Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) menthol, white crystalline substance with a characteristic pungent odor. It is derived from the oil of the peppermint plant, Mentha piperita (see mint), or prepared synthetically from coal tar. An alc...

(Encyclopedia) Merino sheep mərēˈnō [key], breed intermediate in body size having fine wool, developed in Spain. These sheep are noted for their hardiness and their herding instincts and have been used as parent...

(Encyclopedia) Kennebunkport kĕnˌĭbŭngkpôrtˈ, kĕnˌĭbŭngkˈpôrt [key], town (1990 pop. 1,100), York co., S Maine, on the Atlantic coast; settled 1629, inc. 1653. The early town, called Arundel, appears in ...

(Encyclopedia) No nō [key], lake, N South Sudan, in the swampy Sudd region. It is formed by the floodwaters of the White Nile and varies in size seasonally. Its maximum area is c.40 sq mi (100 sq km). Much papyrus ...

(Encyclopedia) Paisley pāzˈlē [key], town (1991 pop. 84,330), Renfrewshire, W Scotland, on the White Cart Water, a stream. It has a thriving textile industry and is an extremely large producer of thread. Other ma...

(Encyclopedia) Møn or Möen both: möˈən [key], island (1992 pop. 11,187), 84 sq mi (218 sq km), SE Denmark, in the Baltic Sea, S of Sjælland and NE of Falster. Stege is the main town. Møn is largely agricultur...

(Encyclopedia) Carrère, John Merven kərârˈ [key], 1858–1911, American architect, b. Rio de Janeiro. After graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, he worked under McKim, Mead, and White in New York Ci...

(Encyclopedia) Host [Lat.,=sacrificial victim], in Roman Catholic practice, consecrated wafer of the Eucharist. The bread used is pure white and unleavened, baked in small disks. The Hosts not consumed at Mass are s...

(Encyclopedia) Copenhagen ware, several types of pottery, both underglaze and overglaze, produced in Copenhagen since c.1760. At that time a Frenchman, Louis Fournier, made soft-paste chinaware in the French style. ...

(Encyclopedia) cryosurgery krīˈōsrˌjərē [key], bloodless surgical technique using a supercooled probe to destroy diseased or superfluous tissue. Liquid nitrogen circulating through the instrument cools it to t...