in textiles, a chemical treatment applied to cotton fibres or fabrics to permanently impart a greater affinity for dyes and various chemical finishes. Mercerizing also gives cotton cloth increased tensile ...
company of English merchants who engaged in trade with the Netherlands (and later with northwest Germany) from the early 15th century to 1806. The company, chartered in 1407, principally engaged ...
a European medieval association composed of traders interested in international commerce. The privileged fraternity formed by the merchants of Tiel in Gelderland (in present-day Netherlands) about 1020 is the first ...
the commercial ships of a nation, whether privately or publicly owned. The term merchant marine also denotes the personnel that operate such ships, as distinct from the personnel of naval ...
one of the major public (privately endowed) schools in England. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge, at the northwestern extreme of London. The school was founded (1561) ...
company of English merchants who controlled the export of English wool from the late 13th century through the 16th century. English wool exports were concentrated in one town (called the ...
(from Old English Merce, "People of the Marches [or Boundaries]"), one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England; it held a position of dominance for much of the period from the ...
one of the first French writers of drame bourgeois (middle-class drama). In Du theatre (1773; "About the Theatre"), he emphasized the didactic function of the theatre, and in his plays ...
German writer and critic who provided valuable guidance to the young writers of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") movement of the late 18th century.
South American regional economic organization. Mercosur grew out of earlier efforts to integrate the economies of Latin America through the Latin American Free Trade Association (1960) and its successor, the ...
any of the first series of manned space flights conducted by the United States (1961-63). The series began with a suborbital flight about three weeks after the Soviet cosmonaut Yury ...
chemical element, liquid metal of Group IIb, or the zinc group, of the periodic table. Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus and has been found in an ...
the innermost planet of the solar system and eighth in size and mass. Its closeness to the Sun and smallness make it the most elusive of the planets visible to ...
(genus Mercurialis), group of eight annual and perennial weedy flowering-plant species of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa but naturalized in North America. Herb mercury ...
in Roman religion, god of merchandise and merchants, commonly identified with the Greek Hermes (q.v.), fleet-footed messenger of the gods. His worship was introduced early, and his temple on the ...
harmful effects of various mercury compounds on body tissues and functions. Certain modern industrial and biological processes concentrate mercury compounds to dangerous levels. Mercury is used on a substantial scale ...
Austrian diplomat who, at the outset of the French Revolution, attempted to maintain the Austro-French alliance and to save the life of the Austrian-born French queen Marie-Antoinette.
Austrian field marshal and military governor of the Banat of Temesvar, one of the ablest commanders during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) and the Turkish wars of 1716-18.
Austrian and Bavarian field marshal during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), whose defense of Bavaria made him one of the most successful imperial commanders of his time.
(R.S.M.), Roman Catholic religious congregation founded in Dublin in 1831 by Catherine Elizabeth McAuley. By 1822 she had developed a program for instructing and training poor girls, distributing food and ...
English Victorian poet and novelist, whose novels are noted for their wit, brilliant dialogue, and aphoristic quality of language. Meredith's novels are also distinguished by psychological studies of character and ...
American civil rights activist who gained national renown at a key juncture in the civil rights movement in 1962, when he became the first African American student at the University ...
American middle-distance runner, a world-record holder in the 800-metre (1912-26), 440-yard (1916-31), and 880-yard (1912-26) races and as a team member in the 4 × 400-metre relay race (1912-24) and ...
couple dance originating in the Dominican Republic or Haiti and danced throughout Latin America. Originally, and still, a rural folk dance, and later a ballroom dance, the merengue is at ...
fourth king of the 6th dynasty (c. 2325-c. 2150 BC) in Egypt who extended the authority of one official over all Upper (southern) Egypt and encouraged intensive exploration and trade ...
branch of logic, founded by the 20th-century logician Stanislaw Lesniewski, that tries to clarify class expressions and theorizes on the relation between parts and wholes. It attempts to explain Bertrand ...
Russian poet, novelist, critic, and thinker who played an important role in the revival of religious-philosophical interests among the Russian intelligentsia.
any of several species of Mergus, long-bodied, more or less crested diving ducks; though essentially freshwater birds, they are classified with scoters and goldeneyes in the sea duck tribe, Mergini ...
corporate combination of two or more independent business corporations into a single enterprise, usually the absorption of one or more firms by a dominant one. A merger may be accomplished ...
town, extreme southeastern Myanmar (Burma). It occupies an offshore island in the Andaman Sea at the mouth of the Great Tenasserim River. Mergui is a busy port engaged in coastal ...
group of more than 200 islands in the Andaman Sea off the Tenasserim coast of extreme southeastern Myanmar (Burma). The island cluster begins with Mali Kyun (Tavoy Island) in the ...
American educator who, though highly critical of progressive education, was best known for his work in experimental schools and for his departure from traditional teaching methods.
city, capital of Merida state, western Venezuela. The city lies on a large alluvial terrace near the Rio Chama in the Cordillera de Merida; at an elevation of 5,384 ft ...
state, northwestern Venezuela. Except for a narrow neck extending northwestward to the shore of Lake Maracaibo, the territory of 4,400 square miles (11,300 square km) lies entirely within that portion ...
city, capital of Yucatan state, southeastern Mexico. It lies near the northwestern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, 23 miles (37 km) south of Progreso, its port on the Gulf of ...
city, coextensive with the town (township) of Meriden, New Haven county, central Connecticut, U.S. Meriden is situated on the Quinnipiac River with the Hanging Hills to the west. It was ...
imaginary north-south line on the Earth's surface that connects both geographic poles; it is used to indicate longitude. The 40th meridian, for example, has a longitude of 40° E or ...
city, seat of Lauderdale county, eastern Mississippi, U.S., lying 93 miles (150 km) east of Jackson. In 1854 the site was chosen as the junction of the Vicksburg and Montgomery ...
French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and master of the short story whose works-Romantic in theme but Classical and controlled in style-were a renewal of Classicism in a Romantic age.
German physician, physiologist, pharmacologist, and experimental pathologist. His discovery (with Oskar Minkowski) that removing the pancreas from dogs produces the symptoms of diabetes led to the discovery that insulin, synthesized ...
mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar that is used in confections and desserts. The invention of meringue in 1720 is attributed to a Swiss pastry cook named Gasparini. ...
breed of fine-wool sheep originating in Spain; it was known as early as the 12th century and may have been a Moorish importation. It was particularly well-adapted to semiarid climates ...
historic county of northwestern Wales, on Cardigan Bay north of the Dovey estuary. It extends from the coast along the Eden and Whion valleys into Snowdonia and the Berwyn mountains. ...
region of cells capable of division and growth in plants. Meristem cells are typically small cells the diameters of which in different directions are about equal. They have a dense ...
the only U.S. military decoration that has distinct ranks, and the first U.S. medal to be awarded to citizens of other nations. It is awarded for outstanding service, fidelity, and ...
U.S. civilian decoration established in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to award civilians of the United States and its allies for exceptionally meritorious service or courageous acts in the ...
British honorary institution founded by Edward VII in 1902 to reward those who provided especially eminent service in the armed forces or particularly distinguished themselves in science, art, literature, or ...
(Hebrew: "Chariot"), the throne, or "chariot," of God as described by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1); it became an object of visionary contemplation for early Jewish mystics. Merkava mysticism began ...
small falcon found at high latitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Adult males have slate-blue backs with finely streaked underparts; females and immature birds have brown backs; all have a tail ...
enchanter and wise man in Arthurian legend and romance of the Middle Ages, linked with personages in ancient Celtic mythology (especially with Myrddin in Welsh tradition). He appeared in Arthurian ...
democratic radical during the early years of the French Revolution who became one of the leading organizers of the conservative Thermidorian reaction that followed the collapse of the radical democratic ...
