Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Abi āˈbī [key] [short for Abijah], in the Bible, King Hezekiah's mother. ...

(Encyclopedia) Haggith hăgˈĭth [key], in the Bible, mother of Adonijah (1.) ...

(Encyclopedia) Abihail ăbəhāˈəl [key], in the Bible. 1 Father of Queen Esther. 2 Gadite. 3 Merarite woman. 4 Wife of Abishur. 5 Mother-in-law of Rehoboam. ...

(Encyclopedia) Millett, Kate (Katharine Murray Millett), 1934–2017, American feminist author and activist, b. St. Paul, Minn., B.A. Univ. of Minn., 1956, M.A. Oxford, 1958, Ph.D. Columbia, 1968. Her pioneering fem...

(Encyclopedia) Opie, Iona, 1923–2017, b. Iona Margaret Balfour Archibald, and Peter Mason Opie, 1918–1982, British folklorists of the rhymes, games, and songs of children's culture and literature. They met durin...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso XII, 1857–85, king of Spain (1874–85), son of Isabella II. He went into exile with his parents at the time of the revolt of the Carlists in 1868 and was educated in Austria and England. In...

(Encyclopedia) Joanna (Joanna the Mad), 1479–1555, Spanish queen of Castile and León (1504–55), daughter of Ferdinand II and Isabella I. She succeeded to Castile and León at the death of her mother. Ferdinand ...

(Encyclopedia) placenta pləsĕnˈtə [key] or afterbirth, organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy. It is a unique characteristic of the higher (or placental) mammals. In humans it is a thick mass, about ...

(Encyclopedia) Atargatis ātärgāˈtĭs [key], ancient Syrian goddess. Of obscure origin, she probably belongs to the general pattern of mother goddesses that were worshiped throughout W Asia and Greece. In Rome sh...

(Encyclopedia) Ophion ōfīˈən [key], in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. An orphic god who ruled the world with his mother, Eurynome, before the reign of Kronos. When he became unruly, Eurynome banished him to th...