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World Economic Forum

(Encyclopedia)World Economic Forum (WEF), independent international organization that seeks to improve the state of the world by encouraging partnerships between the public and private sectors, est. 1971 by the Ger...

wren

(Encyclopedia)wren, small, plump perching songbird of the family Troglodytidae. There are about 60 wren species, and all except one are restricted to the New World. The plumage is usually brown or reddish above and...

Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward

(Encyclopedia)Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward, 1863–1942, British explorer, b. India. He explored Manchuria in 1886. The following year he journeyed from China to India, crossing the Gobi desert and the Mustagh ...

Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Associations

(Encyclopedia)Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Associations (YMHA, YWHA), organizations that promote health, social activities, recreation, acculturation of new Jewish Americans, and Jewish culture among Jews o...

zinnia

(Encyclopedia)zinnia, any species of the genus Zinnia of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native chiefly to Mexico, though some range as far north as Colorado and as far south as Guatemala. The common zinnia o...

zoological garden

(Encyclopedia)zoological garden or zoo, public or private park where living animals are kept for exhibition and study. The menageries and aviaries of China, Egypt, and Rome were famous in ancient times. From the la...

Valera, Diego de

(Encyclopedia)Valera, Diego de dyāˈgō dā välāˈrä [key], 1412?–1488?, Spanish adventurer and writer. Reared at the Castilian court, he was page to John II and later became one of his diplomatic agents. He ...

Viardot-Garcia, Pauline

(Encyclopedia)Viardot-Garcia, Pauline pōlēnˈ vyärdōˈ-gärsēäˈ [key], 1821–1910, French mezzo-soprano; sister of Maria Malibran; pupil of her father, Manuel García. Following her concert debut in Brussel...

Vistula

(Encyclopedia)Vistula vĭsˈcho͝olə [key], Pol. Wisła, longest river and principal waterway of Poland, c.665 mi (1,070 km) long. It rises in the West Beskid range of the Carpathians, S Poland, and flows NE past ...

wheat grass

(Encyclopedia)wheat grass, any plant of the genus Agropyron, cool-season perennials of the family Poaceae (grass family). Species of wheat grass, both native and introduced, are important range forage grasses in th...