta=basket], ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste s...

(Encyclopedia) oasis ōāˈsĭs [key], an area within a desert where the water table reaches the surface, with enough moisture to permit the growth of vegetation. The water may come up to the surface in springs, or ...

(Encyclopedia) Sheraton, Thomas, 1751–1806, English designer of furniture and author. He may have been apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, and as an earnest Baptist he wrote religious books and preached. Records show t...

(Encyclopedia) durian, the highly esteemed, edible fruit of Durio zibethinus. The edible portions are the seeds found inside the large spiny fruits, which may weigh several pounds. The durian, although notoriously p...

(Encyclopedia) CS, chemical compound (orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile) used in riot control and, by the military, as a harassing agent. The compound is dispersed as an aerosol or as a finely divided powder. Exposure to...