Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Shop

0-9

Deuterostomia ... Dezhnyov, Semyon Ivanov

Deuterostomia: (Greek: "second mouth"), group of animals-including those of the phyla Echinodermata (e.g., starfish, sea urchins), Chordata (e.g., vertebrates), Chaetognatha (e.g., arrowworms), and Brachiopoda (e.g., lamp shells)-classified together on the basis ...
Deutsch, Babette: American poet, critic, translator, and novelist whose volumes of literary criticism, Poetry in Our Time (1952) and Poetry Handbook (1957), were standard English texts in American universities for many years.
Deutsche Bahn AG: the railway system of Germany created in 1994 by the merger of the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway), the state rail system in the former West Germany, with the Deutsche ...
Deutsche Bank AG: German banking house founded in 1870 in Berlin and headquartered since 1957 in Frankfurt am Main. One of the world's largest banks, it has a number of foreign offices and ...
Deutsche Bibliothek, Die: the national library of Germany. It was created by the merger (1990) of the Deutsche Bibliothek (founded 1947) in Frankfurt am Main and the Deutsche Bucherei (1912) in Leipzig, which ...
deutsche Blumen: in pottery, floral decoration consisting of naturalistically painted "German" (i.e., European) flowers appearing individually or in bouquets. Although Viennese potters had produced a type of naturalistic floral decoration about 1730, ...
Deutscher Werkbund: the first organization of artists influential in its attempts to inspire good design and craftsmanship for mass-produced goods and architecture. The Werkbund, which was founded in Munich in 1907, was ...
Deutsches Museum: museum of science and industry established in Munich in 1903 and opened in 1925. Its pattern of organization and administration became the model for such later foundations as the Museum ...
Deutsches Theater: private dramatic society founded in Berlin in 1883 by the dramatist Adolf L'Arronge in reaction to outmoded theatrical traditions. It presented plays in the ensemble style of the influential Meiningen ...
Deutsches Worterbuch: the first German dictionary conceived on scientific lines; initiated by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The dictionary was designed to give the etymology and history, illustrated by quotations, of all the ...
Deutschlandlied: ("Germany, Germany above all"), national anthem of Germany from 1922 to 1945, of West Germany from 1950 to 1990, and of unified Germany from 1990. The verses were written in ...
Deva: city, capital of Hunedoara judet (county), west-central Romania, on the banks of the Mures River, at an elevation of 590 feet (180 m). The town is dominated by Citadel Hill ...
deva: in Vedic India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature into sky, air, and earth divinities (e.g., Varuna, Indra, ...
Devadasi: (Sanskrit: Handmaiden of the God), caste of women connected originally with great temples in southern India, where they dedicated themselves to the service of each temple's patron god.
Devadatta: Buddhist monk who sought to reform the sangha (the Buddhist monastic community) by imposing upon it a stricter code of life. He was a cousin of the Buddha.
devaluation: reduction in the exchange value of a country's monetary unit in terms of gold, silver, or foreign monetary units. Devaluation is employed to eliminate persistent balance-of-payments deficits. For example, a ...
Devanagari: Indian script used to write the Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, and Marathi languages, developed from the North Indian monumental script known as Gupta and ultimately from the Brahmi alphabet, from which ...
devaraja: in ancient Cambodia, the cult of the "god-king" established early in the 9th century AD by Jayavarman II, founder of the Khmer empire of Angkor. For centuries, the cult provided ...
Devawongse Varoprakar, Prince: foreign minister of Siam from 1885 to 1923, whose policies enabled the kingdom to survive as an independent state.
development: in biology, the progressive changes in size, shape, and function during the life of an organism by which its genetic potentials (genotype) are translated into functioning adult systems (phenotype).
development bank: national or regional financial institution designed to provide medium- and long-term capital for productive investment, often accompanied by technical assistance, in poor countries.
developmental psychology: the branch of psychology concerned with the changes in cognitive, motivational, psychophysiological, and social functioning that occur throughout the human life span. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, developmental ...
Deventer: gemeente (commune), Overijssel provincie, east-central Netherlands, on the IJssel River at the west end of the Overijssel Canal. Deventer developed in the 8th century around a chapel established by St. ...
Deventer, Conrad Theodor van: Dutch jurist and statesman whose pamphlet Een eereschuld ("A Debt of Honour") and ideas had a profound influence on the development of the colonial Ethical Policy in the Dutch East ...
devequt: (Hebrew: "attachment"), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to ...
Devers, Gail: American track athlete who overcame physical adversity to win Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996.
Devers, Jacob L.: U.S. general during World War II, whose 6th Army Group successfully penetrated German-held positions in central Europe and helped wrest the mainland from Nazi control.
Devey, George: British architect who influenced nonacademic architects in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
devil: (from Greek diabolos, "slanderer," or "accuser"), the spirit or power of evil. Though sometimes used for minor demonic spirits, the word devil generally refers to the prince of evil spirits ...
devil ray: any of several genera of marine rays comprising the family Mobulidae (class Selachii). Flattened, and wider than they are long, devil rays have fleshy, enlarged pectoral fins that look like ...
devil's advocate: in the Roman Catholic church, the promoter of the faith, who critically examines the life of and miracles attributed to an individual proposed for beatification or canonization. He is popularly ...
Deville, Edouard Gaston: French-born Canadian surveyor of Canadian lands (1875-1924) who perfected the first practical method of photogrammetry, or the making of maps based on photography.
Devils Island: rocky islet off the Atlantic coast of French Guiana. The smallest of the three Iles du Salut, about 10 miles (16 km) from the mainland and the Kourou River mouth, ...
Devils Lake: city, seat (1883) of Ramsey county, northeast-central North Dakota, U.S. It lies about 90 miles (145 km) west of Grand Forks.
Devils Postpile National Monument: scenic area in Madera county, east-central California, U.S. It is situated in Inyo National Forest on the Middle Fork San Joaquin River, about 12 miles (20 km) southeast of Yosemite ...
Devils Tower National Monument: the first U.S. national monument, established in 1906 in northeastern Wyoming, near the Belle Fourche River. It encompasses 2.1 square miles (5.4 square km) and features a natural rock tower, ...
devitrification: process by which glassy substances change their structure into that of crystalline solids. Most glasses are silicates in which the atomic structure does not have the repetitive arrangement required for ...
Devizes: town ("parish"), Kennet district, administrative and historical county of Wiltshire, England. It lies along the disused Kennet and Avon Canal, at the edge of Roundway Down. It was the site ...
Devo: American new-wave band from Akron, Ohio, that took its name from devolution, the theory of mankind's regression that informed the band's music and stage act. The band members were Mark ...
Devolution, War of: (1667-68), conflict between France and Spain over possession of the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium).
Devon: administrative, geographic, and historic county of England, forming part of the Southwest Peninsula of Great Britain and bounded on the west by Cornwall and on the east by Dorset and ...
Devonian Period: interval of the Paleozoic Era that follows the Silurian and precedes the Carboniferous. It is thought to have covered the span of time between about 408 and 360 million years ...
Devonport: town, northern Tasmania, Australia. It lies near the mouth of the River Mersey, which empties into Bass Strait. One of the state's largest communities, it was formed through the amalgamation ...
Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th duke of, marquess of Hartington, earl of Devonshire, Baron Cavendish of Hardwick: British statesman whose opposition to the Irish Home Rule policy of his own Liberal Party caused him to assume (1886) the leadership of the Liberal Unionist Party and to become ...
Devonshire, William Cavendish, 1st Duke of, Marquess Of Hartington, Earl Of Devonshire, Baron Cavendish Of Hardwick: a leader of the parliamentary movement that sought to exclude the Roman Catholic James, duke of York (afterward James II), from succession to the British throne and that later invited ...
Devonshire, William Cavendish, 1st Earl of, Baron Cavendish Of Hardwick: first of the long line of Devonshire peers.
Devonshire, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of, Marquess Of Hartington, Earl Of Devonshire, Baron Cavendish Of Hardwick: prime minister of Great Britain from November 1756 to May 1757, at the start of the Seven Years' War.
devotio moderna: religious movement within Roman Catholicism from the end of the 14th to the 16th century stressing meditation and the inner life, attaching little importance to ritual and external works, and ...
Devrient, Eduard: actor, director, manager, translator of Shakespeare into German, and author of the first detailed account of the development of the German theatre, Geschichte der deutschen Schauspielkunst (1848; "History of German ...
Devrient, Emil: German actor of the 19th century who gained prominence in youthful heroic parts.
Devrient, Karl August: German actor who achieved popularity in heroic and character roles such as the title roles of Friedrich von Schiller's Wallenstein, Goethe's Faust, and Shakespeare's King Lear.
Devrient, Ludwig: greatest and most original actor of the Romantic period in Germany, whose temperament, characterizations, and life invite comparison with his English contemporary Edmund Kean. Devrient's characterizations conformed to no existing ...
Devrient, Max: German actor who excelled in tragic roles, particularly in the plays of Goethe, Schiller, and Shakespeare, but who was also much admired in comedy, especially as Petruchio in Shakespeare's The ...
Devrient, Otto: German actor, director, producer, and playwright.
dew: deposit of waterdrops formed at night by the condensation of water vapour from the air onto the surfaces of objects freely exposed to the sky (see ). It forms on ...
Dewantoro, Ki Hadjar: original name Raden Mas (Lord) Suwardi Surjaningrat founder of the Taman Siswa (literally "Garden of Students") school system, an influential and widespread network of schools that encouraged modernization but also ...
Dewar, Sir James: British chemist and physicist whose study of low-temperature phenomena entailed the use of a double-walled vacuum flask of his own design which has been named for him.
Dewas: city, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is located on the Malwa Plateau at the foot of the conical Chamunda Hill, which rises to a Devivasini shrine. Jaina and ...
dewberry: any blackberry of the genus Rubus (family Rosaceae) so lacking woody fibre in the stems that it trails along the ground. In the eastern and southern United States, several trailing ...
Dewey Decimal Classification: system for organizing the contents of a library based on the division of all knowledge into 10 groups, with each group assigned 100 numbers. The 10 main groups are: 000-099, ...
Dewey, George: U.S. naval commander who defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War (1898).
Dewey, John: American philosopher and educator who was one of the founders of the philosophical school of pragmatism, a pioneer in functional psychology, and a leader of the progressive movement in education ...
Dewey, Melvil: American librarian who devised the Dewey Decimal Classification for library cataloging and, probably more than any other individual, was responsible for the development of library science in the United States.
Dewey, Thomas E.: vigorous U.S. prosecuting attorney whose successful racket-busting career won him three terms as governor of New York (1943-55). A long-time Republican leader, he was his party's presidential nominee in 1944 ...
Dewhurst, Colleen: American actress who was the leading Broadway interpreter of the plays of Eugene O'Neill in the second half of the 20th century.
DeWitt, Lydia Maria Adams: nee Adams American experimental pathologist and investigator of the chemotherapy of tuberculosis.
Dewsbury: town in Kirklees metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. It lies along the River Calder 9 miles (14 km) south-southwest of Leeds. Dewsbury (which ...
Dewson, Mary Williams: American economist and political organizer, closely associated with the political campaigns and administrative programs of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Dexippus, Publius Herennius: Roman historian and Athenian statesman, one of the principal authorities for the history of the mid-3rd century AD.
Dexter, John: British director of stage plays and operas.
dextromethorphan: synthetic drug related to morphine and used in medicine as a cough suppressant. The hydrobromide salt of dextromethorphan occurs as white crystals or a white crystalline powder, soluble in water, ...
dey: in the Ottoman provinces of Algiers and Tunis, an honorary title conferred upon exceptionally able corsair leaders; also, a lower rank of officer in the Janissaries. In late 16th-century Tunis, ...
Deyssel, Lodewijk van: leading Dutch writer and critic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Dezful: city, southwestern Iran. It lies on the high left bank of the Dez River, 469 feet (143 metres) in elevation, close to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. The name, ...
Dezhnyov, Cape: cape, extreme eastern Russia. Cape Dezhnyov is the easternmost point of the Chukchi Peninsula and of the entire Eurasian landmass. It is separated from Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska ...
Dezhnyov, Semyon Ivanov: Russian explorer, the first European known to have sailed through the Bering Strait.