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Froude, James Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Froude, James Anthony fro͞od [key], 1818–94, English historian. Educated at Oxford, he took deacon's orders after coming under the influence of the Oxford movement, but he later abandoned the path ...

fungicide

(Encyclopedia)fungicide fŭnˈjəsīdˌ, fŭngˈgə– [key], any substance used to destroy fungi. Some fungi are extremely damaging to crops (see diseases of plants), and others cause diseases in humans and other ...

Fichte, Johann Gottlieb

(Encyclopedia)Fichte, Johann Gottlieb yōˈhän gôtˈlēp fĭkhˈtə [key], 1762–1814, German philosopher. After studying theology at Jena and working as a tutor in Zürich and Leipzig, he became interested in K...

baryon

(Encyclopedia)baryon bârˈēŏnˌ [key] [Gr.,=heavy], class of elementary particles that includes the proton, the neutron, and a large number of unstable, heavier particles, known as hyperons. From a technical poi...

composition, in ancient and medieval law

(Encyclopedia)composition, in ancient and medieval law, a sum of money paid by a guilty party as satisfaction to the family of the person who was injured or killed. Failure to make the payment might justify retalia...

Safra

(Encyclopedia)Safra, family of Brazilian bankers with Sephardic Jewish roots. They began as merchant bankers in Syria and Lebanon, financing caravans throughout the Middle East. The Safras are also noted philanthro...

hemlock

(Encyclopedia)hemlock, any tree of the genus Tsuga, coniferous evergreens of the family Pinaceae (pine family) native to North America and Asia. The common hemlock of E North America is the eastern hemlock, T. cana...

gourami

(Encyclopedia)gourami go͞oräˈmē [key], tropical freshwater fish of the labyrinth fish suborder. Like other members of that suborder, gouramis have a labyrinthine breathing apparatus connected to each gill chamb...

sorrel tree

(Encyclopedia)sorrel tree, common name for a variety of plants, including the Australian hibiscus, Hibiscus heterophyllus, of the mallow family. The staggerbush, Lyoma mariana, and the sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum...

spiderwort

(Encyclopedia)spiderwort, common name for some members of the Commelinaceae, a family of tropical and subtropical succulent herbs found especially in Africa and the Americas. Species of the spiderworts (genus Trade...