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sewerage

(Encyclopedia)sewerage, system for the removal and disposal of chiefly liquid wastes and of rainwater, which are collectively called sewage. The average person in the industrialized world produces between 60 and 14...

cold, common

(Encyclopedia)cold, common, acute viral infection of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, often involving the sinuses. The typical sore throat, sneezing, and fatigue may be accompanied by body aches, headac...

animism

(Encyclopedia)animism, belief in personalized, supernatural beings (or souls) that often inhabit ordinary animals and objects, governing their existence. British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor argued in Pr...

antenna

(Encyclopedia)antenna ăntĕnˈə [key], in electronics, system of wires or other conductors used to transmit or receive radio or other electromagnetic waves (see radio); sometimes called an aerial. The idea of usi...

Machu Picchu

(Encyclopedia)Machu Picchu mäˈcho͞o pēkˈcho͞o [key], Inca site in Peru, about 50 mi (80 km) NW of Cuzco. It is perched high upon a rock in a narrow saddle between two sharp mountain peaks and overlooks the Ur...

merger

(Encyclopedia)merger, in corporate business, fusion of two or more corporations by the transfer of all property to a single corporation. The remaining corporation continues in existence, having absorbed the other(s...

key, in music

(Encyclopedia)key. 1 In music, term used to indicate the scale from which the tonal material of a given composition is derived. To say, for example, that a composition is in the key of C major means that it uses as...

foraminiferan

(Encyclopedia)foraminiferan fərămˌənĭfˈərən [key], common name for members of the class Foraminifera, large, shelled ameboid protozoans belonging to the phylum Sarcodina. Most foraminiferan shells are calca...

executive order

(Encyclopedia)executive order, in the United States, official document initiated and signed by the president containing directives concerning how the executive branch shall carry out its responsibilities under the ...

term limits

(Encyclopedia)term limits, statutory limitations placed on the number of terms officeholders may serve. Focusing especially on members of the U.S. Congress, term limits became an important national political issue ...
 

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