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relay

(Encyclopedia)relay, electromechanical switch operated by a flow of electricity in one circuit and controlling the flow of electricity in another circuit. A relay consists basically of an electromagnet with a soft ...

Maier, Hermann

(Encyclopedia)Maier, Hermann hĕrˈmänˌ mīˈər [key], 1972–, Austrian skier. Sent home from a ski academy in his teens by a physical condition, he was a bricklayer before winning a place on the Austrian World...

Dillenius, Johann Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Dillenius, Johann Jakob dĭlāˈnēəs [key], 1687–1747, English botanist, of German birth. He published catalogs of the plants of Eltham, Kent, and of Geissen, Germany, and a work on mosses that pl...

Robert the Devil

(Encyclopedia)Robert the Devil, hero of a medieval legend. He was sold to the devil by his mother before his birth but upon discovering the fact did penance and was able to purify himself of his many sins. The tale...

Sara

(Encyclopedia)Sara or Sarah, in the Bible, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. With Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, she was one of the four Hebrew matriarchs. Her name was originally Sarai [Heb.,=princess]. She was chi...

fertility rites

(Encyclopedia)fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...

harelip

(Encyclopedia)harelip, congenital abnormality in which there is a cleft or split in the upper lip. There may be a single opening in the middle portion of the lip or an opening on each side. The condition frequently...

Walther von der Vogelweide

(Encyclopedia)Walther von der Vogelweide välˈtər fən dĕr fōˈgəlvīˌdə [key], c.1170–c.1230, German minnesinger of noble birth, probably the finest lyric poet of medieval Germany. He wandered from court ...

dialectic

(Encyclopedia)dialectic dīəlĕkˈtĭk [key] [Gr.,= art of conversation], in philosophy, term originally applied to the method of philosophizing by means of question and answer employed by certain ancient philosop...

Charcot, Jean Martin

(Encyclopedia)Charcot, Jean Martin zhäN märtăNˈ shärkōˈ [key], 1825–93, French neurologist. At the Salpêtrière in Paris he developed the greatest clinic of his time for diseases of the nervous system. He...