Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Tara târˈə [key], village, Co. Meath, E Republic of Ireland. The Hill of Tara (507 ft/155 m high) was the seat of the high kings of Ireland from ancient times until the 6th cent. and may have been ...

(Encyclopedia) screen, in architecture, partition or enclosure not extending to the ceiling; usually a structure in stone, wood, or metal. It frequently serves to mark the boundaries of portions of churches and cath...

(Encyclopedia) Pablos, Juan hwän päˈblōs [key], d. 1561?, printer in Spanish America. Pablos printed in Mexico City the first book known to have been printed in the Western Hemisphere. It was a religious manual,...

(Encyclopedia) Philemon fĭlēˈmən [key], letter of the New Testament, written to a Colossian named Philemon by Paul, probably when the latter was a prisoner in Rome (c.a.d. 60). Onesimus, Philemon's fugitive slav...

(Encyclopedia) carob kărˈəb [key], leguminous evergreen tree (Ceratonia siliqua) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to Mediterranean regions but cultivated in other warm climates, including Florida ...

(Encyclopedia) Howe, Gordie (Gordon Howe), 1928–2016, Canadian hockey player. One of the great forwards in the game's history, “Mr. Hockey” was renowned for both his offensive and defensive play as well as for...

(Encyclopedia) injection, introduction of a fluid into the body, usually by means of a needle and syringe. The material injected may be a test substance (as in determining allergic sensitivity or immunity to a disea...

(Encyclopedia) Fletcher, Alice Cunningham, 1838–1923, American anthropologist, b. Havana, Cuba. Originally interested in archaeology, she turned to the study of the Plains tribes. After studying informally with Fr...

(Encyclopedia) flotsam, jetsam, and ligan flŏtˈsəm, jĕtˈsəm, līˈgən [key] [O.Fr.], in maritime law, goods lost at sea as distinguished from goods washed ashore (wreck). Goods that remain floating on the sur...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Tom Loftin, 1854–1911, American municipal reformer, mayor of Cleveland (1901–10), b. Georgetown, Ky. He acquired a substantial fortune from streetcar and steel interests, and, deeply infl...