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Ainu
People of Japan, originally residing throughout its four major islands. Pushed north by the Japanese people over the last 2,000 years, the few remaining pure Ainu today live principally in N Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Aleutians. Originally physically and culturally distinct from the Japanese, their language and origins and their role in Japanese history and prehistory have been the subject of scholarly debate. The Ainu were traditionally hunters, fishermen, and trappers; their religion centered on spirits believed to be present in animals and the natural world.


gin
Colorless distilled liquor made from neutral grain spirits flavored with juniper berries and aromatics (such as anise and caraway seeds). Its origin is attributed to a 17th-cent. Dutch medical researcher, Franciscus Sylvius. Two principal types are marketed: a malty-flavored and full-bodied Netherlands type (alcohol content about 35% by volume) and a dry, purified type favored in Britain and the U.S. (40-47% alcohol by volume). Dry gin, which has more flavoring ingredients, is served either unmixed or in cocktails. Dutch gins are usually served unmixed or with water.


king
Male sovereign over a nation or territory, of higher rank than any other ruler except an emperor. A king's female counterpart is a queen. Some kings have been elected, as in medieval Germany, but most inherit the position. The community may concentrate all spiritual and political power in the sovereign, or power may be shared constitutionally with other government institutions. Some kings are heads of state but not heads of government. In the past, some were regarded as semidivine representatives of God on earth; others were gods in their own right or supernatural beings who became gods after death (see divine kingship). Since the 17th cent., the power held by monarchs has been widely regarded as deriving from the people. See also constitutional monarchy, czar, khan, monarchy, pharaoh.


Linz
City (pop., 1991: 203,000), N central Austria. Located on the Danube River west of Vienna, and on the direct rail route between the Baltic and Adriatic seas, it originated as a Roman fortress. An important medieval trading center, it was noted for its fairs in the 15th cent. It was badly damaged in World War II. It is now a cultural center and the seat of Johannes Kepler Univ.


mink
Either of two species of nocturnal, semiaquatic carnivores in the weasel family (Mustelidae) that are trapped and raised commercially for their pelts. Mustela vison, found throughout N. America except in arid parts of the SW U.S., is 17-29 in. (43-74 cm) long and weighs up to 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg). The Eurasian species (M. lutreola) is slightly smaller. The rich brown coat consists of a dense, soft underfur overlaid with glossy guard hairs. Except for furs in the rare mutant colors produced by crossbreeding, wild mink fur is more valuable than "ranch ...

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