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Byzantium See Istanbul

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306 I C ► cable structure

C High-level procedural computer programming language with many low- level features, including the ability to handle memory addresses and bits. It is highly portable among platforms and therefore widely used in indus¬ try and among computer professionals. C was developed by Dennis M. Ritchie (bom 1941) of Bell Laboratories in 1972. The operating system UNIX was written almost exclusively in C, and C has been standardized as part of POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX).

C++ \'se- , pl9s- , pbs\ High-level computer programming language. Devel¬ oped by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Laboratories in the early 1980s, it is traditional C language with added object-oriented programming capabili¬ ties. C++, along with Java, has become popular for developing commer¬ cial software packages that incorporate multiple interrelated applications.

C-section See cesarean section Cabala See Kabbala

Caballero, Francisco

Largo Caballero

Largo See Francisco

cabaret \,ka-b3-'ra\ Restaurant that serves liquor and offers light musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club that presented amateur acts and satiric skits lam¬ pooning bourgeois conventions. The first German Kabarett was opened in Berlin c. 1900 by Baron Ernst von Wolzogen and accompanied its musical acts with biting political satire. By the 1920s it had become the centre for underground political and literary expression and a showcase for the works of social critics such as Be tolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; this decadent but fertile artistic milieu was later portrayed in the musical Cabaret (1966; film, 1972). The English cabaret derived from concerts given in city taverns in the 18th— 19th centuries and evolved into the music hall. In the U.S. the cabaret developed into the nightclub, where comedians, singers, or musicians performed. Small jazz and folk clubs and, later, comedy clubs evolved from the original cabaret.

cabbage Leafy garden plant ( Brassica oleracea, Capitata group) of European origin, with a short stem and a globular head of usually green leaves. A member of the mustard family, it is a major table vegetable in most countries of the temperate zone. The term cabbage also refers more gen¬ erally to a vegetable and fodder plant of various horticultural forms devel¬ oped by long cultivation from the wild, or sea, cabbage ( B. oleracea) found near the seacoast in England and continental Europe. The common forms may be classified by the plant parts used for food: leaves (e.g., KALE, collard, common cabbage, Brussels sprout); flowers and flower stalks (e.g., broccoli, cauliflower); and stems (e.g., kohlrabi). Cabbages grow best in mild to cool climates and tolerate frost. Edible portions are low in caloric value and are an excellent source of vitamin C, minerals, and dietary fibre. See also Chinese cabbage.

cabbage looper Distinctive green, white-lined larva, or caterpillar {Trichoplusia ni), of the owlet MOTH family (Noctuidae). Like other loop- ers, it moves in an “inching” motion. It is an economic pest of cabbages and associated crops, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. The adults, known as Ni moths, migrate considerable distances. They are mottled brown with a pale Y-shaped mark on each forewing. The typical adult wingspan is about 1 in. (25 mm).

cabbage palmetto See palmetto

cabbage white or cabbage butterfly European cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae). Its larva is a major economic pest, attacking cabbage and related plants. Introduced into North America c. 1860, the cabbage white is today one of the most common North American white butterfly species.

Cabbala See Kabbala

Cabeiri or Cabiri \ko- , bI- l ri\ Important group of deities, probably of Phrygian origin, worshiped in Asia Minor and in Macedonia and north¬ ern and central Greece. In classical times there were two males, Axiocer- sus and his son Cadmilus, and two females, Axierus and Axiocersa. They were promoters of fertility and protectors of seafarers. The male pair, the more important, was often confused with the Dioscuri. The Cabeiri were also identified with the Great Gods of Samothrace, and their cult reached its height in the 4th century bc.

Cabell Vkab-olV James Branch (b. April 14, 1879, Richmond, Va., U.S.—d. May 5, 1958, Richmond) U.S. writer. Cabell attacked American orthodoxies and institutions in his best-known novel, Jurgen (1919), a story replete with sexual symbolism. His other works, many of them alle¬ gories set in an imaginary medieval province, include The Cream of the Jest (1917) and The High Place (1923). Though much praised in the 1920s, his mannered style and skeptical view of human experience soon lost favour.

Cabeza de Vaca Vko-'ba-zo-do-'va-koV Alvar Nunez (b. c. 1490, Extremadura, Castile—d. c. 1560, Sevilla, Spain) Spanish explorer. He took part in an expedition that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Fla., U.S., in 1528. One of only four members of the expedition to survive, he spent eight years in the Gulf region of modern Texas. His accounts of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola probably inspired the extensive explorations of North America by Hernando de Soto and Francisco Vazquez de Coronado.

Cabezon V.ka-ba-'thonV Antonio de (b. c. 1510, Castrillo de Matajudios, near Burgos, Spain—d. March 26, 1566, Madrid) Spanish composer and organist. Of noble birth, he was blind from early childhood. In 1526 he became organist to Isabella, wife of Charles V. He remained a royal favourite, especially to Philip II, whom he accompanied on his travels. His works, which influenced the English vir- ginalists and J.P. Sweelinck, are almost entirely for keyboard; they include numerous tientos (ricercars or fantasias) and diferencias (variations), a genre of which he was one of the first masters.

cabildo Spanish "municipal council" Fundamental unit of local government in colonial Latin America. It was responsible for all ordinary aspects of municipal government, including policing, sanitation, taxation, price and wage regulation, and the administration of justice. Its jurisdiction extended beyond the city to the surrounding hamlets and countryside. By the mid- 16th century appointments to cabildos were usu¬ ally made by the Spanish crown and could be sold or inherited. Cabildos were often corrupt, but cabildos abiertos (open town meetings) were important to the Latin American independence movement of the early 19th century.

cabinet Body of senior ministers or, in the U.S., advisers to a chief executive, whose members also serve as the heads of government depart¬ ments. The cabinet has become an integral part of parliamentary govern¬ ment in many countries, though its form varies. It developed from the British Privy Council, when King Charles II and Queen Anne regularly consulted the council’s leading members to reach decisions before meet¬ ing with the unwieldy full council. The modern British cabinet consists of departmental ministers, drawn from the members of Parliament and appointed by the prime minister. In the U.S., the cabinet serves as an advisory group to the president without the sanction of law. Members’ appointments are subject to Senate approval, and the U.S. Constitution sets cabinet members’ order of succession to the presidency. The cabinet includes the secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education, Energy, and Veterans Affairs and the attorney general.