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Possible definitions for xcid
acid
Any substance that in water solution tastes sour, changes the color of acid-base indicators (e.g., litmus), reacts with some metals (e.g., iron) to yield hydrogen gas, reacts with bases to form salts, and promotes certain chemical reactions (e.g., acid catalysis). Acids contain one or more hydrogen atoms that, in solution, dissociate as positively charged hydrogen ions. Inorganic, or mineral, acids include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and phosphoric acid. Organic acids include carboxylic acids, phenols, and sulfonic acids. Broader definitions of acids cover situations in which water is not present. See also acid-base theory.
Cid
Castilian military hero. Brought up at the court of Ferdinand I, he served the king's eldest son, Sancho II, in his campaign to gain control of Leó n. On Sancho's death he shifted to the service of Alfonso VI. His unauthorized raid on the Moorish kingdom of Toledo (1081) prompted Alfonso to send him into exile. He then entered the service of the Muslim rulers of Saragossa, becoming known as a general who was never defeated in battle. Alfonso tried unsuccessfully to win him back during the Almoravid invasion of Spain. The Cid maneuvered to gain control of the Moorish kingdom of Valencia, finally succeeding in 1094. He is the national hero of Castile, celebrated in a famous 12th-cent. epic poem.
Acadia
N. Amer. possession of France in the 17th-18th cent., centered in what is now Nova Scotia. Acadia was probably intended to include the other present Maritime Provinces as well as parts of Maine and Quebec. The first European settlement was made by the French colonizer Sieur de Monts in 1604. The area at times was also claimed by the British and was contested often in the 18th-cent. colonial wars; in 1713 Nova Scotia came under British rule. In 1755 many French-speaking Acadians were deported by the British because of imminent war with France; several thousand settled in French-ruled Louisiana, where their descendants were known as Cajuns. The event was the theme for H. W. Longfellow's Evangeline.
Ahidjo
First president of Cameroon, 1960-82. He presided over one of the few successful attempts at African unity: the joining of the S half of the former British Cameroons with the larger French-speaking Cameroun. In 1982, after managing to build up a stable, relatively prosperous nation (through single-party rule), he went into exile after being implicated in a plot against his successor, Paul Biya.
bridge
Structure that spans horizontally to allow pedestrians and vehicles to cross a void. Bridge construction has always presented civil engineering with its greatest challenges. The simplest bridge is the beam (or girder) bridge, consisting of straight, rigid beams placed across a span (e.g., a tree trunk laid across a stream). Ancient Roman bridges are famous for their rounded arch form, which permitted spans much ...
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