Definitions

kwag, n. a quagmire (q.v.).—adj. Quagg′y, spongy, boggy.

a loose skirt consisting of brightly colored fabric wrapped around the body; worn by both women and men in the South Pacific

George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age of 19. Westinghouse saw the potential of using alternating current for electric power distribution in the early 1880s and put all his resources into developing and marketing it. This put Westinghouses business in direct competition with Thomas Edison, who marketed direct current for electric power distribution. In 1911 Westinghouse received the American Institute of Electrical Engineerss (AIEE) Edison Medal For meritorious achievement in connection with the development of the alternating current system. He founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1886.

Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. He soon neglected his managerial duties and in 1886 returned to Europe. Having been influenced by African-American music during his short stay in Florida, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany beginning in 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in Paris and then in nearby Grez-sur-Loing, where he and his wife Jelka lived for the rest of their lives, except during the First World War. Deliuss first successes came in Germany, where Hans Haym and other conductors promoted his music from the late 1890s. In Deliuss native Britain, his music did not make regular appearances in concert programmes until 1907, after Thomas Beecham took it up. Beecham conducted the full premiere of A Mass of Life in London in 1909 (he had premiered Part II in Germany in 1908); he staged the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden in 1910; and he mounted a six-day Delius festival in London in 1929, as well as making gramophone recordings of many of the composers works. After 1918, Delius began to suffer the effects of syphilis, contracted during his earlier years in Paris. He became paralysed and blind, but completed some late compositions between 1928 and 1932 with the aid of an amanuensis, Eric Fenby. The lyricism in Deliuss early compositions reflected the music he had heard in America and the influences of European composers such as Grieg and Wagner. As his skills matured, he developed a style uniquely his own, characterised by his individual orchestration and his uses of chromatic harmony. Deliuss music has been only intermittently popular, and often subject to critical attacks. The Delius Society, formed in 1962 by his more dedicated followers, continues to promote knowledge of the composers life and works, and sponsors the annual Delius Prize competition for young musicians.

Heal All, scientifically known as Prunella vulgaris, is a common herb found primarily in Asia, Europe, and North America. It is often used in traditional medicine for its various healing properties. The parts of the plant that grow above ground are collected and used to prepare teas, tinctures, and topical applications, which can help with skin problems, throat infections, and other health conditions. Its often used in natural remedies for wounds, inflammation, and gastrointestinal issues.

Abstruseness; that which is abstruse. - Sir T. Browne

of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky

Charles Francis Hall was an American Arctic explorer. Little is known of Halls early life. He was born in the state of Vermont, but while he was still a child his family moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where, as a boy, he was apprenticed to a blacksmith. In the 1840s he married and drifted westward, arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849. There he went into business making seals and engraving plates, and later began to publish a two small newspapers, The Cincinnati Occasional and The Daily Press.

Alpha iron (α-iron) is a form of pure iron that exists below a certain temperature, often referred to as the Curie temperature (770 degrees Celsius). It has a body-centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure that is highly ductile and fairly soft, making it useful for a wide range of metalworking and industrial applications.

Mock privet is a common term used to refer to various species of shrubs or small trees in the genus Phillyrea, particularly Phillyrea latifolia, native to the Mediterranean region. They are evergreen plants with glossy, dark green leaves, and often used in landscaping for their ornamental attributes. The term mock privet is used because these plants resemble the true privets (genus Ligustrum), but are not closely related.

The genus Leucocytozoon is a group of protozoan parasites belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, known for infecting various bird species. They are primarily transmitted via flies and mosquitoes. Infections usually result in leucocytozoonosis, a blood disease that can be harmful, and potentially fatal, for birds. These parasites are characterized by their intracellular life cycle within the host and typically manifest in the hosts blood cells and liver.