tortoise beetle: …pits and grooves covering the South American leaf beetle Desmonota variolosa give it an iridescent green colour with depth resembling that of an emerald. The colouring disappears at death because of the drying and shrinkage that occur, and the dead beetle turns dull brown.

fern: Annotated classification: Family Desmophlebiaceae Plants have a thickened vein inside the edge of each compound leaflet; 1 genus (Desmophlebium) with 2 species. Family Diplaziopsidaceae Plants medium to large in soil or on rocks; rhizomes short- to long-creeping or erect, scaly; leaves pinnately divided, glabrous, hairy, glandular, or occasionally…

human skin: Major layers: …appearance due to the numerous desmosomes on their surface. Studies with the electron microscope have revealed that desmosomes are symmetrical, laminated structures in which some layers are contributed by the plasma membranes of adjoining cells and some form an intercellular component.

Camille Desmoulins was one of the most influential journalists and pamphleteers of the French Revolution. The son of an official of Guise, Desmoulins was admitted to the bar in 1785, but a stammer impeded his effectiveness as a lawyer. Nevertheless, after the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he

Camille Desmoulins was one of the most influential journalists and pamphleteers of the French Revolution. The son of an official of Guise, Desmoulins was admitted to the bar in 1785, but a stammer impeded his effectiveness as a lawyer. Nevertheless, after the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he

Desna River, river that rises in the Smolensk Upland in western Russia and flows for about 700 miles (1,130 km) south into the Dnieper River near Kiev,

Robert Desnos was a French poet who joined André Breton in the early Surrealist movement, soon becoming one of its most valuable members because of his ability to fall into a hypnotic trance, under which he could recite his dreams, write, and draw. Texts from this period appeared in the Surrealist

Auguste-Gaspard-Louis, Baron Desnoyers was a French engraver, one of the most eminent line engravers of his time. Desnoyers studied engraving and drawing and, after visiting Italy, entered the studio of Pierre-Alexandre Tardieu in 1800. His fame was established in 1805 by an engraving after

geochronology: Completion of the Phanerozoic time scale: In 1829 Jules Desnoyers of France, studying sediments in the Seine valley, proposed using the term Quaternary to encompass all of these various post-Tertiary formations. At nearly the same time, the important work of Lyell on the faunal succession of the Paris Basin permitted finer-scaled discrimination of…

Gabriela Mistral: …collection of her early works, Desolación (1922; “Desolation”), includes the poem “Dolor,” detailing the aftermath of a love affair that was ended by the suicide of her lover. Because of this tragedy, she never married, and a haunting, wistful strain of thwarted maternal tenderness informs her work. Ternura (1924, enlarged…

Yasmina Reza: …later wrote Une Désolation (1999; Desolation), a monologue delivered by an elderly man who cannot understand how others can be foolish enough to find happiness in life, and Adam Haberberg (2002), which centres on an unsuccessful, unhappy middle-aged writer whose happenstance encounter with an old friend from high school reminds…

Jack Kerouac: Sketching, poetry, and Buddhism: Kerouac recounted this experience in Desolation Angels (1965) using haiku as bridges (connectives in jazz) between sections of spontaneous prose. In 1956 he wrote a sutra, The Scripture of the Golden Eternity. He also began to think of his entire oeuvre as a “Divine Comedy of the Buddha,” thereby combining…

Kerguelen Islands: …of Kerguelen (also known as Desolation Island) and nearly 300 islets, which together cover about 2,400 square miles (6,200 square km). Heavily glaciated Kerguelen Island, about 100 miles (160 km) in length, has active glaciers and peaks up to 6,445 feet (1,965 metres).

Yasmina Reza: …later wrote Une Désolation (1999; Desolation), a monologue delivered by an elderly man who cannot understand how others can be foolish enough to find happiness in life, and Adam Haberberg (2002), which centres on an unsuccessful, unhappy middle-aged writer whose happenstance encounter with an old friend from high school reminds…

Tadeus Reichstein: …discovered, among them cortisone and desoxycorticosterone, which was used for many years to treat Addison’s disease.

methamphetamine, potent and addictive synthetic stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain). Methamphetamine is prescribed for the treatment of certain medical conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. In

reggaeton: … and Daddy Yankee released “Despacito,” and it became the most-streamed song at the time within six months. The single, a mix of pop music and reggaeton, not only brought renewed attention to reggaeton, but it also drew interest to Latin music more generally. In 2015 there were two mostly…

Edward Marcus Despard was a British army officer and colonial administrator and organizer of a conspiracy against the British government. Despard entered the army in 1766 and attained the rank of colonel. After serving in Jamaica, he was sent to Central America in 1781; there he was made governor

Despenser family, unpopular favourites of England’s King Edward II, who were executed by Edward’s opponents, Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. Hugh Le Despenser (in full Hugh Le Despenser, earl of Winchester; b. 1262—d. Oct. 27, 1326, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.), also known as Hugh the Elder,

Despenser family: Hugh Le Despenser (in full Hugh Le Despenser, earl of Winchester; b. 1262—d. Oct. 27, 1326, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.), also known as Hugh the Elder, was summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1295. He fought in France and Scotland for Edward I and was…

Despenser family: …the interests of his son, Hugh Le Despenser (Hugh the Younger; d. Nov. 24, 1326, Hereford, Herefordshire, Eng.), who had been in the king’s household when he was prince of Wales. The younger Hugh was appointed the king’s chamberlain in 1318, but both father and son were attacked in Parliament…

Despenser family: …the interests of his son, Hugh Le Despenser (Hugh the Younger; d. Nov. 24, 1326, Hereford, Herefordshire, Eng.), who had been in the king’s household when he was prince of Wales. The younger Hugh was appointed the king’s chamberlain in 1318, but both father and son were attacked in Parliament…

the Eagles: …title song of their 1973 Desperado album—the “Ave Maria” of 1970s rock—to the later studio intricacies of One of These Nights (1975), Henley’s band felt a mission to portray emotional ups and downs in personal ways. However, the Eagles were content to do so within the boundaries of certain musical…

Antonio Banderas: Rhapsody (1995); Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado (1995), in which Banderas played El Mariachi, a gun-toting musician; and Assassins (1995). In 1996 he starred with Madonna in the musical Evita (1996), playing the role of Ché, the film’s narrator. Accused by some critics of overexposure, Banderas conceded that he was ambitious…

Anthony Mann: The 1940s: film noirs: Desperate (1947) was Mann’s first critical and commercial success and the first of his great noirs. He cowrote the original story about a truck driver (Steve Brodie) who runs afoul of a gangster (Raymond Burr) and his fur thieves and has to run for his…

The Desperate Hours: The Desperate Hours was remade in 1990 by director Michael Cimino with Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins as the antagonists.

The Desperate Hours, American crime film, released in 1955, that is noted for the war-of-wills tension between a ruthless killer and a terrorized family held captive. Three escaped convicts led by Glenn Griffin (played by Humphrey Bogart) hide out in a suburban middle-class home owned by Dan

American Broadcasting Company: Focus on television: 2009), Lost (2004–10), Desperate Housewives (2004–12), Grey’s Anatomy (2005– ), and Dancing with the Stars (2005– ), along with long-running daytime dramas such as One Life to Live (1968–2012) and General Hospital (1963– ).

Raoul Walsh: At Warner Brothers: The Roaring Twenties, High Sierra, and White Heat: Desperate Journey was a tale of five Allied pilots (Ronald Reagan among them) who are shot down over Germany and try to make their way back to England. Gentleman Jim was a biopic of boxing champ Jim Corbett (with Ward Bond as a memorable John…

Léon Bloy: His autobiographical novels, Le Désespéré (1886; The Desperate Man) and La Femme pauvre (1897; The Woman Who Was Poor), express his mystical conception of woman as the Holy Spirit and of love as a devouring fire. The eight volumes of his Journal (written 1892–1917; complete edition published 1939)…

Michael Keaton: (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), and Desperate Measures (1998). In the early 2000s his films, such as Live from Baghdad (2002), First Daughter (2004), and Herbie Fully Loaded (2005), met with mixed success. He provided character voices in the animated films Cars (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Minions (2015).

Thomas Hardy: Early life and works: …result was the densely plotted Desperate Remedies (1871), which was influenced by the contemporary “sensation” fiction of Wilkie Collins. In his next novel, however, the brief and affectionately humorous idyll Under the Greenwood Tree (1872), Hardy found a voice much more distinctively his own. In this book he evoked, within…

TV on the Radio: …the group’s first full-fledged LP, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004). Though Bunton played drums on that album, he and Smith did not officially join the band until after its release. With a foundation of eccentrically timed drum loops and droning electronics adorned with jazzy horns and the striking interplay…

Madonna: Film career and projects of the 1980s and ’90s: …with a strong performance in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), faltered with the flimsy Shanghai Surprise (1986) and uneven Dick Tracy (1990), and recovered with Truth or Dare (1991, also known as In Bed with Madonna), a documentary of her boundary-breaking Blonde Ambition tour, and A League of Their Own

Charles Despiau was a French sculptor and illustrator who is best known for portrait busts executed in a sensitive and classical style. Despiau studied at Parisian art schools from 1891 to 1896. He exhibited his sculpture in Paris over the next 10 years; Auguste Rodin saw one of Despiau’s portrait

Charles Despiau was a French sculptor and illustrator who is best known for portrait busts executed in a sensitive and classical style. Despiau studied at Parisian art schools from 1891 to 1896. He exhibited his sculpture in Paris over the next 10 years; Auguste Rodin saw one of Despiau’s portrait

Julie Andrews: …addition, Andrews voiced characters in Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Aquaman (2018). In 2011 she won a Grammy Award for Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies, a spoken-word album for children, and she was honoured with a special Grammy for lifetime achievement.

Steve Carell: Despicable Me, Minions, and Foxcatcher: …role in two sequels (2013 and 2017) and voiced a young Gru in Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022).

Julie Andrews: …characters in Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Aquaman (2018). In 2011 she won a Grammy Award for Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies, a spoken-word album for children, and she was honoured with a special Grammy for lifetime achievement.

Neptune: The ring system: …the ring Adams, the moon Despina orbits Neptune just planetward of the ring Le Verrier. Each moon may gravitationally repel particles near the inner edge of its respective ring, acting as a shepherd moon to keep ring material from spreading inward. (For fuller treatments of shepherding effects, see Saturn: Moons:…

Damophon: …and representing Demeter, her daughter Despoina, Artemis, and the giant Anytus, were found on the site of Lykosoura in Arcadia, where there was a temple of Despoina. The garment of Despoina is decorated with reliefs. A coin shows the statue with two figures standing, two seated.

Alexandre-François Desportes was a French painter who specialized in portraying animals, hunts, and emblems of the chase; he was among the first 18th-century artists to introduce landscape studies using nature as a model. At the age of 12 Desportes was sent by his father to Paris, where he worked

Philippe Desportes was a French courtier poet whose light, facile verse prepared the way for the new taste of the 17th century in France and whose sonnets served as models for the late Elizabethan poets. Desportes based his style on that of the Italians—chiefly Petrarch, Ludovico Ariosto, and

Josquin des Prez was one of the greatest composers of Renaissance Europe. Josquin’s early life has been the subject of much scholarly debate, and the first solid evidence of his work comes from a roll of musicians associated with the cathedral in Cambrai in the early 1470s. During the late 1470s

Josquin des Prez was one of the greatest composers of Renaissance Europe. Josquin’s early life has been the subject of much scholarly debate, and the first solid evidence of his work comes from a roll of musicians associated with the cathedral in Cambrai in the early 1470s. During the late 1470s

Louis-Jean Desprez was a French painter, stage designer, architect, and engraver. He was an important figure in the transition from the rational Neoclassicism of the mid-18th century in France to the more subjective and innovative pre-Romantic works of Étienne-Louis Boullée and Claude-Nicolas

desquamation, peeling or shedding of the superficial portion of the epidermis, or outermost layer of the skin. The epidermis consists of five distinct sublayers, including the bottommost, basal layer, which constantly produces new skin cells that push up to the skin surface, and the outermost,

Léo-Paul Desrosiers was a French-Canadian writer best known for his historical novels. In addition to writing fiction, Desrosiers worked as a journalist, an editor, and a librarian. Both Âmes et Paysages (1922; “People and Landscapes”), a collection of stories, and his first novel, Nord-Sud (1931),

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the emperor of Haiti who proclaimed his country’s independence in 1804. Dessalines was brought to the French West Indian colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) as a slave. He worked as a field hand for a black master until 1791, when he joined the slave rebellion that broke

Dessau, city, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), east-central Germany. It lies on the Mulde River at its confluence with the Elbe River, northeast of Halle. The German town, which developed from a Sorbian settlement, was first mentioned in 1213. From 1603 until 1918 it was the residence of the counts,

Battle of Dessau, (25 April 1626). Following the catastrophic defeat it suffered at Stadtlohn, the German Protestant cause in the Thirty Years’ War seemed lost. There was new hope when Christian IV of Denmark entered the war in 1625, but the next year a Protestant army was bested at Dessau by

Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher, critic, and Bible translator and commentator who greatly contributed to the efforts of Jews to assimilate to the German bourgeoisie. The son of an impoverished scribe called Menachem Mendel Dessau, he was known in Jewry as Moses Dessau but wrote as

Paul Dessau was a German composer and conductor best known for his operas and other vocal works written in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. Dessau’s conducting career included posts in Cologne (1919–23) and Berlin (1925–33). His long collaboration with Brecht began in 1942 in the United States,

Antoine Le Pautre: Le Pautre published Desseins de plusieurs palais (“Designs for Several Palaces”) in 1652, a volume of engravings that includes a famous project for an immense château. Among its features are semicircular concave bays connecting the end pavilions to the building’s centre. The bays are contrasted to the convex…

dessert, the last course of a meal. In the United States dessert is likely to consist of pastry, cake, ice cream, pudding, or fresh or cooked fruit. British meals traditionally end with nuts, fruits, and port or other dessert wine, while French practice is to end with fruit, cheese, and wine; in

Panama disease: Its replacement, the modern Cavendish, has been threatened with a strain of the disease known as Tropical Race (TR) 4 since the 1990s; in 2019 TR 4 was confirmed in Colombia, marking the first appearance of the strain in the Americas.

dessert: Sweet dessert dishes demand sweet wines. Notable among these are sweet port, sherry, and Madeira; Tokaj Aszu of Hungary; sauternes; Greek mavrodaphne; and German Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese bottlings. Sweet or dry liqueurs and brandies also are offered at the meal’s close.

Henri Matisse: Formative years: …scandal at the Salon with The Dinner Table, in which he combined a Pierre-Auguste Renoir kind of luminosity with a firmly classical composition in deep red and green.

Dese, town, central Ethiopia, situated on the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley at an elevation of 7,500 feet (2,300 metres). Dese (Amharic: “My Joy”) is a commercial and communications centre, 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Kembolcha, which is at the junction of roads to Addis Ababa and

Ludwig Dessoir was a German actor whose fame rested on his portrayals of Shakespearean characters. After years of apprenticeship on many stages, Dessoir in 1839 joined the court theatre at Karlsruhe, where he stayed for 10 years. From 1849 to 1872 he was associated with the Berlin court theatre,

viol: …was made in three sizes: treble, tenor, and bass, with the bottom string tuned, respectively, to d, G (or A), and D. To these sizes was later added the violone, a double bass viol often tuned an octave below the bass.

Dese, town, central Ethiopia, situated on the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley at an elevation of 7,500 feet (2,300 metres). Dese (Amharic: “My Joy”) is a commercial and communications centre, 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Kembolcha, which is at the junction of roads to Addis Ababa and

fat and oil processing: Destearinating or winterizing: It is often desirable to remove the traces of waxes (e.g., cuticle wax from seed coats) and the higher-melting glycerides from fats. Waxes can generally be removed by rapid chilling and filtering. Separation of high-melting glycerides, or stearine, usually requires very slow cooling in…

religious dress: Islam: …fits a short jacket (destegül). On arising to participate in the ritual dance, the dervish casts off the blackness of the grave and appears radiant in the white shroud of resurrection. The head of the order wears a green scarf of office wound around the base of his sikke.

Jaime Torres Bodet: Destierro (1930; “Exile”), written shortly after he became secretary to the Mexican legation in Madrid, reflected the poet’s attempt, often expressed in complex surrealist imagery, to rebel against a mechanized, hostile, and unfamiliar environment. Cripta (1937; “Crypt”), considered to include his most important poems, dealt…

Buchi Emecheta: …The Joys of Motherhood (1979), Destination Biafra (1982), and Double Yoke (1982)—are realistic works of fiction set in Nigeria. Perhaps her strongest work, The Rape of Shavi (1983), is also the most difficult to categorize. Set in an imaginary idyllic African kingdom, it explores the dislocations that occur when a…

rock festival: Destination festivals: The fires of Woodstock ’99 were still fresh in the minds of observers when the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival debuted in Indio, California, in October 1999. Coachella gathered dozens of artists, boasted multiple main stages, and proved that destination festivals could…

George Pal: …as producer for Irving Pichel’s Destination Moon (1950), Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide (1951), and Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds (1953). The films all won Oscars for special effects, with Pal’s production company receiving the award for Destination Moon. Accepting a deal to produce and design films for…

Keanu Reeves: … (2016), To the Bone (2017), Destination Wedding (2018), and Always Be My Maybe (2019). In 2020 he returned to his first movie franchise, starring in the well-received Bill & Ted Face the Music. Reeves turned to another iconic series when he reprised the role of Neo in The Matrix Resurrections…

Alfred-Victor, count de Vigny: Maturity and disillusionment.: …later collected under the title Les Destinées (1864). The early poems are very pessimistic, but the later ones are increasingly confident affirmations of the imperishable nature of human spiritual powers.

Emmy Destinn was a Czech soprano noted for the power and vibrant richness of her voice and for her great intelligence and dramatic gifts. She adopted the name of her singing teacher, Maria Loewe-Destinn. Destinn made her debut in Berlin in 1898 as Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana.

Fritz Lang: Early life and German films: …are Der müde Tod (1921; Destiny), an allegorical melodrama; Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922; Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler), a crime thriller; and Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924; Siegfried) and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (1924; Kriemhild’s Revenge), both of which were based on a 13th-century epic saga.…

space station: The International Space Station: …launch of NASA’s microgravity laboratory, Destiny, in early 2001. The addition of Destiny, which astronauts mated to the leading end of Unity, marked a milestone in the project because it facilitated science operations. Other components were subsequently appended. After the catastrophic explosion of the shuttle orbiter Columbia in 2003 and…

Buddhism: Mythic figures in the Three Worlds cosmology: …includes a set of six gatis (“destinies”) that have played an important role as a setting for mythology in virtually all Buddhist traditions in Asia. The highest of these six destinies is that of the devatas (though both gods and goddesses are included among the devatas, the goddesses generally have…

Beyoncé: Early solo career and Destiny’s Child reunited: …reunited in 2004 to release Destiny Fulfilled. While generally not as acclaimed as the group’s previous efforts, the album sold more than seven million copies worldwide and spawned several hit singles. The trio embarked on a world tour in 2005, during which they announced that the group would officially disband.…

Destiny’s Child, American singing-rapping girl group, one of the best-selling female musical groups of all time. In its final form, Destiny’s Child consisted of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, who, through their songs and performances, collectively became a symbol of

Alfred Döblin: …in the book Schicksalsreise (1949; Destiny’s Journey).

Stone of Scone, stone that for centuries was associated with the crowning of Scottish kings and then, in 1296, was taken to England and later placed under the Coronation Chair. The stone, weighing 336 pounds (152 kg), is a rectangular block of pale yellow sandstone (almost certainly of Scottish

Destouches was a dramatist who brought to the tradition of French classical comedy influences derived from the English Restoration theatre. After classical studies in Tours and Paris, Destouches entered the diplomatic service. He was posted to Switzerland and, in 1717, to London. There he became

André Cardinal Destouches was a French opera and ballet composer of the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau. André Cardinal was the son of a wealthy Parisian merchant, Etienne Cardinal, Seigneur des Touches et de Guilleville, but he did not take any form of the patronym

Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a French writer and physician who, while admired for his talent, is better known for his anti-Semitism and misanthropy. Céline received his medical degree in 1924 and traveled extensively on medical missions for the League of Nations. In 1928 he opened a practice in a

Destour, Tunisian political party, especially active in the 1920s and ’30s in arousing Tunisian national consciousness and opposition to the French protectorate. The forerunner of the Destour, the Young Tunisians, had engaged the Tunisian intellectual elite but lacked widespread support. Forced

Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), Tunisian political party that led the movement for independence from France (1956) and ruled Tunisia until 2011. The Neo-Destour was formed in 1934 by discontented young members of the more conservative Destour. After a bitter struggle with the parent

Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), Tunisian political party that led the movement for independence from France (1956) and ruled Tunisia until 2011. The Neo-Destour was formed in 1934 by discontented young members of the more conservative Destour. After a bitter struggle with the parent

Blondie: bassist Gary Valentine, and keyboardist Jimmy Destri. Later members included bassist Nigel Harrison and guitarist Frank Infante.

Blondie: bassist Gary Valentine, and keyboardist Jimmy Destri. Later members included bassist Nigel Harrison and guitarist Frank Infante.

military technology: The war-horse: The destrier, or medieval war-horse, was central to the tactical viability of European feudalism. This animal was a product of two great migrations of horses originating in Central Asia. One, moving westward, crossed into Europe and there originated the vast herds of primeval animals…

Ossip Zadkine: …and inspired his best-known sculpture, The Destroyed City (c. 1947–51), a monument in which the arms of a large figure, a hole torn in the centre of its body, are outstretched in horror.

Kiss: Breakthrough: …and in 1976 it released Destroyer, which became one of its best-selling studio albums. In June 1977 Kiss was named the number-one band in the United States, according to a nationwide Gallup poll. In October that same year, the group released Alive II, another live double album but this time…

Nicole Kidman: Resurgence and subsequent films: …assignment from her past in Destroyer (2018). In 2019 she reprised her role in Big Little Lies for a second season and appeared as the well-to-do Mrs. Barbour in The Goldfinch, a film based on Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Also that year Kidman starred in…

destroyer, fast naval vessel that has served a variety of functions since the late 19th century, mainly in defense of surface fleets and convoys. The term destroyer was first used for the 250-ton vessels built in the 1890s to protect battleships from torpedo boats. These torpedo-boat destroyers, as

amanita: …of all mushrooms are the destroying angels (A. bisporigera, A. ocreata, A. verna, and A. virosa). They develop a large white fruiting body and are found in forests during wet periods in summer and autumn. Death cap (A. phalloides), also deadly, is found in woods or their borders. It has…

Vicente Aleixandre: …in his first major book, La destrucción o el amor (1935; “Destruction or Love”), which was awarded the National Prize for Literature. In this work the poet explored the theme of human identification with the physical cosmos. Similar themes appear in Sombra del paraíso (1944; “Shadow of Paradise”). A greater…

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti: …early poetry as the French Destruction (1904) showed the vigour and anarchic experimentation with form characteristic of his later work.

Louis-Sébastien Mercier: …Hennuyer, Bishop of Lisieux”) and La Destruction de la ligue (1782; “The Destruction of the League”), which were so anticlerical and antimonarchical that they were not performed until after the French Revolution. Mercier also wrote a work of prophetic imagination, L’An 2440 (1770; “The Year 2440”), and Le Tableau de…

Sennacherib: Building and technological achievements: …which inspired Lord Byron’s poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib.”

Futurism: Literature: …fili–parole in libertà (1913; “Destruction of Syntax–Wireless Imagination–Words-in-Freedom”), represented Marinetti’s demands for a pared-down elliptical language, stripped of adjectives and adverbs, with verbs in the infinitive and mathematical signs and word pairings used to convey information more economically and more boldly. The resultant “telegraphic lyricism” is most effective in…

monopoly and competition: Perfect competition: …with what has been called destructive competition. Examples have been seen in the coal and steel industries, some agricultural industries, and the automotive industry. For some historical reason, such an industry accumulates excess capacity to the point where sellers suffer chronic losses, and the situation is not corrected by the…

hydrogenation: …up) of the molecule (called hydrogenolysis, or destructive hydrogenation). Typical hydrogenation reactions include the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen to form ammonia and the reaction of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to form methanol or hydrocarbons, depending on the choice of catalyst.

interference: …is maximum), the result is destructive interference, producing complete annulment if they are of equal amplitude. The solid line in Figures A, B, and C represents the resultant of two waves (dotted lines) of slightly different amplitude but of the same wavelength. The two component waves are in phase in…