upward characteristic

  • 41pregnancy — /preg neuhn see/, n., pl. pregnancies. the state, condition, or quality of being pregnant. [1520 30; PREGN(ANT) + ANCY] * * * Process of human gestation that takes place in the female s body as a fetus develops, from fertilization to birth (see… …

    Universalium

  • 42perciform — ▪ fish order Introduction       any member of the order Perciformes, a group of bony fishes with more than 6,000 species placed in about 150 families. The order is the largest group of fishes in the world today. Perciform fishes occur in… …

    Universalium

  • 43physical science, principles of — Introduction       the procedures and concepts employed by those who study the inorganic world.        physical science, like all the natural sciences, is concerned with describing and relating to one another those experiences of the surrounding… …

    Universalium

  • 44hydrosphere — /huy dreuh sfear /, n. the water on or surrounding the surface of the globe, including the water of the oceans and the water in the atmosphere. [1885 90; HYDRO 1 + SPHERE] * * * Discontinuous layer of water at or near the Earth s surface. It… …

    Universalium

  • 45thunderstorm — /thun deuhr stawrm /, n. a transient storm of lightning and thunder, usually with rain and gusty winds, sometimes with hail or snow, produced by cumulonimbus clouds. Also called electrical storm. [1645 55; THUNDER + STORM] * * * Violent, short… …

    Universalium

  • 46Sign — Any abnormality that indicates a disease process, such as a change in appearance, sensation, or function, that is observed by a physician when evaluating a patient. * * * 1. Any abnormality indicative of disease, discoverable on examination of… …

    Medical dictionary

  • 47hormone — hormonal, hormonic /hawr mon ik, moh nik/, adj. /hawr mohn/, n. 1. Biochem. any of various internally secreted compounds, as insulin or thyroxine, formed in endocrine glands, that affect the functions of specifically receptive organs or tissues… …

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  • 48GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY — Names The name Ereẓ Israel (the Land of Israel) designates the land which, according to the Bible was promised as an inheritance to the Israelite tribes. In the course of time it came to be regarded first by the Jews and then also by the… …

    Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • 49plant development — Introduction       a multiphasic process in which two distinct forms succeed each other in alternating generations. One form, created by the union of sexual cells (gametes (gamete)), contains two sets of similar chromosomes (diploid). At sexual… …

    Universalium

  • 50Cloud — For other uses, see Cloud (disambiguation). Cumulus cloudscape over Swifts Creek, Australia A cloud …

    Wikipedia