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Tassie, James

(Encyclopedia)Tassie, James, 1735–99, Scottish gem engraver and modeler. At first a stonemason, he went to Dublin, where he assisted the gem engraver Dr. Henry Quin. With him Tassie invented an especially hard an...

tendon

(Encyclopedia)tendon, tough cord composed of closely packed white fibers of connective tissue that serves to attach muscles to internal structures such as bones or other muscles. Sometimes when the muscle involved ...

Smith, Hoke

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Hoke, 1855–1931, American political leader, b. Newton, N.C. A successful lawyer in Atlanta, he acquired the Atlanta Journal in 1887. He served (1893–96) in President Cleveland's cabinet as ...

snakeroot

(Encyclopedia)snakeroot, name for several plants, among them black snakeroot (see bugbane), button snakeroot or blazing star, senega snakeroot (see milkwort), and white snakeroot. ...

scalawags

(Encyclopedia)scalawags skălˈəwăgz [key], derogatory term used in the South after the Civil War to describe native white Southerners who joined the Republican party and aided in carrying out the congressional R...

cryosurgery

(Encyclopedia)cryosurgery krīˈōsrˌjərē [key], bloodless surgical technique using a supercooled probe to destroy diseased or superfluous tissue. Liquid nitrogen circulating through the instrument cools it to t...

Copenhagen ware

(Encyclopedia)Copenhagen ware, several types of pottery, both underglaze and overglaze, produced in Copenhagen since c.1760. At that time a Frenchman, Louis Fournier, made soft-paste chinaware in the French style. ...

Merino sheep

(Encyclopedia)Merino sheep mərēˈnō [key], breed intermediate in body size having fine wool, developed in Spain. These sheep are noted for their hardiness and their herding instincts and have been used as parent...

No, lake, South Sudan

(Encyclopedia)No nō [key], lake, N South Sudan, in the swampy Sudd region. It is formed by the floodwaters of the White Nile and varies in size seasonally. Its maximum area is c.40 sq mi (100 sq km). Much papyrus ...

menthol

(Encyclopedia)menthol, white crystalline substance with a characteristic pungent odor. It is derived from the oil of the peppermint plant, Mentha piperita (see mint), or prepared synthetically from coal tar. An alc...