Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Mamou ... Manchu-Tungus languages

Mamou: town, west-central Guinea. Located on the Conakry-Kankan railway and at the intersection of roads from Kindia, Dalaba, Dabola, and Faranah, Mamou was founded in 1908 as a collecting point on the railroad from Conakry (125 miles [201 km] southwest). It ...
Mamoulian, Rouben: theatrical and motion-picture director noted for his contribution to the development of cinematic art at the beginning of the sound era. His achievements include the skillful blending of music and sound effects with an imaginative visual rhythm.
Mamprusi: a people who inhabit the area between the White Volta and Nasia rivers in northern Ghana. The Mamprusi speak different dialects of More-Gurma (Moore-Gurma) of the Gur (Voltaic) branch of the Niger-Congo language family. A few Mamprusi also live in ...
Man: town, western Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The town is situated along the Ko River, in a mountainous area (Massif de Man) on the eastern edge of the Nimba Range. There are iron-ore reserves in the mountains east of Man. The ...
man: specifically, an adult human male and, generally, any extinct or living member, male or female, of the biological family Hominidae. See human being.
Man o' War: (foaled 1917), probably the most famous American racehorse (Thoroughbred), overwhelmingly voted, in an Associated Press poll taken in 1950, the greatest horse of the first half of the 20th century. In a brief career of only two seasons (1919-20), he ...
man orchid: (species Aceras anthropophorum), the only species in the genus Aceras, plant family Orchidaceae. It is native to grasslands of Great Britain, Eurasia, and northern Africa. The man orchid derives its name from the helmeted, humanlike shape of its flowers.
Man Ray: photographer, painter, and filmmaker who was the only American to play a major role in both the Dada and Surrealist movements.
Man'yo-shu: (Japanese: "Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves"), oldest (c. 759) and greatest of the imperial anthologies of Japanese poetry. Among the 4,500 poems are some from the 7th century and perhaps earlier. It was celebrated through the centuries for its "man'yo" ...
Man, Isle of: one of the British Isles, located in the Irish Sea off the northwest coast of England. The island lies roughly equidistant between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom but rather ...
Man-chou-li: city in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. It is situated on the border opposite the Russian town of Zabaykalsk and lies 100 miles (160 km) west of Hailar and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Lake Hu-lun. Man-chou-li was ...
man-of-war fish: (species Nomeus gronovii), small marine fish of the family Nomeidae (order Perciformes; sometimes placed in family Stromateidae), noted for living unharmed among the stinging tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish (Physalia). The man-of-war fish is usually found in the open ...
Mana: town, northwestern French Guiana, on the south bank of the Mana River, near its mouth on the Atlantic coast. It originated in 1830 around an orphanage founded by a French nun and, after 1848, also served as a refuge for ...
mana: among Melanesian and Polynesian peoples, a supernatural force or power that may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects. Mana may be either good or evil, beneficial or dangerous. The term was first used in the 19th century in ...
Manado: city, capital of Sulawesi Utara (North Celebes) provinsi (province), Indonesia, located near the tip of the north-northeastern arm of Celebes island on an inlet of the Celebes Sea. Manado lies at the foot of Mount Klabat (6,634 ...
managerial economics: application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management units. The basic concepts are derived mainly from microeconomic theory, which studies the behaviour of individual consumers, firms, and industries, but new tools of analysis have been ...
Managua: city, capital of Nicaragua, lying amid small crater lakes on the southern shore of Lake Managua. One of Central America's warmest capitals, the city is only 163 feet (50 metres) above sea level. Throughout the Spanish colonial period, Managua was ...
Managua, Lake: lake in western Nicaragua, in a rift valley at an elevation of 128 feet (39 m) above sea level. The lake, 65 feet (20 m) in depth, is 36 miles (58 km) from east to west and 16 miles (25 ...
Manakara: town, southeastern Madagascar. It is situated along the Indian Ocean and the Pangalanes Canal. An old fishing village, it became a thriving Indian Ocean port after a railway was constructed connecting it to Fianarantsoa (75 miles [120 km] northwest). Now ...
manakin: the common name given to about 50 to 60 species of small, stubby, generally short-tailed birds abundant in American tropical forests. Manakins are short-billed birds that range in size from 8.5 to 16 cm (3.5 to 6.5 inches) long and ...
Manala: in Finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. The word is possibly derived from the compound maan-ala, "the space (or area) under the earth." It is also called Tuonela, the realm of Tuoni, and Pohjola, derived from the word pohja, ...
Manama: capital and largest city of the state and emirate of Bahrain. It lies at the northeast tip of Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. About one-fifth of the emirate's population lives in the city. First mentioned in Islamic chronicles about ...
Mananjary: town, eastern Madagascar. It lies at the mouth of the Mananjary River. A port on the Indian Ocean and the Pangalanes Canal, it handles coastal shipments of coffee, vanilla, cacao, olives, and rice. It is at the end of a ...
Manannan mac Lir: (Celtic: "Manannan, Son of the Sea"), Irish sea god from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly derived. Manannan traditionally ruled an island paradise, protected sailors, and provided abundant crops. He gave immortality to the gods through his ...
Manapouri, Lake: lake, southwestern South Island, New Zealand, the deepest lake in the country. It is one of the Southern Lakes, found in the highland section of Fiordland National Park, which were formed by the glacial deepening of an existing stream valley ...
manas: (Sanskrit: "thought"), in Indian philosophy, the human "mind," that faculty which coordinates sensory impressions before they are presented to the consciousness. Thus, when a person sees, hears, and smells an object-three different and not necessarily related impressions-the manas makes certain ...
Manas Wild Life Sanctuary: wildlife sanctuary in western Assam state, eastern India. It is situated at the foot of the Himalayas on the eastern bank of the Manas River, 92 miles (153 km) west of Gauhati town. Established in 1928, it has an area ...
Manasa: folk goddess of snakes, worshiped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and general prosperity. As the protector of children, she is often identified with the ...
Manaslu I: one of the world's highest mountains (26,781 feet [8,163 m]); it lies in the Himalayas of north Nepal, 38 miles (61 km) north of the town of Gurkha. The summit of this snow- and glacier-covered peak was first reached on ...
Manassas: residential city, seat (1892) of Prince William county, northeastern Virginia, U.S. It is situated near the creek Bull Run, 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. Originally known as Manassas Gap and then Manassas Junction, the town was established ...
Manasseh: one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times comprised the people of Israel. The tribe was named after a younger son of Joseph, himself a son of Jacob.
Manasseh ben Israel: major Hebraic scholar of the Jewish community of Amsterdam and the founder of the modern Jewish community in England.
Manasseh, Prayer of: apocryphal work (noncanonical for Jews and Protestants), one of a collection of songs appended to the Old Testament book of Psalms in several manuscripts of the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible). The Prayer of Manasseh, best known ...
Manasses, Constantine: Byzantine chronicler, metropolitan of Naupactus, and the author of a verse chronicle (Synopsis historike; "Historical Synopsis") from the Creation to 1081. Written at the request of Emperor Manuel I's sister-in-law, Irene, the poem is in the so-called ...
manatee: any of three species of large, slow aquatic mammals found along tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts and associated inland waters. Dull gray, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout, tapered bodies ending in a flat, rounded ...
Manati: town, north-central Puerto Rico, situated on the humid coastal lowlands. Of Indian origins, the name Manati refers to a sea mammal, the manatee. Founded in 1738 on the northernmost point of limestone hills, Manati is linked by road to San ...
Manaus: city and river port, capital of Amazonas estado ("state"), northwestern Brazil. It lies along the north bank of the Negro River, 11 miles (18 km) above that river's influx into the Amazon River. Manaus is situated in ...
Manawatu River: river, in south-central North Island, New Zealand, rising on the east slopes of the Ruahine Range. The river, 113 miles (182 km) long, flows west and southwest for 30 miles (48 km) to Woodville and turns sharply northwest to pass ...
Manawatu-Wanganui: local government region, southern North Island, New Zealand. It includes a major portion of one of the largest plains of the North Island and encompasses the Whanganui River valley. The region rises northward to the Kaimanawa Mountains and stretches along ...
Mance, Sir Henry Christopher: British scientist and engineer who invented the heliograph, a signaling device that employs two mirrors to gather sunlight and send it to a prearranged spot as a coded series of short and long flashes.
Manchester: urban town (township), Hartford county, central Connecticut, U.S. It lies east of Hartford on the Hockanum River. The area was settled in 1672, when it was purchased from the Mohegan Indians by the Puritan clergyman Thomas Hooker and his company. ...
Manchester: city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northwestern England. Most of the city, including the historic core, is in the historic county of Lancashire, but it includes an area south of the River Mersey in the ...
Manchester: city, Hillsborough county, southern New Hampshire, U.S. It lies along the Amoskeag Falls (named for the Amoskeag Indians who once inhabited the area) of the Merrimack River, the 55-foot (17-metre) drop of which provides hydroelectric power. Manchester is the state's ...
Manchester: town (township), which includes Manchester Village, Manchester Center, and Manchester Depot in southwestern Vermont, U.S. It lies near the Batten Kill River between the Taconic Range and the Green Mountains. Manchester Village is one of the seats (the other is ...
Manchester Ship Canal: waterway opened in 1894 linking Eastham, Merseyside, Eng., to the city of Manchester. The canal made Manchester accessible to large oceangoing vessels. It is 36 miles (58 km) long, 45-80 feet (14-24 m) wide, and varies in depth from 28 ...
Manchester terrier: breed of dog developed in England from the whippet, a racing dog, and the black-and-tan terrier, a valued ratter, to combine the talents of each. In 1860 the breed was named after the city of Manchester, a breeding centre, but ...
Manchester, Edward Montagu, 2nd earl of, Viscount Mandeville, Baron Kimbolton Of Kimbolton: Parliamentary general in the English Civil Wars.
manchineel: (Hippomane mancinella), tree of the genus Hippomane, of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), that is famous for its poisonous fruits. The manchineel is native mostly to sandy beaches of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Its attractive, single or paired yellow-to-reddish, ...
Manchu: people who lived for many centuries in Manchuria and adjacent areas and who in the 17th century conquered China and ruled that country for more than 250 years. The term Manchu dates from the 16th century, but it is certain ...
Manchu language: the most important of the Manchu-Tungus language group (a subfamily of the Altaic languages), formerly spoken by the Manchu people in Manchuria. Fewer than 100 Manchu are believed to still speak the Manchu language. However, there are several thousand speakers ...
Manchu-Tungus languages: smallest of three subfamilies of the Altaic language family. The Manchu-Tungus languages are a group of 10 to 17 languages spoken by fewer than 70,000 people scattered across a vast region that stretches from northern China across Mongolia to the ...