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Amratian culture ... Anacletus (II)
Amratian culture
Egyptian Predynastic cultural phase, centred in Upper Egypt, its type-site being Al-'Amirah near modern Abydos. Numerous sites, dating to about 3600 BCE, have been excavated and reveal an agricultural way of life similar to that of the preceding Badarian culture but with advanced skills and techniques. Pottery characteristic of this ...
Amravati
city, northeastern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies about 85 miles (135 km) west of Nagpur. The city occupies an important position near passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna River basin (west) and the Wardha River basin (east). A growing industrial centre, Amravati is ...
Amreli
town, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. The town lies on the Kathiawar Peninsula, 125 miles (200 km) southwest of Ahmadabad. Primarily a commercial centre, its industries include the manufacture of khadi (coarse cotton cloth), tanning, silver working, and cotton ginning. Amreli is served by a railway and an airfield. Chief ...
Amritsar
city, northern Punjab state, northwestern India. It lies about 15 miles (25 km) east of the border with Pakistan. Amritsar is the largest and most important city in Punjab and is a major commercial, cultural, and transportation centre. It is also the centre of Sikhism and the site of the ...
Amritsar, Massacre of
(April 13, 1919), incident in which British troops fired on a crowd of unarmed Indian protesters, killing a large number. It left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations and was the prelude to Mahatma Gandhi's noncooperation movement of 1920-22.
Amritsar, Treaty of
(April 25, 1809), pact concluded between Charles T. Metcalfe, representing the British East India Company, and Ranjit Singh, head of the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. The treaty settled Indo-Sikh relations for a generation. The immediate occasion was the French threat to northwestern India, following Napoleon's Treaty of Tilsit with Russia ...
Amroha
city, northwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, located west-northwest of Moradabad, on the Sot River. A marketplace for agricultural produce, its chief industries are hand-loom weaving, pottery making, and sugar milling. Colleges affiliated with Agra University are located there, as is the shrine of Sheikh Saddu, a Muslim saint. Amroha ...
Amrouche, Jean
foremost poet of the earliest generation of French-speaking North African writers.
Amrouche, Marguerite Taos
Kabyle singer and writer.
Amsdorf, Nikolaus von
Protestant Reformer and major supporter of Martin Luther.
Amstelveen
gemeente (municipality), western Netherlands, near the Amstel River. Amstelveen (meaning "peat bog on the Amstel") was formerly a village in the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel. A residential suburb of Amsterdam, it is a water-sports centre with some agriculture and light industry. Schiphol international airport is nearby to the west. Pop. (2007 ...
Amsterdam
city and port, western Netherlands, located on the IJsselmeer and connected to the North Sea. It is the capital and the principal commercial and financial centre of the Netherlands.
Amsterdam
city, Montgomery county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies along the Mohawk River, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Schenectady. Settled by Albert Veeder in 1783, it was known as Veedersburg until it was renamed for Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1804. Its location on the Mohawk Trail, the completion of the ...
Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games
athletic festival held in Amsterdam, that took place May 17-Aug. 12, 1928. The Amsterdam Games were the eighth occurrence of the modern Olympic Games.
Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
Dutch waterway connecting the port of Amsterdam with the Rhine River. From Amsterdam the canal passes to the southeast through Utrecht on its way to the Waal River near Tiel. Inaugurated in 1952, the canal has a total length of 72 km (45 miles) and contains four locks. It was ...
Amstetten
town, northeastern Austria. It is situated near the Ybbs River, northeast of Steyr. Recorded in 996 as a possession of the bishops of Passau (now in Germany), it was fortified and granted market rights when it passed to the House of Habsburg in 1276. It achieved town status in 1897. ...
Amtrak
federally supported corporation that operates nearly all intercity passenger trains in the United States. It was established by Congress in 1970 and assumed control of passenger service from the nation's private rail companies the following year. Virtually all railways, with the exception of a small handful, signed contracts with Amtrak. ...
Amu Darya
one of the longest rivers of Central Asia. The Amu Darya was traditionally known to the Western world from Greek and Roman times as the Oxus and was called the Jayhun by the Arabs. It allegedly derives its present name from the city of Amul, which is said to have ...
Amud
paleoanthropological site in Israel known for its human remains, which provide important evidence of the diversification and development of southwestern Asian Neanderthals. The site is centred on Amud Cave, overlooking the Amud Gorge (Wadi el 'Amud) just northwest of Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee).
amulet
an object, either natural or man-made, believed to be endowed with special powers to protect or bring good fortune. Amulets are carried on the person or kept in the place that is the desired sphere of influence-e.g., on a roof or in a field. The terms amulet and talisman are ...
Amund Ringnes
one of the Sverdrup Islands in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, between Axel Heiberg and Ellef Ringnes islands. About 70 miles (115 km) long, 20-45 miles (30-70 km) wide, and 2,029 square miles (5,255 square km) in area, Amund Ringnes is basically flat, the highest point being about 2,000 ...
Amundsen Gulf
southeastern extension of the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Extending for 250 miles (400 km), it is bordered by Victoria Island on the east and separates Banks Island (north) from the Canadian mainland (south). In 1850 the gulf was entered from the west by the British explorer Robert McClure, ...
Amundsen, Roald
Norwegian explorer who was the first to reach the South Pole, the first to make a ship voyage through the Northwest Passage, and one of the first to cross the Arctic by air. He was one of the greatest figures in the field of polar exploration.
Amuq
plain of southern Turkey, bordering Syria. Framed by mountains, the plain is about 190 square miles (500 square km) in area and forms a triangle between the cities of Antioch (southwest), Reyhanli (southeast), and Kirikhan (north). In the centre of the plain is Lake Amik (Lake Antioch), which was drained ...
Amur
oblast (province), far eastern Russia. It occupies the basins of the middle Amur River and its tributary the Zeya and extends up to the crest of the Stanovoy Range. In 1689 Russia yielded the Amur region to China by the Treaty of Nerchinsk, but Russian Cossacks reincorporated it in the ...
Amur River
river of East Asia. It is the longest river of the Russian Far East, and it ranks behind only the Yangtze and Huang Ho (Yellow River) among China's longest rivers. Its headwaters rise in Russia (Siberia), Mongolia, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China in the mountains northwest and ...
Amursk
city, Khabarovsk kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies on the left bank of the Amur River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Komsomolsk-na-Amure. Founded in 1958, Amursk became one of the fastest growing towns in the far eastern Soviet Union. Its wood-processing complex, opened in 1967, is one of ...
amusement tax
impost on the general admission charges to recreational and entertainment events. The tax may be imposed on the admission charge or on the owner's total admission receipts, but the pure amusement tax is almost always quoted separately and presumably shifted to the buyer of the ticket. Events sponsored by or ...
Amuzgo
ethnolinguistic Indian group of eastern Guerrero and western Oaxaca states, southern Mexico. Their language is related to that of the Mixtec, their neighbours to the north and west. Although many Amuzgo can speak Spanish, the majority (about 65 percent) speak only Amuzgo.
amygdule
secondary deposit of minerals found in a rounded, elongated, or almond-shaped cavity in igneous rock. The cavities (vesicles) were created by the expansion of gas bubbles or steam within lava. Some amygdules consist partially of lava, which indicates their formation during solidification of the rock. Since gas bubbles tend to ...
amyl alcohol
any of eight organic compounds having the same molecular formula, C5H11OH, but different structures. The term is commonly applied to mixtures of these compounds, which are used as solvents for resins and oily materials and in the manufacture of other chemicals, especially amyl acetate, a solvent for nitrocellulose lacquers. Commercial ...
amyl nitrite
drug once commonly used in the treatment of angina pectoris, a condition characterized by chest pain precipitated by oxygen deficiency in the heart muscle. Amyl nitrite is one of the oldest vasodilators (i.e., agents that expand blood vessels). The drug is useful in treating cyanide poisoning. Amyl nitrite, a clear, ...
amylase
any member of a class of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis (splitting of a compound by addition of a water molecule) of starch into smaller carbohydrate molecules such as maltose (a molecule composed of two glucose molecules). Two categories of amylases, denoted alpha and beta, differ in the way they ...
amyloidosis
disease characterized by the deposition of an abnormal protein called amyloid in the connective tissues and organs of the body that inhibits normal functioning. Amyloid is a fibrous, insoluble protein-carbohydrate complex that forms when normally soluble proteins such as antibodies become misfolded and adopt a fibril structure. There are different ...
Amyntas III (or II)
king of Macedonia from about 393 to 370/369 BCE. His skillful diplomacy created a minor role for Macedonia in Greek affairs and prepared the way for its emergence as a great power under his son Philip II (ruled 359-336).
Amyot, Jacques
French bishop and classical scholar famous for his translation of Plutarch's Lives (Les Vies des hommes illustres Grecs et Romains, 1559), which became a major influence in shaping the Renaissance concept of the tragic hero.
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
degenerative neurological disorder that causes muscle atrophy and paralysis. The disease usually occurs after age 40; it affects men more often than women. ALS is frequently called Lou Gehrig disease in memory of the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, who died from the disease in 1941.
An Chung-sik
the last gentleman painter of the great Korean Choson dynasty (1392-1910).
An Lushan
Chinese general of Iranian and Turkish descent who, as leader of a rebellion in AD 755, proclaimed himself emperor and unsuccessfully attempted to found a dynasty to replace the Tang dynasty (618-907). Despite its failure, the rebellion precipitated far-reaching social and economic change.
An Olympic-Sized Scandal: Year in Review 2000
In 1999 it appeared that the Olympic Games might take the gold for the century's widest-reaching and most notorious sports scandal. Years in advance of each Olympic Games, members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elect a host city from among those bidding to hold the event. The right to ...
An-p'ing
seaport and former town, now a district of T'ai-nan shih (municipality), southwestern Taiwan, the traditional outport for T'ai-nan. It is the oldest Chinese settlement in southern Taiwan, dating from the late 16th century. It is connected to T'ai-nan proper by canal and by light railway. Until the late 19th century, ...
Anabaena
genus of nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae with beadlike or barrel-like cells and interspersed enlarged spores (heterocysts), found as plankton in shallow water and on moist soil. There are both solitary and colonial forms, the latter resembling a closely related genus, Nostoc. In temperate latitudes during the summer months, Anabaena may form ...
Anabaptist
(from Greek ana, "again")member of a fringe, or radical, movement of the Protestant Reformation and spiritual ancestor of modern Baptists, Mennonites, and Quakers. The movement's most distinctive tenet was adult baptism. In its first generation, converts submitted to a second baptism, which was a crime punishable by death under the ...
Anabasis
prose narrative, now in seven books, by Xenophon, of the story of the Greek mercenary soldiers who fought for Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to seize the Persian throne from his brother, Artaxerxes II. It contains a famous account of the mercenaries' long trek ("the march of the 10,000") ...
anabatic wind
local air current that blows up a hill or mountain slope facing the Sun. During the day, the Sun heats such a slope (and the air over it) faster than it does the adjacent atmosphere over a valley or a plain at the same altitude. This warming decreases the density ...
anabolic steroid
steroid hormone that increases tissue growth. Anabolic steroids are given to promote muscle growth and tissue regeneration in, for example, elderly or postoperative patients. Unsupervised use by athletes to build muscle and improve strength can have serious harmful effects, including coronary heart disease, sexual and reproductive disorders, immunodeficiencies, liver damage, ...
anabolism
the sequences of enzyme-catalyzed reactions by which relatively complex molecules are formed in living cells from nutrients with relatively simple structures. Anabolic processes, which include the synthesis of such cell components as carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, require energy in the form of energy-rich compounds (e.g., adenosine triphosphate) that are produced ...
Anacardiaceae
the sumac family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales, with about 70 genera and 650 species of evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and woody vines. It is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world, but a few species occur in temperate regions. Members of the family have ...
Anacharsis
legendary Scythian prince included in some ancient Greek lists as one of the Seven Wise Men and extolled as an exemplar of primitive virtue.
anachronism
(from Greek ana, "back," and chronos, "time"), neglect or falsification, intentional or not, of chronological relation. It is most frequently found in works of imagination that rest on a historical basis, in which appear details borrowed from a later age; e.g., a clock in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, an attendant ...
Anacletus (II)
antipope from 1130 to 1138 whose claims to the papacy against Pope Innocent II are still supported by some scholars. After study in Paris, he became a monk at Cluny and was made cardinal at Rome in 1116 by Pope Paschal II. In 1118 he accompanied Pope Gelasius II, who ...