couch grass or quack grass Rapidly spreading grass (.Agropyron repens ) with flat, somewhat hairy leaves and erect flower spikes, native to Europe and introduced into other northern temperate areas for forage or erosion control. In cultivated land, it is considered a weed because of its persistence. Its long, yellowish-white rhizomes must be completely dug up to eradicate the plant because broken rhizomes generate new plants. Couch grass has been used in various home remedies in Europe, and the rhizomes have been eaten during periods of famine.
Coue Vkwa\, Emile (b. Feb. 26, 1857, Troyes, France—d. July 2, 1926, Nancy) French pharmacist and psychologist. Starting as a pharmacist at Troyes in 1882, he studied hypnosis, opened a free clinic at Nancy in 1910, and developed his own method of psychotherapy based on autosuggestion, “Coueism,” which most famously required constant repetition of the for¬ mula “Every day, and in every way, I am becoming better and better.”
cougar or puma Vpii-ma, 'pyii-moV or mountain lion or panther
Species (Puma concolor) of large, graceful cat that lives in a wide vari¬ ety of habitats in the Americas, from southern Alaska to Patagonia. In many regions, the species is restricted to wilderness areas, and some sub¬ species are considered endangered. Cougars’ coloration ranges from pale buff to reddish brown, with dark ears and tail tip and white rump and belly. The adult weighs from 77 to more than 220 lb (35 to 100 kg). A male may be about 9 ft (3 m) long, one-third of which is tail, and stand 24-30 in. (60-75 cm) tall at the shoulder. Since the cougar occasionally kills livestock, it has been intensively hunted by farmers, especially in North America, and has been basically exterminated from the eastern U.S. It is valuable for preventing overpopulation of prey animals (mostly deer, in North America). In North America, cougar attacks on humans occur a few times per year, some being fatal.
Coughlin \'kag-bn\, Charles E(dward) or Father Coughlin (b.
Oct. 25, 1891, Hamilton, Ont., Can.—d. Oct. 27, 1979, Bloomfield Hills,
Mich., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. clergyman. Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1923, he became pastor of a Michigan church. In 1930 he began radio broadcasts of his ser¬ mons, into which he gradually injected reactionary political state¬ ments and anti-Semitic rhetoric. His sermons attracted one of the first deeply loyal mass audiences in broadcast history. He attacked Her¬ bert Hoover and later turned on Fran¬ klin Roosevelt and the New Deal. His magazine, Social Justice, targeted Wall Street, communism, and Jews. It was banned from the mails and ceased publication in 1942, the same year the Catholic hierarchy ordered Coughlin to stop broadcasting.
Coulomb \ku-'lo n ,\ English Vkii-.lamV Charles-Augustin
de (b. June 14, 1736, Angouleme, France—d. Aug. 23, 1806, Paris) French physicist. After serving as a military engineer in the West Indies, he returned to France in the 1780s to pursue scientific research. To inves¬ tigate Joseph Priestley’s law of electri¬ cal repulsions, he invented a sensitive instrument to measure the electrical forces involved. A light rod made of an insulator, with a small conducting sphere at each end, was suspended horizontally by a fine wire so that it was free to twist when another charged sphere was brought close to it. By measuring the angle through which the rod twisted. Cou¬ lomb could measure the repulsive forces. He is best known for formu¬ lating Coulomb's law. He also did research on friction of machinery, on windmills, and on the elasticity of metal and silk fibres. The coulomb, a unit of electric charge, was named in his honour.
Coulomb's \ , ku- l lamz\ law Law formulated by C.-A. de Coulomb that describes the electric force between charged objects. It states that (1) like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other, (2) the attraction or repulsion acts along the line between the two charges, (3) the size of the force varies inversely as the square of the distance between the two charges, and (4) the size of the force is proportional to the value of each charge.
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance or Comecon Orga¬ nization founded in 1949 to facilitate and coordinate the economic devel¬ opment of Soviet-bloc countries. Its original members were the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; other members joined later, including Albania (1949) and the German Demo¬ cratic Republic (1950). Its accomplishments included the organization of Eastern Europe’s railroad grid, the creation of the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, and the construction of the “Friendship” oil pipe¬ line. After the democratic revolutions of 1989, it largely lost its purpose and power. In 1991 it was renamed the Organization for International Economic Cooperation.
counseling Professional guidance of the individual by use of standard psychological methods such as collecting case-history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. The counselor’s goal is generally to orient the individual toward oppor¬ tunities that can best guarantee fulfillment of his personal needs and aspi¬ rations. The counselor usually attempts to clarify the client’s own thinking rather than to solve his problems. Professional counselors (such as edu¬ cational guidance and career counselors) and counseling psychologists (such as marriage and bereavement counselors) are found in a wide vari¬ ety of institutional settings and in private practice. See also psychotherapy.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
474 I count ► couplet
count or earl European title of nobility, ranking in modem times directly below a marquess or (in countries without marquesses) a duke. In England the title of earl is the equivalent of count and ranks above a VIS¬ COUNT. The wife of a count or earl is a countess. The Roman comes (“count”) was originally a household companion of the emperor; under the Franks he was a local commander and judge. The counts were later incorporated into the feudal structure, some becoming subordinate to dukes, though a few countships were as great as duchies. As royal author¬ ity was reasserted over the feudatories, which took place at different times in the different kingdoms, the counts lost their political authority, though they retained their privileges as members of the nobility.
Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation In Roman Catholicism, efforts in the 16th and early 17th century to oppose the Prot¬ estant Reformation and reform the Catholic Church. Early efforts grew out of criticism of the worldliness and corruption of the papacy and clergy during the Renaissance. Paul III (r. 1534-49) was the first pope to respond, convening the important Council of Trent (1545-63), which reacted to Protestant teachings on faith, grace, and the sacraments, and attempted to reform training for the priesthood. The Roman Inquisition was established in 1542 to control heresy within Catholic territories, and the Jesuits under Ignatius de Loyola undertook educational and missionary work aimed at conversion or reconversion. Emperors Charles V and Philip II took military action against Protestant growth. Later popes of the Counter-Reformation included Pius V, Gregory XIII, and Sjxtus V. Sts. Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales, and Vincent de Paul were among the most influential reforming figures.
counterfeiting Crime of making an unauthorized imitation of a genu¬ ine article, typically money, with the intent to deceive or defraud. Because of the value conferred on money and the high level of technical skill required to imitate it, counterfeiting is singled out from other acts of forgery. It is generally punished as a felony (see felony and misdemeanour). The international police organization Interpol was established primarily to organize law-enforcement efforts against counterfeiting. Software, credit cards, designer clothing, and watches are among nonmoney items com¬ monly counterfeited.