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Ustasa: Croatian fascist movement that nominally ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. In 1929, when King Alexander I tried to suppress the conflict between Croatian and Serbian ...
Usti nad Labem: capital, Severocesky kraj (region), northwestern Czech Republic. It is a port on the left (west) bank of the Elbe (Labe) River at the latter's confluence with the Bilina River. Although ...
Ustinov, Dmitry Fedorovich: Soviet military and political figure who was minister of defense from 1976 to 1984.
Ustinov, Sir Peter: English actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, raconteur, and humanitarian.
Ustyurt Plateau: plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, lying between the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya (river) delta in the east and the Mangyshlak (Tupqarghan) Plateau and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (Garabogazkol; an inlet ...
usufruct: in Roman-based legal systems, the temporary right to the use and enjoyment of the property of another, without changing the character of the property. This legal concept developed in Roman ...
Usuki: city, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan. The city faces Usuki Bay on the Bungo Channel between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. An early castle town, Usuki once carried ...
usul al-fiqh: in classical Islamic theory, the four major sources from which law is derived: the Qur'an; the sunna, or sunnah (practice of the Prophet as transmitted through his sayings); ijma' (consensus ...
Usulutan: city, southeastern El Salvador. It lies on the Pacific coastal plain at the southern foot of Usulutan Volcano. The city's name, which is Indian, means "city of the ocelots." Usulutan ...
Usumacinta River: river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala, formed by the junction of the Pasion River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas River, also ...
usury: in modern law, the practice of charging an illegal rate of interest for the loan of money. In Old English law, the taking of any compensation whatsoever was termed usury. ...
USX Corporation: former American holding company that was incorporated in 1986 to oversee the operations formerly directed by the United States Steel Corporation. Its four independent operating units were USS (United States ...
Uta: genus of New World lizards of the family Iguanidae. The seven species that have been described occur in the southwestern United States and in adjacent regions of Mexico. The side-blotched ...
Utagawa Kunisada: Japanese artist who was probably the most prolific of all the painters and printmakers of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement. He was particularly known for his erotically ...
Utagawa Kuniyoshi: original name Igusa Magosaburo Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement.
Utagawa Toyokuni: Japanese artist of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement who developed the style of his master, Utagawa Toyoharu, making it one of the most popular of its day.
Utah: constituent state of the United States of America. Mountains, high plateaus, and deserts form most of its landscape. The state's 84,899 square miles (219,889 square kilometres) lie in the heart ...
Utah Beach: the westernmost beach of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion of World War II. It was assaulted on June 6, 1944 (D-Day of the invasion), by elements of ...
Utah Lake: lake in Utah county, north-central Utah, U.S. It covers 150 square miles (390 square km) and is 23 miles (37 km) long. The largest U.S. freshwater lake west of the ...
Utah State University: public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Logan, Utah, U.S. It is a comprehensive, land-grant university with about 45 academic departments within colleges of Agriculture, Business, Education, Engineering, Family Life, ...
Utah, University of: public, coeducational institution of higher education in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. It is a comprehensive university with many research opportunities and academic programs. Through 16 colleges and schools it ...
Utamaro: Japanese printmaker and painter who was one of the greatest artists of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement; he is known especially for his masterfully composed portraits of ...
Ute: Shoshonean-speaking group of Indians of western Colorado and eastern Utah; their name was given to the latter state. When the Spanish Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante traversed their territory in ...
uterine bleeding: abnormal bleeding from the uterus, which is not related to menstruation. Menstruation is the normal cyclic bleeding that occurs when the egg has been released from the ovary and fertilization ...
uterine cancer: a disease characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the uterus. Cancers affecting the lining of the uterus (endometrium) are the most common cancers of the female reproductive tract. ...
uterine cervix: lowest region of the uterus; it attaches the uterus to the vagina and provides a passage between the vaginal cavity and the uterine cavity. The cervix, only about 4 centimetres ...
uterus: an inverted pear-shaped muscular organ of the female reproductive system, located between the bladder and rectum. It functions to nourish and house the fertilized egg until the unborn child, or ...
Uthai Thani: town and changwat (province) in the Northern region of Thailand, west of the Mae Nam (river) Chao Phraya. The provincial capital, Uthai Thani, is a market town in the eastern ...
Uthman ibn 'Affan: third caliph to rule after the death of the Prophet. He centralized the administration of the caliphate and established an official version of the Qur'an. 'Uthman is critically important in ...
Utica: traditionally the oldest Phoenician settlement on the coast of North Africa. It is located near the mouth of the Majardah (French Medjerda, ancient Bagradas) River in modern Tunisia. After its ...
Utica: city, seat (1798) of Oneida county, central New York, U.S., on the Mohawk River and New York State Canal System, 45 miles (72 km) east of Syracuse. The first settlers ...
Utilitarianism: in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that an action is right if it tends ...
utility and value: in economics, the determination of the prices of goods and services.
Utkal Plains: coastal plains in eastern Orissa state, eastern India. Extending over approximately 16,000 sq mi (41,400 sq km) and fronting the Bay of Bengal on the east, the plains are bounded ...
Uto-Aztecan languages: family of American Indian languages spoken in Mexico, northern Guatemala, and the western United States. The Uto-Aztecan languages are recognized by modern linguists as falling into eight groups, four of ...
utopia: an ideal commonwealth whose inhabitants exist under seemingly perfect conditions. Hence "utopian" and "utopianism" are words used to denote visionary reform that tends to be impossibly idealistic.
Utopia Planitia: northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched ...
Utraquist: any of the spiritual descendants of Jan Hus who believed that the laity, like the clergy, should receive the Eucharist under the forms of both bread and wine (Latin utraque, ...
Utrecht: provincie, central Netherlands, the country's smallest, with an area of 514 square miles (1,331 square km). It extends southward from the narrow Lake Eem, which separates Utrecht provincie from the ...
Utrecht: gemeente (commune) and capital, Utrecht provincie, central Netherlands. It lies along the Kromme Rijn (Winding, or Crooked, Rhine), Oude (Old) Rijn, and Vecht rivers and the Amsterdam-Rijn Canal. Its original ...
Utrecht school: principally a group of three Dutch painters-Dirck van Baburen (c. 1590-1624), Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656; see ), and Hendrik Terbrugghen (1588-1629)-who went to Rome and fell fully under the pervasive ...
Utrecht, State University of: state-supported coeducational institution of higher learning founded in 1636 at Utrecht, Neth. In the 17th and 18th centuries Utrecht attracted many foreign students, especially from England and Scotland. James Boswell, ...
Utrecht, treaties of: (April 1713-September 1714), a series of treaties between France and other European powers (April 11, 1713 to Sept. 7, 1714) and another series between Spain and other powers (July 13, ...
Utrera: city, Seville provincia, in the comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of Andalusia, southwestern Spain. It lies southeast of the city of Seville on the Arroyo de la Antigua, which is a ...
Utrillo, Maurice: French painter who was noted for his depictions of the houses and streets of the Montmartre district of Paris.
Utsunomiya: capital, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The city is situated on the alluvial plain between the Ta River and the Kinu River. A castle town in the 11th century, it ...
Uttar Pradesh: the most populous state of India. Lying in north-central India, it is bordered by Nepal and the Indian state of Uttaranchal to the north, the Indian states of Haryana and ...
Uttaradit: town, northern Thailand. It is a provincial capital and a farming market centre on the Nan River and the Bangkok-Chiang Mai railway. The town centre was rebuilt after being destroyed ...
Uttlesford: district, administrative and historic county of Essex, England. It occupies the northwestern corner of the county, where it borders Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. A low ridge of chalk hills runs from ...
Utzon, Jrn: Danish architect best known for his dynamic, imaginative, but problematic design for the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
Uummannaq Fjord: inlet of Baffin Bay and town, western Greenland, north of Nuussuaq Peninsula, separated from Karrat Isfjord by Upernivik and Ubekendt islands. About 100 miles (160 km) long and 15-30 miles ...
Uvalde: city, seat (1856) of Uvalde county, southwestern Texas, U.S. It lies along the Leona River, some 85 miles (135 km) west-southwest of San Antonio. Fort Inge was built (1849) on ...
Uvarov, Sergey Semyonovich, Count: (Graf) Russian statesman and administrator, an influential minister of education during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I.
uvarovite: calcium chromium garnet found as small, brilliant, green crystals. It is the rarest of all the garnets, and its crystals commonly are too small to be cut. Otherwise, it would ...
uveitis: inflammation of the uvea, the middle coat of the eyeball, which is pigmented and contains blood vessels. The uvea consists of three parts: the iris, the ciliary body (containing the ...
Uwajima: city, Ehime ken (prefecture), Shikoku, Japan. It faces the Bungo Channel between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Uwajima developed as a castle town in the late 16th century. ...
Uxmal: ruined ancient Maya city in Yucatan state, Mexico, about 90 miles (150 km) west-southwest of Chichen Itza and 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Mayapan. By road, it is some ...
Uyo: town, capital of Akwa Ibom state, southeastern Nigeria. Uyo lies on the road from Oron to Ikot Ekpene. A collecting station for palm oil and kernels, it is also a ...
Uyuni: town, southwestern Bolivia. It lies on the cold, windswept Altiplano, a high intermontane plateau, at 12,024 feet (3,665 m) above sea level, just east of the vast Uyuni Salt Flat. ...
Uyuni Salt Flat: arid, windswept salt flat in southwestern Bolivia. It lies on the Altiplano, at 11,995 feet (3,656 m) above sea level. The Uyuni Salt Flat is Bolivia's largest salt-encrusted waste area ...
Uzbek: any member of a Central Asian people found chiefly in Uzbekistan, but also in other parts of Central Asia and in Afghanistan. The Uzbeks speak either of two dialects of ...
Uzbek khanate: any of the three states that ruled Transoxania, in present-day Uzbekistan, before it came under Russian rule in the 19th century. The khanates of Bukhara and Khiva (Khwarezm) were established ...
Uzbek language: member of the Turkic language subfamily of the Altaic family, spoken in Uzbekistan, eastern Turkmenistan, northern and western Tajikistan, southern Kazakstan, northern Afghanistan, and northwestern China. Uzbek belongs to the ...
Uzbekistan: country in Central Asia. It lies mainly between two major rivers, the Syr Darya (ancient Jaxartes River) on the northeast and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) on the southwest, ...
Uzhhorod: city, western Ukraine. It is situated along the Uzh River just east of the Slovakian border. Uzhhorod has long been an important cultural, educational, religious, and economic centre of the ...
Uzi submachine gun: compact automatic weapon that is used throughout the world as a police and special-forces firearm. The Uzi is named for its designer, Uziel Gal, an Israeli army officer who developed ...
Uzice: town, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro. It lies along the Djetinja River and the Sarajevo-Cacak-Belgrade railway line. A medieval town of strategic importance, Uzice was the headquarters for the Partisan army ...
Uzun Hasan: ruler (1453-78) of the Turkmen Ak Koyunlu dynasty, who created a short-lived empire in Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.
Uzziah: in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 26), son and successor of Amaziah, and king of Judah for 52 years (c. 791-739 BC).