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coot

(Encyclopedia)coot, common name for a migratory marsh bird related to rails and gallinules and found in North America and Europe. The American coot (Fulica americana), or mud hen, is slate gray with a white bill, b...

wampum

(Encyclopedia)wampum wämˈpəm [key] [New England Algonquian,=white string of beads], beads or disks made by Native Americans from the shells of mollusks found on the eastern coast or along the larger rivers of No...

Dies, Martin, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Dies, Martin, Jr. dīz [key], 1901–72, American political leader, b. Colorado, Tex. A lawyer, he represented Texas as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1931–45; 1951–59)....

Rethel

(Encyclopedia)Rethel rətĕlˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 8,639), Ardennes dept., N France, on the Aisne River. It is a farm trade center with textile industries and plants making farm machinery. It was (13th cent...

Perceval, Spencer

(Encyclopedia)Perceval, Spencer, 1762–1812, British statesman. He had a profitable law practice before he entered the House of Commons as a Tory in 1796. He was solicitor general (1801–2), attorney general (180...

Bundestag

(Encyclopedia)Bundestag bo͝onˈdĕstäkhˌ [key], lower house of the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is a popularly elected body that elects the chancellor, passes all legislation (subject to exe...

Parliament

(Encyclopedia)Parliament, legislative assembly of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Over the centuries it has become more than a legislative body; it is the sovereign power of Great Britain,...

mercuric chloride

(Encyclopedia)mercuric chloride or mercury (II) chloride, chemical compound, HgCl2, a white powder of colorless rhombohedral crystals, somewhat soluble in water. It is also called bichloride of mercury or corrosive...

vireo

(Encyclopedia)vireo, small, migratory songbird of the New World. Some species nest in the United States, but the majority are tropical. Vireos (also called greenlets) range from 4 to 6 1/2 in. (10.2–16.5 cm) in l...

Thibodaux

(Encyclopedia)Thibodaux tĭbˈədō [key], city (1990 pop. 14,035), seat of Lafourche parish, SE La., on Bayou Lafourche; inc. 1838. It is the commercial center of an oil, gas, sugarcane, and farm area in bayou cou...
 

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