| a1 |
the sixth note in the musical scale at C major. [1/6 definitions] |
| ABC soil |
a soil made up of three distinct layers, the A, or top layer, being humus and organic matter, the B layer being clay and oxidized material, and the C layer being loose rock and mineral materials. |
| Aeschylus |
a Greek dramatist (525-456 B.C.). |
| Aesop |
an actual or legendary Greek writer of fables (620?-560? B.C.). |
| Alexander the Great |
the king of Macedonia in 336-323 B.C. and conqueror of an empire that included Persia, Egypt, and part of Greece (356-323 B.C.). |
| alto clef |
in musical notation, a clef with middle C on the middle line of the staff, or the sign identifying this clef; viola clef. |
| Amos |
according to the Old Testament, a minor Hebrew prophet of the eighth century B.C. [1/2 definitions] |
| ancient Rome |
a civilization cultivated by the city-state of Rome from the 8th century B.C.E. through its development as a republic and its collapse as an empire in the 5th century A.D. |
| antiscorbutic |
a substance that prevents or cures scurvy, such as vitamin C. [1/2 definitions] |
| Archimedes |
a Greek mathematician and inventor (287?-212 B.C.). |
| Aristotle |
a Greek philosopher (384-322 B.C.). |
| ascorbic acid |
an organic acid found in many foods, esp. citrus fruits, and required in human nutrition for the production of collagen; vitamin C. |
| b |
the seventh note in the musical scale of C major. [1/5 definitions] |
| Babylonia |
an ancient empire of about 2800-700 B.C. in southwestern Asia at the head of the Persian Gulf. |
| bass clef |
a sign on the fourth line of a musical staff, locating F below middle C; F clef. |
| Bronze Age |
the stage or level of development of human culture that followed the Stone Age and was characterized by the use of bronze tools and weapons; about 3,500 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. |
| Buddhism |
a spiritual philosophy and religion, founded in the sixth century B.C. by Buddha and widespread in Asia, that teaches release from the self and from one's earthly desires. |
| c1 |
the first note in the musical scale of C major. [2/5 definitions] |
| carbon |
a chemical element that has six protons in each nucleus and that occurs in pure forms as diamond and graphite, or in a large variety of compounds such as carbon dioxide, carbohydrates, and petroleum hydrocarbons. (symbol: C) [1/7 definitions] |
| Carthage |
an ancient Phoenician city-state founded in the ninth century B.C. near the site of modern Tunis and destroyed in 146 B.C. by the Romans. |
| C clef |
a sign on a musical staff that shows the position of middle C. |