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Encyclopedias since 1768

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parchment worm ... Paris, Treaties of

parchment worm: (genus Chaetopterus), any of several species of segmented worms of the class Polychaeta (phylum Annelida), especially C. variopedatus of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They live on the sea bottom in U-shaped tubes that are lined with parchmentlike material. Parchment ...
Pardo Bazan, Emilia, Countess de: Spanish author of novels, short stories, and literary criticism.
pardon: in law, release from guilt or remission of punishment. In criminal law the power of pardon is generally exercised by the chief executive officer of the state. Pardons may also be granted by a legislative body, often through an act ...
Pardubice: city, Vychodocesky kraj (region), Czech Republic, at the confluence of the Labe and Chrudimka rivers, east of Prague. Originating in the 13th century as a trade mart, it received civil rights in 1340 and by 1490 had become a possession ...
Pare, Ambroise: French physician, one of the most notable surgeons of the European Renaissance, regarded by some medical historians as the father of modern surgery.
Parecis Mountains: mountains, Rondonia and Mato Grosso estados ("states"), west-central Brazil. Rising out of the tropical rain forests of Rondonia, near the Bolivian border, the range extends southeastward for 500 miles (800 km) to the vicinity of Diamantino in Mato Grosso. Its ...
paregoric: preparation principally used in the treatment of diarrhea. Paregoric, which decreases movement of the stomach and intestinal muscles, is made from opium tincture (laudanum) or from powdered opium and includes anise oil, camphor, benzoic acid, glycerin, and diluted alcohol. The ...
Pareja, Juan de: Spanish painter and student of Diego Velazquez.
parenchyma: in plants, tissue typically composed of living cells that are thin-walled, unspecialized in structure, and therefore adaptable, with differentiation, to various functions. Parenchyma may be compact or have extensive spaces between the cells. It is often called ground, or fundamental, ...
parent: one who has begotten offspring, or one who occupies the role of mother or father. In Western societies, parenthood, with its several obligations, rests strongly on biological relatedness. This is not the case in all societies: in some, a distinction ...
Parentalia: Roman religious festival held in honour of the dead. The festival, which began at noon on February 13 and culminated on February 21, was essentially a private celebration of the rites of deceased family members. It was gradually extended, however, ...
paresis: psychosis caused by widespread destruction of brain tissue occurring in some cases of late syphilis. Mental changes include gradual deterioration of personality, impaired concentration and judgment, delusions, loss of memory, disorientation, and apathy or violent rages. Convulsions are not uncommon, ...
Pareto, Vilfredo: Italian economist and sociologist who is known for his theory on mass and elite interaction as well as for his application of mathematics to economic analysis.
Paretsky, Sara: American mystery writer credited with breaking the gender barrier in detective fiction with her popular series of novels featuring V.I. Warshawski, a female private investigator. All her books are set in and around Chicago.
pareve: (Yiddish: "neutral"), in the observance of Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), those foods that may be eaten indiscriminately, with either meat dishes or dairy products-two general classes of food that may not be consumed at the same meal. Fruits and vegetables ...
parfleche: tough, folded rawhide carrying bag made by the Plains Indians of North America; more loosely applied, the term also refers to many specialized rawhide articles. The Plains Indians had an abundant source of hides in the buffalo they hunted, but, ...
Parga: port of the nomos (department) of Preveza, on the Ionian Sea opposite the island of Paxos (Paxoi), Greece. In 1401 it welcomed the Venetians, who built (1572) the mole that forms the present harbour, over which stands a Venetian fortress. ...
Parhae: state established in the 8th century among the Tungusic-speaking peoples of northern Manchuria (Northeast Provinces) and northern Korea by a former Korean general, Tae Cho-yang. The ruling class consisted largely of the former aristocrats of Koguryo, which had occupied most ...
parhelion: atmospheric optical phenomenon appearing in the sky as luminous spots 22° on each side of the Sun and at the same elevation as the Sun. Usually, the edges closest to the Sun will appear reddish. Other colours are occasionally visible, ...
pari-mutuel: method of wagering introduced in France about 1870 by Parisian businessman Pierre Oller. It became one of the world's most popular methods of betting on horse races.
Paria, Gulf of: inlet of the Caribbean Sea, lying between the Venezuelan coast (including the mountainous Paria Peninsula) and Trinidad. Extending about 100 miles (160 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south, it is linked with the Caribbean to the north by ...
pariah: member of a low-caste group of Hindu India, formerly known as "untouchables" but renamed by the Indian social reformer Mahatma Gandhi as Harijans (children of the god Hari Visnu, or, simply, children of God). The word pariah-originally derived from Tamil ...
Parian Chronicle: (Latin: "Parian Marble"), document inscribed on marble in the Attic Greek dialect and containing an outline of Greek history from the reign of Cecrops, legendary king of Athens, down to the archonship of Diognetus at Athens (264/263 BC). The years ...
Parian ware: porcelain introduced about 1840 by the English firm of Copeland & Garrett, in imitation of Sevres biscuit (fired but unglazed porcelain). Its name is derived from its resemblance to Parian marble.
Paricutin: volcano, western Michoacan state, west-central Mexico, just north of the volcano Tancitaro Peak and 20 miles (32 km) west-northwest of Uruapan. It is one of the youngest volcanoes on Earth.
Paridae: songbird family, order Passeriformes, consisting of the titmice and chickadees, about 64 species of small, gregarious birds, primarily of the Northern Hemisphere and Africa.
parietal bone: cranial bone forming part of the side and top of the head. In front each parietal bone adjoins the frontal bone; in back, the occipital bone; and below, the temporal and sphenoid bones. The parietal bones are marked internally by ...
parietal cell: in biology, one of the cells that are the source of the hydrochloric acid and most of the water in the stomach juices. The cells are located in glands in the lining of the fundus, the part of the stomach ...
Parilia: ancient Roman festival celebrated annually on April 21 in honour of the god and goddess Pales, the protectors of flocks and herds. The festival, basically a purification rite for herdsmen, beasts, and stalls, was at first celebrated by the early ...
Parima Mountains: range in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. It is an outlying range of the Guiana Highlands and extends south-southeastward for about 200 miles (320 km), separating Venezuela from Roraima territory, Brazil. Its peaks, largely unexplored, reach an elevation of 5,000 ...
Parini, Giuseppe: Italian prose writer and poet remembered for a series of beautifully written Horatian odes and particularly for Il giorno, (4 books, 1763-1801; The Day), a satiric poem on the selfishness and superficiality of the Milanese aristocracy.
Paris: city, seat (1844) of Lamar county, northeastern Texas, U.S., on a ridge between the Red and Sulphur rivers, some 105 miles (170 km) northeast of Dallas. Laid out in 1845 and named for Paris, France, it developed after the arrival ...
Paris: (Greek: "Defender"), in Greek legend, son of King Priam of Troy and his wife, Hecuba. A dream regarding his birth was interpreted as an evil portent, and he was consequently expelled from his family as an infant. Left for dead, ...
Paris: city, seat of Bourbon county, north-central Kentucky, U.S. It lies on the South Fork Licking River, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Lexington, in the Bluegrass region. First settled about 1775, it was founded as Hopewell (1789) and may ...
Paris: city and capital of France, located in the north-central part of the country. The city was founded more than 2,000 years ago on an island in the Seine River, some 233 miles (375 kilometres) upstream from the river's mouth on ...
Paris Basin: geographic region of France, constituting the lowland area around Paris. Geologically it is the centre of a structural depression that extends between the ancient Armoricain Massif (west), the Massif Central (south), and the Vosges, Ardennes, and Rhineland (east). The area, ...
Paris Codex: one of several richly illustrated glyphic texts of the pre-Conquest Mayan period known to have survived the book burnings by the Spanish clergy during the 16th century (the others being the Madrid, Dresden, and Grolier codices). Its Latin name comes ...
Paris Gun: any of several long-range cannon produced by the German arms manufacturer Krupp in 1917-18 during World War I. The guns were so called because they were specially built to shell Paris at a range, never before attained, of approximately 121 ...
Paris I-XIII, Universities of: universities founded in 1970 under France's 1968 Orientation Act, reforming higher education. They replaced the former University of Paris, one of the archetypal European universities, founded about 1170.
Paris Observatory: national astronomical observatory of France, under the direction of the Academy of Sciences. It was founded by Louis XIV at the instigation of J.-B. Colbert, and construction at the site in Paris began in 1667. Gian Domenico Cassini was the ...
Paris Opera: opera company in Paris that for more than two centuries was the chief performer of serious operas and musical dramas in the French language. It is one of the most venerable operatic institutions in the world.
Paris Opera Ballet: ballet company established in France in 1661 by Louis XIV as the Royal Academy of Dance (Academie Royale de Danse) and amalgamated with the Royal Academy of Music in 1672. As part of the Theatre National de l'Opera, the company ...
Paris Peace Conference: (1919-20), the meeting that inaugurated the international settlement after World War I.
Paris ware: faience (tin-glazed earthenware) and porcelain ware produced in the Paris region from the 16th century. The hard-paste-porcelain industry in Paris owed its existence to a breach in the Sevres porcelain monopoly after 1766. The major factories were under the protection ...
Paris, Commune of: insurrection of Paris against the French government from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It occurred in the wake of France's defeat in the Franco-German War and the collapse of Napoleon III's Second Empire (1852-70).
Paris, Gaston: greatest French philologist of his age.
Paris, Matthew: English Benedictine monk and chronicler, known largely only through his voluminous and detailed writings, which constitute one of the most important sources of knowledge of events in Europe between 1235 and 1259.
Paris, Peace of: (1783), collection of treaties concluding the American Revolution and signed by representatives of Great Britain on one side and the United States, France, and Spain on the other. Preliminary articles (often called the Preliminary Treaty of Paris) were signed at ...
Paris, Philippe d'Orleans, comte de: pretender to the French throne after the death of Louis-Philippe (1850). The death of his father, Ferdinand, Duke d'Orleans, son and heir of King Louis-Philippe, in 1842 made the young Philippe heir to the throne and the candidate of the ...
Paris, Treaties of: (1919-20), collectively the peace settlements concluding World War I and signed at sites around Paris. See Versailles, Treaty of (signed June 28, 1919); Saint-Germain, Treaty of (Sept. 10, 1919); Neuilly, Treaty of (Nov. 27, 1919); Trianon, Treaty of (June 4, ...
Paris, Treaties of: (1814-15), two treaties signed at Paris respectively in 1814 and 1815 that ended the Napoleonic Wars. The treaty signed on May 30, 1814, was between France on the one side and the Allies (Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and ...