Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Faroese language ... Father of the Church

Faroese language: language spoken in the Faroe Islands by some 44,000 inhabitants. Faroese belongs to the West Scandinavian group of the North Germanic languages. It preserves more characteristics of Old Norse than any other language except modern Icelandic, to which it is ...
Farouk I: king of Egypt from 1936 to 1952, whose administration was hampered by internal rivalries and whose alienation of the military led to his own downfall and to the formation of a republic.
Farquhar, George: Irish playwright of real comic power who wrote for the English stage at the beginning of the 18th century. He stood out from his contemporaries for originality of dialogue and a stage sense that doubtless stemmed from his experience as ...
Farragut, David: U.S. admiral who achieved fame for his outstanding Union naval victories during the American Civil War (1861-65).
Farrakhan, Louis: African-American leader, from 1978, of the black separatist organization Nation of Islam. A compelling orator whose rhetoric often fell into overt racism and anti-Semitism, Farrakhan was nonetheless effective in encouraging African-American self-reliance and unity.
Farrant, Richard: English composer, choirmaster, and theatrical producer, who established the original Blackfriars Theatre, home to the outstanding children's companies of the Elizabethan era.
Farrar, Geraldine: American soprano, known for her beauty and dramatic talent and the intimate timbre of her voice.
Farrar, Margaret Petherbridge: American editor whose enormously popular series of crossword puzzle books capitalized on the nascent American passion for those diversions.
Farrell, Eileen: American soprano who achieved success in both operatic and popular music.
Farrell, James T.: American novelist and short-story writer known for his realistic portraits of the lower-middle-class Irish in Chicago, drawn from his own experiences.
Farrell, Suzanne: American dancer especially known for her performances with the New York City Ballet.
Farrer, William James: British-born Australian agricultural researcher who developed several varieties of drought- and rust-resistant wheat that made possible a great expansion of Australia's wheat belt.
Farrukh Beg: outstanding Mughal painter, praised by the Indian Mughal emperor Jahangir as "unrivaled in the age."
Farrukhabad-cum-Fatehgarh: municipality, central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, just west of the Ganges River. The two cities form a joint municipality. Farrukhabad was founded in 1714 by Muhammad Khan Bangash, an independent local Mughal governor. Fatehgarh was founded about 1714, when ...
Fars: geographic region, south-central Iran. The ancient region, known as Pars, or Persis (q.v.), was the heart of the Achaemenian empire (559-330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved ...
farthingale: underskirt expanded by a series of circular hoops that increase in diameter from the waist down to the hem and are sewn into the underskirt to make it rigid. The fashion spread from Spain to the rest of Europe from ...
farthingale chair: armless chair with a wide seat covered in high-quality fabric and fitted with a cushion; the backrest is an upholstered panel, and the legs are straight and rectangular in section. It was introduced as a chair for ladies in the ...
Fartlek: (Swedish: "Speed Play"), approach to distance-running training involving variations of pace from walking to sprinting aimed at eliminating boredom and enhancing the psychological aspects of conditioning. It was popularized by the Swedish Olympic coach Gosta Holmer after World War II ...
fasces: in ancient Rome, insignia of official authority. It was carried by the lictors, or attendants, and was characterized by an ax head projecting from a bundle of elm or birch rods tied together with a red strap; it symbolized penal ...
Fasching: the Roman Catholic Shrovetide carnival as celebrated in German-speaking countries. There are many regional differences concerning the name, duration, and activities of the carnival. It is known as Fasching in Bavaria and Austria, Fosnat in Franconia, Fasnet in Swabia, Fastnacht ...
fascio siciliano: any of the organizations of workers and peasants founded in Sicily in the early 1890s, reflecting the growing social awareness of the lower classes.
fascioliasis: infection of humans and grass-grazing animals, caused by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, a small parasitic flatworm that lives in the bile ducts and causes a condition known as liver rot.
fasciolopsiasis: infection of humans and swine by the trematode Fasciolopsis buski, a parasitic worm. The adult worms, 2-7.5 cm (0.8-3 inches) long, attach themselves to the tissues of the small intestine of the host by means of ventral suckers; the sites ...
fascism: political ideology and mass movement that dominated many parts of central, southern, and eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945 and that also had adherents in western Europe, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East. Europe's ...
fashion: in dress and adornment, any mode of dressing that is prevalent during a particular time or in a particular place. See dress.
fashionable novel: early 19th-century subgenre of the comedy of manners portraying the English upper class, usually by members of that class. One author particularly known for his fashionable novels was Theodore Hook.
Fashir, Al-: town, northwestern Sudan, 120 miles (195 km) northeast of Nyala. A historical caravan centre, it is located at an elevation of about 2,400 feet (700 metres). The town serves as an agricultural marketing centre for the cereals and fruits grown ...
Fashoda Incident: (Sept. 18, 1898), the climax, at Fashoda (Kodok), Egyptian Sudan, of a series of territorial disputes in Africa between Great Britain and France.
Fasi, al-: in full Yusuf Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Al-fasi Muslim teacher and mystic who was prominent in the intellectual life of northwest Africa.
Fasilides: also spelled Fasilidas, Fasiladas, or Basilide Ethiopian emperor from 1632 to 1667, who ended a period of contact between his country and Europe, initiating a policy of isolation that lasted for more than two centuries.
Fasli era: (Persian fasli: "harvest"), chronological system devised by the Mughal emperor Akbar for land-revenue purposes in North India, for which the Muslim lunar calendar was inconvenient. The word comes from the Arabic term for "division," which in India was applied to ...
Fassbinder, Rainer Werner: motion-picture and theatre director, writer, and actor who was an important force in postwar West German cinema. His socially and politically conscious films often explore themes of oppression and despair.
Fassett, Cornelia Adele Strong: American painter, perhaps best remembered for her painting of a meeting of the Electoral Commission of 1877 and her portraits of other major political figures of her day.
Fassi, Carlo: Italian-born figure-skating coach who guided four individual skaters to gold medals in the Winter Olympics.
fasti: (probably from Latin fas, "divine law"), in ancient Rome, sacred calendar of the dies fasti, or days of the month on which it was permitted to transact legal affairs; it also denoted registers of various types. The fasti were first ...
fasting: abstinence from food or drink or both for ritualistic, mystical, ascetic, or other religious or ethical purposes. The abstention may be complete or partial, lengthy or of short duration. Fasting has been practiced from antiquity worldwide by the founders and ...
Fastnachtsspiel: carnival or Shrovetide play that emerged in the 15th century as the first truly secular drama of pre-Reformation Germany. Usually performed on platform stages in the open air by amateur actors, students, and artisans, the Fastnachtsspiele consisted of a mixture ...
Fastnet Cup: trophy for sailing yachts, awarded to the winner of a race sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight, Eng., around the Isles of Scilly to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland, and back to Plymouth, Devon, Eng., a ...
Fastolf, Sir John: English career soldier who fought and made his fortune in the second phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France (1337-1453). His name is immortalized through William Shakespeare's character Sir John Falstaff, but the courageous Fastolf bears little ...
fat: any substance of plant or animal origin that is nonvolatile, insoluble in water, and oily or greasy to the touch. Fats are usually solid at ordinary temperatures, such as 25° C (77° F), but they begin to liquefy at somewhat ...
fat and oil processing: method by which animal and plant substances are prepared for eating by humans.
Fata Morgana: mirage that appeared periodically in the Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily, named in Italian after the legendary enchantress Morgan le Fay (q.v.) of Arthurian romance.
Fatah: political and military organization of Arab Palestinians, founded in the late 1950s by Yasir 'Arafat and Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) with the aim of wresting Palestine from Israeli control by waging low-intensity guerrilla warfare. The organization, which obtained Syrian support, ...
Fate: in Greek and Roman mythology, any of three goddesses who determined human destinies, and in particular the span of a person's life and his allotment of misery and suffering. Homer speaks of Fate (moira) in the singular as an impersonal ...
fate tragedy: a type of play especially popular in early 19th-century Germany in which a malignant destiny drives the protagonist to commit a horrible crime, often unsuspectingly. Adolf Mullner's Der neunundzwanzigste Februar (1812; "February 29") and Die Schuld (1813; "The Debt") and ...
Fateh Singh, Sant: Sikh religious leader who became the foremost campaigner for Sikh rights in post-independence India.
Fatehpur: town, southern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies southeast of Kanpur, on a major road and rail line to Allahabad. Fatehpur was founded by Pashtuns (Pathans) in the 15th century; it came under the control of several dynasties until ...
Fatehpur Sikri: town, southwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. The town lies about 23 miles (37 km) west of Agra. It was founded in 1569 by the great Mughal emperor Akbar as his capital. In that year Akbar had visited the Muslim ...
Fatemi, Hosayn: Iranian politician who supported Mohammad Mosaddeq in his power struggle with Iran's monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Fath 'Ali Shah: shah of Persia (1797-1834) whose reign coincided with rivalry among France, Great Britain, and Russia over eastern affairs.
Father of the Church: any of the great bishops and other eminent Christian teachers of the early centuries whose writings remained as a court of appeal for their successors, especially in reference to controverted points of faith or practice. See patristic literature.