Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bandello, Matteo mät–tĕˈō bändĕlˈlō [key], 1485–1561, Italian storywriter, a Dominican priest. He is famous for his novellas, short tales in imitation of Boccaccio, that provided themes fo...

(Encyclopedia) Runyon, Damon (Alfred Damon Runyon), 1884–1946, American short story writer and journalist, b. Manhattan, Kans. He is best known for his humorous stories—written in a picturesque, slangy journalis...

(Encyclopedia) Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852–1930, American author, b. Randolph, Mass. Her stories and novels paint a picture of Massachusetts and Vermont still under the influence of Puritanism, in her view...

(Encyclopedia) Mainbocher mĕnˌbōshāˈ [key] (Main Rousseau Bocher), 1891–1976, American fashion designer, b. Chicago. He was known for his expensive, elegant evening clothes; cardigan sweaters with jeweled but...

(Encyclopedia) motive or motif mōtēfˈ [key], in music, a short phrase or passage of two or more notes and repeated or elaborated throughout the composition. The term is usually used synonymously with figure. A sp...

(Encyclopedia) hostel [O.Fr.,=guest place], an informal establishment offering travelers a place to stay for short periods of time. The accommodations are typically dormitorylike, and most often used by younger peop...

(Encyclopedia) Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860–1935, American feminist and reformer, b. Hartford, Conn.; great-granddaughter of Lyman Beecher. Prominent as a lecturer and writer on the labor movement and feminism,...

(Encyclopedia) corset, article of dress designed to support or modify the figure. Greek and Roman women sometimes wrapped broad bands about the body. In the Middle Ages a short, close-fitting, laced outer bodice or ...

(Encyclopedia) day, period of time for the earth to rotate once on its axis. The ordinary day, or solar day, is measured relative to the sun, being the time between successive passages of the sun over a stationary o...

(Encyclopedia) cassiterite kəsĭtˈərīt [key], heavy, brown-to-black mineral, tin oxide, SnO2, crystallizing in the tetragonal system. It is found as short prismatic crystals and as irregular masses, usually in v...