| 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.). |
| 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. |
| Archimedes |
a Greek mathematician and inventor (287?-212 B.C.). |
| Aristotle |
a Greek philosopher (384-322 B.C.). |
| B- |
in the U.S. military, a plane used to transport and drop bombs, such as a B-17 or B-52. |
| B.A. |
abbreviation of "Bachelor of Arts," an undergraduate degree conferred on a person who has completed a curriculum in the liberal arts; A.B. |
| Babylonia |
an ancient empire of about 2800-700 B.C. in southwestern Asia at the head of the Persian Gulf. |
| Bachelor of Arts |
an undergraduate degree conferred on a person who has completed a curriculum in the liberal arts. (abbr.: B.A.) |
| Bachelor of Science |
an undergraduate degree conferred on a person who has completed a curriculum in science, technology, or the like. (abbr.: B.S.) |
| bilabial |
a speech sound made with the lips close together, as the consonants "b" and "m". [1/3 definitions] |
| biotin |
a compound considered part of the vitamin B complex, found in milk, egg yolks, and yeast. |
| boron |
a chemical element that has five protons in each nucleus and that occurs naturally only in compounds such as boric acid and borax. (symbol: B) |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Cheng Tang |
first leader of the Shang dynasty of China, ruling in approximately the seventeenth century B.C.E. (exact dates contested). |
| choline |
a vitamin of the vitamin B complex, found in most animal and vegetable foods. |