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Severus Alexander ... Sha'rani, ash-

Severus Alexander: Roman emperor from AD 222 to 235, whose weak rule collapsed in the civil strife that engulfed the empire for the next 50 years. His maternal grandmother, Julia Maesa, was ...
Severus Of Antioch: Greek monk-theologian and patriarch of Antioch who was a leader of the monophysites. Severus inspired this sect's ascendancy during the reigns of the Byzantine emperors Anastasius I (491-518) and Justinian ...
Severus, Flavius Valerius: Roman emperor in 306 and 307.
Severus, Septimius: Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He founded a personal dynasty and converted the government into a military monarchy. His reign marks a critical stage in the development of the ...
Sevier Lake: body of water in Millard county, western Utah, U.S. The lake is about 25 miles (40 km) long and up to 7 miles (11 km) wide. Located in the Pahvant ...
Sevier River: the longest river entirely within the state of Utah, U.S. The Sevier flows about 325 miles (523 km) along a horseshoe-shaped course north from Kane county, central Utah, turning west ...
Sevier, John: American frontiersman, soldier, and first governor of the state of Tennessee.
Sevigne, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de: French writer whose letters stand as an epoch-making model for the epistolary genre.
Sevilla: city and capital of the provincia of Sevilla, in the Andalusia comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of southern Spain. Sevilla lies on the left (east) ...
Sevilla: provincia, one of eight provincias forming the comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of Andalusia, southwestern Spain. The provincia comprises ...
Sevilla: city, Cauca departamento, western Colombia, on an abutment of the Cordillera Central. Founded as San Luis in 1903 by Heraclio Uribe Uribe, the city was renamed for ...
Sevilla, University of: Spanish coeducational state institution of higher learning at Sevilla, with branches at Cadiz and Huelva. Although its origin is unclear, the school may have begun as early as 1254 under ...
Sevket Pasa, Mahmud: Ottoman soldier and statesman who, in 1909, suppressed a religious uprising, forced the subsequent deposition of Sultan Abdulhamid II, and served as grand vizier (chief minister) in 1913.
Sevres: city, Hauts-de-Seine departement, Paris region, France. Sevres is a southwestern residential suburb of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine River where it loops north around the Bois de ...
Sevres porcelain: French hard-paste, or true, porcelain as well as soft-paste porcelain (a porcellaneous material rather than true porcelain) made at the royal factory (now the national porcelain factory) of Sevres, near ...
Sevres, Treaty of: (Aug. 10, 1920), post-World War I pact between the victorious Allied powers and representatives of the government of Ottoman Turkey. The treaty abolished the Ottoman Empire and obliged Turkey to ...
Sewa River: river, the most important commercial stream in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Formed by the junction of the Bagbe and Bafi rivers, which rise in the northeastern part of the country ...
sewage system: the collection pipes and mains, treatment works, and discharge lines for the wastewater of a community.
Sewall, May Eliza Wright: American educator and reformer, best remembered for her work in connection with woman suffrage and with women's organizations worldwide.
Sewall, Samuel: British-American colonial merchant and a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials, best remembered for his Diary (Massachusetts Historical Society; 3 vol., 1878-82), which provides a rewarding insight into the mind ...
Seward: city, southern Alaska, U.S. Situated on the Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Resurrection Bay, it lies (by highway) 125 miles (200 km) south of Anchorage. Settlers first came into ...
Seward Peninsula: peninsula in western Alaska, U.S. It is situated between Kotzebue Sound (north) and Norton Sound (south). The peninsula, which covers about 20,600 square miles (53,400 square km), is about 180 ...
Seward, Anna: English poet and author of a sentimental and poetical novel, Louisa (1784); she was popular in her day because of her rarity value as a woman poet and for her ...
Seward, William H: U.S. politician, an antislavery activist in the Whig and Republican parties before the American Civil War and secretary of state from 1861 to 1869. He is also remembered for the ...
Sewell, Anna: British author of the children's classic Black Beauty.
Sewell, Henry: British colonizer and politician who served as the first premier of New Zealand (1856) after the colony had been granted responsible government.
sewing machine: any of various machines for stitching material (such as cloth or leather), usually having a needle and shuttle to carry thread and powered by treadle, waterpower, or electricity. It was ...
sex: the sum of features by which members of species can be divided into two groups-male and female-that complement each other reproductively.
sex chromosome: either of a pair of chromosomes that determine whether an individual is male or female. The sex chromosomes of human beings and other mammals are designated by scientists as X ...
sex hormone: a chemical substance produced by a sex gland or other organ that has an effect on the sexual features of an organism. Like many other kinds of hormones, sex hormones ...
Sex Pistols, the: rock group who created the British punk movement of the late 1970s and who, with the song "God Save the Queen," became a symbol of the United Kingdom's social and ...
sex therapy: form of behaviour modification or psychotherapy directed specifically at difficulties in sexual interaction. Many sex therapists use techniques developed in the 1960s by the Americans William Masters and Virginia Johnson ...
sextant: instrument for determining the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the Sun, the Moon, or a star, used in celestial navigation to determine latitude and longitude. ...
sexton: church custodian charged with keeping the church and parish buildings prepared for meetings, caring for church equipment, and performing related minor duties such as ringing the bell and digging graves. ...
Sexton, Anne: American poet whose work is noted for its confessional intensity.
Sextus Empiricus: ancient Greek philosopher-historian who produced the only extant comprehensive account of Greek Skepticism in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism and Against the Dogmatists.
sexual behaviour, human: any activity-solitary, between two persons, or in a group-that induces sexual arousal. There are two major determinants of human sexual behaviour: the inherited sexual response patterns that have evolved as ...
sexual dysfunction: the inability of a person to experience sexual arousal or to achieve sexual satisfaction under appropriate circumstances, as a result of either physical disorder or, more commonly, psychological problems. The ...
sexual intercourse: reproductive act in which the male reproductive organ (in humans and other higher animals) enters the female reproductive tract. If the reproductive act is complete, sperm cells are passed from ...
sexual-predator law: statute that mandates lengthy periods of preventive detention for habitual sexual offenders and sexual psychopaths beyond their criminal sentences. Sexual-predator laws became popular in the United States in the 1990s, ...
sexuality: the quality or state of being sexual. See sex.
sexually transmitted disease: any disease (such as syphilis, gonorrhea, AIDS, or a genital form of herpes simplex) that is usually or often transmitted from person to person by direct sexual contact. It may ...
Seybouse, Wadi: river of northeastern Algeria, rising as the Wadi Cherf at the eastern edge of the Setif plains just east of Ain Beida. Meandering north to Guelma, the river turns abruptly ...
Seychelles: island republic in the western Indian Ocean, consisting of about 115 islands. Situated between latitude 4° and 11° S and longitude 46° and 56° E, the major islands of Seychelles ...
Seychelles-Mauritius Plateau: submarine plateau, made up of a very shallow, extensive ridge in the Indian Ocean that forms a crescent through the Seychelles and Amirante islands. The ridge extends from latitude 4° ...
Seydlitz, Friedrich Wilhelm, Baron von: Prussian cavalry commander who contributed greatly to Frederick II the Great's victories during the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and made the Prussian cavalry into a force superior to any of ...
Seyfeddin, Omer: short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest modern Turkish authors.
Seyfert galaxy: any of a class of galaxies known to have active nuclei. Such galaxies were named for the American astronomer Carl K. Seyfert, who first called attention to them in 1944. ...
Seyfried, Ignaz Xaver, Ritter von: (knight of) Austrian musician who composed more than 100 stage works and much instrumental and church music that was extremely popular in his own time, although it is almost entirely ...
Seyhi, Sinan: poet who was one of the most important figures in early Ottoman literature.
Seylac: town and port, extreme northwest Somalia, on the Gulf of Aden. From the 9th century to the end of the 19th, it was the most important Arab settlement on the ...
Seymour: town (township), New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies along the Naugatuck River near New Haven. The area was settled about 1678 as part of Derby on land purchased ...
Seymour: town, central Victoria, Australia, on the Goulburn River. Founded in 1837 and proclaimed a town in 1841, it was named after Edward Adolphus Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset and first ...
Seymour Island: island in the Weddell Sea, lying off the coast of and near the northern tip of Graham Land (Antarctic Peninsula). Seymour Island is 13 miles (21 km) long and from ...
Seymour, David: Polish-born American photojournalist who is best known for his empathetic pictures of people, especially children.
Seymour, Horatio: governor of New York and Democratic candidate for president in 1868.
Seymour, Lynn: Canadian prima ballerina.
Seymour, Thomas Seymour, Baron: lord high admiral of England from 1547 to 1549. His political intrigues led to his execution for treason and thereby contributed to the downfall in 1549 of his elder brother, ...
Seymouria: extinct genus of advanced amphibians found as fossils in Permian rocks (245 to 286 million years old) in North America and named for fossil deposits near Seymour, Texas. Seymouria had ...
Seyne-sur-Mer, La: town, southwestern suburb of Toulon, Var departement, Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur region, southeastern France. La Seyne is a shipbuilding centre manufacturing specialized vessels such as container ships and liquid natural gas carriers. It ...
Seyrig, Delphine: French actress celebrated for her mysterious beauty and distinctive characterizations.
Seyss-Inquart, Arthur: Austrian Nazi leader who was chancellor of Austria during the Anschluss (annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938).
Sfantu Gheorghe: town, capital of Covasna judet (county), east-central Romania, on the Olt River. Occupied in the Middle Ages by Szekler settlers brought in to guard the eastern frontier of Transylvania, the ...
Sforza Family: Italian family, first named Attendoli, that produced two famous soldiers of fortune and founded a dynasty that ruled Milan for almost a century.
Sforza, Carlo, Conte: Italian diplomat and statesman, an exile during the Fascist era, who became a major figure in post-World War II foreign affairs.
Sforza, Francesco: condottiere who played a crucial role in 15th-century Italian politics and, as duke of Milan, founded a dynasty that ruled for nearly a century.
Sforza, Ludovico: Italian Renaissance regent (1480-94) and duke of Milan (1494-98), a ruthless prince and diplomatist and a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists.
Sforza, Muzio Attendolo: soldier of fortune who played an important role in the wars of his period and whose son Francesco became duke of Milan.
Sforzesco Castle: in Milan, castle built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza and now home of a fine art collection. Collections of the Castello Sforzesco include those of the Museum of ...
sfumato: (from Italian sfumare, "to tone down," or "to evaporate like smoke"), in painting or drawing, term designating fine shading that produces soft, imperceptible transitions between colours and tones. It is ...
Sgambati, Giovanni: pianist, conductor, and composer who promoted a revival of instrumental and symphonic music in Italy during the second half of the 19th century.
SGI: American manufacturer of high-performance computer workstations, supercomputers, and advanced graphics software with headquarters in Mountain View, California.
sgraffito: (Italian: "scratched"), in the visual arts, a technique used in painting, pottery, and glass, which consists of putting down a preliminary surface, covering it with another, and then scratching the ...
sha'ir: (Arabic: "poet"), in Arabic literature, poet who in pre-Islamic times was a tribal dignitary whose poetic utterances were deemed supernaturally inspired by such spirits as jinn and shaitans. As such, ...
Sha'nabi, Mount Ash-: mountain (5,066 feet [1,544 m]) that is the highest in Tunisia. It is part of a spur of the Tebessa (Tabassah) Mountains, which are part of the Saharan Atlas Mountains. ...
Sha'rani, ash-: Egyptian scholar and mystic who founded an Islamic order of Sufism.