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Fichte, Johann Gottlieb ... filbert
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb
German philosopher and patriot, one of the great transcendental idealists.
Fichtel Hills
mountains in northeastern Bavaria Land (state), southeastern Germany. They lie at the Czech border between the Franconian Forest in the northwest, the Ore Mountains (in German, Erzgebirge; ...
Ficino, Marsilio
Italian philosopher, theologian, and linguist whose translations and commentaries on the writings of Plato and other classical Greek authors generated the Florentine Platonist Renaissance that influenced European thought for two ...
Fick, August
German linguist, a pioneer in Indo-European etymological research who made the first comprehensive study of the common vocabulary of Indo-European languages and sought to determine their prototype.
fiction
literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, ...
Ficus
a group of about 900 species of trees, shrubs, and vines, commonly called figs. Native primarily to tropical areas of East Asia, they are distributed throughout the world's tropics. Many ...
fiddle
medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabab, an ...
fiddler crab
any of the approximately 65 species of the genus Uca (order Decapoda of the subphylum Crustacea). They are named "fiddler" because the male holds one claw, always much larger than ...
fidei commissum
in Roman law and civil-law systems, a gift of property to a person (usually by will), imposing upon that person the obligation to transfer it to a specified ultimate recipient, ...
fideism
a philosophical view extolling theological faith by making it the ultimate criterion of truth and minimizing the power of reason to know religious truths. Strict fideists assign no place to ...
Fidenza
town, Parma provincia, Emilia-Romagna regione, northern Italy. It is believed to have been the scene of St. Domninus' martyrdom under the Roman emperor Maximian and was called Borgo San Donnino ...
Fides
Roman goddess, the deification of good faith and honesty. Many of the oldest Roman deities were embodiments of high ideals (e.g., Honos, Libertas); it was the function of Fides to ...
fiduciary
in law, a person who occupies a position of such power and confidence with regard to the property of another that the law requires him to act solely in the ...
Fiedler, Arthur
maestro of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 seasons and the best-selling classical conductor of all time; his recordings with the Pops sold some 50,000,000 discs. (The Pops Orchestra is ...
Fiedler, Leslie A.
American literary critic who applied psychological (chiefly Freudian) and social theories to American literature.
fief
in European feudal society, a vassal's source of income, held from his lord in exchange for services. The fief constituted the central institution of feudal society (see feudalism). It normally ...
field archery
form of archery in which targets of different sizes or shapes are placed at varying distances in uneven, often wooded, terrain in an attempt to simulate hunting conditions. As an ...
field artillery
any large-calibre, crew-operated, mounted firearm designed for easy movement in the field. See artillery.
field emission
discharge of electrons from the surface of a material subjected to a strong electric field. In the absence of a strong electric field, an electron must acquire a certain minimum ...
field hockey
outdoor game played by two opposing teams of 11 players each who use sticks curved at the striking end to hit a small, hard ball into their opponent's goal. It ...
Field Museum of Natural History
museum in Chicago, Ill., established in 1893 as the Columbian Museum with a gift from Marshall Field (from whom it derived its present name in 1905). On his death in ...
field theory
in psychology, conceptual model of human behaviour developed by German American psychologist Kurt Lewin, who was closely allied with the Gestalt psychologists. Lewin's work went far beyond the orthodox Gestalt ...
field trial
any of the competitions among individual sporting dogs, under conditions that approximate or simulate those found in the hunting field. Competing dogs need not necessarily be of the same breed. ...
Field, Cyrus W
U.S. financier noted for the success of the first transatlantic cable. He was the younger brother of the law reformer David Dudley Field and of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen ...
Field, David Dudley
U.S. lawyer whose advocacy of law codification had international influence. The "Field Code" of civil procedure, enacted by New York state in 1848, was subsequently adopted in whole or in ...
Field, Eugene
U.S. poet and journalist, best known, to his disgust, as the "poet of childhood."
Field, John
Irish pianist and composer, whose nocturnes for piano were among models used by Chopin.
Field, Marshall
American department-store owner whose pioneering activities in retail merchandising were continued and extended into publishing by successive generations of his family.
Field, Nathan
one of the principal actors of England's Elizabethan stage.
Field, Stephen J
associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and chief architect of the constitutional approach that largely exempted the rapidly expanding industry of the United States from governmental regulation after the ...
Fielden, John
radical British reformer, a notable proponent of legislation protecting the welfare of factory workers.
Fielding, Henry
novelist and playwright, who, with Samuel Richardson, is considered a founder of the English novel. Among his major novels are Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749).
Fielding, Sir John
English police magistrate and the younger half brother of novelist Henry Fielding, noted for his efforts toward the suppression of professional crime and the establishment of reforms in London's administration ...
Fielding, William Stevens
journalist and statesman whose 19-year tenure as dominion finance minister was the longest in Canadian history.
Fields Medal
award granted to between two and four mathematicians for outstanding or seminal research. The Fields Medal is often referred to as the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize, but it ...
Fields, Dame Gracie
English music-hall comedienne.
Fields, Dorothy
American songwriter who collaborated with a number of Broadway's top composers during the heyday of American musical theatre, producing the lyrics for many classic shows.
Fields, James T
author and leading publisher in the United States.
Fields, W.C.
actor whose flawless timing and humorous cantankerousness made him one of America's greatest comedians. His real-life and screen personalities were often indistinguishable, and he is remembered for his distinctive nasal ...
Fiennes, Celia
English travel writer who journeyed on horseback all over England at the end of the 17th century, and whose journals are an invaluable source for social and economic historians.
Fieschi Family
a noble Genoese family whose members played an important role in Guelf (papal party) politics in medieval Italy. The Fieschi allied with the Angevin kings of Sicily and later with ...
Fieschi, Gian Luigi, Il Giovanne
(the Younger) Genoese nobleman, whose conspiracy against the Doria family is the subject of much literature. The Fieschi family (q.v.) was one of the greatest families of Liguria.
Fieschi, Giuseppe Maria
French republican conspirator who on July 28, 1835, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate King Louis-Philippe.
Fiesole
town and episcopal see of Florence provincia, Tuscany regione, north-central Italy. It is situated on a hill overlooking the Arno and Mugnone valleys just ...
Fiesta Bowl
annual American college gridiron football game held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. It is one of four bowls that take turns hosting the national championship game of college ...
Fife
council area and historic county of eastern Scotland, covering a peninsula bounded on the north by the Firth of Tay, on the east by the North Sea, on the south ...
fife
small transverse (side-blown) flute with six finger holes and a narrow cylindrical bore that produces a high pitch and shrill tone. The modern fife, pitched to the A♭ above middle ...
Fifinella
(foaled 1913), English racehorse (Thoroughbred) who in 1916 won the Derby, and two days later the Oaks; she was the last horse to win both events in one year.
fifth column
clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation's solidarity by any means at their disposal. The term is credited to Emilio Mola Vidal, a Nationalist ...
Fifth Monarchy Men
an extreme Puritan sect that came into prominence in England during the Commonwealth and Protectorate. They were so called from their belief that the time of the fifth monarchy was ...
fig
plant of the genus Ficus, of the mulberry family (Moraceae), especially Ficus carica, the common fig. Ficus carica, which yields the well-known figs of commerce, is indigenous to an area ...
fig wasp
any of about 900 species of tiny wasps responsible for pollinating the world's 900 species of figs (see Ficus). Each species of wasp pollinates only one species ...
Figaro
comic character, a barber turned valet, who is the hero of Le Barbier de Seville (1775; The Barber of Seville) and Le Mariage de Figaro (1784; The Marriage of Figaro), ...
Figaro, Le
morning daily newspaper published in Paris, one of the great newspapers of France and of the world.
Figes, Eva
English novelist, social critic, and translator who reacted against traditional realist literature by inventing new forms for her own works.
Figg, James
first recognized bare-knuckle boxing champion of England. Also an expert at wrestling, swordplay, and fighting with cudgels, he became prominent as a pugilist about 1719.
fighter aircraft
aircraft designed primarily to secure control of essential airspace by destroying enemy aircraft in combat. The opposition may consist of fighters of equal capability or of bombers carrying protective armament. ...
Fighting Harada
Japanese professional boxer, world flyweight and bantamweight champion.
Figner, Vera Nikolayevna
leader in the Russian Revolutionary Populist (Narodnik) movement.
Figueira da Foz
seaport and concelho (township), Coimbra distrito ("district"), west-central Portugal, at the mouth of the Mondego River on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Coimbra city. Little is known of its origin, ...
Figueiredo, Joao Baptista de Oliveira
four-star general and president of Brazil from 1979 to 1985.
Figueres Ferrer, Jose
moderate socialist Costa Rican statesman who served as president in 1948-49, 1953-58, and 1970-74.
Figuig
town, northeastern Morocco, located at the juncture of the Hauts ("High") Plateaux and the northwestern edge of the Sahara. It is an oasis town, surrounded on three sides by the ...
Figulus, Publius Nigidius
Roman savant and writer, next to Marcus Terentius Varro the most learned Roman of his age.
figure
in logic, the classification of syllogisms according to the arrangement of the middle term, namely, the term (subject or predicate of a proposition) that occurs in both premises but not ...
figure skating
sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform freestyle movements of jumps, spins, lifts, and footwork in a graceful manner. Its name derives from the patterns (or figures) ...
figurehead
ornamental symbol or figure formerly placed on some prominent part of a ship, usually at the bow. A figurehead could be a religious symbol, a national emblem, or a figure ...
figwort
(genus Scrophularia), any of about 200 species of coarse plants of the figwort or snapdragon family (Scrophulariaceae), native to open woodlands in the Northern Hemisphere. The common name refers to ...
Fiji
country and archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. It surrounds the Koro Sea about 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres) north of Auckland, N.Z. The archipelago consists of some 300 islands and ...
Fijian language
Melanesian language of the Eastern, or Oceanic, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family. In the late 20th century, it was spoken by about 366,000 persons on the islands of ...
filament lamp
variety of incandescent lamp (q.v.) in which the light source is a fine electrical conductor heated by the passage of current.
Filangieri, Carlo, Prince Di Satriano, Duke Di Taormina
general in command of the forces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) during the bloody suppression of the Sicilian revolution of 1848. He also served a brief term ...
Filarete
architect, sculptor, and writer, who is chiefly important for his Trattato d 'architettura ("Treatise on Architecture"), which described plans for an ideal Renaissance city.
filarial worm
any of a group of parasitic worms of the class Nematoda (phylum Aschelminthes) that usually require two hosts, an arthropod (the intermediate host) and another animal (the primary host), to ...
filariasis
a group of infectious disorders caused by threadlike nematodes of the superfamily Filarioidea, that invade the subcutaneous tissues and lymphatics of mammals, producing reactions varying from acute inflammation to chronic ...
filbert
any of about 15 species of shrubs and trees constituting the genus Corylus in the birch family (Betulaceae) and the edible nuts they produce. The former common name for the ...