Apure
a navigable river of Venezuela, formed by the junction of several streams which rise in the Andes of Colombia; it falls into the Orinoco.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Single-source entries: A (76)
These 17 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Apure, Apurimac, Apus.
Apurimac
a river of South America, which rises in the Andes of Peru; and being augmented by the Pampes and other streams forms the Ucayale which, after it is joined by the Maranon, forms the Amazon. From it a department of Peru receives its name. Area, 8,187 square miles; pop. about 200,- 000. Capital, Abancay. It produces coffee, cocoa, rubber and sugar, and has gold gold and silver mines.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Apus
in zoölogy, a genus of entomostracans, the typical one of the family apodide. They have the carapace of one piece, and completely enveloping the anterior part of the animal. They have about 60 pairs of feet.
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Aqua
a word much used in pharmacy and old chemistry. Aqua fortis (=strong water), a weak and impure nitric acid. It has the power of eating into steel and copper, and hence is used by engravers, etchers, etc. Aqua regia, or aqua regalis, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids with the power of dissolving gold and other noble metals.
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Aquamarine
a name given to some of the finest varieties of beryl of a sea-green or pale blue color. Varieties of topaz are also so called.
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Aquarius
in astronomy, the 11th of the 12 ancient zodiacal constellations, now generally called signs of the Zodiac. It is generally quoted as "Aquarius, the Water-bearer."
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Aquatic
a term applied to plants and animals. It means living in the water, yet it is seldom used of plants or animals that live wholly in the water. We call all water fowl aquatic, yet we should hardly apply the term to fishes. Water lilies are typical aquatic plants, yet they bloom above water. The green thread-like algae of fresh water and the sea weeds of the ocean live wholly in or under water, yet we should not speak of them ordinarily as aquatic plants. See Water Lily ; Water Hyacinth ; Beaver ; Muskrat , etc.
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Aquatint
a method of etching on copper by which a beautiful effect is produced, resembling a fine drawing in sepia or Indian ink. The special character of the effect is the result of sprinkling finely powdered resin or mastic over the plate, and causing this to adhere by heat, the design being previously etched, or being now traced out. The nitric acid (aqua fortis) acts only in the interstices between the particles of resin or mastic, thus giving a slightly granular appearance.
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Aqueous Humor
the limpid watery fluid which fills the space between the cornea and the crystalline lens in ROCKS, mechanically AQUEOUS formed rocks, composed by matter deposited by water. Called also sedimentary or stratified rocks.
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Aquifoliacee
a natural order of plants; the holly tribe. The species consist of trees and shrubs, and the order includes the common holly (ilex aquifolium) and the I. paraguayensis, or Paraguayan tea tree.
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Aquila
an episcopal town of Italy, on the Periscop the 58 N. E. Apennines, capitmiles the Eproof Aquila, capital ofrohely prov It is noted for its manufac- The tures of wax, linen, paper, and its trade in saffron. The town suffered much injury by earthquakes in 1688, 1703, and 1706. It has a citadel, constructed in Emperor Frederick II. built Aquila on or in the vicinity of the ancient site of Amiternum, about 1240. Pop. about 25,000.
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Aquileia
an old town of the former Austrian crownland of Görz and Gradisca, 22 miles W. N. W. of Trieste, near the Gulf of Venice. nice. Before the fall of the Roman empire it was the great emporium of trade between the north and south of Europe, and was often called the "Second Rome." Cæsar Augustus frequently resided here, and several councils of the Church, the first in 381, were held here. In the 6th century, the title of Patriarch was taken by the bishops of Aquileja, who assumed second rank to the Pope. The town was destroyed by Attila in 452, when the inhabitants numbered 100,000. Pop. 2,000.
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Aquitaine
a Roman province in Gaul, which comprehended the countries on the coast from the Garonne to the Pyrenees, and from the sea to Toulouse. It was brought into connection with England by the marriage of Henry II. with Eleanor, daughter of the last Duke of Aquitaine.
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Arabah
a deep, rocky valley or depression in northwestern Arabia, between the Dead Sea and Gulf of Akabah, a sort of continuation of the Jordan Valley.
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Arabesque
a style of ornamentation in which are represented men, animals (the latter consisting of mythic as well as actual forms); plants, with leaves, flowers, and fruit; mathematical figures, etc.; the whole put together in a whimsical way, so that, for instance, the animals not merely rest upon the plants, but grow out of them like blossoms. There are three kinds arabesque: (1) (and oldest), that of of the Romans, without the animals. The imals. They occur in the mural paintings at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other places. (2) That of the Arabs, also without the animals. This is well seen in the Alhambra. (3) The Christian arabesque, with the figures introduced. It appears in illuminated medieval manuscripts and elsewhere.
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Arabian Literature
. See Literature
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Arabian Sea
that part of the Indian Ocean lying north of an imaginary line stretching between Cape Comorin, the southernmost point of Hindustan, and Cape Guardafui, the most easterly point of Africa. The sea proper lies between Hindustan and Arabia; but the Gulf of Aden, with its extension, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf are arms of the Arabian Sea. Ships passing through the Suez Canal must cross the Arabian Sea to reach southern Asia. Bombay is the chief port on the Arabian Sea. The chief islands are Sokotra and the Laccadive Islands. 2026 Editor's Note: Bombay, 'the chief port,' is now Mumbai, India's largest city and financial capital. The Arabian Sea remains one of the world's busiest oil-shipping lanes — and its western approaches off the Horn of Africa became notorious in the 2000s for Somali piracy , prompting international naval patrols. (Ed: BR 2026-07-08)
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia