Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) public ownership, government ownership of lands, streets, public buildings, utilities, and other business enterprises. The theory that all land and its resources belong ultimately to the people and th...

(Encyclopedia) genealogy jēˌnēŏlˈəjē, –ălˈ–, jĕ– [key], the study of family lineage. Genealogies have existed since ancient times. Family lineage was originally transmitted through oral tradition and...

(Encyclopedia) Egyptian religion, the religious beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Information concerning ancient Egyptian religion is abundant but unsatisfactory. Only certain parts of Egyptian religious ...

(Encyclopedia) irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e...

(Encyclopedia) onion, plant of the family Liliaceae (lily family), of the same genus (Allium) as the chive (A. schoenoprasum), garlic (A. sativum), leek (A. porrum), and shallot (A. ascalonium). These plants are cha...

(Encyclopedia) map, conventionalized representation of spatial phenomena on a plane surface. Unlike photographs, maps are selective and may be prepared to show various quantitative and qualitative facts, including b...

(Encyclopedia) scarab beetle or scarab, name for members of a large family of heavy-bodied, oval beetles (the Scarabaeidae), with about 30,000 species distributed throughout most of the world and over 1,200 in North...

(Encyclopedia) Tagore, Sir Rabindranath rəbĭnˈdrənät təgôrˈ, täko͝orˈ [key], 1861–1941, Indian author and guru, b. Calcutta (now Kolkata). Tagore came from a wealthy Bengali family. He went abroad in 18...

(Encyclopedia) propaganda, systematic manipulation of public opinion, generally by the use of symbols such as flags, monuments, oratory, and publications. Modern propaganda is distinguished from other forms of commu...

(Encyclopedia) Iguvine Tables ĭˈgyo͝ovĭn [key], several inscribed bronze tablets dating from the 1st and 2d cent. a.d., discovered in 1444 at Gubbio, Italy (the ancient Iguvium and later Eugubium). Most of them ...