Aquarius (Latin: “Water carrier”) In astronomy, the constellation lying between Capricorn and Pisces; in astrology, the 11th sign of the zodiac, governing approximately the period January 20-February 18. It is usually represented as a man pouring a stream of water out of a jug, probably because in ancient times the rising of Aquarius coincided in the Middle East with the annual arrival of floods or rainfall. In the astrological con¬ cept called the Great Year—the 25,000-year period it takes the earth to pass through the influence of the entire zodiac—the early 19th century was the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.
aquatint Method of etching that produces finely granulated tonal areas rather than lines, so that finished prints often resemble watercolour or wash drawings. A copper plate is exposed to acid through a layer of granulated resin or sugar, which yields a finely speckled gray tone when the plate is inked and printed. The texture and depth of tone are controlled by the strength of the acid baths and the length of time the plate is exposed to them. Aquatint became the most popular method of producing toned prints in the late 18th century; its most notable practitioner was Francisco Goya. In the 19th century Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro experimented with it, and in the 20th century the sugar aquatint was employed by Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, and Andre Masson.
aquavit \'a-kw9-,vet\ (from Latin aqua vitae , “water of life”) Scandi¬ navian clear distilled liquor flavoured with caraway seeds. Distilled from a fermented potato or grain mash, filtered with charcoal, and usually bottled without aging, aquavit has an alcohol content of 42^45% by vol¬ ume. Most aquavits are sweet and spicy. It is usually served chilled and unmixed, in small glasses.
aqueduct Conduit built to carry water from its source to a main distri¬ bution point. Ancient Rome’s aqueduct system, an extraordinary feat of engineering, brought water to the city from as far as 57 mi (92 km) away. Only a portion of the Roman aqueducts utilized the familiar stone arch; most were underground conduits made of stone or terra-cotta pipe. Modern aqueduct systems employ cast iron or steel. See also water-supply system.
aquifer \'a-kwa-far\ In hydrology, a rock layer or sequence that con¬ tains water and releases it in appreciable amounts. The rocks contain water-filled pores that, when connected, allow water to flow through their matrix. A confined aquifer is overlain by a rock layer that does not trans¬ mit water in any appreciable amount or that is impermeable. There prob¬ ably are few truly confined aquifers. In an unconfined aquifer the upper surface (water table) is open to the atmosphere through permeable over- lying material. An aquifer also may be called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone.
Aquinas Vs-'kwI-nosV Saint Thomas (b. 1224/25, Roccasecca, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro, Kingdom of Sicily—d. March 7, 1274, Fos- sanova, near Terracina, Latium, Papal States; canonized July 18, 1323; feast day January 28, formerly March 7) Foremost philosopher and theo¬ logian of the Roman Catholic church. Born of noble parents, he studied at the University of Naples, joined the Dominicans, and taught at a Domini¬ can school at the University of Paris. His time in Paris coincided with the arrival of Aristotelian science, newly discovered in Arabic translation; his great achievement was to integrate into Christian thought the rigours of Aristotle’s philosophy, just as the early Church Fathers had integrated Pla¬ to’s thought in the early Christian era. He held that reason is capable of
operating within faith; while the philosopher relies solely on reason, the theologian accepts faith as his starting point and then proceeds to conclu¬ sion through the use of reason. This point of view was controversial, as was his belief in the religious value of nature, for which he argued that to detract from the perfection of creation was to detract from the creator. He was opposed by St. Bonaventure. In 1277, after his death, the masters of Paris condemned 219 propositions, 12 of them Thomas’s. He was never¬ theless named a Doctor of the Church in 1567 and declared the champion of orthodoxy during the modernist crisis at the end of the 19th century. A prolific writer, he produced more than 80 works, including Summa contra Gentiles (1261—64) and Summa theologica (1265-73). See also Thomism.
Aquino \9-'ke-no\, (Maria) Corazon orig. Maria Corazon Cojuangco (b. Jan. 25, 1933, Manila, Phil.) President of the Philippines (1986-92). Born into a politically prominent family, she married Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr. (1932-83), who became the most prominent oppo¬ nent of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. Benigno was assassinated in 1983 on his return from exile, and Corazon became the opposition candidate for presi¬ dent in 1986. Though Marcos was officially reported the winner, there were widespread allegations of voting fraud; high officials in the military supported Aquino, and Marcos fled. As president, Aquino introduced a hugely popular constitution. Over time her popularity declined amid charges of corruption and economic injustice.
Aquitaine Historical region, southwestern France. It was roughly equivalent to Aquitania, the Roman division of southwestern Gaul, which consisted of the area between the Pyrenees Mountains and the Garonne River. Conquered by Clovis in ad 507, it was later made a subkingdom by Charlemagne in the 8th century. After the Carolingian decline, it became a powerful duchy, which by the 10th century controlled much of France south of the Loire. It passed to the Capetian line when Eleanor of Aquita¬ ine married Louis VII (1137); on her second marriage, to Henry II of England (1152), it passed to the English Plantagenets. The name Guyenne, a cor¬ ruption of Aquitaine, came into use in the 10th century, and the subse¬ quent history of Aquitaine is merged with that of Gascony and Guyenne.
AR-15 See Ml 6 rifle
Ara Pads Va-ra-'pa-sis\ (Augustae) Latin "Augustan Altar of Peace" State monument built by Caesar Augustus in Rome’s Campus Martius (13-9 bc) to commemorate his victorious return from Spain and Gaul. It consists of an altar on a podium enclosed by walls. Its lavish sculptural decoration is among the finest examples of Roman art; reliefs representing the ceremonial procession at the altar’s dedication are the first in Western art that can strictly be called documentary, showing iden¬ tifiable individuals in a contemporary event.
Arab Any member of the ARABic-speaking peoples native to the Middle East and North Africa. Before the spread of Islam in the 630s, the term referred to the largely nomadic Semitic peoples of the Arabian Peninsula; it came to apply to Arabic-speaking peoples from Africa’s Mauritanian and Moroccan coasts east to Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula and south to The Sudan after their acceptance of Islam. Traditionally, some Arabs are desert-dwelling pastoral nomads (see Bedouin), whereas others live by oases and in small, isolated farming villages. While most Arabs are Mus¬ lims, some are Christian. The term has also been used in a political sense by Arab nationalists to describe a greater sociolinguistic or ethnic ideal (“the Arab nation”). See also Pan-Arabism.
Arab-lsraeli wars Series of military conflicts fought between various Arab countries and Israel (1948—49, 1956, 1967, 1969-70, 1973, and 1982). The first war (1948-49) began when Israel declared itself an inde¬ pendent state following the United Nations’ partition of Palestine. Protest¬ ing this move, five Arab countries—Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—attacked Israel. The conflict ended with Israel gaining consider¬ able territory. The 1956 Suez Crisis began after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. A French, British, and Israeli coalition attacked Egypt and occu¬ pied the canal zone but soon withdrew under international pressure. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel attacked Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The war ended with the Israel occupying substantial amounts of Arab territory. An undeclared war of attrition (1969-70) was fought between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal and ended with the help of international diplomacy. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in 1973 (the Yom Kippur War), but, despite early Arab success, the conflict ended inconclusively. In 1979 Egypt made peace with Israel. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon in order to expel Palestinian guerrillas based there. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon by 1985 but maintained a narrow buffer zone inside that coun-