Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) sword, weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. Th...

(Encyclopedia) Cirebon chēˌrĭbŏnˈ [key], formerly Tjirebon, port city, district, and seaport, N Java, I...

(Encyclopedia) hairdressing, arranging of the hair for decorative, ceremonial, or symbolic reasons. Primitive men plastered their hair with clay and tied trophies and badges into it to represent their feats and qual...

(Encyclopedia) flying fish, common name for members of the Exocoetidae, a family of carnivorous or herbivorous fish of warmer seas. Flying fishes usually swim in schools. They average 7 to 12 in. (17.5–30 cm) in l...

(Encyclopedia) Viner, Jacob, 1892–1970, American economist, b. Montreal. He taught at the Univ. of Chicago (1919–46) and Princeton (1946–60). A specialist on the subject of international trade, Viner was an ad...

(Encyclopedia) ibex īˈbĕks [key], wild goat, genus Capra, found in rugged country on mountain ranges from central Asia to the Himalayas, S Europe, and NE Africa. Ibexes are surefooted and agile; they usually trav...

(Encyclopedia) flywheel, heavy metal wheel attached to a drive shaft, having most of its weight concentrated at the circumference. Such a wheel resists changes in speed and helps steady the rotation of the shaft whe...

(Encyclopedia) screamer, common name for gregarious, aquatic birds comprising three species in the family Anhimidae. Although they are related to the ducks and geese, they do not resemble them in outward appearance....

(Encyclopedia) Craig, John, 1512?–1600, Scottish minister of the Reformation. He joined the Dominican order, but through reading the Institutes of Calvin, he adopted Protestantism. Imprisoned at Rome for heresy, h...

(Encyclopedia) giraffe, African ruminant mammal, genus Giraffa, living in open savanna S of the Sahara. Giraffes have historically been considered to be one species, G. camelopardalis, with a number of subspecies, b...