Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Cincinnatus (Lucius or Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus) sĭnsĭnāˈtəs, –nătˈəs [key], fl. 5th cent. b.c., Roman patriot. He was consul in 460 b.c. and dictator twice (458 and 439). According to tr...

(Encyclopedia) silt, predominantly quartz mineral particles that are between sand size and clay size, i.e., between 1⁄16 and 1⁄256 mm (1⁄406 –1⁄6502 in.) in diameter. Silt, like clay and sand, is a product...

(Encyclopedia) Frelinghuysen, Theodore, 1787–1862, American politician and educator, b. Franklin, N.J. Admitted to the bar in 1808, he practiced law in Newark and soon gained political prominence. As U.S. senator ...

(Encyclopedia) Lucrece lo͞okrēˈshə [key], in Roman legend, Roman matron, illustrious for her virtue. She was the victim of rape by Sextus, son of Tarquinius Superbus. Having enjoined her husband, Lucius Tarquini...

(Encyclopedia) Paullus, Aemilius (Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus) ēmĭlˈēəs [key], c.229–160 b.c., Roman general. He was curule aedile (193 b.c.), praetor (191), and consul (182). In his consulship he con...

(Encyclopedia) golem gōˈləm [key] [Heb.,=an undeveloped lump], in medieval Jewish legend, an automatonlike servant made of clay and given life by means of a charm, or shem [Heb.,=name, or the name of God]. Golems...

(Encyclopedia) pottery, the baked-clay wares of the entire ceramics field. For a description of the nature of the material, see clay. American art pottery flourished in the first half of the 20th cent., with wor...

(Encyclopedia) Metellus mētĕlˈəs [key], ancient Roman family of the plebeian gens Caecilia. Lucius Caecilius Metellus, d. c.221 b.c., consul (251 b.c.), fought in the First Punic War. He was pontifex maximus (fr...

(Encyclopedia) Crittenden, John Jordan, 1787–1863, U.S. public official, b. Woodford co., Ky. A Kentucky legislator (1811–17), Crittenden entered the U.S. Senate (1817–19) but resigned to resume state offices....

(Encyclopedia) Scaevola (Quintus Mucius Scaevola), d. 82 b.c., Roman jurist. He was tribune of the people (106 b.c.) and consul (95 b.c.) with Lucius Licinius Crassus (see under Crassus, family); together they colla...