Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Archipelago ärkĭpĕlˈəgō [key] [Ital., from Gr.,=chief sea], ancient name of the Aegean Sea, later applied to the numerous islands it contains. The word now designates any cluster of islands. ...

(Encyclopedia) Quirinus kwĭrˈĭnəs [key], in Roman religion, an early god, possibly of war. Worshiped originally by the Sabines, he was one of the chief gods of ancient Rome, associated with Jupiter and Mars. In ...

(Encyclopedia) Bernardes, Diogo dyōˈgō bərnärˈdĭsh [key], c.1530–c.1600, Portuguese poet. A follower of Sá de Miranda, he wrote melodious pastoral verse, and was one of the chief poets of the Portuguese Re...

(Encyclopedia) Rio Branco, city (1996 pop. 228,907), capital of Acre state, NW Brazil, on the Acre River. Rubber and Brazil nuts are its chief products; there is also some farming. Rio Branco has air connections wit...

(Encyclopedia) red bug, name for various red insects or arachnids. Chief among them are the cotton stainer of the S United States, which pierces the seeds of the cotton plant and discolors the fibers, and the larva ...

(Encyclopedia) Seward Peninsula, W Alaska, projecting c.200 mi (320 km) into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle. The region is mostly bleak tundra, with long, cold w...

(Encyclopedia) Shamash shäˈmäsh [key], sun god of Semitic origin, worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria. He was one of the great deities of ancient Middle Eastern religions, god of law, order, and justice. The chief...

(Encyclopedia) Thapsacus thăpˈsəkəs [key], ancient city, N central Syria, on the Euphrates. It was at a ford in the river, which was the chief crossing for many hundreds of miles and was used by various conquero...

(Encyclopedia) Ephorus ĕfˈərəs [key], c.405–330 b.c., Greek historian, b. Cyme in Aeolis; pupil of Isocrates. His chief work is a universal history, in 30 books, of which only fragments survive, arranged by su...

(Encyclopedia) Esquimalt skwīˈmôlt, –mălt, ĕskwīˈ– [key], regional district, on Vancouver...