Nusayriyyah See ‘Alawiyyah
Nut \'niit\ In Egyptian religion, a goddess of the sky. She represented the vault of the heavens and was often depicted as a woman arched over the earth god Geb. Nut was believed to swallow the sun in the evening and to give birth to it again in the morning. She was sometimes portrayed as a cow, the form she took to carry the sun god, Re, on her back to the sky. On five days preceding the New Year, Nut gave birth successively to the deities Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis, and Nephthys.
nut Dry, hard, one-seeded fruit consisting of a kernel, usually oily, sur¬ rounded by a hard or brittle shell that does not split open at maturity. Nuts include chestnuts, filberts, and walnuts; but other so-called nuts are botani- cally seeds (Brazil nut, pistachio), legumes (peanut), or drupes (almond and coconut). Most edible nuts are well known as dessert nuts. Some nuts are sources of oil or fat. Not all nuts are edible; some are used for ornament.
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
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nut In technology, a fastening device consisting of a square or hexago¬ nal block, usually of metal, with a hole in the centre having internal, or female, threads that fit on the male threads of an associated bolt or screw. Bolts or screws with nuts are widely used for fastening machine and structural components. See also fastener.
nuthatch Any of about 22 species (genus Sitta, family Sittidae) of song¬ birds that are 4-7.5 in. (9.5-19 cm) long and have a short, square tail, short neck, and thin, pointed bill.
Most are forest dwellers; some live in rocky areas. Nuthatches search tree trunks and rocks for insects, often descending headfirst. They also eat seeds, which they may store for win¬ ter. The nest is a grass- or hair-lined cavity. Nuthatches are most common from Eurasia to Japan and south¬ ward; four species occur in North America. Most are bluish above and white or reddish below; there may be a black eye stripe or a cap.
nutmeg Spice made from the seed of a tropical tree ( Myristica fra- grans ), native to the Moluccas of Indonesia. It has a distinctive pun¬ gent fragrance and is used in cook¬ ing and sachets and as incense. The tree yields fruit eight years after sow¬ ing, reaches its prime in 25 years, and bears fruit for 60 years or longer.
The name nutmeg is also applied in different countries to other fruits or seeds, including the Brazilian nut¬ meg ( Cryptocarya moschata ), the Peruvian nutmeg ( Laurelia aromat- ica ), and the California nutmeg ( Tor- reya californica).
nutria or coypu Semiaquatic South American rodent {Myocastor coy- pus) in the hutia family (Capromy- idae). The nutria has small ears, a long, rounded, scaly tail, partially webbed hind feet, and broad orange incisors. It is about 40 in. (1 m) long, including the tail, and may weigh 18 lbs (8 kg). Its reddish brown fur con¬ sists of coarse guard hairs overlying a soft undercoat. The nutria lives in a shallow burrow along a pond or river and mainly eats aquatic plants.
Because their fur is valuable, nutrias were introduced into North America and Europe, and in some places have become pests that damage crops and compete with other wildlife.
nutrition Processes of taking in and utilizing food substances. Food generates energy and supplies materials used in body tissues and pro¬ cesses. Calories are supplied by carbohydrates (sugars and STARCHes), fats, and proteins. Other nutrients include minerals, vitamins, and dietary fibre. Minerals are used in many ways— iron for hemoglobin; calcium for bones, teeth, and cellular processes; sodium and potassium to regulate homeosta¬ sis, iodine to produce thyroid hormones. Trace minerals have functions that are less well-understood. Fibre is not broken down chemically in the body but aids digestion, lowers blood cholesterol, and may help prevent some cancers and hypertension. Diiferent amounts of these nutrients exist in dif¬ ferent foods; a varied diet ensures an adequate supply. Nutritional supple¬ ments, required by some people, do not compensate for an unhealthy diet. Sufficient water is always essential. Inadequate nutrient intake or absorp¬ tion leads to malnutrition and disease.
Nuuk \'niik\ or Godthab Vg6t-,h6p\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 13,838), capital of Greenland. Located on the southwestern coast near the mouth of Godthab Gulf, it is Greenland’s main port. The modern city dates from 1721, when a Norwegian missionary founded a colony near the site of Vesterbygden, a 10th-century Norse settlement. It is the seat of the par¬ liament and supreme court and has foreign consulates, a teachers’ col¬
lege, and research stations. Government administration, hunting, fishing, and farming are the main occupations. Most transportation is by boat or helicopter.
Nuwua or Nu Kua Vnui-'gwaV In Chinese mythology, the patroness of matchmakers. As wife or sister of the legendary emperor Fuxi, she helped establish norms for marriage (including the use of go-betweens) and regulated conduct between the sexes. She is represented with a human head and the body of a snake or fish. She repaired the pillars of the heav¬ ens and the broken comers of the earth, which the rebel Gong Gong had destroyed in a fit of anger, and her beautiful palace was said to be the prototype for the walled cities of China.
Nyakyusa \nyak-'yu-s9\ or Ngonde \3q-'gon-da\ Bantu-speaking people living north of Lake Malawi in Tanzania, and in Malawi. They speak a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family. Traditionally they lived in unique age villages. All the boys of a district aged 11-13 would leave their paternal homes and establish a new hamlet, eventually mar¬ rying and bringing their wives there; their native village would die as its founders died in old age. With modem land shortages, this practice has largely stopped. The Nyakyusa, who are primarily hoe cultivators, num¬ ber more than one million.
nyala \ne-'a-lo\ Slender antelope ( Tragelaphus angasi ) of South Africa having a crest of hair along the back from head to tail and standing 3.5 ft (110 cm). The male, which has loosely spiraled horns and a long fringe on the throat and underparts, is dark brown with reddish brown on the lower legs, white on the face and neck, and vertical white stripes on the body. The female is reddish brown with more conspicuous striping. Nyalas live alone or in small groups in forests. The rare mountain nyala (T. buxtoni) of central Ethiopia is grayish brown.
Nyasa, Lake See Lake Malawi
Nyasaland See Malawi
Nyaya \'nya-ya\ One of the six darshans (orthodox systems) of Indian philosophy, important for its analysis of logic and epistemology and for its detailed model of the reasoning method of inference. Like other dar¬ shans, Nyaya is both a philosophy and a religion; its ultimate concern is to bring an end to human suffering, which results from ignorance of real¬ ity. It recognizes four valid means of knowledge: perception, inference, comparison, and testimony.
Nyerere \ni-'rar-e\ / Julius (Kambarage) (b. March 1922, Butiama, Tanganyika—d. Oct. 14, 1999, Lon¬ don, Eng.) First prime minister of independent Tanganyika (1961), first president of Tanzania (1964-85), and the major force behind the Organiza¬ tion of African Unity (OAU; now African Union). He taught in Catho¬ lic schools before studying history and economics in Britain. As leader of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), he advocated peace¬ ful change, social equality, and ethnic harmony. In elections in 1958-60 TANU won many seats in the legis¬ lature. As president he collectivized village farmlands, carried out mass literacy campaigns, and instituted universal education. He sought to make Tanzania economically self- sufficient, an effort that ultimately failed. In 1979 he authorized the inva¬ sion of Uganda to overthrow Idi Amin. Within the OAU he advocated the overthrow of white-suprematist governments in South Africa, Rhodesia, and South West Africa. After retiring from politics in 1990, Nyerere devoted the rest of his life to farming and diplomacy.