Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) leaven lĕvˈən [key], agent used to raise bread or other flour foods. Physical leavens include water vapor, which is released as steam at high temperatures (as in popovers), and air, which is incorp...

(Encyclopedia) Bonar, Horatius bŏnˈər [key], 1808–89, Scottish clergyman and hymn writer. In 1837 he became minister to the North Parish in Kelso; in 1843, Bonar, with his congregation, seceded in the movement ...

(Encyclopedia) Krüdener, Juliana, Baroness von fən krüdˈənər [key], 1764–1824, Russian novelist and mystic. Born a Livonian aristocrat, she married a Russian diplomat. She left her husband (1801) for the ple...

(Encyclopedia) rigor mortis rĭˈgər môrˈtĭs [key], rigidity of the body that occurs after death. The onset may vary from about 10 min to several hours or more after death, depending on the condition of the body...

(Encyclopedia) Beattie, James, 1735–1803, Scottish poet and essayist. Educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, he later became professor of moral philosophy there. His fame in his own lifetime rested on two works,...

(Encyclopedia) Cuvier, Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron zhôrzh lāôpôldˈ krātyăNˈ frādārēkˈ dägôbĕrˈ bärôNˈ küvyāˈ [key], 1769–1832, French naturalist, b. Montbéliard, st...

(Encyclopedia) Nordenskjöld, Nils Adolf Erik, Baron nĭls äˈdôlf āˈrĭk no͞orˈdənshöld [key], 1832–1901, Swedish geologist and arctic explorer, first to navigate the Northeast Passage, b. Finland. He ser...

(Encyclopedia) tracheotomy trākēŏtˈəmē [key], surgical incision into the trachea, or windpipe. The operation is performed when the windpipe has become blocked, e.g., by the presence of some foreign object or b...

(Encyclopedia) Gershom ben Judah grˈshəm bĕn jo͞oˈdə [key], c.965–c.1040?, rabbi, religious poet, and scholar. He was also called Me'or ha-Golah [light of the exile]. He lived his entire adult life in Mainz,...

(Encyclopedia) protection, practice of regulating imports and exports with the purpose of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. To accomplish that end, certain imports may be excluded entirely, imp...