These 11 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Common Pleas, Common Prayer, Commoner.
in law, pleas brought by private persons against private persons, or by the government, when the cause of action is of a civil nature. In many States of the United States it is a court having jurisdiction generally in civil actions. In England the old Court of Common Pleas is now merged in the High Court of Justice.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
BOOK OF, the public form of prayer prescribed by the Church of England to be used in all churches and chapels, and which the clergy are to use under a certain penalty. It dates from the reign of Edward VI., was published in 1549, and again with some changes in 1552. Some slight alterations were made upon it when it was adopted in the reign of Elizabeth. In the reign of James I., and finally soon after the Restoration, it underwent new revisions.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
in Great Britain, a term applied to all citizens except the hereditary nobility.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
the state or prosperity of a country without any reference to the form of government under which it may be at the time. Owing to the semi-independent position of the States of the American Union the term commonwealth is of frequent application to the various members of the great Federal Government, which itself is spoken of as the National or Federal Commonwealth in contradistinction from its constituent autonomies. In many of the States the legal proceedings against criminals, etc., are instituted in the name of the (e. g.) "Commonwealth of vs. John Doe." The word is also applied to the period in the history of England during which the Parliamentary army and the Protector Oliver Cromwell exercised the power of government. See OLIVER CROM- WELL.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
in theology, the act of partaking with others of the sacramental symbols in the Lord's Supper . For the first three centuries the communion was administered every Lord's Day; then it became more infrequent , and before long was limited to Easter, Whitsunday, and Christmas . neglecting it even on these days, the Council of Lateran, in 1215 , ordered all Catholics to commune at least once a year, naming Easter as the time, an injunction which the Council of Trent confirmed. For the first seven centuries the practice was somewhat general of mixing water with the wine to symbolize the mystic union between Christ and the communicant's soul. Originally both bread and wine were administered, but in 1096, Pope Urban II. sanctioned the practice of omitting the wine when the This communicant was layman . a method the Council of Constance enjoined in 1414. It has since remained in force in the Church of Rome, but at the Reformation communion in both kinds, as it is often termed, was restored to the laity. The word applies also to the community of belief, and theoretically , at least, of Christian affection, existing among those who partake together of the Lord's Supper. From this use of the Latin word is derived the practice of calling the several denominations, Communions, as the Lutheran Communion, the Congregational Communion , etc.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
the name of a family, originally Italian, of which many members occupied the throne of the Byzantine empire from 1057 to 1204, and that of Trebizond from 1204 to 1461. See BYZANTINE EMPIRE, TREBIZOND, ALEXIUS COMNENUS. ANNA COMNENUS, who lived in the first half of the 12th century, was a high literary as well as historical celebrity. DAVID COMNENUS, the last representative of the imperial race in Trebizond, was executed at Adrianople in 1462, with all his family, by command of Mohammed II.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a volcanic group in the Indian Ocean, between the N. extremity of Madagascar and the continent of Africa. They are four in number: Great Comoro, Mohilla, Johanna, and Mayotta; total area, 1,050 square miles; pop. about 70,000. The people are nominally Mohammedans, and are akin to the mixed races of Zanzibar. They have large flocks and herds; and the coast lands are very fertile, abounding in tropical grains and fruits. Mayotta belonged to France since 1843, and in the others became a French possession. Since 1914 the islands have been governed by the Governor-General of Madagascar.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a word of various applications, including: (1) A number of persons legally associated for the performance of any duty or the carrying on of any business. The profits are divided among the members or shareholders in proportion to the amount of capital invested. (2) The partners in any firm whose names do not appear in the title or style of the firm; in this use the word is generally contracted to Co. (3) A society, corporation, or guild for the promotion and protection of the interests of any trade. When companies are authorized by the State or Government, they are termed corporations. In military language, the smallest command of a captain of infantry. In the United States a company of infantry (full strength) numbers 100 men. In Europe it varies in strength from 48 rank and file (peace strength) to 120 (as in England), which is the limit of a dismounted officer's command, to 250 (as with the Continental armies), armies), where the captain is mounted. It is formed in three ranks in Germany, in two ranks in other countries, with a supernumerary rank containing the captain, a lieutenant, and the sergeants. In England it forms one-eighth of a war battalion, and has little independent action; on the Continent the company, which is one-fourth of the war battalion, acts almost independently. War strength (English): 3 officers (captain and 2 subalterns), 5 sergeants, 2 drummers, 5 corporals, 113 privates, 1 driver.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
as distinguished from special anatomy; the science which examines and compares the structure of two or more different kinds of animals, so as to discover their points of resemblance and unlikeness; and as such it is a most important department of the science of biology.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
An instrument consisting of a magnetized needle turning freely on a point, used to determine horizontal directions in reference to the cardinal points.
Only in American Watchmaker and Jeweler
- Between the years 1400 and 1790, there existed at Lubeck a guild of this name, which met twice a year. Their badge was a compass and sector suspended from a crowned letter "C," over which was a radiated triangular plate. In 1485 they adopted chains composed of these emblems united by eagles' tails. They appear to have been a magical or Kabbalistic society.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism