Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Francis, Sam, 1923–94, American painter, b. San Mateo, Calif. Educated in medicine, Francis began painting while recovering from an injury received in World War II. His mural-sized paintings are sta...

(Encyclopedia) sodium benzoate or benzoate of soda, chemical compound, C6H5CO2Na, colorless or white crystalline, aromatic compound; the sodium salt of benzoic acid. It is soluble in water and is used as a preservat...

(Encyclopedia) stoat stōt [key], European name for the short-tailed weasel, Mustela erminea, also called ermine when in its white winter phase. ...

(Encyclopedia) vermouth vərmo͞othˈ [key], blend of white wines fortified with additional alcohol and flavored with aromatic herbs, spices, and roots. It contains up to 19% alcohol. The sweeter, darker type of ver...

(Encyclopedia) whitewash, white fluid commonly used as an inexpensive, impermanent coating for walls, fences, stables, and other exterior structures. It varies in composition, being generally a mixture of lime (quic...

(Encyclopedia) Iztaccíhuatl both: ēshˌ– [key] [Nahuatl,=white woman], dormant volcano, 17,160 ft (5,230 m) high, central Mexico, on the border between Puebla and Mexico state. Irregular in outline, and snowcapp...

(Encyclopedia) Nicholson, Sir William, 1872–1949, English woodcut artist, illustrator, and painter. The striking contrasts of black and white of his woodcutting technique were used to great effect on posters, on w...

(Encyclopedia) Pendelikón pĕntĕˈlĭkəs [key], mountain, c.3,670 ft (1,120 m) high, central Greece, NE of Athens. The white marble quarried there was used for many buildings of ancient Athens. Marble is still ta...

(Encyclopedia) petrolatum pĕtrəlāˈtəm [key], colorless to yellowish-white hydrocarbon mixture obtained by fractional distillation of petroleum. In its jellylike semisolid form (known as petroleum jelly and also...

(Encyclopedia) photostat fōˈtəstătˌ [key], reproduction of any printed or simple black-and-white material, such as drawings or manuscripts, made by the Photostat, a photographic camera. While slower and more ex...