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hiccup

(Encyclopedia)hiccup or hiccough, involuntary spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm followed by a sharp intake of air, which is abruptly stopped by a sudden, involuntary closing of the glottis (opening between the...

Cecil, Lord David

(Encyclopedia)Cecil, Lord David sĭsˈəl, sĕs– [key] (Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne Cecil), 1902–86, English biographer. He was professor of English literature at Oxford (1948–70). Cecil's works are ...

Tyndall, John

(Encyclopedia)Tyndall, John tĭnˈdəl [key], 1820–93, British physicist, b. Ireland. He became (1853) professor of natural philosophy at the Royal Institution and in 1867 succeeded Michael Faraday, his friend an...

Huron, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Huron, Lake hyo͝orˈänˌ [key], 23,010 sq mi (59,596 sq km), 206 mi (332 km) long and 183 mi (295 km) at its greatest width, between Ont., Canada, and Mich.; second largest of the Great Lakes. It ha...

Bronx, the

(Encyclopedia)Bronx, the, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx co. (2020 pop. 1,472,654), land area 42 sq mi (106 sq km), SE N.Y. The name comes from Jona...

Boulez, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Boulez, Pierre pyĕr bo͞olĕzˈ [key], 1925–2016, French conductor and composer of modernist classical music. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Olivier Messiaen (1944–45) and studied twel...

deafness

(Encyclopedia)deafness, partial or total lack of hearing. It may be present at birth (congenital) or may be acquired at any age thereafter. A person who cannot detect sound at an amplitude of 20 decibels in a frequ...

salmon, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)salmon sămˈən [key], member of the Salmonidae, a family of marine fish that spawn in freshwater, including the salmons, the trouts, and the chars (subfamily Salmoninae), the whitefish and the cisco...

speech defect

(Encyclopedia)speech defect, any condition that interferes with the mental formation of words or their physical production. Speech defects in children generally become apparent in the early school years. Speech pro...

Shearing, Sir George Albert

(Encyclopedia)Shearing, Sir George Albert, 1919–2011, British jazz pianist, b. London. Shearing overcame lifelong blindness to become a world-famous musician, the creator of a style of jazz, and the composer of t...
 

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