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Leith

(Encyclopedia)Leith lēth [key], former town, Edinburgh, SE Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was incorporated into Edinburgh in 1920. As a strategically located port, Leith was the object of c...

cuneiform

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Examples of the development of cuneiform cuneiform kyo͞onēˈĭfôrm [key] [Lat.,=wedge-shaped], system of writing developed before the last centuries of the 4th millennium b.c. in the lower ...

first aid

(Encyclopedia)first aid, immediate and temporary treatment of a victim of sudden illness or injury while awaiting the arrival of medical aid. Proper early measures may be instrumental in saving life and ensuring a ...

Pluto, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pluto, in astronomy, a dwarf planet and the first Kuiper belt, or transneptunian, object (see comet) to be discovered (1930) by astronomers. Pluto has an elliptical orbit usually lying beyond that of ...

brake, in technology

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Shoe brake CE5 Disk brake brake, in technology, device to slow or stop the motion of a mechanism or vehicle. The vacuum brake system, or vacuum brake, depends upon the use of a vacuum to ...

vision

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Optic nerve vision, physiological sense of sight by which the form, color, size, movements, and distance of objects are perceived. Defects of vision include astigmatism, color blindness, far...

nominalism

(Encyclopedia)nominalism, in philosophy, a theory of the relation between universals and particulars. Nominalism gained its name in the Middle Ages, when it was contrasted with realism. The problem arises because i...

lots

(Encyclopedia)lots. The casting of lots was an ancient method of making a choice, settling a dispute, or determining a course of action. In biblical times lots were cast to determine the will of God (it is believed...

Fanning, Edmund, 1739–1818, Loyalist in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Fanning, Edmund, 1739–1818, American Loyalist in the American Revolution, b. Suffolk co., Long Island, N.Y. He moved to North Carolina, practiced law, held minor political posts, and supported the r...

stupa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Stupa stupa sto͞oˈpə [key] [Sanskrit,=mound], Buddhist monument in tumulus, or mound, form, often containing relics. The words tope and dagoba are synonymous, though the latter properly ref...