Vespasian, bust found at Ostia; in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome
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2000 I Vespucci ► vibrio
popular emperor and lived simply. He increased provincial taxation to pay for the deficits incurred by Nero and the civil wars, built the Temple of Peace and began the Colosseum, and reformed the army and Praetorian Guard. He ended the Jewish war (70) and the Rhineland revolt, adding lands in Germany and Britain and pacifying Wales. He was succeeded by his son Titus.
Vespucci \ves-'pu-che\, Amerigo (b. 1454, Florence—d. 1512, Sevilla) Italian-born Spanish navigator and explorer of the New World. He entered the Medici family business and in 1491 was sent to Sevilla, where he helped outfit the ships for the expeditions of Christopher Colum¬ bus. By 1496 he was manager of the Sevilla agency. He took part in two (or four—the number is disputed) voyages to the New World; he was navigator on a Spanish expedition (1499-1500) that probably discovered the mouth of the Amazon River, and he led a Portuguese expedition (1501-02) that discovered Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro) and the Rio de la Plata. In the accounts of the voyages (published 1507), the terms America and New World were first used to describe the lands visited by Amerigo Vespucci (in Latin, Americus Vespucius). As chief navigator for the Sevilla-based Commercial House for the West Indies (from 1508), he prepared maps of newly discovered lands from data supplied by ships’ captains.
Vesta In Roman religion, the goddess of the hearth, identified with the Greek Hestia. Because maintaining a hearth fire was important in ancient times, she was worshiped in every household. Her state worship was elaborate: her temple in Rome had a perpetual fire that was attended by the Vestal Virgins. The fire was offi¬ cially extinguished and renewed annually on March 1st; its extinction at any other time was viewed as a portent of disaster to Rome.
Vestal Virgin In Roman religion, any of six priestesses, representing the daughters of the royal house, who tended the state cult of Vesta.
Chosen between the ages of 6 and 10, they served for 30 years, during which time they had to remain vir¬ gins; violation of the vow of chastity was punishable by burial alive. Their duties included tending the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta, fetch¬ ing water from a sacred spring, preparing ritual food, caring for objects in the temple’s inner sanctuary, and officiating at the public worship of Vesta. They enjoyed many honours and privileges, including emancipa¬ tion from their fathers’ rule.
Vestris, (Marie-Jean-) Auguste (b. March 27, 1760, Paris, Fr.—d. Dec. 5, 1842, Paris) French ballet dancer. He was trained by his father, Gaetan Vestris, before making his formal debut in 1776. His dazzlingly athletic dancing set a new style of ballet. In his last years he was a revered teacher.
Vestris, Gaetan orig. Gaetano Appolino Baldassare (b. April 18, 1729, Florence, Italy—d. Sept. 23, 1808, Paris, Fr.) French ballet dancer and teacher. His style was flamboyant while respecting traditional courtly technique. Vestris later became renowned as the most distin¬ guished teacher of his day. His most celebrated pupil was his son Auguste Vestris.
Vesuvius Active volcano, eastern side of the Bay of Naples, southern Italy. It originated about 200,000 years ago; its current height of 4,198 ft (1,280 m) has varied considerably after each of its major eruptions; in 1900 it was 4,275 ft (1,303 m) high; in 1906, 3,668 ft (1,118 m) high; and in the 1960s, 4,203 ft (1,281 m) high. The cone is half-encircled on the northern side by Mount Somma, part of the wall of a large crater in which the present cone has formed. There have been numerous destruc¬ tive eruptions; in ad 79 Pompeii and Hercuianeum were destroyed, and in 1631 about 3,000 people were killed. The last major eruption occurred in 1944. More than two million people live in the area of Vesuvius, whose fertile slopes are covered with vineyards and orchards.
vetch Any of about 150 species of herbaceous plants in the genus Vicia of the pea family (see legume). A few species are cultivated as important
fodder and cover crops and as green manure. Trailing or climbing stems grow 1^1 ft (0.3-1.2 m) tall, bearing compound leaves with several pairs of leaflets. Magenta, bluish-white, white, or yellow flowers are borne singly or in clusters. The pods con¬ tain 2-10 seeds. Like other legumes, vetches add nitrogen to the soil through nitrogen fixation. See also
CROWN VETCH.
Veterans Day U.S. holiday cel¬ ebrated on November 11, honouring veterans of the U.S. armed forces and those killed in battle. Originally called Armistice Day, it began as a commemoration of the ending of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. After World War II it was recognized as a day to pay tribute to all service mem¬ bers, and in 1954 it was designated as Veterans Day. It is usually observed with parades, speeches, and flowers placed on military graves and memo¬ rials. The holiday is called Remembrance Day in Canada and Remem¬ brance Sunday (on the Sunday nearest to November 11) in Britain.
veterinary science Medical field dealing with animals and with dis¬ eases that are contagious between animals and humans. It was a medical specialty in ancient Egypt and Babylonia but went through a period of virtual nonexistence in medieval Europe before reappearing in the mid- 18th century with the founding of the first veterinary schools. Veterinar¬ ians practice internal medicine, surgery, and preventive medicine, using the same techniques used on humans. Many specialize in either small ani¬ mals (pets) or large ones (livestock); a few specialize in wild animals.
Viagra First oral drug for male impotence, generic name sildenafil. Before the FDA approved Viagra in 1998, impotence was treated with surgical implants, suppositories, pumps, and drugs injected into the penis. Taken as a pill shortly before sexual intercourse, Viagra selectively dilates blood vessels in the penis, improving blood flow and allowing a natural sexual response. It works in about 70% of cases; it should not be used by anyone taking nitroglycerin or with heart problems, hypotension, hyper¬ tension, recent stroke, or certain eye disorders.
viatical settlement Arrangement by which a terminally ill patient’s life-insurance policy is sold to provide funds while the insured (viator) is living. The buyer (funder), usually an investment company, pays the patient a lump sum of 50-80% of the policy’s face value, pays the pre¬ miums until the patient dies, and receives the death benefit. Viatical settle¬ ments (from Latin viaticum, “provisions for a journey”) appeared in the 1980s, when people with AIDS had high medical bills and policies nomi¬ nally sufficient to cover them but whose funds would not be available until they died.
vibraphone or vibraharp Percussion instrument with tuned metal bars, arranged keyboard-style like the xylophone. Felt or wool beaters are used to strike the bars, giving a soft, mellow tone quality. Each bar has a resonating tube suspended vertically below it to sustain the tone; small electrically powered spinning disks at the top of the resonators produce a vibrato effect by rapidly closing and opening the resonators. Invented c. 1920, it soon became a popular jazz instrument.
vibration Periodic back-and-forth motion (see periodic motion) of the particles of an elastic body or medium. It is usually a result of the dis¬ placement of a body from an equilibrium condition, followed by the body’s response to the forces that tend to restore equilibrium. Free vibrations occur when a system is disturbed but immediately allowed to move with¬ out restraint, as when a weight suspended by a spring is pulled down and then released. Forced vibrations occur when a system is continuously driven by an external agency, as when a child’s swing is pushed on each downswing. Because all systems are subject to friction, they are also sub¬ ject to damping. In the example of free vibration, damping would cause the amplitudes of the spring’s vibrations to diminish until eventually the system came to rest. See also resonance.