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Securities and Exchange Commission

(Encyclopedia)Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agency of the U.S. government created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and charged with protecting the interests of the public and investors in connecti...

diving, springboard and platform

(Encyclopedia)diving, springboard and platform, sport of entering the water from a raised position, often while executing tumbles, twists, and other acrobatic maneuvers. In most dives the upper part of the body ent...

Evangelical and Reformed Church

(Encyclopedia)Evangelical and Reformed Church, Protestant denomination formed by the merger (1934) of the Reformed Church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America. Both of these bodies had or...

wage and price controls

(Encyclopedia)wage and price controls, economic policy measure in which the government places a ceiling on wages and prices to curb inflation. Also known as incomes policy, such programs have generally been avoided...

stained glass

(Encyclopedia)stained glass, in general, windows made of colored glass. To a large extent, the name is a misnomer, for staining is only one of the methods of coloring employed, and the best medieval glass made litt...

Uralic and Altaic languages

(Encyclopedia)Uralic and Altaic languages yo͝orălˈĭk, ăltāˈĭk [key], two groups of related languages thought by many scholars to form a single Ural-Altaic linguistic family. However, other authorities hold ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Saint Kitts and Nevis or Saint Kitts–Nevis nēˈvĭs, nĕvˈĭs [key], officially Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, island nation (2015 est. pop. 52,000), 120 sq mi (311 sq km), West Indie...

Bel and the Dragon

(Encyclopedia)Bel and the Dragon, customary name for chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel, a passage included in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha. It was written possibly in the 1st cent. b.c. as a response to Gentile ...

grille

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Grille grille, in architecture, a system of bars, usually of decorative metalwork, forming an openwork barrier or enclosure. In its usual materials of wrought iron or bronze, it has been favor...

Lewis and Clark expedition

(Encyclopedia)Lewis and Clark expedition, 1803–6, U.S. expedition that explored the territory of the Louisiana Purchase and the country beyond as far as the Pacific Ocean. The men were gathered and in the winte...