Daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus).
WALTER CHANDOHA
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1328 I narcotic ► Nash
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narcotic Drug that produces analgesia (see analgesic), narcosis (stupor or sleep), and drug addiction. In most people narcotics also produce eupho¬ ria. Those that occur naturally in the opium poppy, notably morphine, have been used since ancient Greek times. The main therapeutic use of nar¬ cotics is for pain relief. Most countries limit the production, sale, and use of narcotics because of their addictive properties and detrimental effects and the incidence of drug abuse. With the development in the 19th cen¬ tury of the hypodermic needle and of heroin, five to 10 times as potent as morphine, the use and abuse of narcotics increased dramatically. A nar¬ cotic overdose can cause central nervous system depression, respiratory failure, and death.
Narmada River Wor-'mo-doN or Nerbudda River River, central India. Rising in Madhya Pradesh state, it is 801 mi (1,289 km) long. It flows west into the Gulf of Khambhat, and forms the traditional boundary between Hindustan and the Deccan. Called Namade by the Greek geog¬ rapher Ptolemy in the 2nd century ad, it has always been an important route between the Arabian Sea and the Ganges River valley. It is a pilgrimage route for Hindus who regard it their most sacred river after the Ganges.
Narodnik \na- , rod- l nik\ Russian Populist Member of a 19th-century socialist movement in Russia. In the 1860s and ’70s the movement attracted intellectuals who believed that political propaganda among the peasants {narod, “people”) would lead to their revolt and the liberaliza¬ tion of the tsarist regime. Attempts to arouse the peasants produced police persecution and arrests, which drove the socialists to more radical meth¬ ods, including terrorism. The revolutionary group Land and Freedom, led by Georgy Plekhanov, was formed in the mid-1870s and continued to work among the peasantry until it split in 1879. The movement’s populist ide¬ ology was revived in the 20th century by the Socialist Revolutionary Party.
Narragansett \,nar-3-'gan-s9t\ Bay Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, south¬ eastern Rhode Island, U.S. It extends north for 28 mi (45 km) into the state, almost dividing it into two parts. The bay includes Rhode, Prudence, and Conanicut islands and Mount Hope Bay, which is crossed by one of New England’s longest bridges. Since colonial times it has been an active shipping centre; its chief ports are Providence and Newport. Much of the bay’s area is devoted to fishing and recreation.
Narses \'nar-,sez\ (b. c. 480, Armenia—d. 574, probably Rome or Con¬ stantinople) Byzantine general under Justinian I. A eunuch, he commanded the imperial bodyguard and rose to become grand chamberlain. He helped to quell a riot in 532 and save Justinian’s throne; his loyalty to the emperor brought him into the confidence of the emperor’s wife Theodora. In 538 Narses was sent on a military expedition to retake Italy, but his inability to cooperate with the commander allowed the Ostrogoths to triumph. He returned to Italy in 551 and conquered the Ostrogothic kingdom. He held power in Italy until removed by Justinian’s successor (567). It was rumoured that Narses had invited the Lombards, who conquered much of Italy, into the peninsula in retaliation for his dismissal.
narthex Long, narrow porch, usually colonnaded or arcaded, crossing the entire width of a church at its entrance. The narthex is usually sepa¬ rated from the nave by columns or a pierced wall. In Byzantine churches the space is divided into two parts: An exonarthex forms the outer entrance to the building and bounds the esonarthex, which opens onto the nave.
narwhal or narwal \'nar-,wal\ or narwhale Ynar-,wal\ Toothed whale (Monodon monoceros, family Monodontidae) of the Arctic, found in groups of 15-20 along coasts and sometimes in rivers. Narwhals are mottled gray, attain a length of 11.5-16 ft (3.5-5 m), and have no dorsal fin. They have only two teeth, at the upper jaw tip. The male’s left tooth is a straight, protruding tusk, up to 8.9 ft (2.7 m) long, that is grooved on the surface in a left-handed spiral. It was prized in medieval times as the unicorn horn. The tusk is thought to have evolved as a sexual display. Narwhals eat fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans. They are hunted by humans for their tusks and meat. See photograph opposite.
NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administra¬ tion Independent U.S. government agency established in 1958 for research and development of vehicles and activities for aeronautics and space exploration. Its goals include improving human understanding of the universe, the solar system, and Earth and establishing a permanent human presence in space. NASA, previously the National Advisory Com¬ mittee for Aeronautics (NACA), was created largely in response to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. Its organization was well under way in 1961, when Pres. John F. Kennedy proposed that the U.S. put a man
on the Moon by the end of the 1960s (see Apollo). Later unmanned pro¬ grams (e.g., Viking, Mariner, Voyager, Galileo) explored other planets and interplanetary space, and orbiting observatories (e.g., the Hubble Space Telescope) have studied the cosmos. NASA also developed and launched various satellites with Earth applications, such as Landsat and communi¬ cations and weather satellites. It planned and developed the space shuttle and led the development and construction of the International Space Sta¬ tion.
NASDAQ Vnaz-dak\ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on the trading of domestic securities not listed on the regular stock exchanges. It publishes two composite price indexes daily as well as bank, insurance, transportation, utilities, and industrial indexes. By the 1990s it had surpassed the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) to become the sec¬ ond largest U.S. securities market, in terms of market capitalization, after the New York Stock Exchange. Members register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and meet requirements for assets, capital, public shares, and shareholders. In 1999 it merged with AMEX to form the Nasdaq-Amex Market Group, and in 2000 NASD sold nearly half its interest in NASDAQ to private investors. See also over-the-counter mar¬ ket.
Naseby \naz-be\, Battle of (June 14, 1645) Decisive battle in the English Civil Wars between the Parliamentary New Model Army and the royalist army of Charles I. The two armies met near Naseby, south of Leicester, and deployed along parallel ridges. The 10,000-man royalist force under Prince Rupert drove back part of the Parliamentary cavalry but then engaged in wild pursuit, leaving the royalist infantry exposed. The more disciplined Parliamentary force under Oliver Cromwell regrouped and counterattacked, routing the royalists and taking 4,000 prisoners. With the loss of his best soldiers, Charles could no longer meet the New Model Army in open battle and effectively lost the war.
Naser od-DTn Shah See Nasir al-DIn Shah
Nash, John (b. 1752, London?, Eng.—d. May 13, 1835, Cowes, Isle of Wight) British architect and city planner. From 1798 Nash was employed by the Prince of Wales. Acquiring considerable wealth, he built for himself East Cowes Castle, Isle of Wight (1798), which had much influence on Gothic Revival architecture. He subsequently dotted England and Ireland with castles, houses, and cottages in the Gothic or Italianate style. Regent’s Park, London (1811), comprises a canal, lake, wooded area, botanical garden, and, on the periphery, shopping arcades and pic¬ turesque groupings of residences. In 1821 he began to reconstruct Buck¬ ingham House, London, as a royal palace; dismissed before completing the project, he faced an inquiry into its cost and structural soundness. Nash’s East and West Park Villages, London (completed after his death by his chief assistant, James Pennethome), served as models for “garden suburbs” of separate houses informally arranged.