Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) mombin mōmˈbēn [key], any tree of the tropical genus Spondias of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The plum-shaped fruits, 1 to 2.5 in. (2.54–6.38 cm) long, are much eaten in the tropics. ...

(Encyclopedia) Morgan, Joe (Joe Leonard Morgan), 1943–2020, American baseball player, b. Bonham, Tex. An outstanding second baseman, he signed with the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) in 1962, becoming their re...

(Encyclopedia) Doolittle, Hilda, pseud. H. D., 1886–1961, American poet, b. Bethlehem, Pa., educated at Bryn Mawr. After 1911 she lived abroad, marrying Richard Aldington in 1913. In England, under the influence o...

(Encyclopedia) Dumfries dəmfrēsˈ [key], town, Dumfries and Galloway, SW Scotland, on the Nith River. The ...

(Encyclopedia) black widow, poisonous spider of the genus Latrodectus, found throughout North and South America and common in the SW United States. The name derives from the fact that the female, like those of many ...

(Encyclopedia) bluebird, common name for a North American migratory bird of the family Turdidae (thrush family). The eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis, is among the first spring arrivals in the North. It is about 7 in...

(Encyclopedia) blue shift or blueshift, in astronomy, the systematic displacement of individual lines in the spectrum of a celestial object toward the blue, or shorter wavelength, end of the visible spectrum. The am...

(Encyclopedia) affenpinscher ăfˈənpĭnˌshər [key], breed of toy dog perfected in Europe at the end of the 19th cent. It stands from 8 to 10 in. (20.3–25.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 8 lb (3.6 k...

(Encyclopedia) airglow, faint diffuse illumination of the sky originating in the upper atmosphere. Although it occurs at all times of day throughout the upper atmosphere, it is most typically visible to an observer ...

(Encyclopedia) Akita äkēˈtə [key], breed of large dog developed in Japan from ancient ancestry and used originally as a hunter of such game as deer, wild boar, and bear. It stands from 20 to 27 in. (50.8–68.6 ...