cork tree, (genus Phellodendron), genus of several eastern Asian trees in the rue family (Rutaceae) usually having corklike bark. The Amur, or Japanese, cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) is useful as a lawn and shade tree and is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. Cork trees are

cork tree: …or Japanese, cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) is useful as a lawn and shade tree and is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions.

tissue: Plants: …the vascular cambium and the cork cambium. They produce secondary tissues from a ring of vascular cambium in stems and roots. Secondary phloem forms along the outer edge of the cambium ring, and secondary xylem (i.e., wood) forms along the inner edge of the cambium ring. The cork cambium produces…

chasuble: …the equivalent vestment is the phelonion (phenolion), worn exclusively by priests.

William E. Dodge: …an American merchant, cofounder of Phelps, Dodge & Company, which was one of the largest mining companies in the United States for more than a century.

Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps was a 19th-century American educator and writer who strove to raise the academic standards of education for girls. Almira Hart was a younger sister of Emma Hart Willard. She was educated at home, in district schools, for a time by Emma, and in 1812 at an academy in

Edmund S. Phelps is an American economist, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Economics for his analysis of intertemporal trade-offs in macroeconomic policy, especially with regard to inflation, wages, and unemployment. (Read Milton Friedman’s Britannica entry on money.) In 1959 Phelps earned

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was a popular 19th-century American author and feminist. Mary Gray Phelps was the daughter of a clergyman and of a popular woman writer. After the death of her mother in 1852, Phelps incorporated her mother’s name, Stuart, into her own. For several years she kept house

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was a popular 19th-century American author and feminist. Mary Gray Phelps was the daughter of a clergyman and of a popular woman writer. After the death of her mother in 1852, Phelps incorporated her mother’s name, Stuart, into her own. For several years she kept house

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was a popular 19th-century American author and feminist. Mary Gray Phelps was the daughter of a clergyman and of a popular woman writer. After the death of her mother in 1852, Phelps incorporated her mother’s name, Stuart, into her own. For several years she kept house

Michael Phelps is an American swimmer, who was the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, which included a record 23 gold. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, he became the first athlete to win eight gold medals at a single Olympics. Phelps was raised in a family of swimmers and joined

Michael Phelps is an American swimmer, who was the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, which included a record 23 gold. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, he became the first athlete to win eight gold medals at a single Olympics. Phelps was raised in a family of swimmers and joined

Samuel Phelps was a British actor and manager, one of the most famous actors of the 19th century. Early in life he worked in various newspaper offices and then, shortly after marrying (1826), accepted a theatrical engagement in the York circuit. He afterward appeared in southern English towns in

William Lyon Phelps was an American scholar and critic who did much to popularize the teaching of contemporary literature. Phelps attended Yale University (B.A., 1887; Ph.D., 1891) and Harvard University (M.A., 1891), taught at Harvard for a year, and then returned to Yale, where he was for 41

gecko: …and dirty whites predominating, though Phelsuma, a genus made up of the day geckos of Madagascar, is bright green and active in the daytime. The banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus), the most widespread native North American species, grows to 15 cm (6 inches) and is pinkish to yellowish tan with darker…

Fama, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of popular rumour. Pheme was more a poetic personification than a deified abstraction, although there was an altar in her honour at Athens. The Greek poet Hesiod portrayed her as an evildoer, easily stirred up but impossible to quell. The Athenian

Homer: Homer as an oral poet: …such poets in some detail: Phemius, the court singer in the palace of Odysseus in Ithaca, and Demodocus, who lived in the town of the semi-mythical Phaeacians and sang both for the nobles in Alcinous’ palace and for the assembled public at the games held for Odysseus. On this occasion…

acetaminophen: …major metabolite of acetanilid and phenacetin, which were once commonly used drugs, and is responsible for their analgesic (pain-relieving) effects. Acetaminophen relieves pain by raising the body’s pain threshold, and it reduces fever by its action on the temperature-regulating centre of the brain. The drug inhibits prostaglandin synthesis in the…

phenakite, rare mineral, beryllium silicate, Be2SiO4, used as a gemstone. Phenakite has long been known from the emerald and chrysoberyl mine on the Takovaya River, near Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), in the Urals region of Russia, where large crystals occur in mica schist. It also occurs in

Phenacodus, extinct genus of mammals known from fossils of the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs of North America and Europe. Phenacodus is representative of early ungulates, or hoofed mammals. It had five toes and a digitigrade stance like that of a dog, with many specializations for running.

animation: Early history: …Plateau in 1832, was the phenakistoscope, a spinning cardboard disk that created the illusion of movement when viewed in a mirror. In 1834 William George Horner invented the zoetrope, a rotating drum lined by a band of pictures that could be changed. The Frenchman Émile Reynaud in 1876 adapted the…

phenakite, rare mineral, beryllium silicate, Be2SiO4, used as a gemstone. Phenakite has long been known from the emerald and chrysoberyl mine on the Takovaya River, near Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), in the Urals region of Russia, where large crystals occur in mica schist. It also occurs in

Strelitziaceae: Genera and species: Phenakospermum guyannense is also the only species of its genus. Similar in appearance to Ravenala, the plant is native to Suriname, French Guiana, and parts of the eastern Amazon River basin.

heterocyclic compound: Five- and six-membered rings with two or more heteroatoms: , cinnoline, quinazoline, and phenazine.

antihistamine: H1 receptor antagonists: …antihistamines (an aniline derivative called Antergan) was discovered. Subsequently, compounds that were more potent, more specific, and less toxic were prepared, including the H1 receptor antagonists diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, promethazine, and loratidine.

PCP, hallucinogenic drug with anesthetic properties, having the chemical name 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine. PCP was first developed in 1956 by Parke Davis Laboratories of Detroit for use as an anesthetic in veterinary medicine, though it is no longer used in this capacity. Used for a brief time

antidepressant: For instance, the MAOIs—chiefly isocarboxazid, phenelzine, and tranylcypromine—in general are used only after treatment with tricyclic drugs has proved unsatisfactory, because these drugs’ side effects are unpredictable and their complex interactions are incompletely understood. Fluoxetine often relieves cases of depression that have failed to yield to tricyclics or MAOIs.

antidepressant: For instance, the MAOIs—chiefly isocarboxazid, phenelzine, and tranylcypromine—in general are used only after treatment with tricyclic drugs has proved unsatisfactory, because these drugs’ side effects are unpredictable and their complex interactions are incompletely understood. Fluoxetine often relieves cases of depression that have failed to yield to tricyclics or MAOIs.

taxonomy: Ranks: Some biologists believe that “numerical taxonomy,” a system of quantifying characteristics of taxa and subjecting the results to multivariate analysis, may eventually produce quantitative measures of overall differences among groups and that agreement can be achieved so as to establish the maximal difference allowed each taxonomic level. Although such…

taxonomy: Ranks: Some biologists believe that “numerical taxonomy,” a system of quantifying characteristics of taxa and subjecting the results to multivariate analysis, may eventually produce quantitative measures of overall differences among groups and that agreement can be achieved so as to establish the maximal difference allowed each taxonomic level. Although such…

blue butterfly: The large blue (Maculinea arion, or Phengaris arion) spends its larval and pupal stages in an ant nest, emerging in the spring as an adult.

glowworm: …certain beetles of the genera Phengodes (North America) and Phrixothrix (South America), and (4) larvae of certain gnats (e.g., the cave-dwelling Arachnocampa of New Zealand and Platyura of the central Appalachians).

coleopteran: Annotated classification: Family Phengodidae About 50 species in America; produce light. Superfamily Histeroidea Antennae geniculate (elbow-shaped) with last 3 segments club-shaped; wing with medio-cubital loop reduced; elytron truncate leaving 1 or 2 segments of abdomen exposed. Family Histeridae

Phenix City, city, Lee and Russell counties, seat (1935) of Russell county, eastern Alabama, U.S., about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Opelika. The city is a port on the Chattahoochee River, opposite Columbus, Georgia. Incorporated in 1883 as Brownville, it was renamed in 1889 for the old Phoenix

Phil Karlson: Film noirs: …finest year for films, with The Phenix City Story, a two-fisted exposé of corruption in an Alabama town that was inspired by true events. The movie, which was shot on location, featured Richard Kiley as a crusading lawyer who seeks justice following his father’s murder. The Brothers Rico (1957), based…

phenobarbital, barbiturate drug that became available in 1912, used in medicine as a sedative-hypnotic. See

feldspar: Crystal structure: …in pegmatite masses, or as phenocrysts within porphyries. (A porphyry is an igneous rock containing conspicuous crystals, called phenocrysts, surrounded by a matrix of finer-grained minerals or glass or both.) In most rocks, both alkali and plagioclase feldspars occur as irregularly shaped grains with only a few or no crystal…

phenol, any of a family of organic compounds characterized by a hydroxyl (―OH) group attached to a carbon atom that is part of an aromatic ring. Besides serving as the generic name for the entire family, the term phenol is also the specific name for its simplest member, monohydroxybenzene (C6H5OH),

phenol-formaldehyde resin, any of a number of synthetic resins made by reacting phenol (an aromatic alcohol derived from benzene) with formaldehyde (a reactive gas derived from methane). Phenol-formaldehyde resins were the first completely synthetic polymers to be commercialized. In the first

phenol-formaldehyde resin, any of a number of synthetic resins made by reacting phenol (an aromatic alcohol derived from benzene) with formaldehyde (a reactive gas derived from methane). Phenol-formaldehyde resins were the first completely synthetic polymers to be commercialized. In the first

food additive: Antioxidants: For example, enzymes called phenolases catalyze the oxidation of certain molecules (e.g., the amino acid tyrosine) when fruits and vegetables, such as apples, bananas, and potatoes, are cut or bruised. The product of these oxidation reactions, collectively known as enzymatic browning, is a dark pigment

phenol-formaldehyde resin, any of a number of synthetic resins made by reacting phenol (an aromatic alcohol derived from benzene) with formaldehyde (a reactive gas derived from methane). Phenol-formaldehyde resins were the first completely synthetic polymers to be commercialized. In the first

chasuble: …the equivalent vestment is the phelonion (phenolion), worn exclusively by priests.

phenology, the study of phenomena or happenings. It is applied to the recording and study of the dates of recurrent natural events (such as the flowering of a plant or the first or last appearance of a migrant bird) in relation to seasonal climatic changes. Phenology thus combines ecology with

phenolphthalein, (C20H14O4), an organic compound of the phthalein family that is widely employed as an acid-base indicator. As an indicator of a solution’s pH, phenolphthalein is colourless below pH 8.5 and attains a pink to deep red hue above pH 9.0. Phenolphthalein is a potent laxative, which

phenolsulfonphthalein test, clinical procedure for the estimation of overall blood flow through the kidney; the test is used only infrequently now. A specific dose of the PSP dye is injected intravenously, and its recovery in the urine is measured at successive 15-, 30-, 60-, and 120-minute

Lee Ufan: Phenomena and Perception B: …an avant-garde installation piece called Phenomena and Perception B (one of a series of similarly constructed works he later revisited and retitled Relatum, a philosophical term meaning “a thing that bears a relation of some kind to some other thing or things”). For this work Lee placed a heavy stone…

philosophy of mind: What it’s like: …mental processes, particularly introspection, and P-consciousness consists of the qualitative or phenomenal “feel” of things, which may or may not be so accessible. Indeed, the fact that material is accessible to processes does not entail that it actually has a feel, that there is “something it’s like,” to be conscious…

phenomenalism, a philosophical theory of perception and the external world. Its essential tenet is that propositions about material objects are reducible to propositions about actual and possible sensations, or sense data, or appearances. According to the phenomenalists, a material object is not a

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: …and Le Phénomène humain (1955; The Phenomenon of Man), in the 1920s and ’30s, but their publication was forbidden by the Jesuit order during his lifetime. Among his other writings are collections of philosophical essays, such as L’Apparition de l’homme (1956; The Appearance of Man), La Vision du passé (1957;…

phenomenological psychology, in phenomenology, a discipline forming a bridge between psychology and philosophy. It is one of the regional ontologies, or studies of the kinds of fundamental being, that is concerned with what it means to experience a certain thing (e.g., to experience fear) and with

epistemology: Continental epistemology: …of a series of so-called transcendental reductions that Husserl proposed in order to ensure that he was not presupposing anything. One of those reductions supposedly gave one access to “the transcendental ego,” or “pure consciousness.” Although one might expect phenomenology then to describe the experience or contents of this ego,…

epistemology: Continental epistemology: In Phenomenology of Perception (1945), Merleau-Ponty developed those ideas, along with a detailed attack on the sense-datum theory (see below Perception and knowledge).

phenomenology, a philosophical movement originating in the 20th century, the primary objective of which is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced, without theories about their causal explanation and as free as possible from unexamined preconceptions and

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling: Period of intense productivity: …his Phänomenologie des Geistes (1807; The Phenomenology of Mind) contained strong charges against Schelling’s system. To Schelling’s definition of the Absolute as an indiscriminate unity of the subjective and the objective, Hegel replied that such an Absolute is comparable to the night, “in which all cows are black.” Besides, Schelling…

epistemology: Continental epistemology: In Phenomenology of Perception (1945), Merleau-Ponty developed those ideas, along with a detailed attack on the sense-datum theory (see below Perception and knowledge).

continental philosophy: Hegel: …the Science of Logic, the Phenomenology of Spirit (1807) and the Philosophy of Right (1821), all contain detailed and powerful rejoinders to Kantian conceptions of knowledge, truth, and freedom.

phenomenon, in philosophy, any object, fact, or occurrence perceived or observed. In general, phenomena are the objects of the senses (e.g., sights and sounds) as contrasted with what is apprehended by the intellect. The Greek verb phainesthai (“to seem,” or “to appear”) does not indicate whether

typology: …establishing a limited relationship among phenomena. A type may represent one kind of attribute or several and need include only those features that are significant for the problem at hand.

Robert Duvall: …as Days of Thunder (1990), Phenomenon (1996), and A Family Thing (1996). He wrote, directed, and starred in The Apostle (1997), a pet project he spent years developing and that earned him his third Oscar nomination for best actor. Duvall’s performance in A Civil Action (1998) was honoured with his…

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: …and Le Phénomène humain (1955; The Phenomenon of Man), in the 1920s and ’30s, but their publication was forbidden by the Jesuit order during his lifetime. Among his other writings are collections of philosophical essays, such as L’Apparition de l’homme (1956; The Appearance of Man), La Vision du passé (1957;…

phenothiazine, widely used anthelmintic (worming agent) in veterinary medicine. Phenothiazine is an organic compound effective against a broad range of parasites in cattle, horses, poultry, sheep, and swine. A highly toxic drug, it is not recommended for human use and is not effective in dogs or

phenotype, all the observable characteristics of an organism that result from the interaction of its genotype (total genetic inheritance) with the environment. Examples of observable characteristics include behaviour, biochemical properties, colour, shape, and size. The phenotype may change

moss animal: Zooids: …species exhibit a phenomenon called phenotypic plasticity. These species have the ability to alter the form of newly generated zooids in response to pressures of increased predation or competition. Such environmental cues may cause zooids to express different genetic characters, such as armoured or spined outer coverings, than they otherwise…

heterocyclic compound: Five- and six-membered rings with two or more heteroatoms: The phenoxazine system is a chromophoric (colour-imparting) part of the molecular structures of the naturally occurring actinomycin antibiotics, which are yellow-red in colour. Many polycyclic compounds containing a phenoxazine ring are used as biological stains, fabric dyes, and light-emitting materials in dye lasers (e.g., cresyl violet…

coloration: Phenoxazones and sclerotins: …of so-called ommochromes, which are phenoxazones. The ommochromes not only are conspicuous in the eyes of insects and crustaceans but have also been detected in the eggs of the echiurid worm Urechis caupo and in the changeable chromatophores in the skin of cephalopods. In addition to being responsible for the…

phenol: Electrophilic aromatic substitution: Phenoxide ions, generated by treating a phenol with sodium hydroxide, are so strongly activated that they undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution even with very weak electrophiles such as carbon dioxide (CO2). This reaction is used commercially to make salicylic acid for conversion to aspirin and methyl

polyether: Phenoxy resins are polyethers similar to those used in epoxies, but the polymers are of higher molecular weight and do not require curing; they are used mostly as metal primers. Polyphenylene oxide resins, such as Noryl, possess great resistance to water and to high temperatures…

phentermine, drug used in the treatment of obesity. Phentermine is the most commonly prescribed drug for weight loss, and it is the oldest such drug still in use, having been first made available by prescription in 1959. Phentermine is available in capsule or tablet form and is used only as a

polystyrene: The presence of the pendant phenyl (C6H5) groups is key to the properties of polystyrene. Solid polystyrene is transparent, owing to these large, ring-shaped molecular groups, which prevent the polymer chains from packing into close, crystalline arrangements. In addition, the phenyl rings restrict rotation of the chains around the carbon-carbon…

salicylic acid: …salicylic acid with phenol gives phenyl salicylate, which is used for sunburn creams and enteric-coated pills and to make salicylanilide for use as a fungicide and mildew preventive. Salicylic acid is a component of preparations used to combat warts, corns, calluses, and various skin diseases. The sodium salt is used…

carboxylic acid: Aromatic acids: Phenylacetic acid is used to synthesize many other organic compounds. Mandelic acid is toxic to bacteria in acidic solution and is used to treat urinary infections. Cinnamic acid, an unsaturated carboxylic acid, is the chief constituent of the fragrant balsamic resin storax.

phenylalanine, an amino acid present in the mixture obtained upon hydrolysis of common proteins. Human hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells) is one of the richest sources of phenylalanine, yielding 9.6 percent by weight. First isolated in 1881 from lupine seedlings,

phenylketonuria: …organic catalyst, or enzyme, called phenylalanine hydroxylase. This enzyme is not active in individuals who have phenylketonuria. As a result of this metabolic block, abnormally high levels of phenylalanine accumulate in the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine. Abnormal products of phenylalanine breakdown, such as highly reactive ketone compounds, can also…

pyrazole: …a yellow dye for food; phenylbutazone (Butazolidin), an anti-inflammatory drug used in treatment of arthritis; and a series of dyes used as sensitizing agents in colour photography.

styrene, liquid hydrocarbon that is important chiefly for its marked tendency to undergo polymerization (a process in which individual molecules are linked to produce extremely large, multiple-unit molecules). Styrene is employed in the manufacture of polystyrene, an important plastic, as well as a

phenylketonuria (PKU), hereditary inability of the body to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is normally converted in the human body to tyrosine, another amino acid, by a specific organic catalyst, or enzyme, called phenylalanine hydroxylase. This enzyme is not active in

benzyl alcohol, an organic compound, of molecular formula C6H5CH2OH, that occurs combined with carboxylic acids (as esters) in balsams and oils of jasmine and other flowers. Several of its natural and synthetic esters have long been used in perfumery; the alcohol itself has become important in the

human genetic disease: Autosomal recessive inheritance: …of it is converted to phenylpyruvic acid, a substance that normally is produced only in small quantities. Individuals with PKU tend to excrete large quantities of this acid, along with phenylalanine, in their urine. When infants accumulate high concentrations of phenylpyruvic acid and unconverted phenylalanine in their blood and other…

phenylketonuria (PKU), hereditary inability of the body to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is normally converted in the human body to tyrosine, another amino acid, by a specific organic catalyst, or enzyme, called phenylalanine hydroxylase. This enzyme is not active in

phenylthiocarbamide tasting, a genetically controlled ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and a number of related substances, all of which have some antithyroid activity. PTC-tasting ability is a simple genetic trait governed by a pair of alleles, dominant T for tasting and recessive t for

antiepileptic drug: Others, such as phenytoin, were discovered as a result of persistent testing of a series of drugs. Phenytoin is effective in the long-term treatment of many varieties of epilepsy and is thought to work through an interaction with sodium channels—a type of ion channel in the cell membrane,…

pheochromocytoma, tumour, most often nonmalignant, that causes abnormally high blood pressure (hypertension) because of hypersecretion of substances known as catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine). Usually the tumour is in the medullary cells of the adrenal gland; however, it

photosynthesis: The pathway of electrons: …the first acceptor may be pheophytin, which is a molecule similar to chlorophyll that also has a strong reducing potential and quickly transfers electrons to the next acceptor. Special quinones are next in the series. These molecules are similar to plastoquinone; they receive electrons from pheophytin and pass them to…

Greece: Rigas Velestinlis: Toward the end of the 18th century, Rigas Velestinlis (also known as Rigas Pheraios), a Hellenized Vlach from Thessaly, began to dream of and actively plan for an armed revolt against the Turks. Rigas, who had served a number of Phanariote hospodars in…

Pherecydes of Syros was a Greek mythographer and cosmogonist traditionally associated with the Seven Wise Men of Greece (especially Thales). Pherecydes is credited with originating metempsychosis, a doctrine that holds the human soul to be immortal, passing into another body, either human or

pheromone, any endogenous chemical secreted in minute amounts by an organism in order to elicit a particular reaction from another organism of the same species. Pheromones are widespread among insects and vertebrates; they are also found in crustaceans but are unknown among birds. The chemicals may

Phetchaburi, town, south-central Thailand, located in the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Bangkok. Phetchaburi is located near the mouth of the Phet Buri River and lies along the southern railway and highway. Before the sea route around the Malay

Phetchabun Range, mountain range in north-central Thailand. A heavily forested southern extension of the Luang Prabang Range, it runs north-south, forming the western rim of the Khorat Plateau, and rises to 5,840 feet (1,780

Phetchaburi, town, south-central Thailand, located in the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Bangkok. Phetchaburi is located near the mouth of the Phet Buri River and lies along the southern railway and highway. Before the sea route around the Malay

Phetracha was the king of the Tai kingdom of Ayutthaya, or Siam (ruled 1688–1703), whose policies reduced European trade and influence in the country and helped preserve its independence. Phetracha was the foster brother of King Narai, whose patronage helped him rise to become head of the Elephant

Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa was a Lao nationalist and political leader, who is regarded as the founder of Lao independence. Phetsarath was the eldest son of Viceroy Boun Khong of the kingdom of Luang Prabang and the elder brother to Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong. He studied in Saigon and in

Phatthalung, town, southern Thailand, situated in a large fertile plain 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Songkhla. It lies on the Bangkok–Singapore rail line. The area is planted largely in rice and coconuts. Fishing is a major activity on Thale Lagoon. Pop. (2000)

grosbeak: …nest in North America: the rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and the black-headed grosbeak (P. melanocephalus), which range east and west of the Rockies, respectively. Some authorities believe the two forms represent a single species, even though the coloration of the males’ underparts differs: red and white in the rose-breasted and…

grosbeak: …grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and the black-headed grosbeak (P. melanocephalus), which range east and west of the Rockies, respectively. Some authorities believe the two forms represent a single species, even though the coloration of the males’ underparts differs: red and white in the rose-breasted and brownish yellow in the black-headed grosbeak.

Nepal: Drainage: …Pokharā basin, the largest being Phewa Lake, which is about two miles long and nearly a mile wide. North of the basin lies the Annapūrna massif of the Great Himalaya Range.

Mark Robson: Films of the 1950s: …rare foray into comedy with Phffft; it starred Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday as a couple that rue their recent divorce. The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), from a Michener novel, was a popular Korean War tale starring William Holden as a navy bomber pilot recalled to active duty, much to…

nat, in Burmese folk religion, any of a group of spirits that are the objects of an extensive, probably pre-Buddhist cult; in Thailand a similar spirit is called phi. Most important of the nats are a group collectively called the “thirty-seven,” made up of spirits of human beings who have died

Phi Beta Kappa, leading academic honour society in the U.S., which draws its membership from college and university students. The oldest Greek-letter society in the U.S., it was founded in 1776 as a secret literary and philosophical society at the College of William and Mary. It became an honour

sedimentary rock: Grain size: The millimetre and phi unit grade scales and terminology given in the sediment grain sizesGrain-size scale for sediments.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Table are