Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  Common Weights and Measures Length Area Volume and Capacity (Liquid and Dry) Weight (Mass) ...

(Encyclopedia) brig, two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on both masts. Brigs have been used as cargo ships and also, in the past, as small warships carrying about 10 guns. They vary in length between 75 and 13...

(Encyclopedia) Deng Xiaoping or Teng Hsiao-p'ing both: dŭngˈ shouˈpĭngˈ [key], 1904–97, Chinese revolutionary and government leader, b. Sichuan prov. Deng became a member of the Chinese Communist party while ...

(Encyclopedia) sudoku or su doku so͞odōˈko͞o [key] [Jap.,=single number], a number puzzle consisting, in its classic form, of a square divided into nine squares, with each smaller square divided into nine boxes,...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 area, measure of the size of a surface region, usually expressed in units that are the square of linear units, e.g., square feet or square meters. In elementary geometry, formulas for the areas...

(Encyclopedia) acre, measure of land area used in the English units of measurement. The acre was originally the area a yoke of oxen could plow in a day and therefore differed in size from one locality to another. It...

(Encyclopedia) abacus ăbˈəkəs [key], in architecture, flat slab forming the top member of a capital. In classical orders it varies from a square form having unmolded sides in the Greek Doric, to thinner proporti...

(Encyclopedia) Giralda hērälˈdä [key], the famous tower adjoining the Cathedral of Seville, Spain. It was built (1163–84) to serve as minaret to the main mosque of Seville, on the site of which the cathedral n...

(Encyclopedia) matrix, in mathematics, a rectangular array of elements (e.g., numbers) considered as a single entity. A matrix is distinguished by the number of rows and columns it contains. The matrix CE5 is a 2...

(Encyclopedia) Concorde, Place de la pläs də lä kôNkôrdˈ [key], large square, Paris, France. It is bounded by the Tuileries gardens; the Champs Élysées; the Seine River; and a facade of buildings divided by ...