Skip this Advertisement

A-Z Browse

  • Saṃkarṣana (Hinduism)
    ...doctrine concerns the four spiritual forms of God: the absolute, transcendent state, known as Vāsudeva; the form in which knowledge and strength predominate (known as Saṃkarṣana); the form in which wealth and courage predominate (known as Pradyumna); and the form in which power and energy predominate (known as Aniruddha). Śaṅkara......
  • Sāṃkāśya (India)
    ...the area. Nearby are the ruined tombs of former rulers. The town of Kampil, northwest of the municipality, is mentioned in epics of the 2nd century bc and earlier; it has numerous ancient temples. Sankisa (ancient Sāṃkāśya), to the west, was a famous Buddhist pilgrimage centre and has several mounds that are the remains of Buddhist stupas. Pop. (1991 pr...
  • Saṃkhya (Hinduism)
    one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Saṃkhyā adopts a consistent dualism of the orders of matter (prakriti) and soul, or self (purusha). The two are originally separate, but in the course of evolution purusha mistakenly identifies itself with aspects of prakriti. Right knowledge consists of the abili...
  • Saṃkhyā (Hinduism)
    one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. Saṃkhyā adopts a consistent dualism of the orders of matter (prakriti) and soul, or self (purusha). The two are originally separate, but in the course of evolution purusha mistakenly identifies itself with aspects of prakriti. Right knowledge consists of the abili...
  • Sāṃkhya-kārikā (work by Īśvarakṛṣṇa)
    Īśvarakṛṣṇa’s Sāṃkhya-kārikā (or “Verses on Sāmkhya,” c. 2nd century ad) is the oldest available Sāṃkhya work. Īśvarakṛṣṇa describes himself as laying down the essential teachings of Kapila as taught to Āsuri and by Ās...
  • Sāṃkhya-sūtra (Indian philosophical text)
    ...self). The Mahābhārata refers to three kinds of Sāṃkhya doctrines: those that accept 24, 25, or 26 principles, the last of which are theistic. The later Sāṃkhya-sūtra is more sympathetic toward theism, but the kārikās are atheistic, and the traditional expositions of the Sāṃkhya are based ...
  • saṃkīrtana (Hindu worship)
    form of musical worship or group devotion practiced by the Vaiṣṇava sects (followers of the god Vishnu) of Bengal. Kīrtana usually consists of a verse sung by a soloist and then repeated by a chorus, to the accompaniment of percussion instruments. Sometimes the singing gives way to the recitation of a religious poem, the repetition of God’s name (nāma-...
  • samma ajivo (Buddhism)
    ...from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4) correct action, refraining from physical misdeeds such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, (5) correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or poisons, (6) correct effort, abandoning negative......
  • samma ditthi (Buddhism)
    In brief, the eight elements of the path are: (1) correct view, an accurate understanding of the nature of things, specifically the Four Noble Truths, (2) correct intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent, (3) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4)......
  • samma kammanto (Buddhism)
    ...intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent, (3) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4) correct action, refraining from physical misdeeds such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, (5) correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling......
  • samma samadhi (Buddhism)
    ...yet to arise, and sustaining positive states that have already arisen, (7) correct mindfulness, awareness of body, feelings, thought, and phenomena (the constituents of the existing world), and (8) correct concentration, single-mindedness....
  • samma sankappo (Buddhism)
    In brief, the eight elements of the path are: (1) correct view, an accurate understanding of the nature of things, specifically the Four Noble Truths, (2) correct intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent, (3) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4) correct action, refraining from......
  • samma sati (Buddhism)
    ...(6) correct effort, abandoning negative states of mind that have already arisen, preventing negative states that have yet to arise, and sustaining positive states that have already arisen, (7) correct mindfulness, awareness of body, feelings, thought, and phenomena (the constituents of the existing world), and (8) correct concentration, single-mindedness....
  • samma vaca (Buddhism)
    ...are: (1) correct view, an accurate understanding of the nature of things, specifically the Four Noble Truths, (2) correct intention, avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent, (3) correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech, (4) correct action, refraining from physical misdeeds such as killing, stealing,......
  • samma vayamo (Buddhism)
    ...stealing, and sexual misconduct, (5) correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or poisons, (6) correct effort, abandoning negative states of mind that have already arisen, preventing negative states that have yet to arise, and sustaining positive states that have already arisen, (7) correct.....
  • Sammartini, Giovanni Battista (Italian composer)
    Italian composer who was an important formative influence on the pre-Classical symphony and thus on the Classical style later developed by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart....
  • Sammartini, Giuseppe (Italian composer)
    oboist and composer prominent in England in the first half of the 18th century and brother of Giovanni Battista Sammartini....
  • Sammartino, Giuseppe (Italian sculptor)
    ...groups by Antonio Corradini and Francesco Queirolo vie with each other in virtuosity and include such conceits as fishnets cut from solid marble and the all-revealing shrouds developed by Giuseppe Sammartino. Florentine sculpture of the 18th century is less spectacular, and Giovanni Battista Foggini took back from Rome the compromise style of Ferrarza, while Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi......
  • sammāsam-buddha (Buddhism)
    ...his own efforts, as distinct from one who reaches the goal by listening to the teachings of a buddha. The pratyeka-buddha is also distinguished from the “complete buddha” (sammāsam-buddha), for he is not omniscient and is not capable of enlightening others....
  • Sammatīya (Buddhist school)
    ancient Buddhist school or group of schools in India that held a distinctive theory concerning the pudgala, or person. They believed that though an individual does not exist independently from the five skandhas, or components that make up his personality, he is at the same time something greater than the mere sum of his parts. The Sammatīya were severely criticize...
  • sammi (Pakistani folk dance)
    Important dances by women are the sammi, kikli, giddha, and luddi. Except for the sammi, which has a slow rhythm accompanied by a sad song because of its association with the tragic love legend of Princess Sammi and Prince Dhola, all the other forms are charged with energy and fast rhythms. The kikli is performed by teen-age girls in groups of two. The partners cross......
  • Sammlung der griechischen Dialektinschriften (work by Collitz)
    ...sound change in Sanskrit. While teaching Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at the University of Halle (1885–86), he began publishing, in collaboration with a number of other scholars, Sammlung der griechischen Dialektinschriften, 4 vol. (1884–1915; “Collection of Greek Dialect Inscriptions”). This work, which included vocabulary lists and grammatical studie...
  • Sammu-ramat (queen of Assyria)
    Assyrian queen who became a legendary heroine....
  • Sammy the Bull (American gangster)
    ...racketeering, and his brother Gene was indicted for drug trafficking—an activity that Castellano prohibited under penalty of death. In December Castellano was assassinated in a shooting that Salvatore Gravano (“Sammy the Bull”), a Gotti associate, later claimed Gotti witnessed from a parked car. In 1986 Gotti emerged as the leader of the Gambino crime family....
  • samna (butterfat)
    ...mixed with the milk fat of the buffalo. Ghee is the chief form of cooking oil in many Indian regional cuisines; it is also used medicinally and plays a part in some Hindu religious ceremonies. Samna is the name for butterfat in Egypt, where it is also prepared in large quantities; it is commonly mixed with the milk fats of sheep and goats....
  • Samnān (province, Iran)
    ostān (province), northern Iran, bounded by the ostāns of Khorāsān on the east, Eṣfahān on the south, Markazī (Tehrān) on the west, and Māzandarān on the north. The northern half of the region is an extension of the Elburz Mountains pierced by narrow defiles; to the south the land surface drops g...
  • Samnān (Iran)
    chief town and county (shahrestān) in Semnān ostān (province), northern Iran; it lies 3,734 feet (1,138 metres) above sea level on a large plain at the southern foot of the Elburz Mountains. In the town are an ornamented minaret (12th century) and several large places of worship. Semnān is a thriving market for local grains, cotton, and ...
  • Samnite (people)
    a member of the ancient warlike tribes inhabiting the mountainous centre of southern Italy. These tribes, who spoke Oscan and were probably an offshoot of the Sabini, apparently referred to themselves not as Samnite but by the Oscan form of the word, which appears in Latin as Sabine....
  • Samnite (gladiator)
    There were various classes of gladiators, distinguished by their arms or modes of fighting. The Samnites fought with the national weapons—a large oblong shield, a visor, a plumed helmet, and a short sword. The Thraces (“Thracians”) had a small round buckler and a dagger curved like a scythe; they were generally pitted against the mirmillones, who were......
  • Samnite Wars (Roman history)
    During the 40 years after the second treaty with Carthage, Rome rapidly rose to a position of hegemony in Italy south of the Po valley. Much of the fighting during this time consisted of three wars against the Samnites, who initially were not politically unified but coexisted as separate Oscan-speaking tribes of the central and southern Apennines. Rome’s expansion was probably responsible f...
  • Samnorsk (language)
    ...its normative base; the resultant language form was called Riksmål, later officially Bokmål. An official effort aimed at amalgamating Dano-Norwegian and New Norwegian into one language (Samnorsk) was abandoned in 2002. In its current form Dano-Norwegian is the predominant language of Norway’s population of more than 4.6 million, except in western Norway and among the Sami m...
  • Samo (Frankish merchant)
    ...were hard-pressed by the Avars of the Hungarian plains. Attempts to unite the Slavic tribes against the Avars were successful only when directed by such personalities as the Frankish merchant Samo, who gained control of a large territory in which at least part of Bohemia was included. His death in 658 ended the loosely knit state. A more auspicious era dawned after Charlemagne defeated......
  • Samo (people)
    ...subgroups—the Mossi, which include the Gurma and the Yarse, the Gurunsi, the Senufo, the Bobo, and the Lobi. The second group is the Mande family, which is divided into four subgroups: the Samo, the Marka, the Busansi, and the Dyula. In addition, there are Hausa traders, Fulani herders, and the Tuareg, or rather their settled servants, the Bella....
  • Samoa (archipelago, Pacific Ocean)
    group of Polynesian islands and islets in the south-central Pacific Ocean about 1,600 miles (2,600 km) northeast of New Zealand. American Samoa, a dependency of the United States, consists of the six islands east of longitude 171° W, including Tutuila. Samoa, an independent nation since 1962, consists of the nine in...
  • Samoa (island nation, Pacific Ocean)
    country in the central South Pacific Ocean, among the westernmost of the island nations of Polynesia....
  • Samoa, flag of
    ...
  • Samoan (people)
    The great majority of the population (nearly nine-tenths) is ethnically Samoan; there are tiny minorities of Tongan, Asian, and European origin. The Samoans are a Polynesian people closely related to the native peoples of New Zealand, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Tonga. The Samoan way of life, or fa‘a Samoa, is communal. The basic unit of social......
  • Samoan Islands (archipelago, Pacific Ocean)
    group of Polynesian islands and islets in the south-central Pacific Ocean about 1,600 miles (2,600 km) northeast of New Zealand. American Samoa, a dependency of the United States, consists of the six islands east of longitude 171° W, including Tutuila. Samoa, an independent nation since 1962, consists of the nine in...
  • Samoan language
    ...and in western Melanesia to fewer than a thousand. In the central Pacific, where the average number of speakers per language again increases to more than 100,000, the major languages include Fijian, Samoan, and Tongan....
  • Samogitia (physical region, Europe)
    ...of the Sword (this order became a branch of the Teutonic Order in 1237). The Lithuanians, protected by a dense primeval forest and extensive marshland, successfully resisted German pressure. Samogitia (Lithuanian: Žemaitija), lying between Prussia and Livonia, two lands already in the hands of the German Crusading knights, was a particular object of German expansion....
  • Samogitian (people)
    ...became East Prussia. The Jotvingians and Galindians inhabited an area to the south stretching from present-day Poland east into Belarus. The settlements of the ancestors of the Lithuanians—the Samogitians and the Aukstaiciai—covered most of present-day Lithuania, stretching into Belarus. Five more subdivisions formed the basis for the modern Latvians. Westernmost of these were the...
  • Samokovo, Battle of (Turkish history)
    ...Chernomen in the Battle of the Maritsa River, took the Macedonian towns of Dráma, Kavála, and Seres (Sérrai), and won a significant victory over a Bulgarian-Serbian coalition at Samakow (now Samokovo). These victories brought large territories under direct Ottoman rule and made the princes of northern Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as the Byzantine emperor, Murad’s vas...
  • Samory (West African ruler)
    Muslim reformer and military leader who founded a powerful kingdom in West Africa and resisted French colonial expansion in the late 19th century....
  • Samos (island, Greece)
    Greek island in the Aegean Sea, the closest one to the mainland of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the narrow Samos Strait. The 184-sq-mi (476-sq-km) island is wooded and mountainous; Mt. Kerketeus, the highest peak (4,701 ft [1,433 m]), forms the western tip of the island. The east coast is amply indented, but the smoother south coast has broad, deep plains except around the port of Tig...
  • Sámos (island, Greece)
    Greek island in the Aegean Sea, the closest one to the mainland of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the narrow Samos Strait. The 184-sq-mi (476-sq-km) island is wooded and mountainous; Mt. Kerketeus, the highest peak (4,701 ft [1,433 m]), forms the western tip of the island. The east coast is amply indented, but the smoother south coast has broad, deep plains except around the port of Tig...
  • Samos Tunnel (tunnel, Greece)
    tunnel drilled on the Aegean island of Samos in the 6th century bc to carry water for the capital city of the tyrant Polycrates from springs on the far side of Mount Castro. It was built, according to Herodotus, by the engineer Eupalinus of Megara. Six feet (two metres) in diameter and more than 3,000 ft in length, it was drilled through the rock by teams of slaves using hammers and...
  • Samosata (Turkey)
    village in Adıyaman il (province), southeastern Turkey, on the upper Euphrates River. In antiquity Samosata was a fortified city guarding an important crossing point of the river on the east–west trade route; as such it enjoyed considerable commercial and strategic importance. Probably of Hittite origin, the city was incorporated into the Assyrian Empire in ...
  • Samosir (island, Indonesia)
    island in Danau (lake) Toba, Sumatera Utara propinsi (North Sumatra province), Sumatra, Indonesia. Approximately 200 sq mi (520 sq km) in area, the island occupies nearly half the lake and is joined to its western shore by an isthmus, at which point is the island’s principal town, Pangururan. In the east, the island rises to 5,350 ft (1,630 m), but the level of the surrounding water...
  • Samothrace (island, Greece)
    Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea off the Thracian coast, included in the nomós (department) of Évros. The 69-sq-mi (178-sq-km) island is geologically complex, consisting chiefly of ancient granites, clayey deposits, and softer volcanic materials. Hot springs are located near the north coast. Near its centre the island rises to 5,250 ft (1,600 m) in Korifí Feng...
  • Samothráki (island, Greece)
    Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea off the Thracian coast, included in the nomós (department) of Évros. The 69-sq-mi (178-sq-km) island is geologically complex, consisting chiefly of ancient granites, clayey deposits, and softer volcanic materials. Hot springs are located near the north coast. Near its centre the island rises to 5,250 ft (1,600 m) in Korifí Feng...
  • samovar (metal urn)
    metal urn, often of brass, with a spigot near its base, widely used in Russia to boil water for tea. In traditional samovars water is heated by means of a vertical tube, containing burning charcoal, running up the middle of the urn. A filled teapot is set atop the chimney to steep. A lighter brew can be obtained by adding more water to the teacup from the spigot. Traditionally, a samovar was used...
  • samovila (Slavic spirit)
    in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing...
  • samovile (Slavic spirit)
    in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing...
  • Samoyed (people)
    ethnolinguistic group inhabiting northwestern Russia, from the White Sea on the west to the base of the Taymyr Peninsula on the east and from the Sayan Mountains on the south to the Arctic Ocean on the north. At present the Nenets are the largest group speaking Samoyedic, a branch of the Uralic language family. Their name comes from the word nenets...
  • Samoyed (breed of dog)
    breed of working dog developed in Siberia, where it was kept by the Samoyed people as a sled dog and companion and as a herd dog for their reindeer. The Samoyed is a sturdily built, huskylike dog with erect ears, dark, almond-shaped eyes, and a characteristic “smile.” Its long, heavy coat is white, cream, grayish yellow (biscuit), or white and bi...
  • Samoyedic languages
    group of languages spoken in Siberia and the Russian Arctic that, together with the Finno-Ugric languages, constitute the family of Uralic languages. There are five Samoyedic languages, which are divided into two subgroups—North Samoyedic and South Samoyedic. The North Samoyedic subgroup consists of Nenets (Yurak), Enets...
  • samozashchita bez oruzhiya (sport)
    (Russian: “self-defense without weapons”), form of wrestling developed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s from elements of several Soviet regional styles. It is also practiced in Japan and Bulgaria. In 1964 it was recognized by the International Federation of Amateur Wrestling. It is similar to both judo and freestyle. Strangling, kicking, and scratching are among the few tactics forb...
  • Sampaio, Jorge (president of Portugal)
    ...Democrats) and several minor parties emerged. In 1995 Cavaco Silva left office, replaced by Socialist António Guterres; the following year, Soares was succeeded as president by Socialist Jorge Sampaio, the former mayor of Lisbon. In 1999 the government adopted the euro, the EU’s single currency—which fully replaced the escudo as Portugal’s sole currency in 2002...
  • sampan (boat)
    most common type of small boat in Chinese waters, constructed in a variety of designs. Some have sharp bows, and nearly all have large sterns, with the after portion of the gunwale and deck nearly always raised. Sampans are usually rigged for sailing, sometimes with two masts; otherwise they are rowed with large sweep-type oars. They are usually open or partly decked, with a shelter or cabin aft....
  • Samper Pizano, Ernesto (president of Colombia)
    Even when judged by the rough-and-tumble standards of Colombian politics, Pres. Ernesto Samper Pizano’s political career was unusually turbulent. In 1989, as he stood talking to José Antequera, a member of the left-wing Patriotic Union, an assassin opened fire, killing Antequera and putting four bullets into Samper. He recovered to become leader of the Liberal Party and to win the pr...
  • sample mean (statistics)
    ...estimation of a population mean. Suppose it is of interest to estimate the population mean, μ, for a quantitative variable. Data collected from a simple random sample can be used to compute the sample mean, x̄, where the value of x̄ provides a point estimate of μ....
  • sample preparation (chemistry)
    in analytical chemistry, the processes in which a representative piece of material is extracted from a larger amount and readied for analysis. Sampling and sample preparation have a unique meaning and special importance when applied to the field of analytical chemistry. Analytical chemistry in all its diverse forms can be looked upon as a multistep endeavour w...
  • sample proportion (statistics)
    For qualitative variables, the population proportion is a parameter of interest. A point estimate of the population proportion is given by the sample proportion. With knowledge of the sampling distribution of the sample proportion, an interval estimate of a population proportion is obtained in much the same fashion as for a population mean. Point and interval estimation procedures such as these......
  • sample space (probability)
    ...that may lead to different outcomes on different trials. The set of all possible outcomes of an experiment is called a “sample space.” The experiment of tossing a coin once results in a sample space with two possible outcomes, “heads” and “tails.” Tossing two dice has a sample space with 36 possible outcomes, each of which can be identified with an orde...
  • sample statistics
    ...variance, and the population proportion are called parameters of the population. Characteristics of the sample such as the sample mean, the sample variance, and the sample proportion are called sample statistics. There are two types of estimates: point and interval. A point estimate is a value of a sample statistic that is used as a single estimate of a population parameter. No statements......
  • sampler (embroidery)
    embroidered panel of linen on which various types of stitches are demonstrated. The earliest extant European examples date from the 16th century. The original purpose of the sampler, in the period before embroidery pattern books became available in 1523, was to demonstrate a repertory of embroidery stitches that might be used in the future. In the earliest dated specimen (1598), different motifs ...
  • sampler stitch
    type of embroidery carried out on canvas or an evenly woven fabric in which the strands of the weave can be counted. Canvas work was executed at least as early as the Middle Ages, when it was known as opus pulvinarium, or cushion work. As its name implies, cross-stitch is a double stitch diagonally crossing intersections of the horizontal and vertical threads of the fabric. Because it is ba...
  • sampling (materials analysis)
    Sampling...
  • sampling (music synthesis)
    ...discs, videodiscs, and CD-ROMs, instead involves taking multiple discrete measurements of the voltage levels of the continuous source audio waves, a process known as sampling. The most common sampling rate is 44.1 kilohertz (kHz), or 44,100 times per second, which guarantees at least two measurements of any humanly audible sound wave. (The typical sound range audible to a person is 20 Hz......
  • sampling (statistics)
    in statistics, a process or method of drawing a representative group of individuals or cases from a particular population. Sampling and statistical inference are used in circumstances in which it is impractical to obtain information from every member of the population, as in biological or chemical analysis, industrial quality control, or social surveys. The ba...
  • sampling (record production)
    A canny blend of entrepreneurship and aesthetics, hip-hop was the wellspring of several staple techniques of modern pop music, including digital drumming and sampling (which introduced rap listeners to the music of a previous generation of performers, including Chic, Parliament-Funkadelic, and James Brown, while at the same time creating copyright controversies). It has been argued that,......
  • sampling (communications)
    A telemetry system ordinarily must handle more than one channel of information (e.g., routine measurements from an orbiting satellite, or flow rate and reservoir levels in a water-distribution network). These data-measurement channels are brought together by a process known as multiplexing, which combines the channels into one composite signal for transmission over the communications......
  • sampling distribution (statistics)
    A sampling distribution is a probability distribution for a sample statistic. Knowledge of the sampling distribution is necessary for the construction of an interval estimate for a population parameter. This is why a probability sample is needed; without a probability sample, the sampling distribution cannot be determined and an interval estimate of a parameter cannot be constructed....
  • sampling error (statistics)
    ...The absolute value of the difference between the sample mean, x̄, and the population mean, μ, written |x̄ − μ|, is called the sampling error. Interval estimation incorporates a probability statement about the magnitude of the sampling error. The sampling distribution of x̄ provides the basis ...
  • sampling interval (communications)
    ...paper “Certain Topics in Telegraph Transmission Theory” refined his earlier results and established the principles of sampling continuous signals to convert them to digital signals. The Nyquist sampling theorem showed that the sampling rate must be at least twice the highest frequency present in the sample in order to reconstruct the original signal. These two papers by Nyquist,.....
  • sampling theorem (communications)
    ...Engineers limit the bandwidth of signals to enable multiple signals to share the same channel with minimal interference. A key result that pertains to bandwidth-limited signals is Nyquist’s sampling theorem, which states that a signal of bandwidth B can be reconstructed by taking 2B samples every second. In 1924, Harry Nyquist derived the following formula for the maximum.....
  • sampo (Finno-Ugric cosmology)
    mysterious object often referred to in the mythological songs of the Finns, most likely a cosmological pillar or some similar support holding up the vault of heaven. In a cycle of songs, referred to by scholars as the sampo-epic, the sampo is forged by the creator-smith Ilmarinen for Louhi, the hag-goddess of the underworld, and is then stolen b...
  • sampogna, La (work by Marino)
    ...with the poetry that he managed to get published despite censorship. Much of his early work was circulated, with great acclaim, in manuscript and published later in his life. In 1596 he wrote La sampogna (“The Syrinx”), a series of sensual idylls using mythological and pastoral subjects, but he was unable to publish it until 1620....
  • sampradāya (Hinduism)
    in Hinduism, a traditional school of religious teaching, transmitted from one teacher to another. From about the 11th century onward, several sects emerged out of Vaiṣṇavism (worship of the god Vishnu). These sects continue to the present day. They include the Sanaka-sampradāya (also known as Nimbārkas, the followers of Nimbārka); the Ś...
  • Sampras, Pete (American athlete)
    American tennis player whose exceptional all-around game enabled him to win 14 grand-slam singles titles, a record among male players. During his career he won seven Wimbledon singles championships (also a record; 1993–95, 1997–2000), five U.S. Open titles (1990, 1993, 1995–96, 2002), and two Australian Open championships (1994, 1997), but a win at the Frenc...
  • Sampson, Anthony Terrell Seward (British journalist)
    British journalist and author (b. Aug. 3, 1926, Billingham-on-Tees, Durham, Eng.—d. Dec. 18, 2004, Wardour, Wiltshire, Eng.), scrutinized political power and influence, especially in the U.K. and South Africa, and highlighted human rights issues in his many works. He contributed to several newspapers, including The Observer and The Independent, and wrote more than 20 books, mo...
  • Sampson, Deborah (United States soldier)
    American Revolutionary soldier and one of the earliest female lecturers in the country....
  • Sampson, Geoffrey (British linguist)
    ...out of 24 basic graphs. In addition, such a script makes syllables visually discriminable by organizing them into blocks to facilitate rapid reading. Such properties led the British linguist Geoffrey Sampson to say:Whether or not it is ultimately the best of all conceivable scripts for Korean, Han’gul must unquestionably rank as one of the great intellectual achievements of.....
  • Sampson, Nikos (president of Cyprus)
    Greek Cypriot journalist and militant nationalist (b. Dec. 16, 1934, Famagusta, Cyprus—d. May 9, 2001, Nicosia, Cyprus), was president of Cyprus for eight days in 1974, but the coup of which he was a part led directly to the Turkish invasion that resulted in the island nation’s division into two antagonistic parts. Sampson, a member of the EOKA guerrilla movement, was sentenced to de...
  • Sampson, William T. (United States admiral)
    U.S. naval officer who, as head of the North Atlantic squadron, masterminded U.S. naval strategy during the Spanish-American War....
  • Sampson, William Thomas (United States admiral)
    U.S. naval officer who, as head of the North Atlantic squadron, masterminded U.S. naval strategy during the Spanish-American War....
  • Sam’s Club (American company)
    In 1983, Walton founded Sam’s Wholesale Club, a chain of deep-discount wholesale warehouse outlets, and in 1988 he began opening Supercenters, which added full grocery fare to the regular merchandise offerings and dwarfed even the barnlike Wal-Mart stores in size. By 1990 Wal-Mart Stores had passed Sears, Roebuck and Company to become the largest retailer in the United States. The next year...
  • Sam’s Wholesale Club (American company)
    In 1983, Walton founded Sam’s Wholesale Club, a chain of deep-discount wholesale warehouse outlets, and in 1988 he began opening Supercenters, which added full grocery fare to the regular merchandise offerings and dwarfed even the barnlike Wal-Mart stores in size. By 1990 Wal-Mart Stores had passed Sears, Roebuck and Company to become the largest retailer in the United States. The next year...
  • samsara (Indian philosophy)
    in Indian philosophy, the central conception of metempsychosis: the soul, finding itself awash in the “sea of samsara,” strives to find release (moksha) from the bonds of its own past deeds (karma), which form part of the general web of which samsara is made. Buddhism, which does not ass...
  • Samsat (Turkey)
    village in Adıyaman il (province), southeastern Turkey, on the upper Euphrates River. In antiquity Samosata was a fortified city guarding an important crossing point of the river on the east–west trade route; as such it enjoyed considerable commercial and strategic importance. Probably of Hittite origin, the city was incorporated into the Assyrian Empire in ...
  • Samsil (queen of Arabia)
    ...In 732 he advanced upon Damascus, first devastating the gardens outside the city and then conquering the capital and killing the king, whom he replaced with a governor. The queen of southern Arabia, Samsil, was now obliged to pay tribute, being permitted in return to use the harbour of the city of Gaza, which was in Assyrian hands....
  • saṃskāra (Buddhist concept)
    ...or feelings (vedanā); (3) perceptions of sense objects (Sanskrit: saṃjñā; Pāli: saññā); (4) mental formations (saṃskāras/sankhāras); and (5) awareness, or consciousness, of the other three mental aggregates......
  • saṃskāra (Hindu passage rite)
    any of the personal sacraments traditionally observed at every stage of a Hindu’s life, from the moment of conception to the final scattering of his funeral ashes. The observance of the saṃskāras is based on custom fully as much as on texts such as the Gṛhya-sūtras, the epics, or the Purāṇas and differs consi...
  • Samson (libretto by Voltaire)
    ...who quipped that Rameau “is a man who has the misfortune to know more music than Lully.” But he soon came around to Rameau’s side and wrote for him a fine libretto, Samson, which was banned ostensibly for religious reasons but really because of a cabal against Voltaire; the music was lost. Their later collaboration on two frothy court entertainment...
  • Samson (biblical figure)
    Israelite hero portrayed in an epic narrative in the Old Testament (Judg. 13–16). He was a Nazirite and a legendary warrior whose incredible exploits hint at the weight of Philistine pressure on Israel during much of the early, tribal period of Israel in Canaan (1200–1000). The Book of Judges ranks him with other divinely inspired warriors who delivered the communi...
  • Samson (statue by Kozlovsky)
    ...a view of the Grand Cascade, a grandiose structure including a grotto, 64 fountains, and two cascading staircases, which lead to an enormous semicircular basin that contains a giant statue of Samson wrestling with a lion. This statue, symbolizing the military glory of Russia, is a copy of the original statue by Mikhail I. Kozlovsky, which was carried off by the Nazis during World War II.......
  • Samson Agonistes (poem by Milton)
    Like Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes focuses on the inner workings of the mind of the protagonist. This emphasis flies in the face of the biblical characterization of Samson in the Book of Judges, which celebrates his physical strength. Milton’s dramatic poem, however, begins the story of Samson after his downfall—after he...
  • Samson and a Philistine (sculpture by Giambologna)
    ...plaster model of this work (Accademia, Florence), initially set up with the “Victory” in the Palazzo Vecchio, was replaced in 1570 by the marble version, now in the Museo Nazionale. His “Samson and a Philistine” (1567; Victoria and Albert Museum, London) displays violence and anguish in a masterfully contrived composition that recalls such complex Hellenistic pieces ...
  • Samson and Delilah (film by DeMille [1949])
    ...Color: Robert Surtees for King Solomon’s MinesArt Direction, Black-and-White: Hans Dreier and John Meehan for Sunset BoulevardArt Direction, Color: Hans Dreier and Walter Tyler for Samson and DelilahMusic Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Franz Waxman for Sunset BoulevardScoring of a Musical Picture: Adolph Deutsch and Roger Edens for......
  • Samson et Dalila (opera by Saint-Saëns)
    ...Omphale’s Spinning Wheel), which, with Danse Macabre, is the most frequently performed of his four such works. His opera Samson et Dalila, rejected in Paris because of the prejudice against portraying biblical characters on the stage, was given in German at Weimar in 1877, on the recommendation of Liszt. It was......
Skip this Advertisement

Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.

If you think a reference to this article on "" will enhance your Web site, blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article, and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.

You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.

copy link

We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.

Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.

The Britannica Store
A-Z Browse

Image preview