Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marke...

(Encyclopedia) Bailly, Jean Sylvain zhäN sēlvăNˈ bäyēˈ [key], 1736–93, French astronomer and politician. His works on astronomy and on the history of science (notably the Essai sur la théorie des satellite...

(Encyclopedia) Mulroney, Brian (Martin Brian Mulroney) mŭlrōˈnē, –ro͞oˈnē [key], 1939–, Canadian prime minister (1984–93). Raised in Quebec in a working class family, Mulroney was a successful bilingual...

(Encyclopedia) civil defense, nonmilitary activities designed to protect civilians and their property from enemy actions in time of war. A civil defense program usually includes measures taken during peace (e.g., bu...

(Encyclopedia) Newark. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,861), Alameda co., W Calif., on the east side of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1955. There is food processing and the manufacture of plastics, furniture, feeds, semiconductors, ...

(Encyclopedia) rape, in law, the crime of sexual relations, often specifically sexual intercourse, without the consent of the victim, often through force or threat of violence. The victim is deemed legally incapable...

(Encyclopedia) Tennessee, river, c.650 mi (1,050 km) long, the principal tributary of the Ohio River. It is formed by the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers near Knoxville, Tenn., and follows a U-shap...

(Encyclopedia) Zoellick, Robert Bruce zĕlˈlĭk [key], 1953–, U.S. government official and finance executive, b. Evergreen Park, Ill., grad. Swarthmore College (B.A., 1975), Harvard (J.D., M.P.P. 1981). As an ass...

(Encyclopedia) foehn fān, Ger. fön [key], warm, dry wind that occurs on the leeward slopes of a ridge of mountains. The term was originally applied to a wind of the Alps but is now used as a generic term for all w...

(Encyclopedia) dialect, variety of a language used by a group of speakers within a particular speech community. Every individual speaks a variety of his language, termed an idiolect. Dialects are groups of idiolects...