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circumcision

(Encyclopedia) circumcisioncircumcisionsûrˌkəmsĭzhˈən [key], operation to remove the foreskin covering the glans of the penis. It dates back to prehistoric times and was widespread throughout the…

HIV

(Encyclopedia) HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2…

Vandals

(Encyclopedia) Vandals, ancient Germanic tribe. They originated in N Jutland and, along with other Germanic peoples, settled in the valley of the Oder about the 5th cent. b.c. They appeared in…

Roman religion

(Encyclopedia) Roman religion, the religious beliefs and practices of the people of ancient Rome. The spirits were held in awe and were placated with offerings and prayers. In the earliest period…

Brontë

(Encyclopedia) BrontëBrontëbrŏnˈtē [key], family of English novelists, including Charlotte Brontë, 1816–55, English novelist, Emily Jane Brontë, 1818–48, English novelist and poet, and Anne Brontë,…

Austen, Jane

(Encyclopedia) Austen, JaneAusten, Janeôˈstən [key], 1775–1817, English novelist. The daughter of a clergyman, she spent the first 25 years of her life at “Steventon,” her father's Hampshire vicarage…

hemophilia

(Encyclopedia) hemophiliahemophiliahēˌməfĭlˈēə, –fēlˈyə [key], genetic disease in which the clotting ability of the blood is impaired and excessive bleeding results. The disease is transmitted…

Anthony, Susan Brownell

(Encyclopedia) Anthony, Susan Brownell, 1820–1906, American reformer and leader of the woman-suffrage movement, b. Adams, Mass.; daughter of Daniel Anthony, Quaker abolitionist. From the age of 17,…

John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia) John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her…

Soong

(Encyclopedia) SoongSoongs&oobreve;ng [key], Mandarin Song, Chinese family, prominent in public affairs. Soong Yao-ju or Charles Jones Soong, 1866–1918, graduated from Vanderbilt Univ. and, after…