• Catana (Greek colony)

    coin: Artistic development: Catana used the artist Heracleidas to design a splendid facing head of Apollo. Selinus abandoned its parsley leaf and issued some remarkable types, notably that of Apollo and Artemis in their quadriga and, on the reverse, the local hero sacrificing at an altar, alluding to…

  • Cātaṉār (Tamil writer)

    South Asian arts: Epics: …of which is missing), by Cātaṉār, continues the story of the Cilappatikāram; the heroine is Mātavi’s daughter, MaîimKkalai, a dancer and courtesan like her mother. Maṇimēkalai is torn between her passion for a princely lover and her spiritual yearnings, the first encouraged by her grandmother, the second by her mother.…

  • Catanduanes (island, Philippines)

    Catanduanes, island, east-central Philippines, in the Philippine Sea. It is separated from southeastern Luzon (Rungus Point) by the shallow Maqueda Channel. Farming is diversified (rice, corn [maize], copra, abaca) on the hilly, rolling land. Virac, the chief port, is on the southern coast in a

  • Catanduva (Brazil)

    Catanduva, city, in the highlands of north-central São Paulo estado (state) Brazil, lying on the São Domingos River at 1,630 feet (497 metres) above sea level. Originally called Vila Adolfo, the settlement was given town status in 1909 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1917. Coffee and

  • Catanei, Vannozza (Italian mistress)

    Cesare Borgia: Youth and education: …his father’s most famous mistress, Vannozza Catanei. His father, at that time Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, was vice chancellor of the church and had had three earlier children by other mistresses. Cesare was, however, the oldest of the four children born to Vannozza and Rodrigo (the others were Juan, Lucrezia, and…

  • Catania (Italy)

    Catania, city, eastern Sicily, Italy, in the broad plain of Catania on the Ionian seacoast, south of Mount Etna. The city was founded in 729 bce by Chalcidians (settlers from Chalcis in the Greek island of Euboea) from Naxos, 50 miles (80 km) north. It acquired importance in the 5th century bce

  • Catania, Gulf of (gulf, Italy)

    Gulf of Catania, inlet of the Ionian Sea on the eastern coast of Sicily. About 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, it lies between Cape Campolato (south) and Cape Molini (north). The gulf receives the Simeto River below Catania, its chief

  • Catanzaro (Italy)

    Catanzaro, city, capital of Calabria regione (region), southern Italy, at an elevation of 1,125 feet (343 metres) overlooking the Gulf of Squillace, southeast of Cosenza. Founded about the 10th century as Catasarion, a Byzantine town, it was taken in 1059 by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard.

  • catapano (Byzantine administrator)

    Italy: The south, 774–1000: …through a local ruler, or catepan, who headed an administrative and fiscal system that was apparently more complex and stable than that of the exarchs had been. Culturally, the Byzantines were by now entirely Greek, and southern Calabria was, as already noted, Greek-speaking; in Puglia, however, the Italian-speaking Lombards dominated,…

  • cataphoresis (chemistry)

    electrophoresis, the movement of electrically charged particles in a fluid under the influence of an electric field. If the liquid rather than the particles is set in motion—e.g., through a fixed diaphragm—the phenomenon is called electroosmosis. Electrophoresis is used to analyze and separate

  • cataphract (cavalry)

    military technology: The Byzantine cataphract: …armoured horse archer called a cataphract. Pronoia, which formed the core of the Byzantine army’s strength during the period of its greatest efficiency in the 8th through 10th centuries, entailed the adoption of the Hunnish composite recurved bow by native troopers.

  • Cataphrygian heresy (religion)

    Montanism, a schismatic movement founded by the prophet Montanus that arose in the Christian church in Phrygia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), in the 2nd century. Subsequently it flourished in the West, principally in Carthage under the leadership of Tertullian in the 3rd century. It almost died out

  • cataplana (food)

    Portugal: Daily life and social customs: A seafood stew known as cataplana (for the hammered copper clamshell-style vessel in which it is cooked) is ubiquitous throughout the country. In many areas meat is seldom eaten, although the Alentejo region is known for its pork and Trás-os-Montes for cured meats. Cozido a portuguesa, a stew made with…

  • cataplexy (medical disorder)

    cataplexy, a sudden brief impairment of muscle tone, such as a limpness of the arms or legs, that is often precipitated by an emotional response such as laughter or startle and is sometimes so dramatic as to cause the person to fall down. Cataplexy occurs in about 70 percent of people affected by

  • catapult (military weaponry)

    catapult, mechanism for forcefully propelling stones, spears, or other projectiles, in use mainly as a military weapon since ancient times. The ancient Greeks and Romans used a heavy crossbowlike weapon known as a ballista to shoot arrows and darts as well as stones at enemy soldiers. The term

  • catapult (ancient weapon)

    catapult: The term catapult too can refer to these weapons, but more often it designates a larger engine that is used to hurl stones from a single long arm swinging through the vertical plane. Nearly all catapults employed in ancient and medieval artillery operated by a sudden release…

  • cataract (waterfall)

    cataract, a waterfall (q.v.), especially one containing great volumes of water rushing over a

  • cataract (eye disorder)

    cataract, opacity of the crystalline lens of the eye. Cataracts occur in 50 percent of people between the ages of 65 and 74 and in 70 percent of people over the age of 75. Typical age-related cataracts can cause cloudy vision, glare, colour vision problems, changes in eyeglass prescription, and,

  • Catarchic astrology (pseudoscience)

    astrology: Purposes of astrology: Catarchic (pertaining to beginnings or sources) astrology determines whether or not a chosen moment is astrologically conducive to the success of a course of action begun in it. Basically in conflict with a rigorous interpretation of genethlialogy, it allows the individual (or corporate body) to…

  • Catargiu, Lascăr (prime minister of Romania)

    Lascăr Catargiu was a Romanian statesman, four times prime minister (1866, 1871–76, 1889, 1891–95), who played a leading role in national affairs through the country’s early years of independence. In 1858 Catargiu served on the Moldavian divan ad hoc (representative commission) formed to determine

  • catarrh (disease)

    rheumatism: …that a respiratory disease called catarrh, which is associated with inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, was connected to rheumatism and that rheumatism was systemic in nature, affecting many parts of the body. The rheumatic maladies as described by Galen and Baillou were later associated with Streptococcus infections.

  • catarrhal (disease)

    rheumatism: …that a respiratory disease called catarrh, which is associated with inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, was connected to rheumatism and that rheumatism was systemic in nature, affecting many parts of the body. The rheumatic maladies as described by Galen and Baillou were later associated with Streptococcus infections.

  • catarrhine (mammal)

    monkey: Old World monkeys versus New World monkeys: …together they are classified as catarrhines (meaning “downward-nosed” in Latin). The New World monkeys are the platyrrhines (“flat-nosed”), a group comprising five families. As their taxonomic names suggest, New World (platyrrhine) and Old World (catarrhine) monkeys are distinguished by the form of the nose. New World monkeys have broad noses…

  • Catarrhini (mammal)

    monkey: Old World monkeys versus New World monkeys: …together they are classified as catarrhines (meaning “downward-nosed” in Latin). The New World monkeys are the platyrrhines (“flat-nosed”), a group comprising five families. As their taxonomic names suggest, New World (platyrrhine) and Old World (catarrhine) monkeys are distinguished by the form of the nose. New World monkeys have broad noses…

  • Catasarion (Italy)

    Catanzaro, city, capital of Calabria regione (region), southern Italy, at an elevation of 1,125 feet (343 metres) overlooking the Gulf of Squillace, southeast of Cosenza. Founded about the 10th century as Catasarion, a Byzantine town, it was taken in 1059 by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard.

  • catastasis (literature)

    catastasis, the dramatic complication that immediately precedes the climax of a play or that occurs during the climax of a play. Compare

  • Catasterisms (work by Eratosthenes)

    Eratosthenes: Eratosthenes’ only surviving work is Catasterisms, a book about the constellations, which gives a description and story for each constellation, as well as a count of the number of stars contained in it, but the attribution of this work has been doubted by some scholars. His mathematical work is known…

  • catastrophe (literature)

    catastrophe, in literature, the final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially in a tragedy. Catastrophe is a synonym of denouement. The term is sometimes applied to a similar action in a novel or

  • catastrophe (event)

    disaster, any natural or human-generated calamitous event that produces great loss of human life or destruction of the natural environment, private property, or public infrastructure. A disaster may be relatively sudden, such as an earthquake or an oil spill, or it may unfold over a longer period,

  • catastrophe coverage (insurance)

    insurance: Aviation insurance: …underwriting problem is the “catastrophic” exposure to loss. The largest passenger aircraft may incur losses of $300,000,000 or more, counting both liability and physical damage exposures. The number of aircraft of any particular type is not large enough for the accurate prediction of losses, and each type of aircraft…

  • catastrophe theory (evolution)

    Charles Bonnet: without fertilization) and developed the catastrophe theory of evolution.

  • catastrophe theory (mathematics)

    catastrophe theory, in mathematics, a set of methods used to study and classify the ways in which a system can undergo sudden large changes in behaviour as one or more of the variables that control it are changed continuously. Catastrophe theory is generally considered a branch of geometry because

  • Catastrophe: The Strange Stories of Dino Buzzati (short stories by Buzzati)

    Dino Buzzati: …some of his stories include Catastrophe: The Strange Stories of Dino Buzzati (1966), Restless Nights (1983), and The Bewitched Bourgeois (2025). Cronache terrestri (1972; “Earthly Chronicles”) and an autobiography (1973) were published posthumously.

  • catastrophic extinction (biology)

    mass extinction event, any circumstance that results in the loss of a significant portion of Earth’s living species across a wide geographic area within a relatively short period of geologic time. Mass extinction events are extremely rare. They cause drastic changes to Earth’s biosphere, and in

  • catastrophic variable star (astronomy)

    star: Explosive variables: The evolution of a member of a close double-star system can be markedly affected by the presence of its companion. As the stars age, the more massive one swells up more quickly as it moves away from the main sequence. It becomes so…

  • catastrophism (geology)

    catastrophism, doctrine that explains the differences in fossil forms encountered in successive stratigraphic levels as being the product of repeated cataclysmic occurrences and repeated new creations. This doctrine generally is associated with the great French naturalist Baron Georges Cuvier

  • catastrophism (Polish literature)

    Czesław Miłosz: …“Poem of Frozen Time”), expressed catastrophic fears of an impending war and worldwide disaster. During the Nazi occupation he moved to Warsaw, where he was active in the resistance and edited Pieśń niepodległa: poezja polska czasu wojny (1942; “Independent Song: Polish Wartime Poetry”), a clandestine anthology of well-known contemporary poems.

  • catatonia (mental disorder)

    catatonia, psychomotor syndrome in which an affected individual is unresponsive and immobile or occasionally hyperactive, agitated, or restless. Catatonia is most often seen in adults, though it sometimes occurs in children. The syndrome commonly is associated with mood disorders, toxic neural

  • catatonic schizophrenia (mental disorder)

    catatonic schizophrenia, rare severe mental disorder characterized by striking motor behaviour, typically involving either significant reductions in voluntary movement or hyperactivity and agitation. In some cases, the patient may remain in a state of almost complete immobility, often assuming

  • Catatumbo River (river, South America)

    Catatumbo River, river rising in northern Colombia. It flows northeast across the Venezuelan border, crosses rich oil-bearing regions in the Maracaibo Lowland, and empties into Lake Maracaibo after a course of about 210 miles (338 km). It is navigable in its lower course and receives Zulia River 4

  • catauro de cubanismos, Un (work by Ortiz)

    Fernando Ortiz: His Un catauro de cubanismos (1923; “A Load of Cubanisms”) identifies the African origins of many words used in Cuba, as well as the different origins of other words. Ortiz followed this with the Glosario de Afronegrismos, estudio de lingüística, lexicología, etimología y semántica (1924; “A…

  • Catawba (people)

    Catawba, North American Indian tribe of Siouan language stock who inhabited the territory around the Catawba River in what are now the U.S. states of North and South Carolina. Their principal village was on the west side of the river in north-central South Carolina. They were known among English

  • Catawba language

    Siouan languages: The Catawban branch (formerly spoken in North and South Carolina) is the most divergent—i.e., the first to break off. Several of the languages are extinct (marked in the classification below with an asterisk [*]), and the rest are endangered.

  • catawba rhododendron (plant)

    rhododendron: Major species: The catawba rhododendron, or mountain rosebay (R. catawbiense), of the southeastern United States, is plentiful and a great flowering attraction in June in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The hardy catawba hybrids are derived from R. catawbiense and allied species. The great laurel rhododendron, or rosebay…

  • Catawba River (river, United States)

    Catawba River, River, southeastern U.S. Rising in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge, it flows south into South Carolina, where it becomes the Wateree River. It is 220 mi (350 km) long. With the Wateree, it forms an important source of hydroelectric power for South

  • Catawba-Siouan languages

    Siouan languages, family of languages in North America spread primarily across the Great Plains, extending from Canada to Mississippi to North Carolina. The languages belonging to this family are classified as follows. The Catawban branch (formerly spoken in North and South Carolina) is the most

  • Catazaro, Zachary (dancer)

    Amar Ramasar: Professional career and controversy: Later that year he and Zachary Catazaro, another principal dancer at NYCB, were suspended by the company over their purported involvement in the sharing of explicit photographs and videos of women; Chase Finlay, also implicated in the scandal, had resigned. In September Ramasar and Catazaro were fired. However, in April…

  • catbird (bird)

    catbird, any of five bird species named for their mewing calls, which are used in addition to song. The North American catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), of the family Mimidae (order Passeriformes), is 23 cm (9 inches) long and is gray, with a black cap. It frequents gardens and thickets. The black

  • catbrier (plant)

    Smilax: …herbaceous vines, variously known as catbriers and greenbriers, native to tropical and temperate parts of the world. The stems of many species are covered with prickles; the lower leaves are scalelike; and the leathery upper leaves have untoothed blades with three to nine large veins. The white or yellow-green male…

  • catch (music)

    catch, perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more unaccompanied male voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals.

  • catch (phonetics)

    stop: …usually has three stages: the catch (implosion), or beginning of the blockage; the hold (occlusion); and the release (explosion), or opening of the air passage again. A stop differs from a fricative (q.v.) in that, with a stop, occlusion is total, rather than partial. Occlusion may occur at various places…

  • Catch a Falling Star (song by Vance and Pockriss)

    Perry Como: …number one records, and “Catch a Falling Star,” for which he won a Grammy Award in 1958.

  • Catch a Fire (film by Noyce [2006])

    Tim Robbins: …Words (2005), the political drama Catch a Fire (2006), the war comedy The Lucky Ones (2008), the superhero movie Green Lantern (2011), the romance mystery Marjorie Prime (2017), and the legal thriller Dark Waters (2019). His television credits from this period include the HBO series

  • Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and Conspiracy to Protect Predators (work by Farrow)

    Ronan Farrow: The best-selling Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and Conspiracy to Protect Predators (2019) details his investigative work for NBC and The New Yorker on sexual abuse. A companion podcast to Catch and Kill debuted in 2019 and was nominated for a Peabody Award. In 2021 HBO launched…

  • Catch Me If You Can (film by Spielberg [2002])

    Amy Adams: Breakthrough and stardom: …DiCaprio in the crime comedy Catch Me If You Can (2002). Her performance as the naive wife Ashley in the independent film Junebug (2005), about the troubled relationships hidden in a Southern family, earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. That charismatic innocence led to Adams’s later…

  • Catch That Catch Can (work by Hilton)

    catch: …such publications was John Hilton’s Catch That Catch Can (1652).

  • Catch the Wind (song by Donovan)

    Donovan: …as a folksinger with “Catch the Wind.” As the musical landscape became more kaleidoscopic, Donovan adapted his approach and helped define the era with odes to the hippie lifestyle such as “Sunshine Superman” (1966), “Mellow Yellow” (1967), and “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (1968). His obscure lyrics, often laced with drug…

  • Catch Us If You Can (film by Boorman [1965])

    John Boorman: Early documentaries, first feature film, and Point Blank: Boorman’s first feature film, Catch Us If You Can (1965; also known as Having a Wild Weekend), followed the British rock group the Dave Clark Five through Bristol, using the cityscape as backdrop. Although inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (1964), it highlighted the director’s innovative style.

  • Catch-22 (television miniseries)

    George Clooney: Gravity and later films: …then appeared as Scheisskopf in Catch-22 (2019), a TV miniseries adaptation of Joseph Heller’s novel. In 2020 he directed The Midnight Sky, a postapocalyptic sci-fi drama in which he starred as a scientist in the Arctic. The following year he helmed The Tender Bar, which centers on the relationship between…

  • Catch-22 (film by Nichols [1970])

    Catch-22: Analysis: A 1970 film version, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Alan Arkin as Yossarian, contributed to the novel’s growing fame.

  • Catch-22 (novel by Heller)

    Catch-22, satirical novel by American writer Joseph Heller, published in 1961. The work centres on Captain John Yossarian, an American bombardier stationed on a Mediterranean island during World War II, and chronicles his desperate attempts to stay alive. Yossarian interprets the entire war as a

  • catch-22 (linguistic expression)

    Catch-22: The term catch-22 entered the English language meaning “a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem.”

  • catch-and-release angling (fishing)

    fishing: Recent trends in fishing: For example, catch-and-release angling became increasingly popular since the late 20th century. In many areas of the United States and Canada, individual lakes and streams are increasingly managed for lower catch limits and for habitat quality. Owing to angler demand, fisheries management emphasis continues to shift from…

  • catch-and-release fly-fishing

    fly-fishing: Modern fly-fishing: Catch-and-release fly-fishing, which originated in the United States among trout anglers and was popularized by Wulff and her famous fly-fishing husband, Lee Wulff, continues to gain favour worldwide and is increasingly applied to numerous other species and angling methods. Through their participation in conservation groups,…

  • catch-as-catch-can wrestling (sport)

    catch-as-catch-can wrestling, basic wrestling style in which nearly all holds and tactics are permitted in both upright and ground wrestling. Rules usually forbid only actions that may injure an opponent, such as strangling, kicking, gouging, and hitting with a closed fist. The object is to force

  • catch-hold wrestling (sport)

    wrestling: Catch-hold styles require the contestants to take a prescribed hold before the contest begins; often this grip must be maintained throughout the struggle. Loose styles of wrestling, which are used in modern international competition, commence with the wrestlers separated and free to seize any grip…

  • Catch-up contributions in 2025: What you need to know once you turn 50

    No judgment here, but if you spent a chunk of your working years trying to juggle the expenses of your home and family, it’s possible your retirement accounts didn’t get as much love as they needed—and you wouldn’t be alone. That’s why there are catch-up contributions. As the name implies, catch-up

  • catcher (sports)

    baseball: Gloves: Beginning in 1860, catchers, who attempt to catch every pitch not hit, became the first to adopt gloves. First basemen, who take many throws for putouts from the infielders, soon followed, and finally all players adopted gloves. All gloves are constructed of leather with some padding. The catcher’s…

  • catcher cavity (electronics)

    electron tube: Klystrons: …resonators (the buncher and the catcher, which serve as reservoirs of electromagnetic oscillations) is the accelerating potential and is commonly referred to as the beam voltage. This voltage accelerates the DC electron beam to a high velocity before injecting it into the grids of the buncher cavity. The grids of…

  • Catcher in the Rye, The (novel by Salinger)

    The Catcher in the Rye, novel by J.D. Salinger published in 1951. The novel details two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield after he has been expelled from prep school. Confused and disillusioned, Holden searches for truth and rails against the “phoniness” of the adult world. He ends

  • Catcher Was a Spy, The (film by Lewin [2018])

    Paul Giamatti: …to appear in movies, including The Catcher Was a Spy, the real-life story of an MLB player who worked for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II; I Think We’re Alone Now, a disquieting postapocalyptic drama; and Private Life, a dramedy about the tribulations of fertility treatment (all…

  • catcher’s glove

    baseball: Gloves: The catcher’s glove, or mitt, presents a solid face except for a cleft between the thumb and index finger and is thickly padded except at the center, where the pitched ball is caught. The glove cannot exceed 38 inches (96.5 cm) in circumference and 15.5 inches…

  • catcher’s mitt

    baseball: Gloves: The catcher’s glove, or mitt, presents a solid face except for a cleft between the thumb and index finger and is thickly padded except at the center, where the pitched ball is caught. The glove cannot exceed 38 inches (96.5 cm) in circumference and 15.5 inches…

  • catchfly (plant, genus Silene)

    campion, (genus Silene), genus of about 900 species of herbaceous flowering plants of the pink, or carnation, family (Caryophyllaceae). Campions are distributed throughout the world, and several are ornamental rock-garden or border plants. Some species of Silene stand erect; others are spreading or

  • Catching a Catfish with a Gourd (painting by Taiko Josetsu)

    Taikō Josetsu: …is an ink landscape painting, “Catching a Catfish with a Gourd.” It was painted c. 1413, commissioned by Ashikaga Yoshimochi, the 4th Muromachi shogun and a disciple of Zen. It is one of the earliest suiboku paintings in Japan. The subject is Zen inspired; the soft ink-wash technique reflects the…

  • Catchings, Tamika (American basketball player)

    Indiana Fever: …success by selecting star forward Tamika Catchings of the University of Tennessee with the third overall pick in that draft. Catchings was unable to play in 2001 due to a knee injury, but the following year she averaged 18.6 points per game and led Indiana to the franchise’s first playoff…

  • catchment area (geology)

    drainage basin, area from which all precipitation flows to a single stream or set of streams. For example, the total area drained by the Mississippi River constitutes its drainage basin, whereas that part of the Mississippi River drained by the Ohio River is the Ohio’s drainage basin. The boundary

  • catchment basin (geology)

    drainage basin, area from which all precipitation flows to a single stream or set of streams. For example, the total area drained by the Mississippi River constitutes its drainage basin, whereas that part of the Mississippi River drained by the Ohio River is the Ohio’s drainage basin. The boundary

  • catchup (condiment)

    ketchup, seasoned pureed condiment widely used in the United States and Great Britain. The origin of the word ketchup is not entirely clear; the word likely derives from the Chinese ke-tsiap, a fish brine, probably by way of the Malaysian ketjap. The Heinz company first began selling its famed

  • Cateau-Cambrésis, Peace of (European history)

    Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, (April 3, 1559), agreement marking the end of the 65-year (1494–1559) struggle between France and Spain for the control of Italy, leaving Habsburg Spain the dominant power there for the next 150 years. In the last phase of the war, fought mostly outside of Italy, France

  • Catecheses (work by Saint Cyril)

    Saint Cyril of Jerusalem: …of 23 catechetical lectures (Catecheses) delivered to candidates for Baptism. The first 18, based on the Jerusalem baptismal creed, were given during Lent, and the concluding 5 instructed the newly baptized during the week after Easter. Cyril was declared a doctor of the church in 1883.

  • Catechesis (work by Diadochus)

    Diadochus Of Photice: …his Horasis (“The Vision”) and Catechesis (“Instruction”). The Greek text of the Catechesis, probably an 11th-century redaction of Diadochus’ thought, was discovered and edited in 1952 by Édouard Des Places, who also produced a new critical edition of “The Hundred Chapters” (Oeuvres spirituelles, 1955).

  • catechesis (Christian theology)

    kerygma and catechesis: catechesis, in Christian theology, respectively, the initial proclamation of the gospel message and the oral instruction given before baptism to those who have accepted the message. Kerygma refers primarily to the preaching of the Apostles as recorded in the New Testament. Their message was that…

  • Catechetical Homilies (work by Theodore of Mopsuestia)

    patristic literature: The school of Antioch: John and his Catechetical Homilies), as well as the reconstruction of the greater part of his Commentary on the Psalms. This fresh evidence confirms that Theodore was not only the most acute of the Antiochene exegetes, deploying the hermeneutics (critical interpretive principles) of his school in a thoroughly…

  • catechetical school (education)

    catechetical school, in early Christianity, a type of educational institution with a curriculum directed toward inquirers (especially those trained in the Greek paideia, or educational system) whose aim was to gain a greater knowledge of Christianity and eventually, perhaps, baptism into the

  • catechism (religious manual)

    catechism, a manual of religious instruction usually arranged in the form of questions and answers used to instruct the young, to win converts, and to testify to the faith. Although many religions give instruction in the faith by means of oral questions and answers, the written catechism is

  • Catechism of Parliamentary Reform, A (work by Bentham)

    Jeremy Bentham: Mature works: …he had written a tract—A Catechism of Parliamentary Reform, which was, however, not published until 1817—advocating annual elections; equal electoral districts; a wide suffrage, including woman suffrage; and the secret ballot. He supported in principle the participation of women in government and argued for the reform of marriage law…

  • Catechism of the Catholic Church (religious manual)

    catechism: …Vatican issued a new universal Catechism of the Catholic Church that summarized the church’s doctrinal positions and teachings since the second Vatican Council (1962–65). The new catechism abandoned the question-and-answer form and used modern language in its prescriptions on faith, the sacraments, sin, and prayer.

  • catechol-O-methyltransferase (enzyme)

    antiparkinson drug: COMT and MAO-B inhibitors: COMT inhibitors, such as tolcapone and entacapone, block the enzymatic breakdown of dopamine by the catechol-O-methyltransferase enzyme. These drugs commonly are given in conjunction with the combination of levodopa and carbidopa, since they inhibit COMT degradation of levodopa in peripheral tissues, thereby increasing levodopa’s half-life…

  • catecholamine (chemical compound)

    catecholamine, any of various naturally occurring amines that function as neurotransmitters and hormones within the body. Catecholamines are characterized by a catechol group (a benzene ring with two hydroxyl groups) to which is attached an amine (nitrogen-containing) group. Among the

  • catechu (plant extract)

    Sir Humphry Davy: Early life: …study of tanning: he found catechu, the extract of a tropical plant, as effective as and cheaper than the usual oak extracts, and his published account was long used as a tanner’s guide. In 1803 he was admitted a fellow of the Royal Society and an honorary member of the…

  • catechumen (Christianity)

    catechumen, a person who receives instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized. According to the New Testament, the apostles instructed converts after baptism (Acts 2:41–42), and Christian instruction was evidently given to all converts (Luke 1:4, Acts 18:25, Galatians 6:6). As the

  • Catechumens, Liturgy of the (Christianity)

    Liturgy of the Catechumens, the instructional part of the Christian worship service, consisting of hymns, prayers, scriptural readings, and homilies, which precedes the Eucharist (i.e., the Liturgy of the Faithful). In the early church the catechumens, or hearers who had not yet been baptized, were

  • Catedral de Sevilla (cathedral, Sevilla, Spain)

    Catedral de Sevilla, cathedral in Sevilla, Spain, that, in addition to being the world’s third-largest church, is an excellent example of Gothic and Renaissance architecture and represents some seven centuries of history. Originally it was the site of a large mosque that was built in the 12th

  • Categoriae (work by Aristotle)

    history of logic: Aristotle: …but not chronological order, are:

  • categorical conclusion (logic)

    Venn diagram: …two categorical premises and a categorical conclusion. A common practice is to label the circles with capital (and, if necessary, also lowercase) letters corresponding to the subject term of the conclusion, the predicate term of the conclusion, and the middle term, which appears once in each premise. If, after both…

  • categorical imperative (philosophy)

    categorical imperative, in the ethics of the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, founder of critical philosophy, a rule of conduct that is unconditional or absolute for all agents, the validity or claim of which does not depend on any desire or end. “Thou shalt not steal,” for example,

  • categorical inference (reason)

    thought: Induction: In a categorical inference, one makes a judgment about whether something is, or is likely to be, a member of a certain category. For example, upon seeing an animal one has never seen before, a person with a limited knowledge of dogs may be confident that what…

  • categorical proposition (logic)

    categorical proposition, in syllogistic or traditional logic, a proposition or statement, in which the predicate is, without qualification, affirmed or denied of all or part of the subject. Thus, categorical propositions are of four basic forms: “Every S is P,” “No S is P,” “Some S is P,” and “Some

  • categorical syllogism (logic)

    syllogism: The traditional type is the categorical syllogism in which both premises and the conclusion are simple declarative statements that are constructed using only three simple terms between them, each term appearing twice (as a subject and as a predicate): “All men are mortal; no gods are mortal; therefore no men…