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Possible definitions for kaas

Haas
U.S. linguist. Born in Richmond, Ind., she studied with E. Sapir at Yale Univ. Her dissertation was on Tunica, a moribund Amer. Indian language, and she continued her fieldwork on and comparative studies of Amer. Indian languages, especially of the SE U.S., incl. Natchez and Muskogean languages, for the rest of her life. She directed the Survey of California Indian Languages while on the UC-Berkeley faculty (1945-77). Her many students have done invaluable descriptive work on languages heading rapidly for extinction.


Kaaba
Most sacred Muslim shrine, located near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca. All Muslims face toward it in their daily prayers. The cube-shaped structure, made of gray stone and marble, has its corners roughly oriented to the points of the compass; the interior contains only pillars and silver and gold lamps. Pilgrims to Mecca walk around the Kaaba seven times and touch the Black Stone of Mecca on its E side, which may date from the pre-Islamic religion of the Arabs. Tradition holds that the Kaaba was built by Abraham and Ishmael. In 630 Muhammad purged the place of its pagan idols and rededicated it to Islam.


Alaska
State (pop., 1997 est.: 609,000) of the U.S., lying at the extreme northwest of N. America. It is the largest in area of the U.S. states and covers 591,004 sq mi (1,530,700 sq km), most of it in land. Facing Siberia across the Bering Strait and Sea to the west, it has the highest point on the continent, Mt. McKinley. Its capital is Juneau. The original inhabitants, Indians and Eskimos, are thought to have migrated over the Bering Land Bridge as well as from the Arctic. The first European settlement was established in the late 18th cent. by Russian fur traders on Kodiak Island. Hudson's Bay Co. traders were also interested in the same area, and Russian-Canadian trade rivalry lasted well into the 19th cent. In 1867 W. Seward negotiated Alaska's sale from the Russians to the U.S., and the subsequent discovery of gold stimulated Amer. settlement. Alaska was a U.S. Territory from 1912 until it was admitted as the 49th state in 1959. Its economy has become increasingly centered on oil and natural gas: since the opening of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in 1977, Alaska has become second only to Texas in the U.S. production of crude oil.


ass
Either of two species of small, sturdy equines. Asses are 3-5 ft (90-150 cm) high at the shoulder. The African wild ass, or true ass (Equus asinus) is bluish gray to fawn; the Asiatic wild ass, or half-ass (E. hemionus) is reddish to yellow-gray. The half-ass differs from the true ass in that it has extremely long, slender legs, shorter ears, and larger hooves. The true ass has the alternating "hee-haw" bray. Desert dwellers, wild asses often inhabit regions that cannot support other large mammals. They are very swift runners. See also donkey.


Baal
God worshiped in many ancient Middle ...

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