Tarim \'da-'rem\ River Chinese Talimu \'ta-Te-'mu\ He or T'a-li-mu
Ho Chief river of Xinjiang autonomous region, China. Formed by the confluence of two rivers in the far west, it follows an undefined riverbed for much of its course, flowing along the northern edge of the Takla Makan Desert before turning southeast. Because it frequently changes course, its length varies but is about 1,260 mi (2,030 km). The Tarim Basin is enclosed by the Tien Shan, the Pamirs, and the Kunlun Mountains. It is the driest region of Eurasia.
tarTqah \ta-‘re-k3\ In Sufism, the spiritual path toward direct knowledge of God. For early Sufi mystics, the term referred to an individual’s spiri¬ tual path; later it came to mean the path advocated by a particular school or order of Sufis and then of the order itself. Each mystic order claimed a chain of spiritual descent from Muhammad. Today Sufi tariqah number in the hundreds.
Tarkington, (Newton) Booth (b. July 29, 1869, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.—d. May 19, 1946, Indianapolis) U.S. novelist and dramatist. He became known for satirical and sometimes romanticized pictures of Mid- westerners in humorous portrayals of boyhood and adolescence that include the young-people’s classics Penrod (1914), Seventeen (1916), and Gentle Julia (1922). The trilogy Growth (1927) includes The Magnificent Ambersons (1918, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1942), which traces the decline of a once-powerful and prominent family. Alice Adams (1921; film, 1923, 1935), a searching character study, is perhaps his most finished novel.
Tarkovsky \tar-'k6f-ske\, Andrey (Arsenyevich) (b. April 4, 1932, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.—d. Dec. 29, 1986, Paris, France) Soviet film director. The son of a poet, he studied at the Soviet State Film School and won praise for his first feature film, Ivan’s Childhood (1962). His religious and aesthetic concerns were reflected in Andrei Rublev (1966), about a medieval icon painter confronted with the brutality of war. His later films, noted for their striking visual images, visionary tone, and pau¬ city of conventional plot, include Solaris (1972), A Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1978). Soviet authorities hindered domestic distribution of his films, and in 1984, after making Nostalgia (1983), he defected to the West, where he made his last film, the acclaimed The Sacrifice (1986).
Mexican red-kneed tarantula ( Brachy- pelma smithii).
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Tarn River ► Tashkent I 1875
Tarn River River, southwestern France. Rising in the Lozere Mountains, it flows west and southwest for 233 mi (375 km) into the Garonne River. Its magnificent gorges, which extend more than 30 mi (48 km) through limestone plateaus, are popular tourist attractions.
taro \'tar-o\ Herbaceous plant ( Colocasia esculenta) of the arum family, probably native to Southeast Asia and taken to the Pacific islands. It is a staple crop cultivated for its large, starchy, spherical tubers, which, though poisonous raw, become edible with heating. They are consumed as a cooked vegetable or are made into puddings, breads, or Polynesian poi (a thin, pasty, highly digestible mass of fermented taro starch). Poi is a staple food in Hawaii. The large leaves (also poisonous raw) of the taro are commonly eaten stewed.
tarot \'tar-,o\ Sets of cards used in fortune-telling and in certain card games. The origins of tarot cards are obscure; cards approximating their present form first appeared in Italy and France in the late 14th century.
Modern tarot decks consist of 78 cards, of which 22 have pictures rep¬ resenting forces, characters, virtues, and vices. The remaining cards are divided into four suits—(1) wands, batons, or rods, (2) cups, (3) swords, and (4) coins, pentacles, or disks—of 14 cards each. Each suit has 10 num¬ bered cards and 4 court cards (king, queen, knight, and page). Modern playing cards evolved from these suit cards. Initially used as playing cards, tarot cards were imbued with eso¬ teric associations in the 18th century and are now used widely for fortune¬ telling. Each card’s basic meaning is altered by the card’s position in the spread of cards laid out by the fortune-teller, by the card’s orienta¬ tion, and by the cards that are near it.
tarpon Any of certain marine fish (family Megalopidae) having an elongated last dorsal fin ray and a bony throat plate between the sides of the protruding lower jaw. The scales are large, thick, and silvery.
The Atlantic tarpon ( Tarpon atlanti- cus or Megalops atlanticus ) is found inshore in warm parts of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Pacific Ocean side of Central America, and sometimes in rivers. It habitually breaks the water’s surface and gulps air. It grows to 6 ft (1.8 m) and 100 lb (45 kg) or larger and is a favourite game fish. The Pacific tarpon (M. cyp- rinoides) is similar.
Tarquinia Uar-'kwen-ya \ formerly (until 1922) Corneto Town (pop., 1991: 14,000), northern Lazio region, central Italy. It developed out of the ancient Tarchuna, one of the chief cities of the Etruscan confederation. It was defeated by Rome in the 4th century bc and became a Roman colony (as Tarquinii) in the 1st century bc. It was moved to its present site after Lombard and Saracen invasions in the 6th-8th centuries ad. In medieval times it was called Corneto. Remains of the ancient city include the foun¬ dations of a great Etruscan temple with a group of terra-cotta winged horses that is considered a masterpiece of Etruscan art. The famous necropolis contains the most important painted tombs in Etruscan Italy.
tarragon Vtar-o-gonV Bushy aromatic herb (Artemisia dracunculus) of the composite family, the dried leaves and flowering tops of which are used to add tang to many culinary dishes. Tarragon is a common ingredient in seasoning blends, such as fines herbes. The fresh leaves are used in sal¬ ads, and vinegar in which fresh tarragon has been steeped is a distinctive condiment. The plant is probably native to Siberia; a French variety is cultivated in Europe and North America.
Moon, the eighteenth card of the Major Arcana
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Young Atlantic tarpon (Tarpon atlanti¬ cus ]I
COURTESY OF MIAMI SEAQUARIUM
tarsier Vtar-se-or, 'tar-se-,a\ Any of three species (genus Tarsius, fam¬ ily Tarsiidae) of nocturnal prosimian primates found on several South Asian islands. Tarsiers have large, goggling eyes and a round head that can be rotated 180°. The ears are large, membranous, and almost constantly in motion. Tarsiers are 4-6 in. (9-16 cm) long; the thin, tufted tail of about twice that length provides balance and support. The gray to dark brown fur is thick and silky. Tarsiers cling vertically to trees and leap from trunk to trunk. They have greatly elongated hind limbs and disklike adhesive pads on the digit tips. Tarsiers prey mainly on insects. The well-furred newborn is born with eyes open.
Tarsus City (pop., 1997: 190,184), south-central Turkey. It is located near the Mediterranean Sea coast. Settled from Neolithic times, it was razed and rebuilt c. 700 bc by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Later, Achae- menid and Seleucid rule alternated with periods of autonomy. In 67 bc it was absorbed into the new Roman province of Cilicia, becoming its prin¬ cipal city. It was the site of the first meeting in 41 bc between Mark An¬ tony and Cleopatra and was the birthplace of St. Paul. It remained a leading industrial and cultural centre through the early Byzantine period. It came under various powers in the 10th-15th centuries and passed to the Otto¬ man Empire in the early 16th century. Modem Tarsus is a prosperous agricultural and cotton-milling centre.