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F

(Encyclopedia)F, sixth letter of the alphabet. The Greek letter corresponding to it, digamma, which probably represented a sound like w, disappeared before the classical period. In Western alphabets f has usually r...

Crossfield, Scott

(Encyclopedia)Crossfield, Scott (Albert Scott Crossfield), 1921–2006, American aviator, b. Berkeley, Calif. A fighter pilot and flight instructor in the navy (1942–46) during World War II, he studied aeronautic...

ablaut

(Encyclopedia)ablaut äpˈlout [key] [Ger.,=off-sound], in inflection, vowel variation (as in English sing, sang, sung, song) caused by former differences in syllabic accent. In a prehistoric period the correspondi...

Brantford

(Encyclopedia)Brantford, city, S Ont., Canada, on the Grand River. It is a leading manufacturing city, noted particularly for its large farm implement factories. The ...

Bridgeport

(Encyclopedia)Bridgeport, city (2020 pop. 148,654), Fairfield co., SW Conn., on Long Island Sound; inc. 1836. Long a chief industrial city in Connecticut, it makes el...

Block, Adriaen

(Encyclopedia)Block, Adriaen, fl. 1610–24, Dutch navigator. Eager to establish a fur trade with the Native Americans, Amsterdam merchants sent (1613) Block and another Dutch navigator to explore the region discov...

Swanson, Gloria

(Encyclopedia)Swanson, Gloria, 1899–1983, American movie actress, b. Chicago. Swanson began her film career in 1913, displaying an elegant comedic style in a series of films for director Cecil B. DeMille. Finance...

castrato

(Encyclopedia)castrato kăsträˈtō [key] [Ital.,=castrated], a male singer with an artificially created soprano or alto voice, the result of castration in boyhood. The combination of the larynx of a youth and the...

Indian Reorganization Act

(Encyclopedia)Indian Reorganization Act, legislation passed in 1934 in the United States in an attempt to secure new rights for Native Americans on reservations. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americ...

Jan Mayen

(Encyclopedia)Jan Mayen yän mīˈən [key], island, c.145 sq mi (380 sq km), in the Arctic Ocean, c.300 mi (480 km) E of Scoresby Sound, E Greenland. It was annexed by Norway in 1929. The island is barren tundra l...
 

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