Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) ephod, sacred linen garment worn by the high priests of Israel. It was in two parts—one covering the back, one the front of the body to the hips—and was fastened at the shoulders by two clasps of ...

(Encyclopedia) Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson Desert (S), it is ...

(Encyclopedia) Griffey, Ken, Jr. (George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.), 1969–, American baseball player, b. Donora, Pa. The son of a veteran outfielder, he joined the Seattle Mariners of the American League in 1989, playe...

(Encyclopedia) Phidias or Pheidias both: fĭdˈēəs [key], c.500–c.432 b.c., Greek sculptor, one of the greatest sculptors of ancient Greece. No original in existence can be attributed to him with certainty, alth...

(Encyclopedia) Frobisher, Sir Martin frōˈbĭshər [key], 1535?–1594, English mariner. He went to sea as a boy, and spent much of his youth in the African trade. He later gained the friendship of Sir Humphrey Gil...

(Encyclopedia) metal, chemical element displaying certain properties by which it is normally distinguished from a nonmetal, notably its metallic luster, the capacity to lose electrons and form a positive ion, and th...

(Encyclopedia) Sioux or Dakota, confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages)...

(Encyclopedia) Lena lēˈnə, Rus. lyĕˈnə [key], river, easternmost of the great rivers of Siberia, c.2,670 mi (4,300 km) long, rising near Lake Baykal, SE Siberian Russia. It flows northeast, then north along th...

(Encyclopedia) Leonidas of Rhodes rōdz [key], fl. 2d cent. b.c., ancient Greek athlete. He won three different foot races—the stadion, about 200 m, the diaulos, about 400m, and the hoplitodromos, in which athlete...

(Encyclopedia) Levasseur, Émile (Pierre Émile Levasseur) pyĕr āmēlˈ lüväsörˈ [key], 1828–1911, French economist. He was noted especially for his historical approach to the study of economics. He studied ...