Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Shop

0-9

Vorskla River, Battle of the ...

Vorskla River, Battle of the: (Aug. 12, 1399), major victory of the Golden Horde (the westernmost division of the Mongol empire, which had suzerainty over the Russian lands) over the Lithuanian ruler Vytautas, which ended ...
Vorster, John: right-wing Nationalist politician, prime minister of the Republic of South Africa (1966-78), who was elected president in 1978 but was forced to resign the following year because of a political ...
vorsud: among the Finno-Ugric Udmurt (Votyak) people, a family spirit, literally "luck protector"; the term also designates a birchbark container kept in the family shrine, or kuala, as a receptacle for ...
Vorticella: genus of the ciliate protozoan order Peritrichida, a bell-shaped or cylindrical organism with a conspicuous ring of cilia (hairlike processes) on the oral end and a contractile unbranched stalk on ...
Vortigern: also spelled Wyrtgeorn king of the Britons at the time of the arrival of the Saxons under Hengist and Horsa in the 5th century. Though the subject of many legends, ...
vortograph: the first completely abstract kind of photograph, it is composed of kaleidoscopic repetitions of forms achieved by photographing objects through a triangular arrangement of three mirrors. Alvin Langdon Coburn, a ...
Vortsjarv: lake (jarv) in south-central Estonia, with an area of about 110 square miles (280 square km). Vortsjarv forms part of the 124-mile (200-km) course of the Ema River (German: Embach; ...
Vosges: massif extending west of the Rhine River Valley in the Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Vosges departements of eastern France. Of ancient rocks, the dome-shaped mountains rise to their greatest heights north ...
Voskhod: any of a second series of manned Soviet spacecraft. Following the triumph of the Vostok (q.v.) launchings that had put the first human in space, the Soviets developed the first ...
Voskresensk: city, Moscow oblast (province), western Russia, on the Moskva River southeast of the city of Moscow. It is a significant industrial centre, with a large complex producing concentrated fertilizers; it ...
Voss, Johann Heinrich: German poet remembered chiefly for his translations of Homer.
Vossius, Gerardus Johannes: Dutch Humanist theologian, one of the foremost scholars of the Dutch Republic's "Golden Age."
Vostochno-Kazakhstan: oblast (province), extreme eastern Kazakhstan, in the Altai Mountains on the frontier with China, with an area of 37,550 sq mi (97,300 sq km). Its capital is Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Vostok: any of a series of manned Soviet spacecraft, the initial flight of which carried the first human being into space. Launched on April 12, 1961, Vostok 1, carrying cosmonaut Yury ...
Vostok Island: coral atoll in the Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Tahiti. A low formation, with a land area of ...
vote: in politics and government, a formal expression of opinion or will that indicates approval or disapproval of a proposal, motion, or candidate for office. See election.
Votic language: member of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family, very nearly extinct. The few remaining Votic speakers live in the border area between Estonia and Russia (a region in ...
Voting Rights Act: U.S. legislation (Aug. 6, 1965) that aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the Fifteenth ...
Votkinsk: city, Udmurtiya, western Russia. It lies along the Votka River just above the latter's confluence with the Kama. Votkinsk was founded in 1759 and became a city in 1935. It ...
Vouet, Simon: painter who introduced an Italianate Baroque style of painting into France.
vow: sacred voluntary promise to dedicate oneself or members of one's family or community to a special obligation that goes beyond usual social or religious requirements.
vowel: in human speech, sound in which the flow of air from the lungs passes through the mouth, which functions as a resonance chamber, with minimal obstruction and without audible friction; ...
Voyager: in space exploration, either of a pair of robotic U.S. interplanetary probes launched to observe and to transmit information to Earth about the giant planets of the outer solar system ...
Voyager: in aeronautics, American experimental aircraft that in 1986 became the first airplane to fly around the world without stops or refueling. Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the craft ...
Voyageurs National Park: region of lakes and wilderness in northern Minnesota, U.S. The park lies along the Canadian border, east of International Falls. Authorized in 1971 and established in 1975, it was named ...
voyeurism: human sexual behaviour involving achievement of sexual arousal through viewing the sexual activities of others or through watching others disrobe. To some extent voyeurism is widespread; various types of sexual ...
Voynovich, Vladimir: Soviet dissident writer known for his irreverent and perceptive satire.
Voysey, Charles Francis Annesley: British architect and designer whose work was influential in Europe between 1890 and 1910 and was a source of Art Nouveau inspiration.
Voznesensky, Andrey Andreyevich: Soviet poet who was one of the most prominent of the generation of writers that emerged after the Stalinist era.
Vrancea: judet (county), east-central Romania, occupying an area of 1,878 square miles (4,863 square km). The Eastern Carpathian and sub-Carpathian mountains rise above settlement areas in the county's valleys and lowlands. ...
vrata: in Jainism, a religious vow. See Jaina vrata.
Vratsa: town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town ...
vratya: wandering ascetic, member of either an ethnic group or a sect, located principally in the Magadha (South Bihar) region of ancient India. The vratyas lived outside the fold of the ...
Vreeland, Diana Dalziel: American editor and fashion expert whose dramatic personality and distinctive tastes marked her successful leadership of major American fashion magazines during the mid-20th century.
Vries, Adriaen de: the most important Dutch Mannerist sculptor.
Vries, Hugo de: Dutch botanist and geneticist who introduced the experimental study of organic evolution. His rediscovery in 1900 (simultaneously with the botanists Carl Correns and Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg) of Gregor Mendel's ...
Vriesea: genus of epiphytes (plants that are supported by another plant and have aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere) of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), containing nearly 200 South American species. ...
Vrije Volk, Het: (Dutch: "The Free People"), Socialist evening daily newspaper published in 30 regional editions in Rotterdam and outlying locations, one of the largest and most influential dailies in The Netherlands. It ...
Vrjji: confederacy of the Licchavis and neighbouring peoples in Bihar, India, that existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Its capital was at Vaisali (in modern Besarh). ...
VTOL airplane: any of several unconventional aircraft with rotating wing systems, such as the helicopter and autogiro. They may also have rotatable jet systems capable of vertical lift-off and landing in areas ...
Vuillard, Edouard: French painter, printmaker, and decorator who was a member of the Nabis group of painters in the 1890s. He is particularly known for his depictions of intimate interior scenes.
Vulcan: in Roman religion, god of fire, particularly in its destructive aspects as volcanoes or conflagrations. Poetically, he is given all the attributes of the Greek Hephaestus (q.v.). His worship was ...
Vulcan automatic cannon: 20-millimetre (0.8-inch) weapon capable of firing at a rate of up to 7,200 rounds per minute. Such extremely rapid fire is thought necessary in combat between supersonic aircraft, for a ...
vulcanization: chemical process by which the physical properties of natural or synthetic rubber are improved; finished rubber has higher tensile strength and resistance to swelling and abrasion, and is elastic over ...
Vulcano Island: southernmost of the Eolie Islands, in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean), off northeastern Sicily. It is administered as part of northern Sicily, southern Italy. Vulcano has an area of ...
Vulci: important town of the ancient Etruscans, the ruins of which are about 10 miles from the sea between the villages of Canino and Montalto di Castro, in Viterbo province, Italy. ...
Vulgar Latin: spoken form of non-Classical Latin from which originated the Romance group of languages. Vulgar Latin was primarily the speech of the middle classes in Rome and the Roman provinces; it ...
Vulgate: (from the Latin editio vulgata: "common version"), Latin Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church, primarily translated by St. Jerome. In 382 Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome, the leading biblical scholar ...
vulture: any of 22 species of large, carrion-eating birds that live predominantly in the tropics and subtropics. The seven species of New World vultures include condors, and the 15 Old World ...
vulva: the external female genitalia that surround the opening to the vagina; collectively these consist of the labia majora, the labia minora, clitoris, vestibule of the vagina, bulb of the vestibule, ...
vulvitis: inflammation and infection of the vulva-the external genitalia of the female. The external organs of the vulva include the labia majora and minora (folds of skin), the clitoris, and the ...
Vung Tau: port, southern Vietnam. It is situated near the tip of an 11-mile- (18-kilometre-) long projection into the South China Sea, which trends southwest and partially encloses Ganh Rai Bay. The ...
Vyadhapura: (Sanskrit: "City of the Hunters"), capital city of the ancient Hindu kingdom of Funan, which flourished from the 1st to the 6th century AD in an area that comprises modern ...
vyala: popular motif in Indian art, consisting of a composite leonine creature with the head of a tiger, elephant, bird, or other animal, frequently shown in combat with humans or pouncing ...
Vyasa: legendary Indian sage who is traditionally credited with composing or compiling the Mahabharata, a collection of legendary and didactic poetry worked around a central heroic narrative.
Vyborg: city, Leningrad oblast (province), northwestern Russia. The city stands at the head of Vyborg Bay of the Gulf of Finland, 70 miles (113 km) northwest of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). ...
Vychegda River: tributary of the Northern Dvina River, Komi republic and Arkhangelsk oblast (province), northwestern Russia. The river's length is 702 miles (1,130 km), and the area of its basin is 47,400 ...
Vychodni Slovensko: kraj (region), eastern Slovakia. It is bordered by Stredni Slovensko kraj to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, and Hungary to the south. The Vysoke Tatry ...
Vychodocesky: kraj (region), north-central Czech Republic. It is bordered by Stredocesky and Severocesky kraje to the west, Poland to the north, Severomoravsky kraj to the east, and Jihomoravsky and Jihocesky kraje ...
Vyshinsky, Andrey: Soviet statesman, diplomat, and lawyer who was the chief prosecutor during the Great Purge trials in Moscow in the 1930s.
Vysotsky, Vladimir: Russian actor, poet, songwriter, and performer who was considered "the voice of the heart of a nation." His wide-ranging and forthright poems were considered subversive by the Soviet authorities and ...
Vytautas The Great: Lithuanian Vytautus Didysis, Polish Witold Wielki Lithuanian national leader who consolidated his country's possessions, helped to build up a national consciousness, and broke the power of the Teutonic Knights. He ...