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use tax ... Utica
use tax
levy on the use or possession of a commodity. Under the principle that the taxpayer should pay according to the benefits received from public services, a use tax is often levied on the user of a service, so that costs ...
Userkaf
first king of the 5th dynasty of Egypt (c. 2465-c. 2325 BC) who elevated the cult of Re, god of the sun, to unprecedented importance.
ushabti figure
any of the small statuettes made of wood, stone, or faience that are often found in large numbers in ancient Egyptian tombs. The figures range in height from 4 to 9 inches (10 to 23 cm) and often held hoes ...
Ushak carpet
floor covering handwoven in the city of Usak (Ushak), Turkey. By the 16th century the principal manufacture of large commercial carpets in Ottoman Turkey had been established at Usak, which produced rugs for palace and mosque use and for export. ...
ushpizin
(Aramaic: "visitors"), according to the Jewish Kabbalistic book the Sefer ha-zohar ("Book of Splendour"), seven ancient worthies who take turns visiting the homes of all pious Jews to share their dinner on the festival of Sukkoth. A custom developed of ...
Ushuaia
city, capital and port of Tierra del Fuego provincia, Argentina, on the Beagle Channel. It lies on the main island of Tierra del Fuego Archipelago at the southern tip of South America.
Usk
town, present and historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales, lying along the River Usk 20 miles (32 km) from its Bristol Channel mouth. The town was settled first by Celts and then by Romans, who called it Burrium. A Norman castle ...
Uskudar
city, northwestern, Turkey. It lies at the foot of the Bulgurlu Hills on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus Strait opposite Istanbul. Known as Chrysopolis in ancient times, it was a dependency of the older and better-sited colony of Chalcedon ...
Usman dan Fodio
Fulani mystic, philosopher, and revolutionary reformer who, in a jihad (holy war) between 1804 and 1808, created a new Muslim state, the Fulani empire, in what is now northern Nigeria.
Usnisavijaya
popular Buddhist goddess in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. Her name in Sanskrit means "victorious goddess of the usnisa," the last-named object being the protuberance on the top of the Buddha's skull. She wears an image of the Buddha Vairocana in ...
Usolye-Sibirskoye
city, Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. It lies along the Angara River and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The city is an old centre of salt production that continues as a major producer of caustic soda. Other plants produce machinery and synthetic ...
Uspensky, Gleb Ivanovich
Russian intellectual and writer whose realistic portrayals of peasant life did much to correct the prevalent romantic view of the Russian agricultural worker.
Ussachevsky, Vladimir
Russian-born American composer known for his experiments with music for the tape recorder, often combined with live sound.
Ussher, James
Anglo-Irish prelate of the Anglican church who was memorable for his activity in religious politics and for his work on patristic texts, especially the chronology of the Old Testament.
Ussuri River
northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the ...
Ussuriysk
city, Primorsky kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the junction with a line to Harbin in Heilungkiang province, China. Founded as the village of Nikolskoye in ...
Ust-Ilimsk
city and administrative centre of Ust-Ilimsk rayon (sector), Irkutsk oblast (province), south-central Russia. It became a city in 1973 in connection with the building of the nearby Ust-Ilimsk dam and hydroelectric-power station on the Angara River. A huge timber-processing complex ...
Ust-Kamenogorsk
city, eastern Kazakstan. It lies in the foothills of the Rudnyy Altai Mountains and at the junction of the Ulba and Irtysh rivers. Founded as a Russian fort in 1720, it later became a centre of trade with Mongolia and ...
Ust-Orda Buryat
autonomous okrug (district) in Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. It lies west of Lake Baikal and extends across the Angara River. The okrug was created in 1937. Its plateau relief is partly in boreal forest, or taiga, of larch, spruce, ...
Ust-Ordynsky
township and capital, Irkutsk oblast ("region"), eastern Siberia, Russia. It lies on the Kuda River and on the road from Irkutsk to Kachug, west of Lake Baikal. It is a small settlement of administrative significance and a centre of an ...
Ustasa
Croatian fascist movement that nominally ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. In 1929, when King Alexander I tried to suppress the conflict between Croatian and Serbian political parties by imposing a personal dictatorial regime in Yugoslavia, ...
Usti nad Labem
capital, Severocesky kraj (region), northwestern Czech Republic. It is a port on the left (west) bank of the Elbe (Labe) River at the latter's confluence with the Bilina River. Although dating from the 10th century, the city has developed mainly ...
Ustinov, Dmitry Fedorovich
Soviet military and political figure who was minister of defense from 1976 to 1984.
Ustinov, Sir Peter
English actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, raconteur, and humanitarian.
Ustyurt Plateau
plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, lying between the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya (river) delta in the east and the Mangyshlak (Tupqarghan) Plateau and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (Garabogazkol; an inlet of the Caspian Sea) in the west. It has an ...
usufruct
in Roman-based legal systems, the temporary right to the use and enjoyment of the property of another, without changing the character of the property. This legal concept developed in Roman law and found significant application in the determination of the ...
Usuki
city, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan. The city faces Usuki Bay on the Bungo Channel between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. An early castle town, Usuki once carried on trade with Portugal. It is now a fishing port ...
usul al-fiqh
in classical Islamic theory, the four major sources from which law is derived: the Qur'an; the sunna, or sunnah (practice of the Prophet as transmitted through his sayings); ijma' (consensus of scholars); and qiyas (analogical deductions from these three). The ...
Usulutan
city, southeastern El Salvador. It lies on the Pacific coastal plain at the southern foot of Usulutan Volcano. The city's name, which is Indian, means "city of the ocelots." Usulutan is a commercial centre dealing in the grain, coffee, sugarcane, ...
Usumacinta River
river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala, formed by the junction of the Pasion River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from ...
usury
in modern law, the practice of charging an illegal rate of interest for the loan of money. In Old English law, the taking of any compensation whatsoever was termed usury. With the expansion of trade in the 13th century, however, ...
USX Corporation
former American holding company that was incorporated in 1986 to oversee the operations formerly directed by the United States Steel Corporation. Its four independent operating units were USS (United States Steel Corporation), Marathon Oil, Texas Oil & Gas, and U.S. ...
Uta
genus of New World lizards of the family Iguanidae. The seven species that have been described occur in the southwestern United States and in adjacent regions of Mexico. The side-blotched lizard, or ground uta (Uta stansburiana), is found as far ...
Utagawa Kunisada
Japanese artist who was probably the most prolific of all the painters and printmakers of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement. He was particularly known for his erotically decadent portraits of women, executed with a powerful, free style. ...
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
original name Igusa Magosaburo Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement.
Utagawa Toyokuni
Japanese artist of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement who developed the style of his master, Utagawa Toyoharu, making it one of the most popular of its day.
Utah
constituent state of the United States of America. Mountains, high plateaus, and deserts form most of its landscape. The state's 84,899 square miles (219,889 square kilometres) lie in the heart of the West, with Idaho to the north, Wyoming to ...
Utah Beach
the westernmost beach of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion of World War II. It was assaulted on June 6, 1944 (D-Day of the invasion), by elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and was taken with relatively ...
Utah Lake
lake in Utah county, north-central Utah, U.S. It covers 150 square miles (390 square km) and is 23 miles (37 km) long. The largest U.S. freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Utah Lake drains through the Jordan River into ...
Utah State University
public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Logan, Utah, U.S. It is a comprehensive, land-grant university with about 45 academic departments within colleges of Agriculture, Business, Education, Engineering, Family Life, Natural Resources, Science, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. The school ...
Utah, University of
public, coeducational institution of higher education in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. It is a comprehensive university with many research opportunities and academic programs. Through 16 colleges and schools it offers some 75 undergraduate degree programs and more than 90 ...
Utamaro
Japanese printmaker and painter who was one of the greatest artists of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement; he is known especially for his masterfully composed portraits of sensuous female beauties.
Ute
Shoshonean-speaking group of Indians of western Colorado and eastern Utah; their name was given to the latter state. When the Spanish Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante traversed their territory in 1776, while seeking a route from Santa Fe (now in ...
uterine bleeding
abnormal bleeding from the uterus, which is not related to menstruation. Menstruation is the normal cyclic bleeding that occurs when the egg has been released from the ovary and fertilization has not occurred. Other episodes of bleeding that cannot be ...
uterine cancer
a disease characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the uterus. Cancers affecting the lining of the uterus (endometrium) are the most common cancers of the female reproductive tract. Other uterine cancers, called uterine sarcomas, develop from underlying muscle ...
uterine cervix
lowest region of the uterus; it attaches the uterus to the vagina and provides a passage between the vaginal cavity and the uterine cavity. The cervix, only about 4 centimetres (1.6 inches) long, projects about 2 centimetres into the upper ...
uterus
an inverted pear-shaped muscular organ of the female reproductive system, located between the bladder and rectum. It functions to nourish and house the fertilized egg until the unborn child, or offspring, is ready to be delivered.
Uthai Thani
town and changwat (province) in the Northern region of Thailand, west of the Mae Nam (river) Chao Phraya. The provincial capital, Uthai Thani, is a market town in the eastern lowland part of the province. The province (area 2,598 sq ...
Uthman ibn 'Affan
third caliph to rule after the death of the Prophet. He centralized the administration of the caliphate and established an official version of the Qur'an. 'Uthman is critically important in Islamic history because his death marked the beginning of open ...
Utica
city, seat (1798) of Oneida county, central New York, U.S., on the Mohawk River and New York State Canal System, 45 miles (72 km) east of Syracuse. The first settlers were Dutch and Palatinate Germans, and in 1758 the British ...
Utica
traditionally the oldest Phoenician settlement on the coast of North Africa. It is located near the mouth of the Majardah (French Medjerda, ancient Bagradas) River in modern Tunisia. After its founding in the 8th or 7th century BC, Utica grew ...
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