Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) model and modeling, in painting, the use of light and shade to simulate volume in the representation of solids. In sculpture the terms denote a technique involving the use of a pliable material such a...

(Encyclopedia) stalactite stəlăgˈmīt [key], mineral forms often found in caves; sometimes collectively called dripstone. A stalactite is an icicle-shaped mass of calcite attached to the roof of a limestone caver...

(Encyclopedia) Doctors Without Borders, Fr. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), international organization that provides emergency medical assistance to people suffering from a natural or societal disaster, such as an...

(Encyclopedia) Shuayb sho͞ohāyb [key], Qur'anic non-biblical prophet, appeared later than Hud and Salih among “the people of the thicket.” His preaching is said to have consisted of a call to monotheism and so...

(Encyclopedia) Soufrière, volcano, 4,048 ft (1,234 m) high, on St. Vincent island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On May 7, 1902, the day before the great eruption of Pelée on Martinique island, Soufrière erupte...

(Encyclopedia) Bettel, Xavier, 1973–, Luxembourg political leader. A lawyer, he entered politics in 1999 as a member of both Luxembourg City's communal council and the Chamber of Deputies. In 2011 he was elected m...

(Encyclopedia) Hammersmith and Fulham, inner borough of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. It has various industries (such as wharves and pottery kilns) ...

(Encyclopedia) Daman and Diu dəmänˈ, dēˈo͞o [key], union territory (2001 provisional pop. 158,059), 50 sq mi (130 sq km), W India, on the Arabian Sea, composed of two former Portuguese colonies seized by India...

(Encyclopedia) McAllister, Ward (Samuel Ward McAllister), 1827–95, American society leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He was a wealthy San Francisco lawyer, who moved (1852) to New York City and married (1853) a millionair...

(Encyclopedia) Swahili swähēˈlē [key] [Arab.,=coast people], name for some of the inhabitants of the Kenya, Tanzania, Somali, and Mozambique coasts, Zanzibar, and E Congo. Descendants of black Africans and Arab ...