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Possible definitions for aaliis

ballista
Ancient missile launcher designed to hurl long arrows or heavy balls. The Greek version was basically a huge crossbow fastened to a mount. The Roman ballista was powered by torsion derived from two thick skeins of twisted cords through which were thrust two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. The largest could accurately hurl 60-lb (27-kg) weights up to about 500 yards (450 m).


Calais
Seaport (pop., 1990: 76,000), N France, located on the Strait of Dover. Originally a fishing village built on an island, it was improved by the count of Flanders in 997 and fortified by the count of Boulogne in 1224. It was taken in 1347 by Edward III of England, and after 1450 was the only remaining English possession in France. The 2d duc de Guise, took Calais from the English in 1558. In World War II it was a main objective in the German drive to the sea in 1940. It is an important passenger port and is near the French terminus of the Channel Tunnel. The city is famous for its lace and embroideries.


Callisto
In Greek mythology, a nymph and a hunting companion of Artemis. Though she vowed never to wed, she was seduced by Zeus, who turned her into a she-bear to conceal his infidelity from the jealous Hera. She was then killed by Artemis during a hunt. Other versions hold that it was Artemis or Hera, enraged at her unchastity, who turned her into a bear. After her death Zeus placed her in the heavens as the constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear).


Palissy
French potter and writer. Known for his decorated rustic ware, a type of earthenware covered with colored lead glazes, he was appointed "inventor of rustic pottery to the king and the queen mother" in 1565. His public lectures on natural history, published in 1580, revealed him to be a writer and scientist, and a pioneer of the scientific method. A Huguenot, he was imprisoned in 1588 in the Bastille, where he died.


Taliesin
Home, as well as architectural school, of F. L. Wright. Located near Spring Green, Wis., it was begun in 1911 and was rebuilt after fires in 1914 and 1925. Taliesin West, near Scottsdale, Ariz., was begun in 1938 as a winter home for Wright and his students. Both structures were continually renovated and added to until Wright's death in 1959, after which they continued to be occupied by members of the Wright Foundation. Wright, of Welsh descent, named them after the renowned Welsh poet (fl.6th cent. AD).


Tallis
British composer. An organist at abbeys and churches from 1532, by 1543 he was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, as both organist and composer. Though a Catholic, he was one of the first to write hymns in English for the Anglican church. During Mary I's Catholic reign, he wrote Latin masses, but he remained in favor after Elizabeth I's accession. His powerful Lamentations of Jeremiah are regarded as his greatest body of work; his ...

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