Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) body temperature, internal temperature of a living organism. Mammals and birds are termed warm-blooded, or homeothermic, i.e., they are able to maintain a relatively constant inner body temperature, w...

(Encyclopedia) crater, circular, bowl-shaped depression on the earth's surface. (For a discussion of lunar craters, see moon.) Simple craters are bowl-shaped with a raised outer rim. Complex craters have a raised ce...

(Encyclopedia) American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th and 21st cents. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Bell bell, in music, a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow metal vessel, often cup-shaped with an outward-flaring rim, damped at one end and set into vibration by a blow from a clappe...

(Encyclopedia) Savoy səvoiˈ [key], Fr. Savoie, Alpine region of E France. The boundaries of old Savoy have changed with time, but presently the region comprises the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. It is bo...

(Encyclopedia) Barcelona bärˌsəlōˈnə, Catalan bärˌsəlōˈnə, Span. bärˌthālōˈn...

(Encyclopedia) Hadid, Dame Zaha, 1950–2016, British architect, b. Baghdad, studied American Univ., Beirut (1968–71), Architectural Association School, London (grad. 1977). A partner in Rem Koolhaas's Office for ...

(Encyclopedia) cigar and cigarette, tubular rolls of tobacco designed for smoking. Cigars consist of filler leaves held together by binder leaves and covered with a wrapper leaf, which is rolled spirally around the ...

(Encyclopedia) Socialist party, in U.S. history, political party formed to promote public control of the means of production and distribution. In 1898 the Social Democratic party was formed by a group led by Eugene ...

(Encyclopedia) witchcraft, a form of sorcery, or the magical manipulation of nature for self-aggrandizement, or for the benefit or harm of a client. This manipulation often involves the use of spirit-helpers, or fam...