| saint kitts and nevis | An independent federation of the leeward islands in the west indies, consisting of saint christopher, nevis, and sombrero. Its capital is basseterre. It was discovered by columbus in 1493, settled by the british in 1625, the first of the leeward islands to be colonised by them. It was held jointly by the french and english 1628-1713, but returned to great britain by the treaty of utrecht in 1713. It was held by the french 1782-83. Under the british for the next 200 years, it gained its independence in 1983. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| saint vincent and the grenadines | A self-governing state of the windward islands in the west indies, comprising saint vincent and the northern islets of the grenadines. Its capital is kingstown. It is one of the original homes of the carib indians supposed to have been sighted by columbus in 1498. It was in english hands from 1627 till held by the french 1779-83. Saint vincent subsequently became a british possession and, with other nearby british territories, was administered by the governor of the windward islands till 1959. It attained a measure of independence in 1969 but achieved full independence as saint vincent and the grenadines in 1979. Saint vincent was the 4th century spanish martyr on whose feast day columbus discovered the island. Grenadines is derived from the spanish kingdom of granada. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| saint | 1. A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue; any true Christian, as being redeemed and consecrated to God. "Them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints." (1 Cor. I. 2) 2. One of the blessed in heaven. "Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure Far separate, circling thy holy mount, Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing." (Milton) 3. One canonised by the church. [Abbrev. St] Saint Andrew's cross A cross shaped like the letter X. Chorea; so called from the supposed cures wrought on intercession to this saint. Origin: F, fr. L. Santcus sacred, properly p.p. Of sancire to render sacred by a religious act, to appoint as sacred; akin to sacer sacred. Cf. Sacred, Sanctity, Sanctum, Sanctus. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Saint Anthony's dance | An obsolete eponyms for Sydenham's chorea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Saint Anthony's fire | Synonym: ergotism. 2. Any of several inflammations or gangrenous conditions of the skin (e.g., erysipelas). Origin: St. Anthony, Egyptian monk, about 250-350 A.D. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Saint Ignatius' itch | <disease> A niacin deficiency disease (pellagra) caused by improper diet and characterised by skin lesions, gastrointestinal disturbances and nervousness. Depression, dermatitis, dementia and diarrhoea are common symptoms. (27 Sep 1997) |
| saint lucia | An independent state in the west indies. Its capital is castries. It was probably discovered by columbus in 1502 and first settled by the english in 1605. Contended for by the french and english in the 17th century, it was regarded as neutral in 1748 but changed hands many times in the wars of the 19th century. It became a self-governing state in association with great britain in 1967 and achieved independence in 1979. Columbus named it for the day on which he discovered it, the feast of st. Lucy, a sicilian virgin martyr. (12 Dec 1998) |
| saint-simonian | A follower of the Count de St. Simon, who died in 1825, and who maintained that the principle of property held in common, and the just division of the fruits of common labour among the members of society, are the true remedy for the social evils which exist. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Saint's triad | The concurrence of hiatal hernia, diverticulosis, and cholelithiasis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Saint Vitus dance | An obsolete eponyms for Sydenham's chorea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| abstracting and indexing | Shortening or summarizing of documents; assigning of descriptors for referencing documents. (12 Dec 1998) |
| academies and institutes | Organizations representing specialised fields which are accepted as authoritative; may be non-governmental, university or an independent research organization, e.g., national academy of sciences, brookings institution, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| accounts payable and receivable | Short-term debt obligations and assets occurring in the regular course of operational transactions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| aged, 80 and over | A person 80 years of age and older. (12 Dec 1998) |
| algae and fungi | Algae represent a group of spore-propagating plants, unicellular or undifferentiated into root, stem, and leaf. They include seaweed and many unicellular fresh water plants, most of which contain chlorophyll. They account for about 90% of the earth's photosynthetic activity. Fungi are eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms that live as saprobes or parasites and include mushrooms, yeasts, smuts, molds, etc. They lack chlorophyll. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alkyl and aryl transferases | <enzyme> A somewhat heterogeneous class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of alkyl or related groups (excluding methyl groups). Registry number: EC 2.5 (12 Dec 1998) |