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Possible definitions for aposia

Acosta
Portuguese Jewish freethinker. Born into a marrano family, he came to feel that there was no salvation through the Roman Catholic church, and converted to Judaism. His mother and brother also converted, and he and his family fled to Amsterdam. In 1616 he attacked rabbinic Judaism as nonbiblical and was excommunicated. When he enlarged on his criticisms in 1623-24, denying the immortality of the soul, he was arrested and fined. He recanted, but was later excommunicated again. He recanted publicly in 1640, after which he wrote a short autobiography, Example of a Human Life, and shot himself.


amosite
Variety of the silicate mineral cummingtonite, which is a source of asbestos. Cummingtonite is an amphibole mineral, an iron and magnesium silicate that occurs in metamorphic rocks in the form of long needlelike, fibrous crystals.


Aosta
City (pop., 1989: 36,000), capital of Valle d'Aosta region, NW Italy. Located at the juncture of the Great and Little St. Bernard Pass roads through the Alps, it was a stronghold of the Salassi, a Celtic tribe subdued by the Romans in 25 BC. A Roman town was founded there by Augustus in 24 BC, and many Roman structures survive, incl. the walls, two gates, and a triumphal arch in honor of Augustus. Aosta was the birthplace of St. Anselm.


Apia
Seaport town (pop., 1995 est.: 33,000) and capital, Samoa. It lies on the N coast of Upolu Island. Its economy centers on the export of goods to Amer. Samoa. R. L. Stevenson is buried at nearby Mt. Vaea; Vailima, his former home, is now the residence of the head of state.


apomixis
Reproduction by special tissues without fertilization. Examples include parthenogenesis in animals (in which a new individual develops from an unfertilized egg) and apogamy in plants (in which the generating tissue may be either the gametophyte or the sporophyte). Apomixis provides for the preservation of traits favorable to individual survival, but it eliminates the longer-term evolutionary advantage of genetic contribution from two parents.


Apostle
Any of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus. They were Peter, James and John (sons of Zebedee), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus or Judas (son of James), Simon the Cananaean or Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. The 12 were privileged to attend Jesus continually and receive his teaching. Peter, James, and John formed an inner circle and were allowed to witness such events as the Transfiguration and the agony of Jesus at Gethsemane. After the defection and death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was elected an Apostle. Paul also claimed the title on the ground that he had seen the Lord and been commissioned by him.


Asia
Largest continent on earth. It is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean; the W boundary, with Europe, runs roughly north-south along the E Ural ...

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