Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) political science, the study of government and political processes, institutions, and behavior. Government and politics have been studied and commented on since the time of the ancient Greeks. However...

(Encyclopedia) blackleg or black quarter, acute infectious disease of cattle, less often of sheep, caused by an organism of the genus Clostridium. It is characterized by inflammation of muscles with swelling and pai...

(Encyclopedia) Caesarea Mazaca sĕsərēˈə măˈzəkə [key], ancient city of Asia Minor, also called Caesarea of Cappadocia. As Mazaca it was the residence of the Cappadocian kings. The city was renamed (c.10 b.c...

(Encyclopedia) Hamlin, Talbot Faulkner, 1889–1956, American historian of architecture, b. New York City. He was librarian of the Avery Library, Columbia (1934–45), and professor of architecture there. Hamlin wro...

(Encyclopedia) Orrmulum or Ormulum both: ôrmˈyo͞oləm [key], Middle English collection of homilies on the Gospels, in verse, comprising about 10,000 lines in all. The collection was written c.1200 by Orrm (or Orr...

(Encyclopedia) investiture, in feudalism, ceremony by which an overlord transferred a fief to a vassal or by which, in ecclesiastical law, an elected cleric received the pastoral ring and staff (the symbols of spiri...

(Encyclopedia) Eustachian tube yo͞ostāˈshən [key] [for Bartolomeo Eustachi], a hollow structure of bone and cartilage extending from the middle ear to the rear of the throat, or pharynx, technically known as the...

(Encyclopedia) market research, organized use of sample surveys, polls, focus groups, and other techniques to study market characteristics (e.g., ages and incomes of consumers; consumer attitudes) and improve the ef...

(Encyclopedia) United States Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, N.Y.; for the training of merchant marine officers; established 1936, opened 1943. The academy became coeducational in 1974. Candidates must be b...

(Encyclopedia) castle, type of fortified dwelling characteristic of the Middle Ages. Fortification of towns had been in practice since antiquity, but in the 9th cent. feudal lords began to develop the private fortre...