- acrodynia
mercury poisoning: …children, a disorder known as acrodynia, or “pink disease,” is believed to be caused by an organic mercury compound, phenylmercuric propionate, which is incorporated into house paints to prevent the growth of mold. Symptoms of acrodynia include irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, loosening of teeth, inflammation of the mouth, and…
- Acroënus (Turkey)
Afyonkarahisar, city, western Turkey. It lies along the Akar River at an elevation of 3,392 feet (1,034 metres). In ancient times the town was known as Acroënus. It fell to the Seljuq Turks in the 13th century and was renamed Karahisar (“Black Fortress”) for the ancient fortress situated atop a
- acrolein (chemical compound)
aldehyde: Nomenclature of aldehydes: …IUPAC name is 2-propenal, is acrolein, a name derived from that of acrylic acid, the parent carboxylic acid.
- acrolith (sculpture)
acrolith, statue, especially ancient Greek, in which the trunk of the figure was of wood and the head, hands, and feet of marble. The wood was either gilded or covered by real or metal drapery. Acroliths are known from the descriptions of Pausanias, a 2nd-century-ad Greek geographer and traveller,
- acromegaly (pathology)
acromegaly, growth and metabolic disorder characterized by enlargement of the skeletal extremities. It is the result of overproduction of pituitary growth hormone (somatotropin) after maturity, caused by a tumour of the pituitary gland. Acromegaly is often associated with the abnormal growth in
- acromion (anatomy)
scapula: The spine ends in the acromion, a process that articulates with the clavicle, or collarbone, in front and helps form the upper part of the shoulder socket. The lateral apex of the triangle is broadened and presents a shallow cavity, the glenoid cavity, which articulates with the head of the…
- Acromis sparsa (insect)
tortoise beetle: Life cycle and natural history: The female of Acromis sparsa climbs on top of her closely packed brood, defending them from predators such as ants and wasps.
- Acromobacter eurydice (bacteria)
beekeeping: Diseases: pluton, but Bacillus alvie and Acromobacter eurydice are often associated with Streptococcus pluton. This disease is similar in appearance to American foulbrood. In some instances it severely affects the colonies, but they recover so that colony destruction is not necessary. Terramycin can control the disease.
- acron (anatomy)
crustacean: General features: …unsegmented, presegmental region called the acron. In most crustaceans at least four somites fuse with the acron to form the head. At the posterior end of the body there is another unsegmented region, the telson, that may bear two processes, or rami, which together form the furca. These two processes…
- acronym (linguistics)
acronym, abbreviation formed from the initial letter or group of letters of two or more words. The term dates to the 1940s and derives from the Greek words akros, meaning “topmost” or “highest,” and onyma, meaning “name” or “word.” Some scholars suggest it was borrowed from the German Akronym,
- acrophobia (psychology)
acrophobia, intense fear of heights. Persons affected by acrophobia are intensely fearful and anxious when high off the ground, such as in elevated parking garages or on bridges, or when thinking about being high off the ground. Some persons with acrophobia experience a panic attack in triggering
- acrophyll (frond)
fern: Ecology: …at the higher levels (acrophylls), which are entirely or partly fertile in that they bear sporangia over their surfaces.
- Acropolis (archaeological site, Zimbabwe)
Great Zimbabwe: The Hill Complex, which was formerly called the Acropolis, is believed to have been the spiritual and religious centre of the city. It sits on a steep-sided hill that rises 262 feet (80 metres) above the ground, and its ruins extend some 328 feet (100 metres)…
- acropolis (ancient Greek district)
acropolis, central, defensively oriented district in ancient Greek cities, located on the highest ground and containing the chief municipal and religious buildings. Because the founding of a city was a religious act, the establishment of a local home for the gods was a basic factor in Greek city
- Acropolis Museum (museum, Athens, Greece)
Acropolis Museum, museum in Athens, Greece, housing the archaeological remains of the ancient Acropolis site. The original Acropolis Museum was founded in 1865 and opened in a building on the archaeological site in 1874. To accommodate the growing collection of discoveries, the museum constructed
- acropolis of Athens (ancient citadel, Athens, Greece)
acropolis of Athens, ancient citadel dedicated to the city’s patron goddess, Athena. Its existing buildings were primarily constructed in the second half of the 5th century bce. The complex is perhaps the best known of the ancient acropolises, which were central, defensively oriented districts in
- Acropolites, George (Byzantine statesman and scholar)
George Acropolites was a Byzantine scholar and statesman, the author of Chronike Syngraphe (“Written Chronicle”), a history of the Byzantine Empire from 1203 to 1261. He also played a major diplomatic role in the attempt to reconcile the Greek and Latin churches. Acropolites was reared at the
- Acropomatidae (fish)
perciform: Annotated classification: Family Acropomatidae (temperate ocean basses) Rare deepwater marine species similar to scombropids; anus located anteriorly from normal position at front of anal fin. Light organs present; midwater depths of 300–500 metres (1,000–1,650 feet). 8 genera, about 34 species; Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. Family Symphysanodontidae Deepwater marine species sometimes…
- Acropora cervicornis (coral species)
conservation: Pollution: …species of major reef-building corals, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, and the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum. Their combined loss has transformed Caribbean reefs from high-coral, low-algae ecosystems to high-algae, low-coral ones. The latter type of ecosystems support far fewer species.
- Acropora palmata (coral species)
conservation: Pollution: reef-building corals, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, and the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum. Their combined loss has transformed Caribbean reefs from high-coral, low-algae ecosystems to high-algae, low-coral ones. The latter type of ecosystems support far fewer species.
- acrorhagus (invertebrate anatomy)
cnidarian: Ecology and habitats: …with nematocyst-studded fighting structures (acrorhagi) located below the tentacles. Attacks may result in the death of one of the anemones, or both may retreat. Tentacle touching is involved in the recognition of non-clonemates, which presumably is chemically mediated.
- acrosomal cap (physiology)
fertilization: Sperm-egg association: The acrosome reaction of spermatozoa is a prerequisite for the association between a spermatozoon and an egg, which occurs through fusion of their plasma membranes. After a spermatozoon comes in contact with an egg, the acrosome, which is a prominence at the anterior tip of the…
- acrosome (physiology)
fertilization: Sperm-egg association: The acrosome reaction of spermatozoa is a prerequisite for the association between a spermatozoon and an egg, which occurs through fusion of their plasma membranes. After a spermatozoon comes in contact with an egg, the acrosome, which is a prominence at the anterior tip of the…
- Across the Bridge (short story by Gallant)
Canadian literature: Fiction: In her collection of stories Across the Bridge (1993), she probes the thin line between good and evil in the lives of ordinary people.
- Across the Plains (work by Stevenson)
Robert Louis Stevenson: Early life: …The Amateur Emigrant, 1895, and Across the Plains, 1892). His adventures, which included coming very near death and eking out a precarious living in Monterey and San Francisco, culminated in marriage to Fanny Osbourne (who was by then divorced from her first husband) early in 1880. About the same time…
- Across the River and Into the Trees (novel by Hemingway)
Ernest Hemingway: Hemingway’s relationship to war: …praised as his previous novel, Across the River and into the Trees (1950), the story of a professional army officer who dies while on leave in Venice, had been damned.
- Across the Universe (song by Lennon and McCartney)
Let It Be: …and choir parts to “Across the Universe” and “The Long and Winding Road” and his addition of orchestral parts to “I Me Mine.” Among other changes, he also included background studio chatter and removed “Don’t Let Me Down.” McCartney especially was displeased with Spector’s orchestral additions; Lennon and Starr,…
- Across the Universe (film by Taymor [2007])
Julie Taymor: Feature films and beyond: …films directed by Taymor included Across the Universe (2007), a Vietnam War-era love story set to a soundtrack of the Beatles; The Tempest (2010), based on the play by Shakespeare and for which she changed the male role of Prospero to a female Prospera, portrayed by Helen Mirren; and The…
- Across the World (film by Johnson [1930])
Osa Johnson: …the King of Beasts (1928), Across the World (1930), Wonders of the Congo (1931), Congorilla (1932), Baboona (1935), and Borneo (1937), along with numerous short features. They also collaborated on several books: Cannibal-Land (1922), Camera Trails in Africa (1924), Lion (1929), Congorilla (1931), and Over
- Acrosternum hilare (insect)
stinkbug: …in North America is the green stinkbug (Chinavia hilaris). These stinkbugs are solid green in colour and often have a yellowish orange border around the scutellum and black-banded antennae. They range in size from 14 to 19 mm (0.5 to 0.7 inch) and are pests of a variety of plants,…
- acrostic (verse)
acrostic, short verse composition, so constructed that the initial letters of the lines, taken consecutively, form words. The term is derived from the Greek words akros, “at the end,” and stichos,“line,” or “verse.” The word was first applied to the prophecies of the Erythraean Sibyl, which were
- Acrostichum (fern genus)
Pteridaceae: Ceratopteridoid clade: Acrostichum consists of three species of large leathery-leaved ferns adapted to brackish and saline swamps in tropical coastal areas worldwide. Ceratopteris also contains three species, which occur in tropical and warm temperate regions and are floating aquatics. They have been used as aquarium and pond…
- acroteria (architecture)
acroterion, in architecture, decorative pedestal for an ornament or statue placed atop the pediment of a Greek temple; the term has also been extended to refer to the statue or ornament that stands on the pedestal. Originally a petal-shaped ornament with incised pattern, such as the honeysuckle,
- acroterion (architecture)
acroterion, in architecture, decorative pedestal for an ornament or statue placed atop the pediment of a Greek temple; the term has also been extended to refer to the statue or ornament that stands on the pedestal. Originally a petal-shaped ornament with incised pattern, such as the honeysuckle,
- Acrothoracica (crustacean)
barnacle: Burrowing barnacles (order Acrothoracica, about 30 species) are small, unisexual forms that lack shells and have fewer than six pairs of cirri. They burrow into hard limy material, such as clam shells and coral. Trypetesa is found only inside snail shells occupied by hermit crabs.
- Acrotretida (brachiopod order)
lamp shells: Annotated classification: Order Acrotretida Usually circular in outline; shell either contains phosphate or is punctate calcareous; pedicle opening confined to the ventral valve; 62 genera; early Cambrian to Holocene. Order Obolellida Mostly calcareous, biconvex, shape nearly circular to elongated; position of pedicle opening variable; dorsal valve with marginal…
- ACRS
Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981: The accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS) was introduced by ERTA, which changed the recovery period for depreciation from useful life to an amount determined by the Internal Revenue Service. This allowed businesses to recover expenditures for capital development more quickly. ACRS was modified by the Tax…
- Acruvium (Montenegro)
Kotor, walled town, seaport, and resort at the south end of Kotor Bay, one of four bays of the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), on the Adriatic coastline of Montenegro. The town, situated about 30 miles (50 km) south of Nikšić, lies at the foot of the sheer Lovćen massif, which rises to 5,738 feet
- Acrux (star)
Alpha Crucis, brightest star in the southern constellation Crux (the Southern Cross) and the 13th brightest star in the sky. Alpha Crucis is about 320 light-years from Earth. It is a multiple star system consisting of three B-type stars, the spectroscopic binary α1 and α2, that are of roughly the
- acrylamide (chemical compound)
acrylamide, a white, odourless, crystalline substance belonging to the family of organic compounds; its molecular formula is C3H5NO. Acrylamide is produced as a result of industrial processes and is generated in certain foods as a result of cooking at high temperatures. Because acrylamide is
- acrylic (chemistry)
acrylic, any of a broad array of synthetic resins and fibres that are based on derivatives of acrylic and methacrylic acid. Both acrylic acid (CH2=CHCO2H) and methacrylic acid (CH2=C[CH3]CO2H) have been synthesized since the mid-19th century, but the practical potential of materials related to
- acrylic acid (chemical compound)
acrylic: Both acrylic acid (CH2=CHCO2H) and methacrylic acid (CH2=C[CH3]CO2H) have been synthesized since the mid-19th century, but the practical potential of materials related to these compounds became apparent only about 1901, when German chemist Otto Röhm published doctoral research on polymers of acrylic esters. Beginning on a…
- acrylic amide (chemical compound)
acrylamide, a white, odourless, crystalline substance belonging to the family of organic compounds; its molecular formula is C3H5NO. Acrylamide is produced as a result of industrial processes and is generated in certain foods as a result of cooking at high temperatures. Because acrylamide is
- acrylic compound (chemical compound)
acrylic compound, any of a class of synthetic plastics, resins, and oils used to manufacture many products. By varying the starting reagents and the process of forming, a material may be produced that is hard and transparent, soft and resilient, or a viscous liquid. Acrylic compounds are used to
- acrylic fibre
major industrial polymers: Polyacrylonitrile (PAN): Acrylic fibres are soft and flexible, producing lightweight, lofty yarns. Such properties closely resemble those of wool, and hence the most common use of acrylics in apparel and carpets is as a wool replacement—for example, in knitwear such as sweaters and socks. Acrylics can be…
- acrylic painting
acrylic painting, painting executed in the medium of synthetic acrylic resins. Acrylics dry rapidly, serve as a vehicle for any kind of pigment, and are capable of giving both the transparent brilliance of watercolour and the density of oil paint. They are considered to be less affected by heat and
- acrylic polymer (chemical compound)
major industrial polymers: Acrylic polymers: Acrylic is a generic term denoting derivatives of acrylic and methacrylic acid, including acrylic esters and compounds containing nitrile and amide groups. Polymers based on acrylics were discovered before many other polymers that are now widely employed. In 1880 the Swiss chemist Georg…
- Acryllium vulturinum (bird)
guinea fowl: …and most-colourful species is the vulturine guinea fowl (Acryllium vulturinum), of eastern Africa, a long-necked bird with a hackle of long lance-shaped feathers striped black, white, and blue; red eyes; and a vulturelike bare blue head.
- acrylonitrile (chemical compound)
acrylamide: Manufacture and applications of acrylamide: …mainly through the hydration of acrylonitrile (CH2CHCN) from either sulfuric acid or copper catalysts. In 1980 an enzyme known as nitrile hydratase, which is also capable of generating acrylamide from acrylonitrile, was discovered in microorganisms. This enzyme subsequently succeeded the use of sulfuric acid and copper catalysts in the industrial…
- acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (chemical compound)
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), a hard, tough, heat-resistant engineering plastic that is widely used in appliance housings, luggage, pipe fittings, and automotive interior parts. Essentially a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer modified by butadiene rubber, ABS combines the
- ACS (trading bloc)
Association of Caribbean States (ACS), trading bloc composed of 25 countries of the Caribbean basin. Responding to a proposal by then U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), existing Caribbean-area trading blocs joined forces in 1995 to strengthen their economic
- ACS (American company)
Xerox: …oversaw Xerox’s 2010 acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), which was involved in outsourcing business services. The transaction reflected a growing trend among technology companies to focus on services over products. However, this move, as well as others, failed to reverse Xerox’s losses. In 2017 it spun off ACS and…
- ACSM (American organization)
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), U.S. nonprofit professional organization of sports medicine physicians, practitioners, and scientists. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) was founded in New York City in 1954 as the Federation of Sports Medicine; it changed to its present name
- ACT (repertory group, San Francisco, California, United States)
San Francisco: Arts: With the exception of American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), a resident repertory group, the professional theatre is virtually nonexistent in the city. The surviving downtown theatres are largely occupied by the touring casts of successful Broadway shows.
- ACT (international organization)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Organization: …Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT). ACO is headed by the SACEUR and located at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium. ACT is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. During the alliance’s first 20 years, more than $3 billion worth of “infrastructure” for NATO forces—bases,…
- act (behavior)
applied logic: Deontic logic and the logic of agency: …make sure that r; instrumental action E(x,m,r,), where x sees to it that r by means of m; and purposive action, A(x,r,p), where x sees to it that r for the purpose that p.
- ACT (educational test)
aptitude test: …Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Exam (ACT) are examples of group tests commonly used in the United States to gauge general academic ability; in France the International Baccalaureate exam (le bac) is taken by secondary-school students. Such tests yield a profile of scores rather than a single…
- Act and Being (work by Bonhoeffer)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Early training: …in Akt und Sein (1931; Act and Being), in which he traces the influence of transcendental philosophy and ontology—as well as Kantian and post-Kantian theories of knowledge and of being—on Protestant and Catholic theologies.
- Act Concerning Religion (United States history)
Maryland: The colony of Maryland: …Religion, later famous as the Act of Religious Toleration. It granted freedom of worship, though only within the bounds of Trinitarian Christianity. One of the earliest laws of religious liberty, it was limited to Christians and repealed in 1692. Commercial disputes with Anglican Virginia and boundary quarrels with Quaker Pennsylvania…
- Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown, An (British history)
Bill of Rights, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament. It incorporated the provisions of the Declaration of Rights, acceptance of which had been the condition upon which
- Act for the Better Government of Her Majesty’s Australian Colonies (Australia [1850])
Australian Colonies Government Act, legislation of the British House of Commons that separated the southeastern Australian district of Port Phillip from New South Wales and established it as the colony of Victoria. The act was passed in response to the demand of the Port Phillip settlers, who felt
- act i: RENAISSANCE (album by Beyoncé)
Beyoncé: Lemonade, the Carters, Homecoming, and act i: RENAISSANCE: …2022 she finally delivered with act i: RENAISSANCE. It received four Grammys, including best dance/electronic music album, and with those awards, Beyoncé surpassed classical music conductor Georg Solti for the most Grammy wins (32). Her world concert tour in 2023 broke the record, previously held by Madonna, for the highest…
- Act in alteration of the several acts imposing duties on imports, An (United States)
Tariff of 1828, restrictive tariff that triggered the Nullification Crisis in the United States in the early 19th century. The Tariff of 1828 was intended to protect burgeoning domestic industries by inflating the cost of imported goods by as much as 50 percent, making Americans less likely to buy
- Act in Restraint of Appeals to Rome (England [1533])
Thomas Cromwell: Cromwell and the Reformation: …secured the passage of the Act in Restraint of Appeals to Rome, preventing appeals to Rome in matrimonial and testamentary cases. Its preamble embodied his political theory of the sovereign national state. Thereafter he was in complete control of the government, though he remained careful to pretend to be acting…
- Act Naturally (song by Russell and Morrison)
Ringo Starr: Joining the Beatles: …United States (both 1964); “Act Naturally” on Help! (1965); “Yellow Submarine” on Revolver (1966); and “With a Little Help from My Friends” on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). In the late 1960s Starr began songwriting, contributing “Octopus’s Garden” to Abbey Road
- Act of Creation, The (work by Koestler)
Arthur Koestler: The Act of Creation (1964), perhaps the best-known book of his scientific and philosophical period, attempts to explain the processes underlying creativity in science and art. Other works of this period include The Lotus and the Robot (1960), an examination of Eastern mysticism; The Ghost…
- Act of Parliament clock
Act of Parliament clock, weight-driven wall clock with a large wooden, painted or lacquered dial. More correctly, it is called a tavern clock. Clocks of this type were displayed by innkeepers and got their name from the passage of a five-shilling duty on clocks in Great Britain, introduced in 1797
- Act of Violence (film by Zinnemann [1949])
Fred Zinnemann: Films of the late 1930s and 1940s: Act of Violence (1949) was much darker. In it Robert Ryan played a disabled army veteran who seeks revenge on a former officer who betrayed his platoon while being held as a prisoner of war.
- Act Preserving the Privileges of Ambassadors (British history)
extraterritoriality: …incident ensued, and the famous Act Preserving the Privileges of Ambassadors (1708) was passed. The United States enacted a substantially identical statute in 1790. A United Nations Conference on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities, held in Vienna in 1961, resulted in the signing of a Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
- Act Providing for the Organisation of the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada and for the Management of Indian and Ordnance Lands (Canada [1868])
Native American: The conquest of western Canada: …Gradual Civilization Act (1857), the Act Providing for the Organisation of the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada and for the Management of Indian and Ordnance Lands (1868), the Manitoba Act (1870), and the first consolidated Indian Act (1876). Events of the 19th century were also heavily influenced…
- Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States, An (United States law)
Judiciary Act of 1789, act establishing the organization of the U.S. federal court system, which had been sketched only in general terms in the U.S. Constitution. The act established a three-part judiciary—made up of district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court—and outlined the structure
- Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas, An (United States [1854])
Kansas-Nebraska Act, in the antebellum period of U.S. history, critical national policy change concerning the expansion of slavery into the territories, affirming the concept of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. In 1820 the Missouri Compromise had excluded slavery from that part of the
- ACT UP (international organization)
ACT UP, international organization founded in the United States in 1987 to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic. It was the first group officially created to do so. ACT UP has dozens of chapters in the United States and around the world whose purpose is to find a cure for AIDS, while at the same
- act utilitarianism
utilitarianism: Criticisms: …Bentham and Sidgwick were “act” utilitarians.
- Act Without Words I (mime by Beckett)
dramatic literature: The range of dramatic forms and styles: …essentials, “composed” two mimes titled Act Without Words I and II (1957 and 1966), but this was exceptional.
- Act Without Words II (mime by Beckett)
dramatic literature: The range of dramatic forms and styles: …Act Without Words I and II (1957 and 1966), but this was exceptional.
- Act, The (American television series)
Patricia Arquette: …another real-life disquieting figure for The Act, a limited series in which she played an abusive mother who submits her daughter to a variety of unnecessary medical treatments. Arquette was praised for her ability to infuse the character with humanity and was awarded an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She…
- Act, the (South African legislation)
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africa: Establishment and mandate of the commission: …culminated in the legislation, the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995 (the Act), that established the TRC.
- acta (ancient Roman publication)
acta, in ancient Rome, minutes of official business (Acta senatus) and a gazette of political and social events (Acta diurna). The Acta senatus, or Commentarii senatus, were the minutes of the proceedings of the Senate, and, according to Suetonius, they were first published in 59 bce. They were
- Acta Diurna (ancient Roman publication)
acta, in ancient Rome, minutes of official business (Acta senatus) and a gazette of political and social events (Acta diurna). The Acta senatus, or Commentarii senatus, were the minutes of the proceedings of the Senate, and, according to Suetonius, they were first published in 59 bce. They were
- Acta Eruditorum (science journal)
mathematics: The calculus: …in the recently founded journal Acta Eruditorum and Newton in 1687 in his great treatise, the Principia. Although a bitter dispute over priority developed later between followers of the two men, it is now clear that they each arrived at the calculus independently.
- Acta et Scripta Theologorum Wirtembergensium et Patriarchae Constantinopolitani, D. Hieremiae (work by Jeremias II)
Jeremias II: , as Acta et Scripta Theologorum Wirtembergensium et Patriarchae Constantinopolitani, D. Hieremiae (1584; “Acts and Writings of the Württemberg Theologians and His Lordship Jeremias, Patriarch of Constantinople”). Jeremias also rejected the Gregorian calendar, the new style of chronological computation instituted in March 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.
- Acta Mathematica (mathematical journal)
Magnus Gösta Mittag-Leffler: …founded the international mathematical journal Acta Mathematica and whose contributions to mathematical research helped advance the Scandinavian school of mathematics.
- Acta populi (ancient Roman publication)
acta, in ancient Rome, minutes of official business (Acta senatus) and a gazette of political and social events (Acta diurna). The Acta senatus, or Commentarii senatus, were the minutes of the proceedings of the Senate, and, according to Suetonius, they were first published in 59 bce. They were
- Acta Sanctorum (Jesuit publication)
Acta Sanctorum, vast collection of biographies and legends of the Christian saints. The idea was conceived by Heribert Rosweyde, who intended to publish, from early manuscripts, 18 volumes of lives of the saints with notes attached. In 1629, with the death of Rosweyde, Jean Bolland was chosen to
- Acta Senatus (ancient Roman publication)
acta, in ancient Rome, minutes of official business (Acta senatus) and a gazette of political and social events (Acta diurna). The Acta senatus, or Commentarii senatus, were the minutes of the proceedings of the Senate, and, according to Suetonius, they were first published in 59 bce. They were
- Actaea (plant genus)
baneberry, (genus Actaea), any of about eight species of perennial herbaceous plants in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae); they are all native to north temperate zone woodlands. The white baneberry (A. pachypoda; sometimes A. alba), which is native to North America, is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18
- Actaea alba (plant)
baneberry: The white baneberry (A. pachypoda; sometimes A. alba), which is native to North America, is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) tall and bears white berries. The cohosh, or herb Christopher (A. spicata), native to Eurasia, is approximately 30 to 60 cm (12 to…
- Actaea pachypoda (plant)
baneberry: The white baneberry (A. pachypoda; sometimes A. alba), which is native to North America, is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) tall and bears white berries. The cohosh, or herb Christopher (A. spicata), native to Eurasia, is approximately 30 to 60 cm (12 to…
- Actaea rubra (plant)
baneberry: The red baneberry, or red cohosh (A. rubra), native to North America, closely resembles A. spicata. Its fruits are red or ivory. The roots and berries of baneberry plants contain irritant resins that have a cathartic action and produce vomiting. The plants are useful subjects for…
- Actaea spicata (plant species)
baneberry: The cohosh, or herb Christopher (A. spicata), native to Eurasia, is approximately 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 inches) tall and bears purplish black berries that sometimes are used to make dye. The red baneberry, or red cohosh (A. rubra), native to North America, closely…
- Actaeon (Greek hero)
Actaeon, in Greek mythology, son of the minor god Aristaeus and Autonoë (daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes in Boeotia); he was a Boeotian hero and hunter. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Actaeon accidentally saw Artemis (goddess of wild animals, vegetation, and childbirth) while she was
- Acte sans paroles, I (mime by Beckett)
dramatic literature: The range of dramatic forms and styles: …essentials, “composed” two mimes titled Act Without Words I and II (1957 and 1966), but this was exceptional.
- Acteal (Mexico)
Zapatista National Liberation Army: The rebellion: …the pro-Zapatista Chiapas town of Acteal.
- Actelion (Swiss company)
Jean-Pierre Garnier: …of the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Actelion. He held that post until 2017, when the business was acquired by Johnson & Johnson, an American health care company. During his career, Garnier also served on the boards of various companies, notably Renault and United Technologies Corporation.
- Actes and Life of the most Victorious Conqueror, Robert Bruce King of Scotland, The (epic by Barbour)
Harry The Minstrel: …acquaintance with John Barbour’s epic The Bruce, with Geoffrey Chaucer, and with Scots, Latin, and French chronicles, belies this.
- Actes and monuments of these latter and perillous dayes (work by Foxe)
John Foxe: …Puritan preacher and author of The Book of Martyrs, a graphic and polemic account of those who suffered for the cause of Protestantism. Widely read, often the most valued book beside the Bible in the households of English Puritans, it helped shape popular opinion about Roman Catholicism for at least…
- Actes of the Apostles, The (work by Tye)
Christopher Tye: …of verse and musical settings, The Actes of the Apostles, which were simple hymnlike compositions written for domestic use. He was ordained first as a deacon and then as a priest in 1560, and he ended his probably intermittent position as Ely’s choirmaster the following year. After retiring from Ely,…
- ACTH
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a polypeptide hormone formed in the pituitary gland that regulates the activity of the outer region (cortex) of the adrenal glands. In mammals the action of ACTH is limited to those areas of the adrenal cortex in which the glucocorticoid hormones—cortisol and
- Actian Games (ancient Rome)
sports: Rome: The emperor Augustus instituted the Actian Games in 27 bce to celebrate his victory over Antony and Cleopatra, and several of his successors began similar games, but it was not until the later empire, especially during the reign of Hadrian (117–138 ce), that many of the Roman elite developed an…