Vopiscus
A Roman praenomen, which signified a twin-child who was born safe, while the other twin died, before birth. Like many other ancient Roman praenomens, it was afterwards used as a cognomen.
Only in 1000 Classical Characters
Single-source entries: V (29)
Each of these 10 subjects appears in only one of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. None is long enough to carry a page by itself, so they are gathered here by letter. Anything that grows moves out to a page of its own.
Vortex
ordinarily, a whirlpool. When any portion of a fluid is set rotat ing round an axis a vortex is produced. Familiar examples are seen in eddies, whirlpools, waterspouts, whirlwinds, and on a larger scale in cyclones and storms generally.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vorticella, Voyageur, V-Pug & Von Ludendorff
Vorticella or BELL-ANIMAL- CULE, a genus of stalked infusoria, having a fixed stem capable of being coiled into a spiral form, and vibratile organs called cilia fringing the bell-shaped disk or head, which are constantly in rapid motion and attract particles of food. The species are very numerous in fresh water, and are generally microscopic. Voyageur a traveler; specifically applied in Canada to a class of men employed by the fur companies ies in transporting goods by the rivers and across the land to and from the remote stations of the Northwest. They are nearly all French Canadians or half-breeds. V-Pug the Eupithecia coronata, a pug moth. The fore wings are green with numerous black and pale markings, the most conspicuous of which is a Vshaped black mark, whence the name. The caterpillar feeds on the traveler's joy, the agrimony, the golden rod, and the wild angelica. Von Ludendorff GENERAL ERICH, was a leader in carrying on imperialistic propaganda in Bavaria during the year, and was an associate of Adolph Hitler in an attempt to overturn the Government. He was arrested for treason together with Hitler and others. He was acquitted in March, 1924.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vos
BERT JOHN, a Dutch-American educator; born in Katwykaan Zee, Holland, Oct. 27, 1867; was educated in his native land, and graduated at the Uni- 'versity of Michigan in 1888. He studied at Johns Hopkins University in 1888- 1891 and at the University of Leipsic in 1891-1892; was instructor of German at the University of Chicago in 1892-1893; associate instructor of the same at Johns Hopkins University in 1893-1898, and associate professor from 1898-1908. In the latter year he became professor of German at Indiana University. He was the author of "Materials for German Conversation" (1900); "Monographs on Middle High German Style and Rhyme Technic"; etc. He also translated from the German "Religion of the Ancient Teutons" (1901).
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vosges
a department in the E. of France; bounded N. by Meurthe-et Moselle and Meuse, W. by Haute-Marne, S. by Haute-Saône, and E. by Elsass area 2,303 square miles; pop. abou 430,000. The surface is covered in the E. by the wooded summits of the Vosges Mountains, and in the W. consists of fertile undulating plains. It is watered by the Moselle, with its affluents the Moselotte, Vologne, Madon, and Meurthe; the Meuse with the Mouzon and the Vaire; and the Saône with its affluent the Coney. The industries include silk and wool spinning and weaving, embroidery and lace-making, bleaching and dyeing, and the manufacture of glass, pottery, paper, beet sugar, beer, leather, and machinery. The capital of the department is Epinal. The Vosges was the scene of the earliest fighting in France during the World War. See WORLD WAR.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vosges Mountains
a range of hills in the E. of France, bounding the valley of the Rhine on the W. and parallel with the Schwarzwald in Baden. They are connected in the N. with the Hardt in Rhenish Bavaria, in the S. W. with the Faucilles, the Côte-d'Or, and the Cévennes, and in the S. they unite with offsets from the Jura. The summits are usually rounded, hence called ballons, and are covered with a rich green turf, on which for six months of the year large herds of cattle graze. Their sides are clothed with forests of fir, oak, and beech. Their highest summits range from 3,000 to over 4,000 feet, culminating in Ballon de Gebweiler, 4,700 feet above the sea. In those mountains was carried on severe and almost persistent fighting during the World War.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Votaw
CLYDE WEBER, an American educator; born in Wheaton, III., Feb. 6, 1864; was graduated at Amherst College in 1888; at Yale Divinity School in 1891, and in post-graduate work at the University of Chicago in 1896; was reader and instructor in Biblical literature at the latter institution in 1892- 1896, instructor of New Testament literature in 1896-1900; and was then made Professor of Biblical Greek. His publithe cations include "Inductive Studies in the Founding of the Christian Church"; "Use of the Infinitive in Biblical Greek"; "The Primitive Era of Christianity"; "The Transition from Judaism to Christianity," etc. VOTING MACHINE. See BALLOT.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vote
. See Suffrage; Ballot Voting Machine. See Ballot
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Vowel
a sound uttered by simply opening the mouth or vocal organs; a sound produced by the vibration of the vocal chords. The pitch or tone of a vowel is determined by the vocal chords, but its quality depends on the configuration of the mouth or buccal tube. A, i, and u are by philologists called the primitive vowels, and from them all the various vowel sounds in the Aryan languages have been developed. A vowel differs from a consonant in that the former can be pronounced by itself, while a consonant requires the aid of a vowel to be sounded with it. While there are only 5 vowel characters, yet there are 14 vowel and 5 diphthongal sounds in English.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Vulcan
in ancient mythology, the god of fire and patron of workers in metal. Vulcan is the Roman name; Hephaestos, the Greek. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was born lame, according to some, humpbacked. Juno was ashamed of him and dropped him from the heavens into the sea, where he was rescued by the goddess Thetis, who reared him until he was nine years old, and then returned him to his parents on Mt. Olympus. Another legend runs to the effect that Jupiter, taking offense one day because Vulcan took Juno's side in a family quarrel, hurled him forth. From morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, A summer's day; and with the setting sun Dropped from the zenith, like a falling star, On Lemnos, the Aegean isle. In the fall he broke his ankle, causing him to limp ever afterward. However, he set up his forge in the isle of Lemnos and became the patron of mechanic arts. Others have it that his residence was Mt. Etna, where he employed the Cyclops in forging huge thunderbolts for the use of Jove. The island of Lemnos was sacred to him. Vulcan is the protecting divinity of blacksmiths.
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia