Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Shop

0-9

Dendrocolaptidae ... Dera Ghazi Khan

Dendrocolaptidae: songbird family, order Passeriformes, consisting of a number of brownish birds of the forest or brushland and found from Mexico through South America. Representative members are the scythebill and the ...
Deneb: one of the brightest stars, with an apparent magnitude of 1.26. This star is, at about 1,400 light-years' distance, one of the most remote (thus one of the brightest intrinsically) ...
Deneuve, Catherine: French actress noted for her archetypal Gallic beauty as well as for her roles in films by some of the world's greatest directors.
Deng Xiaoping: Chinese communist leader, who was the most powerful figure in the People's Republic of China from the late 1970s until his death in 1997. He abandoned many orthodox communist doctrines ...
Deng Yaping: Chinese table tennis player, who won six world championships and four Olympic championships between 1989 and 1997. She is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of ...
Deng Yingchao: Chinese politician, a revolutionary hard-liner who became a high-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the death of her husband, Premier Zhou Enlai, in 1976.
dengue: acute, infectious, mosquito-borne hemorrhagic fever that temporarily is completely incapacitating but is rarely fatal. Besides fever, the disease is characterized by an extreme pain in and stiffness of the joints ...
Denham, Dixon: English soldier who became one of the early explorers of western Africa.
Denham, Sir James Steuart, 4th Baronet: Scottish economist who was the leading expositor of mercantilist views.
Denham, Sir John: poet who established as a new English genre the leisurely meditative poem describing a particular landscape.
Denikin, Anton Ivanovich: general who led the anti-Bolshevik ("White") forces on the southern front during the Russian Civil War (1918-20).
Deniliquin: chief town of the fertile southern Riverina region, south-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Edward River (a branch of the Murray), 22 miles (35 km) from the Victoria border. ...
denim: durable twill-woven fabric with coloured (usually blue) warp and white filling threads; it is also woven in coloured stripes. The name is said to have originated in the French serge ...
Denis, Maurice: French painter, one of the leading artists and theoreticians of the Symbolist movement.
Denis, Saint: allegedly first bishop of Paris, a martyr and a patron saint of France.
Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts: dance school and company founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and her husband, Ted Shawn. Considered a fountainhead of American modern dance, the Denishawn organization systematically promoted nonballetic dance ...
Denison: city, Grayson county, north-central Texas, U.S., situated near the Oklahoma border, 73 miles (117 km) north of Dallas. The city of Sherman lies to the south and Lake Texoma, impounded ...
Denison University: private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Granville, Ohio, U.S. It offers an undergraduate curriculum in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and fine arts. Many students participate in off-campus study ...
denitrifying bacteria: microorganisms whose action results in the conversion of nitrates in soil to free atmospheric nitrogen, thus depleting soil fertility and reducing agricultural productivity. Thiobacillus denitrificans, Micrococcus denitrificans, and some species ...
Denizli: city, southwestern Turkey. It lies near a tributary of the Menderes River. Set among the gardens at the foot of Mount Gokbel (7,572 feet [2,308 m]), Denizli inherited the economic ...
Denkyera: major 17th-century kingdom of the southern Akan peoples, situated in the forested hinterland of modern Ghana's southwestern coast. According to tradition, its kings migrated from the area of the northern ...
Denmark: country occupying the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northward from the centre of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. ...
Denmark Strait: channel partially within the Arctic Circle, lying between Greenland (west) and Iceland (east). About 180 miles (290 km) wide at its narrowest point, the strait extends southward for 300 miles ...
Denmark's Aquarium: largest aquarium in Denmark, located in Charlottenlund, outside of Copenhagen. It is noted for its collection of unusual fishes. Included among the more than 3,000 specimens of nearly 200 species ...
Denner, Johann Christoph: German maker of musical instruments and inventor of the clarinet.
Dennett, Mary Coffin Ware: American reformer, best remembered for her activism in support of the ready and free availability of birth control and sex education.
Dennie, Joseph: essayist and editor who was a major literary figure in the United States in the early 19th century.
Dennis: town (township), Barnstable county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It extends across Cape Cod and includes the villages of Dennis, Dennis Port (Dennisport), East Dennis, South Dennis, and West Dennis. Settled in ...
Dennis, Eugene: American Communist Party leader and labour organizer. He was general secretary of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) from 1945 to 1957 and national chairman during ...
Dennis, John: English critic and dramatist whose insistence upon the importance of passion in poetry led to a long quarrel with Alexander Pope.
Dennis, Nigel: English writer and critic who used absurd plots and witty repartee to satirize psychiatry, religion, and social behaviour, most notably in his novel Cards of Identity (1955).
Dennison, Aaron Lufkin: watch manufacturer who was among the first to adapt the concept of interchangeable parts to the production of pocket watches. He is generally credited with being the father of American ...
Denon, Dominique Vivant, Baron: French artist, archaeologist, and museum official who played an important role in the development of the Louvre collection.
Denpasar: city, capital of Bali provinsi (province), south-central Bali, Indonesia, 40 miles (70 km) south of Singaraja. The largest city on the island of Bali, it is also ...
densitometer: device that measures the density, or the degree of darkening, of a photographic film or plate by recording photometrically its transparency (fraction of incident light transmitted). In visual methods, two ...
density: mass of a unit volume of a material substance, expressed as kilograms per cubic metre in MKS or SI units; the densities of common solids, liquids, and gases are listed ...
density current: any current in either a liquid or a gas that is kept in motion by the force of gravity acting on small differences in density. A density difference can exist ...
Densmore, Frances: ethnologist, foremost American authority of her time on the songs and music of American Indian tribes, and widely published author on Indian culture and life-styles.
Densusianu, Ovid: folklorist, philologist, and poet who introduced trends of European modernism into Romanian literature.
Dent, Edward John: English clockmaker noted for his highly accurate clocks and chronometers.
dental auxiliary: person qualified by training and experience to perform dental work under the direction and supervision of a dentist. Some of these auxiliary persons work directly for the dentist in his ...
Dentatus, Manius Curius: Roman general, conqueror of the Samnites and victor against Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.
denticle: part of a conodont, a small toothlike fossil found in marine rocks representative of a long span of geologic time. Although they resemble cusps, denticles are generally smaller than distinct ...
dentine: in anatomy, the yellowish tissue that makes up the bulk of all teeth. It is harder than bone but softer than enamel and consists mainly of apatite crystals of calcium ...
dentistry: the profession concerned with the prevention and treatment of oral disease, particularly disease of the teeth and supporting tissues. In addition to general practice, dentistry includes many specialties and subspecialties, ...
Denton: city, seat (1857) of Denton county, northern Texas, U.S. Denton is situated about 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth. Permanently settled in 1857 and named for John B. ...
denture: artificial replacement for one or more missing teeth and adjacent gum tissues. A complete denture replaces all the teeth of the upper or lower jaw. Partial dentures are commonly used ...
Denver: city and county, capital of Colorado, U.S., at the western edge of the Great Plains, just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The city and county were ...
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company: former American railroad chartered in 1870 as the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG). It began with a narrow-gauge line extending from Denver, Colorado, south to New Mexico and west ...
Denver, University of: private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Denver, Colorado, U.S. Though the university is supported by the United Methodist Church, it maintains a nonsectarian approach to education. It is known ...
Deo Van Tri: fiercely independent tribal chief of Tai peoples in the Black River region of Tonkin (now northern Vietnam) who created a semiautonomous feudal kingdom and coexisted with the French, who ruled ...
Deoband school: ("House of Learning"), the leading Muslim theological centre (madrasah) of India. It was founded in 1867 by Muhammad 'Abid Husayn in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The theological position ...
Deoghar: town, northeastern Bihar state, northeastern India. It is a major rail and road junction and agricultural trade centre. An ancient town, it is famous for its group of 22 temples ...
deontological ethics: in philosophy, ethical theories that place special emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. Deontology (Greek deon, "duty," and logos, "science") consequently focuses on logic ...
Deor: Old English heroic poem of 42 lines, one of the two surviving Old English poems to have a refrain. (The other is the fragmentary "Wulf and Eadwacer.") It is the ...
Deorai, Battle of: (April 12-14, 1659), victory of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb that confirmed his possession of the throne. It was fought at Deorai, in northeastern India, between Aurangzeb and his brother and ...
Deoria: town, eastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, about 32 miles (50 km) southeast of Gorakhpur. On a major rail line to Bihar state, it is an agricultural trade centre. Its ...
Deosai Mountains: range in the Himalayan mountain system in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The mountains are located in the Pakistani-held sector of the west-central part of the state of ...
deoxyribose: five-carbon sugar component of DNA (q.v.; deoxyribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate groups to form the "backbone" of the DNA polymer and binds to nitrogenous bases. The presence of ...
Depardieu, Gerard: French motion-picture actor noted for his versatility and for his unusual combination of gentleness and physicality.
departement: largest unit of local government in France and in some former French colonies. The departements were originally created in 1790. Each departement is governed by an elected general council, which ...
department store: retail establishment that sells a wide variety of goods. These usually include ready-to-wear apparel and accessories for adults and children, yard goods and household textiles, small household wares, furniture, electrical ...
DePaul University: private, coeducational university in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It is the largest Roman Catholic university in the United States. DePaul was founded as St. Vincent's College in 1898 by the Vincentian ...
DePauw University: private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Greencastle, Ind., U.S., 40 miles (64 km) west of Indianapolis. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Strictly an undergraduate university, DePauw ...
depersonalization: in psychology, a state in which an individual feels that either he himself or the outside world is unreal. In addition to a sense of unreality, depersonalization may involve the ...
Depew, Chauncey Mitchell: U.S. railroad lawyer and politician who is best remembered as an orator, a wit, and an after-dinner speaker.
depletion allowance: in corporate income tax, the deductions from gross income allowed investors in exhaustible mineral deposits (including oil or gas) for the depletion of the deposits. The theory behind the allowance ...
deportation: expulsion by executive agency of an alien whose presence in a country is deemed unlawful or detrimental. Deportation has often had a broader meaning, including exile, banishment, and the transportation ...
depreciation: in accounting, the allocation of the cost of an asset over its economic life. Depreciation covers deterioration from use, age, and exposure to the elements. It also includes obsolescence-i.e., loss ...
depressant: in medicine, a drug or other agent that slows the activity of vital organs of the body. Depressants acting on the central nervous system include general anesthetics, opiates, alcohol, and ...
depression: in psychology, a mood or emotional state that is marked by sadness, inactivity, and a reduced ability to enjoy life. A person who is depressed usually experiences one or more ...
depression: in economics, major downswing in the business cycle (q.v.) that is characterized by sharply reduced industrial production, widespread unemployment, serious declines or cessations of growth in construction activity, and great ...
Depretis, Agostino: Italian statesman, a leftist figure in the Risorgimento who later served three times as premier of Italy. He provided a fairly stable government by the tactics of trasformismo, which brought ...
depth charge: a type of weapon that is used by surface ships or aircraft to attack submerged submarines. The first depth charges were developed by the British in World War I for ...
depth finder: device used on ships to determine the depth of water by measuring the time it takes a sound (sonic pulse) produced just below the water surface to return, or echo, ...
Dera Ghazi Khan: town, Punjab province, central Pakistan, in the floodplain of the Indus River. The town was founded by Ghazi Khan, son of a Balochi chieftain and vassal of the Langah sultans ...