Cinco de Mayo \'seq-ko-da-'mI-o\ Spanish "Fifth of May" Mexi¬ can holiday commemorating the Mexican victory over the French at Pue¬ bla in 1862. The French army, better-equipped and far larger than the Mexican army, had been sent by Napoleon III to conquer Mexico. The Mexicans, under Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated the French at Puebla, inflicting serious losses. The French withdrew to the coast but returned the next year to take Puebla; they would control most of Mexico for the next four years. Cinco de Mayo celebrations often include music, danc¬ ing, and parades.
cinder cone or ash cone Deposit around a volcanic vent, formed by rock fragments or cinders that accumulate and gradually build a conical hill with a bowl-shaped crater at the top. Cinder cones develop from explosive eruptions of lavas and are often found along the flanks of shield (gently sloping) volcanoes. Lava flows may break out of the cone, or they may flow from under the cone through tunnels. Cinder cones are common in nearly all volcanic areas. Although they are composed of loose or only moderately consolidated cinder, many are surprisingly long-lasting, because rain falling on them sinks into the highly permeable cinders instead of running off down their slopes and eroding them.
cinema verite Vsi-no-mo-.ver-i-'taV French : "truth cinema" French film movement of the 1960s that strove for candid realism by
showing people in everyday situations with authentic dialogue. Influenced by documentary filmmaking and Italian Neorealism, the method produced such outstanding examples as Jean Rouch’s Chronicle of a Summer ( 1961) and Chris Marker’s Joli Mai (1962). A similar movement in the U.S., where it was called “direct cinema,” captured the reality of a person or an event by using a handheld camera to record action without narration, as in Frederick Wiseman’s Titicut Follies (1967) and the Maysles broth¬ ers’ Salesman (1969).
cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special effects to achieve the photographic images desired by the director. Cinematography focuses on relations between the individual shots and groups of shots that make up a scene to produce a film’s effect. Well-known cinematographers include Nestor Almendros, Gregg Toland, and Sven Nykvist.
cinnabar Mercury sulfide (HgS), the chief ore mineral of mercury. It is commonly encountered with pyrite, marcasite, and stibnite in veins near recent volcanic rocks and in hot- springs deposits. It has been used as a bright orange-red pigment in stage makeup (now known to be toxic), painting, and Chinese lacquerwork.
cinnamon Bushy evergreen tree {Cinnamomum zeylanicum) of the laurel family. Native to Sri Lanka,
India, and Burma, cinnamon is also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The light- brown spice has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavor. It was once more valuable than gold. Today cinnamon is used to flavor various foods. In Europe and the U.S. it is especially popular in bakery goods. The oil is distilled from bark frag¬ ments for use in food, liqueur, perfume, and drugs.
Cinque Ports VsiqkV Medieval confederation of English Channel ports, southeastern England. To the original “five ports”—Hastings, New Rom¬ ney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich—were later added Winchelsea and Rye. Probably first associated in the reign of Edward the Confessor (r. 1042- 66) to defend the coast and cross-channel traffic, they were granted spe¬ cial privileges by the crown and in exchange provided the permanent nucleus of ships and men for the royal fleet. They declined in importance after the 14th century.
cinquefoil \'siqk-foil\ Any of the approximately 500 species of shrubs and herbaceous plants in the genus Potentilla (rose family). The com¬ mon name, meaning “five-leaved,” refers to the number of leaflets in the compound leaf of most species. Most species are native to the northern temperate zone and the Arctic and are chiefly perennial. The stems are creeping or erect. The solitary, five- petaled flowers are usually yellow, sometimes white or red in horticul¬ tural varieties. P. fruticosa includes many dwarf shrubs used in landscap¬ ing (see LANDSCAPE GARDENING).
Ciompi Ycham-peV, Revolt of the (1378) Uprising of cloth workers and other craftsmen in Florence that brought a democratic government to power. A struggle between ruling factions triggered the rebellion, which was led by the ciompi (wool carders). The rebels demanded a more equi¬ table fiscal policy and the right to establish guilds for those groups not already organized. They took over the government briefly, but worsening economic conditions and the combined efforts of the established guilds soon led to their ouster.
circadian rhythm \s3r-'ka-de-3n\ Inherent cycle of approximately 24 hours in length that appears to control or initiate various biological pro¬ cesses, including sleep, wakefulness, and digestive and hormonal activ¬ ity. The natural signal for the circadian pattern is the change from darkness
Common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex )
ARTHUR W. AMBLER FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS-EB INC.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
408 i Circassian ► circus
to light. The controlling mechanism for these cyclic processes within the body is thought to be the hypothalamus. Any change in the circadian cycle (such as jet lag and other conditions associated with travel) requires a cer¬ tain period for readjustment.
Circassian \s9r-'ka-shon\ language Northwestern Caucasian lan¬ guage, with major eastern and western dialect groups. Until the 1860s Circassian-speaking groups inhabited the entire northwestern Caucasus region, including the Black Sea coast. After the Russian conquest of the northwestern Caucasus in 1864, most Circassian-speakers immigrated to the Ottoman Empire and were eventually settled in present-day Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Only scattered enclaves of Western Circassian- speakers stayed in Russia. A greater number of Eastern Circassians remained; most now live in Russia’s northern Caucasus republics. Rus¬ sian Circassian-speakers now number about 550,000; the number outside Russia is indeterminable, because many ethnic Circassians have switched to the dominant languages of their new countries.
Circe \'sor-se\ In Greek legend, a sorceress, the daughter of the sun god Helios and the ocean nymph Perse. By means of drugs and incantations she turned humans into lions, wolves, or swine. Odysseus visited her on his return from the Trojan War, and she changed his companions into swine. Odysseus himself was protected by an herb given him by Hermes, and he compelled the sorceress to restore his companions. He and Circe became lovers, but after a yearlong stay he resumed his journey home¬ ward.
Circeo \chir-'cha-o\, Mt. ancient Circaeum Promontorium.
Mountain, southwestern coast of Italy. The promontory, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, rises 1,775 ft (541 m), and is connected with the mainland by a low saddle. About 33 sq mi (86 sq km) are preserved as a national park. From the sea it resembles an island, and it has been associated with the legend of Circe since classical times. Its coastal grottoes have yielded traces of Stone Age settlement, and there are remains of a Roman acropolis.
circle Geometrical curve, one of the conic sections, consisting of the set of all points the same distance (the radius) from a given point (the cen¬ tre). A line connecting any two points on a circle is called a chord, and a chord passing through the centre is called a diameter. The distance around a circle (the circumference) equals the length of a diameter multiplied by k (see pi). The area of a circle is the square of the radius multiplied by n. An arc consists of any part of a circle encompassed by an angle with its vertex at the centre (central angle). Its length is in the same proportion to the circumference as the central angle is to a full revolution.