-
Tansill, Charles C. (American author)
...theory were Charles Beard, author of American Foreign Policy in the Making, 1932–1940 (1946) and President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War, 1941 (1948), and Charles C. Tansill, author of Back Door to War: The Roosevelt Foreign Policy, 1933–1941 (1952). Half a century later, journalist and presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan gave......
-
tansy (plant)
one of about 150 species of strong-smelling, poisonous herbs of the genus Tanacetum (family Asteraceae), native to the North Temperate Zone. It has button-shaped yellow flower heads of disk flowers (no ray flowers) that are arranged in a flat-topped cluster; alternate, deeply cut leaves; and many stems....
-
tansy mustard (plant)
...of scurvy. It has tarry-flavoured leaves that are used in salads. The pungent condiment known as horseradish is made from the long, hard root of Armoracia lapathifolia, a European herb. Tansy mustard (Descurainia pinnata) is a widely distributed North American annual weed with feathery foliage and yellow to white flowers....
-
tansy ragwort (plant)
...the genus have yellow flower heads that usually are composed of disk and ray flowers. Bracts (leaflike structures) are located below the yellow, red, purple, blue, or white flower heads. Ragwort, or tansy ragwort (S. jacobaea; see photograph); cineraria, or dusty miller (S. cineraria); and golden ragwort (S. aureus) are cultivated as border plants. German ivy (S.......
-
Ṭanṭā (Egypt)
city and capital of Al-Gharbīyah muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Lower Egypt, in the Nile Delta. It lies on an irrigation canal almost midway between the Rosetta (west) and Damietta (east) branches of the Nile on the Cairo–Alexandria superhighway. It is also a junction for railways leading to Alexandria and Damietta and serving ...
-
tantalite (mineral)
tantalum-rich variety of the mineral columbite with the chemical formula (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6. Tantalite is the principal ore of the metal tantalum....
-
Tantalos (Greek mythology)
in Greek legend, son of Zeus or Tmolus (a ruler of Lydia) and Pluto (daughter of Cronus and Rhea) and the father of Niobe and Pelops. He was the king of Sipylus in Lydia (or of Phrygia) and was the intimate friend of the gods, to whose table he was admitted. The punishment of Tantalus in the underworld was occasioned by one of several crimes, according to vari...
-
tantalum (chemical element)
(Ta), chemical element, very hard, silver-gray metal of Group Vb of the periodic table, characterized by its high density, extremely high melting point, and excellent resistance to all acids except hydrofluoric at ordinary temperatures. Closely associated with niobium in ores and in properties, tantalum was discovered (1802) by the Swedish chemist Anders Gustaf Ekeberg and named...
-
Tantalus (Greek mythology)
in Greek legend, son of Zeus or Tmolus (a ruler of Lydia) and Pluto (daughter of Cronus and Rhea) and the father of Niobe and Pelops. He was the king of Sipylus in Lydia (or of Phrygia) and was the intimate friend of the gods, to whose table he was admitted. The punishment of Tantalus in the underworld was occasioned by one of several crimes, according to vari...
-
Tan-Tan (Morocco)
town, southwestern Morocco. The town, about 16 miles (25 km) by road east of the Atlantic Ocean in the extreme northwestern reaches of the Sahara, is a military post and a market centre for the Regeibat and Tekna nomads who live in the area. The annual mūsim, a commercial and religious fair, attr...
-
Tante Ulrikke (play by Heiberg)
...known in other countries: Balkonen (1894; The Balcony, 1922) and Kjærlighetens tragedie (1904; The Tragedy of Love, 1921). In Norway, Heiberg’s first play, Tante Ulrikke (1884; “Aunt Ulrikke”), has remained the most frequently performed of his works. Aunt Ulrikke is a lonely fighter for the rights of the underdog in a world ruled by...
-
Tantia Topi (Indian rebel leader)
a leader of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Though without formal military training, he was probably the best and most effective of the rebels’ generals....
-
Tantra (religious texts)
(Sanskrit: Loom), any of numerous texts dealing with the esoteric practices of some Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina sects. In the orthodox classification of Hindu religious literature, Tantra refers to a class of post-Vedic Sanskrit treatises similar to the Purāṇas (medieval encyclopaedic collections of myths, legends, and other topics). In this usage Tantras are, the...
-
Tantric Buddhism (Buddhism)
important development within Buddhism in India and neighbouring countries, notably Tibet. Vajrayāna, in the history of Buddhism, marks the transition from Mahāyāna speculative thought to the enactment of Buddhist ideas in individual life. The term vajra (Sanskrit: “diamond,” or “thunderbolt”) is used to signify the absolutely real and indestr...
-
Tantric Hinduism
...term eventually supplanted Kāmarūpa as the accepted name for the area. Being a unique mix of South Asian and East Asian cultures, Kāmarūpa was the seat of evolution for the Tantric form of Hinduism....
-
Tantrism (Buddhism)
important development within Buddhism in India and neighbouring countries, notably Tibet. Vajrayāna, in the history of Buddhism, marks the transition from Mahāyāna speculative thought to the enactment of Buddhist ideas in individual life. The term vajra (Sanskrit: “diamond,” or “thunderbolt”) is used to signify the absolutely real and indestr...
-
Tantulocardia (crustacean)
...Silurian to present; sedentary; 6 pairs of trunk limbs (cirri); larvae free-swimming; sessile adults with carapace developed into a mantle.Subclass TantulocaridaHolocene; eggs give rise to a tantulus larva with head shield and 6 pairs of thoracic limbs; adult females form large dorsal trunk sac b...
-
Tan-tung (China)
city, southeastern Liaoning sheng (province), northeastern China. Dandong is a prefecture-level municipality (shi), and the territory under its administration includes not only the municipal area but also several counties occupying the entire North Korean border zone of Liaoning. It is situated some ...
-
TANU (Tanzanian political organization)
The liberation struggle in Tanganyika was led by the Tanganyika African National Union, whose flag was a horizontal tricolour of green-black-green. Elections confirmed the overwhelming popular support for the organization, and British authorities suggested modifying the party flag for use as a national flag subsequent to independence on December 9, 1961. Yellow fimbriations were added at that......
-
Tanucci, Bernardo, Marchese (Italian statesman)
foremost statesman of the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily in the 18th century....
-
Tanūkh (people)
ancient group of various southern Arabian tribes and clans that first moved into central Arabia and then, at the beginning of the 2nd or 3rd century ad, moved into the fertile region west of the lower and middle Euphrates River. Although they were originally seminomadic, they later made a permanent settlement on the lower Euphrates, called al-Ḥīrah (...
-
Tanūkhi, al- (Muslim writer)
...genre were al-Thaʿālibī, al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, and Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmud ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī. Another major contributor, al-Tanūkhī, also compiled a collection that is an example of the al-faraj baʿd al-shiddah (“escape from hardship”) genre, which in...
-
tanuki (canine)
(Nyctereutes procyonoides), member of the dog family (Canidae) native to eastern Asia and introduced into Europe. Some authorities place it in the raccoon family, Procyonidae. It resembles the raccoon in having dark facial markings that contrast with its yellowish brown coat, but it does not have a ringed tail. It has short, brown or blackish limbs, a heavy body, and ...
-
T’anŭm (Korean painter)
painter who was one of the most popular 16th-century Korean artists....
-
Tanuma Okitsugu (Japanese government minister)
renowned minister of Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867); traditionally considered one of the corrupt geniuses of the period, he actually helped restore the financial footing of the government and greatly fostered trade....
-
Tanutamon (king of Egypt)
In 668 he put down a rebellion in Egypt and drove out King Taharqa, but in 664 the nephew of Taharqa, Tanutamon, gathered forces for a new rebellion. Ashurbanipal went to Egypt, pursuing the Ethiopian prince far into the south. His decisive victory moved Tyre and other parts of the empire to resume regular payments of tribute. Ashurbanipal installed Psamtik (Greek: Psammetichos) as prince over......
-
Tanwŏn (Korean painter)
one of the first Korean artists to depict the common people in his work....
-
tanyák (building)
...dunes, loess plains, and floodplains. Kecskemét is the market centre for the region, which is also noted for its isolated farmsteads, known as tanyák. Several interesting groups live there, including the people of Kalocsa and the Matyó, who occupy the northern part of the plain around Mezőkövesd and are......
-
Tan-yang (China)
city, capital of Kiangsu sheng (province) in east-central China. It is a port on the Yangtze River and a major industrial and communications centre. Rich in history, it served seven times as the capital of regional empires, twice as the seat of revolutionary governments, once (during World War II) as the site of a puppet regime, and twice as the capital of a united China (the secon...
-
Tanyao (Chinese monk)
The earliest five temples were instituted by the head of the Buddhist church, a monk named Tanyao, about 460 ce; their construction was among the first acts of propitiation sponsored by the foreign Tuoba, or Bei (Northern) Wei, rulers (386–534/535) as a result of their persecution of Buddhism during the period between 446 and 452. The colossal Buddha images in each cave were e...
-
tanzaku (cards)
...suit and rank. In most suits the first two cards show only a plain representation of the identifying flower and are worth one point. The suit’s third-ranking card adds a tanzaku, a picture of a sheet of paper for poetry writing, and is worth five points. The top card in each suit shows the flower, to which is added a picture of some animal, bird, ...
-
Tanzam Highway (highway, Africa)
...network extends to all parts of the country, but it is densest along the coast and southeast of Lake Victoria. The country’s percentage of roads paved is one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. The Tanzam Highway, opened in the early 1970s between Dar es Salaam and Zambia, has significantly reduced the isolation of southern Tanzania. A newer highway intersects it at Makambako and procee...
-
Tanzam railway (railway, Tanzania-Zambia)
...country between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, and the Tanga-to-Moshi railway. Today there is also a branch between these two lines, and another line connects Mwanza with Tabora on the Central Line. The TAZARA rail line, running between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri-Mposhi on the Zambian border, was built with Chinese aid in the early 1970s. It provided the main outlet to the sea for Zambia’s copp...
-
Tan-Zam railway (railway, Tanzania-Zambia)
...country between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, and the Tanga-to-Moshi railway. Today there is also a branch between these two lines, and another line connects Mwanza with Tabora on the Central Line. The TAZARA rail line, running between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri-Mposhi on the Zambian border, was built with Chinese aid in the early 1970s. It provided the main outlet to the sea for Zambia’s copp...
-
Tanzania
East African country situated just south of the Equator. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east and eight other nations: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, Malaŵi, and Mozambique. Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the theretofore separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Mainland Tan...
-
Tanzania, Bank of (bank, Tanzania)
All private banks were nationalized between 1967 and 1992, but since then private banks (including branches of foreign-owned banks) have been allowed to open. The state-run Bank of Tanzania operates as the central bank; it manages the country’s finances and issues the currency, the Tanzanian shilling....
-
Tanzania Craton (geological region, Africa)
...is again characterized by platform deposits in stable areas, such as the West African craton (Taoudeni and Tindouf basins), the Congo craton, the Kalahari craton (Nama basin of Namibia), and the Tanzania craton (Bukoban beds). Tectonic and magmatic activity was concentrated in mobile belts surrounding these stable areas and took place throughout the late Proterozoic, during the so-called......
-
Tanzania, flag of
...
-
Tanzania, history of
History...
-
Tanzania, United Republic of
East African country situated just south of the Equator. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east and eight other nations: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, Malaŵi, and Mozambique. Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the theretofore separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Mainland Tan...
-
tanzanite (mineral)
...limestone. Occurrences include Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Scotland, and the United States (Massachusetts). Thulite, a manganous variety from Telemark, Nor., and Piedmont, Italy, is pink; tanzanite, a gem variety from Tanzania, is vivid blue. Zoisite has the same chemical formula as clinozoisite but has a different crystal structure. For detailed physical properties, see......
-
Tanzawa Mountains (mountains, Japan)
...depression now buried by Mount Fuji. The western extension contains Mount Kenashi (6,381 feet), which is the highest peak in the southern section. Mount Kuro (5,878 feet) crowns the main body of the Tanzawa Mountains....
-
tanzīh (Islam)
Both tashbīh and taʿṭīl were avoided by many theologians who spoke rather of tanzīh (keeping God pure) and of tathbīt (confirming God’s attributes). The major reason for the fear of tashbīh is that it can easily lead to paganism and idolatry, while taʿṭīl leads to atheism....
-
Tanzimat (Ottoman reform movement)
(Turkish: “Reorganization”), series of reforms promulgated in the Ottoman Empire between 1839 and 1876 under the reigns of the sultans Abdülmecid I and Abdülaziz. These reforms, heavily influenced by European ideas, were intended to effectuate a fundamental change of the empire from the old system based on theocratic principles to ...
-
tao (Chinese philosophy)
(Chinese: “road,” or “way”), in Chinese philosophy, a fundamental concept signifying “the correct way,” or “Heaven’s way.” In the Confucian tradition, tao signifies a morally correct path of human conduct and is thus limited to behaviour. In the rival school of Taoism (the name of which derives from tao), the concept takes on a metaph...
-
tao (coin)
...invented, cowrie shells were used as money in China. The earliest Chinese coins are small bronze hoes and knives, copies of the tools that previously had been used for barter. The knife coins (tao) were about six inches (15 centimetres) long and some bore inscriptions naming the issuer and giving the value. Hoe coins bore similar inscriptions. Both types circulated during the 4th and......
-
T’ao Ch’ien (Chinese poet)
one of China’s greatest poets and a noted recluse....
-
T’ao Ho (river, China)
...axis, running in a southeasterly direction and marking the border between Honan and Hupeh. The T’ung-pai range is separated from the Fu-niu by a gap some 75 to 100 miles wide cut by the T’ang and T’ao rivers, which are tributaries of the Han River. This gap gives easy access from the Honan Plain to the central basin of the Yangtze, a route much used from Han times onward in...
-
Tao Hongling (Chinese Taoist)
Chinese poet, calligrapher, physician, naturalist, and the most eminent Taoist of his time....
-
Tao Hsüeh (Chinese philosophy)
...and harmony between man and nature was brought to fruition in Ch’eng Hao’s definition of humanity as “forming one body with all things.” To him the presence of T’ien-li (“Heavenly Principle”) in all things as well as in human nature enables the human mind to purify itself in a spirit of reverence. Ch’eng I, following his brother’s l...
-
T’ao Hung-ching (Chinese Taoist)
Chinese poet, calligrapher, physician, naturalist, and the most eminent Taoist of his time....
-
Tao Qian (Chinese poet)
one of China’s greatest poets and a noted recluse....
-
T’ao River (river, China)
...axis, running in a southeasterly direction and marking the border between Honan and Hupeh. The T’ung-pai range is separated from the Fu-niu by a gap some 75 to 100 miles wide cut by the T’ang and T’ao rivers, which are tributaries of the Han River. This gap gives easy access from the Honan Plain to the central basin of the Yangtze, a route much used from Han times onward in...
-
Tao Sheng (Chinese Buddhist monk)
eminent Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar....
-
Tao, Terrence (Australian mathematician)
Australian mathematician awarded a Fields Medal in 2006 “for his contributions to partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory.”...
-
t’ao t’ieh (mask motif)
monster mask commonly found on ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessels and implements....
-
Tao Tsang (Taoist literature)
a large, imperially sponsored collection of Taoist writings, very few of which have been translated into English. The original canon, printed by the Taoist emperors of the Sung dynasty (ad 960–1279), comprised almost 5,000 volumes, but many of these were destroyed by imperial decree during the Yüan, or Mongol, dynasty (1279–1368). The present Tao Tsang, nu...
-
Tao Yuanliang (Chinese poet)
one of China’s greatest poets and a noted recluse....
-
Tao Yuanming (Chinese poet)
one of China’s greatest poets and a noted recluse....
-
Tao’an (China)
city, northwestern Jilin sheng (province), northeastern China. The region was originally a hunting ground reserved for the Mongols, and farming was not allowed legally by the Qing government until 1902; it is now an area of extensive agriculture, with pastoral activities playing a major role....
-
tao-chia (philosophical Taoism)
...Western Sinologists and Chinese scholars themselves have distinguished—since Han times (206 bc–ad 220)—between a Taoist philosophy of the great mystics and their commentators (Tao-chia) and a later Taoist religion (Tao-chiao). This theory—no longer considered valid—was based on the view that the “ancien...
-
tao-chiao (religion)
...have distinguished—since Han times (206 bc–ad 220)—between a Taoist philosophy of the great mystics and their commentators (Tao-chia) and a later Taoist religion (Tao-chiao). This theory—no longer considered valid—was based on the view that the “ancient Taoism” of the mystics antedated the ...
-
taoiseach (Irish government)
...of State in the exercise of certain functions. The president signs and promulgates bills passed by the Oireachtas (Parliament) and, when so advised by the prime minister (taoiseach), summons and dissolves the Oireachtas. The president may, however, refuse to dissolve the Oireachtas on the advice of a prime minister who has ceased to command a majority in......
-
Taoism (Chinese philosophy and religion)
indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. In the broadest sense, a Taoist attitude toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of the Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and complements the moral and duty-conscious, austere and purposeful character ascribed to Confucianism. ...
-
“Taoist Canon” (Taoist literature)
a large, imperially sponsored collection of Taoist writings, very few of which have been translated into English. The original canon, printed by the Taoist emperors of the Sung dynasty (ad 960–1279), comprised almost 5,000 volumes, but many of these were destroyed by imperial decree during the Yüan, or Mongol, dynasty (1279–1368). The present Tao Tsang, nu...
-
Taoka Kazuo (Japanese crime boss)
Japan’s major crime boss (oyabun), who, after World War II, rose to head a giant crime organization, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Though centred in Kōbe, it had interests and affiliates nationwide and consisted of more than 10,000 members (known as yakuza) divided into more than 500 bands....
-
Tao-kuang (emperor of Qing dynasty)
reign name (nianhao) of the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, during whose reign (1820–50) attempts to prevent governmental decline met with little success....
-
Taolanaro (Madagascar)
town, southeastern tip of Madagascar. It was settled temporarily between 1504 and 1528 by shipwrecked Portuguese sailors. The French built a fort there in 1643, and Étienne de Flacourt wrote his descriptive Histoire de la Grande Isle de Madagascar there in 1661. A port on the Indian Ocean, Tôlan̈aro handles exports of dried fish, lumber, cattle, sisal,...
-
Taoniscus nanus (bird)
...with a high rump outline from an enormous development of rump feathers, which generally hide the extremely short or even rudimentary tail. The species of tinamous range in size from that of the dwarf tinamou (Taoniscus nanus)—about 15 cm (6 inches) long and 150 grams (5 ounces) in weight—to about 50 cm (20 inches) long and 2 kg (4 pounds) in larger species, such as the......
-
Taormina (Italy)
town, eastern Sicily, Italy, on a hill rising almost perpendicularly from the sea at the foot of Monte Tauro, between Messina and Catania. The ancient Tauromenium, which took its name from Monte Tauro, the site was originally occupied by the Siculi, an ancient Sicilian tribe, who were resettled there by Dionysius I of Syracuse c. 392 bc. A...
-
Taos (county, New Mexico, United States)
county, a scenic region in northern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the north by Colorado. It lies in the Southern Rocky Mountains. The Sangre de Cristo range in the eastern portion of the county features high, aspen-covered mountainsides; much of it is more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level, culminating in Mount Wheeler (13,161 feet [4,011 m]), the highest point in New Mexico. Western Tao...
-
Taos (New Mexico, United States)
town, seat of Taos county, New Mexico, U.S. It lies on a branch of the Rio Grande in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, near Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico, 55 miles (89 km) north-northeast of Santa Fe. The name comes from the Spanish rendering of Tiwa, the name of the indigenous Pueblo people. An early Spanish...
-
Taos Colony (art colony, Taos, New Mexico, United States)
...The first was in the 1920s, when a group of Euro-American artists located in and around Santa Fe, N.M., found excitement in the work of the Indians of the Southwest. Together with the so-called Taos colony of artists, these influential people succeeded in bringing the values of Native American art to the attention of the outside world through publications, exhibitions, and their artworks,......
-
Taos, Marguerite (Algerian singer and writer)
Kabyle singer and writer....
-
Taos Society of Artists (American artist group)
American painter who was a member of the Taos Society of Artists and who specialized in portraits of Indians and landscapes of the southwestern United States....
-
Tao-sheng (Chinese Buddhist monk)
eminent Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar....
-
Taosi (ancient site, China)
...(“Mound of the Royal City”) in north-central Henan and Dengxiafeng in Xia county (possibly the site of Xiaxu, “Ruins of Xia”?), southern Shanxi—as early Xia capitals. Taosi, also in southern Shanxi, has been identified as a Xia capital because of the “royal” nature of five large male burials found there that were lavishly provided with grave good...
-
“Tao-te Ching” (Chinese literature)
classic of Chinese philosophical literature. The name was first used during the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220); it had previously been called Laozi in the belief that it was written by Laozi, identified by the historian Sima Qian as a 6th-century-bc curator of the imperial Chinese archives. Laozi, howe...
-
taotie (mask motif)
monster mask commonly found on ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessels and implements....
-
Tao-t’ung (Confucian text)
...He attacked Buddhism from the perspectives of social ethics and cultural identity and provoked interest in the question of what actually constitutes the Confucian Way. The issue of Tao-t’ung, the transmission of the Way or the authentic method to repossess the Way, has stimulated much discussion in the Confucian tradition since the 11th century....
-
Taoudeni (basin, Mauritania)
...years ago, and include sediments of two glaciations, for during parts of this time the western African region lay close to the South Pole. These older formations were laid down in the Volta and Taoudeni basins (the latter one of the largest sedimentary basins in the world), and parts were involved later in the Pan-African orogenesis. The sandstones and conglomerates are now very hard and......
-
Taounate (Morocco)
town, northern Morocco. The town is a local market centre situated on the southern slopes of the Rif Mountains. It is located on a plateau overlooking the valley of the Sra River (Oued Sra), near the Gargara gorges....
-
Taowang (work by Gao Xingjian)
Gao’s play Taowang (1989; “Fugitives”), was set during the brutal 1989 suppression of student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Its publication angered the Chinese authorities, who banned Gao’s works and declared him persona non grata. Gao wrote in both Chinese and French. Several of his plays have been published in The Other Shore: Play...
-
T’ao-yüan (county, Taiwan)
hsien (county), northern Taiwan, with an area of 471 sq mi (1,221 sq km). It is bordered by the hsiens of T’ai-pei (north), I-lan (east), and Hsin-chu (south) and by the Taiwan Strait (west). Ranges of the Hsüeh-shan Shan-mo (mountain range) extend over most of the southeastern part of the county and gradually merge with the fertile alluvial coastal plains to the north...
-
T’ao-yüan (Taiwan)
shih (municipality) and seat of T’ao-yüan hsien (county), northern Taiwan, situated 13 mi (21 km) southwest of Taipei city, in the northern part of the western coastal plain. Developed during the early 18th century, the city grew as an agricultural market centre for the surrounding fertile plain that raises rice and tea. Major industries produce textiles and cement; cl...
-
TAP (Portuguese company)
Private aircraft were the first to fly regularly in Mozambique, but after World War II Portugal’s national airline opened a route between Beira and Maputo. Eventually colonial Mozambique developed its own airline. It was replaced in 1980 by Mozambique Airlines (Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique; LAM), the national carrier, which also provides international service. Mozambique has a....
-
tap (phonetics)
A tap is produced if one articulator is thrown against another, as when the loosely held tongue tip makes a single tap against the upper teeth or the alveolar ridge. The consonant in the middle of a word such as letter or Betty is often made in this way in American English. The term flap is also used to describe these sounds, but some authorities make a distinction between taps as......
-
tap dance
style of dance in which a dancer wearing shoes fitted with heel and toe taps sounds out audible beats by rhythmically striking the floor or any other hard surface....
-
tapa (art)
nonwoven fabric decorated with figurative and abstract designs usually applied by scratching or by painting. The basic clothlike material, produced from the inner bark, or bast, of certain trees (see bast fibre), is made by stripping off the bast, soaking it, and beating it to make the fibres interlace and to reduce thickness. The most popular material is the inner bark o...
-
Ta-pa Shan (mountains, China)
broadly defined, mountain range of central China that is located along the border between Shaanxi province to the north and Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality to the south and that also extends northwest and southeast into Gansu and Hubei provinces. More narrowly defined, the ...
-
Tapachula (Mexico)
city, southeastern Chiapas estado (state), extreme southeastern Mexico. It is on the Coatán River, on the Pacific coastal plain, at 449 feet (137 m) above sea level, 9.5 miles (15 km) from the Guatemala border. Tapachula is the major manufacturing and commercial centre for the Soconusco region. Coffee, bananas, cacao, and sugarcane, the principal prod...
-
Tapachultec (extinct Mexican language)
...in Veracruz, are the other Zoquean languages. Mixe, spoken in eastern Oaxaca, and Sayula and Oluta (both sometimes called Popoluca), spoken in Veracruz, are Mixean languages. An extinct language, Tapachultec, formerly spoken along the southeast coast of Chiapas, is also classified as a Mixean language. ...
-
tapacolo (bird)
any of about 27 species of ground-dwelling birds of the family Rhinocryptidae (order Passeriformes) of Central and South America. When disturbed they scurry for cover with tail lifted. Tapaculos are wren- to thrush-sized, with short wings, longish legs, and strong feet for scratching in the earth. Most species are reddish brown or gray, with spots or bars (in both sexes); those of woodlands are da...
-
tapaculo (bird)
any of about 27 species of ground-dwelling birds of the family Rhinocryptidae (order Passeriformes) of Central and South America. When disturbed they scurry for cover with tail lifted. Tapaculos are wren- to thrush-sized, with short wings, longish legs, and strong feet for scratching in the earth. Most species are reddish brown or gray, with spots or bars (in both sexes); those of woodlands are da...
-
Tapajó (people)
The Waurá women of the upper Xingu are famous for their pots and animal-shaped bowls. Of the historic tribes, the Tapajó of the Amazon had the richest style in ceramics, excelled only by the archaeological remains of the Ilha de Marajó. Among some groups in the Guianas and western Amazonia, artistic activity includes wood carving....
-
Tapajós (Brazil)
city, west-central Pará estado (state), northern Brazil. It is situated on the right bank of the Tapajós River, near its confluence with the Amazon River. Santarém was founded in 1661 as a Jesuit mission to a Tapajó Indian settlement (aldeia) and grew around a fort b...
-
Tapajós River (river, Brazil)
central Brazil, formed by the union of the Teles Pires and the Juruena rivers, in north-central Mato Grosso estado (state). It winds northward through the Mato Grosso plateau and forms the state border between Mato Grosso and Amazonas and then between Pará and Amazonas states. It bends north-northeastward, traverses Pará, and empties into the...
-
tapas (food)
In Spain the bars and cafés of Madrid offer widely varied appetizers, called tapas, including such items as shrimp cooked in olive oil with garlic, meatballs with gravy and peas, salt cod, eels, squid, mushrooms, and tuna fish. The tapas are taken with sherry, and it is a popular custom to go on a chateo, or tour of bars, consuming large quantities of tapas and sherry at each bar.......
-
tapas (Hinduism)
(Sanskrit: “heat,” or “ardour”), in Hinduism, ascetic practice voluntarily carried out to achieve spiritual power or purification. In the Vedas, tapas refers to the “inner heat” created by the practice of physical austerities and figured in the creation myths, as a means by which Prajāpati (the main creator god) brought the world into existe...
-
tape cassette
in audio and video recording, flat, rectangular container made of plastic or lightweight metal that holds magnetic tape for audio or video recording and replay. A tape cassette is designed so that it can be inserted in a recorder and used immediately; it eliminates the need to thread a portion of the tape manually before starting the recorder. In a cassette th...