Courts of Appeals, U.S. See United States Courts of Appeals
courtship behaviour Animal activity that results in mating and reproduction. Courtship may simply involve a few chemical, visual, or auditory stimuli, or it may be a highly complex series of acts by two or more individuals using several modes of communication. Females of some insect species use pheromones to attract males from a distance. Painted turtles court by touch, and the courtship songs of frogs are heard on spring nights across much of the world. Certain bird species have complex courtship patterns. Courtship is important as an isolating mecha¬ nism to prevent different species from interbreeding, and elaborate court¬ ship rituals help strengthen pair bonds that may last through the raising of the young or longer. See also display behaviour.
Cousteau \kii-'sto\, Jacques-Yves (b. June 11, 1910, Saint-Andre- de-Cubzac, France—d. June 25, 1997, Paris) French ocean explorer. A navy officer, he coinvented the Aqua-Lung, or scuba. He founded the French Office of Underseas Research (now the Centre of Advanced Marine Studies) in Marseille. For decades, beginning in 1950, he traveled the world in research vessels named Calypso. He invented a process for using television underwater, and he hosted an internationally successful television series (1968-76). He served as director of Monaco’s Oceano¬ graphic Museum (1957-88). In his later years he issued increasingly dire warnings about human destruction of the oceans. His many popular books include The Silent World (1953) and The Living Sea (1963); his films include The Golden Fish (1960, Academy Award).
Cousy Vkti-zeV, Bob in full Robert Joseph Cousy (b. Aug. 9,1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. basketball player and coach. He played col¬ legiate ball at Holy Cross College and joined the Boston Celtics in 1950. One of the game’s great ball-handling guards and playmakers, he led the NBA in assists from 1953 to 1960. He left the Celtics to coach at Boston College (1963-69), but he eventually returned to the professional game as coach of the Cincinnati Royals (1969-73).
covalent Vko-'va-lonA bond Force holding atoms in a molecule together as a specific, separate entity (as opposed to, e.g., colloidal aggre¬ gates; see bonding). In covalent bonds, two atoms share one or more pairs of valence electrons to give each atom the stability found in a noble gas. In single bonds (e.g., H—H in molecular hydrogen), one electron pair is shared; in double bonds (e.g., 0=0 in molecular oxygen or H 2 C=CH 2 in ethylene), two; in triple bonds (e.g., HC=CH in acetylene), three. In coor¬ dinate covalent bonds, additional electron pairs are shared with another atom, usually forming a functional group, such as sulfate (S0 4 ) or phos¬ phate (P0 4 ). The number of bonds and the atoms participating in each (including any additional paired electrons) give molecules their configu¬ ration; the slight negative and positive charges at the opposite ends of a covalent bond are the reason most molecules have some polarity (see elec¬ trophile; nucleophile). Carbon in organic compounds can have as many as four single bonds, each pointing to one vertex of a tetrahedron; as a result, certain molecules exist in mirror-image forms (see optical activity). Double bonds are rigid, leading to the possibility of geometric isomers (see isom¬ erism). Some types of bonds, such as the amide linkages that join the amino acids in peptides and proteins (peptide bonds), are apparently single but have some double-bond characteristics because of the electronic structure of the participating atoms. The configurations of enzymes and their substrates, determined by their covalent bonds (particularly the peptide bonds) and hydrogen bonds, are crucial to the reactions they participate in, which are fundamental to all life. See also aromatic compound; compare ionic bond.
cove See coving
covenant Vko-vo-.nantX In the Hebrew scriptures, an agreement or treaty among peoples or nations, but most memorably the promises that God extended to humankind (e.g., the promise to Noah never again to destroy the earth by flood or the promise to Abraham that his descendants would multiply and inherit the land of Israel). God’s revelation of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai created a pact between God and Israel known as the Sinai covenant. In Christianity, Jesus’ death established a new cov¬ enant between God and humanity. Islam holds that the Last Covenant was between God and the Prophet Muhammad.
Covenant, Ark of the See Ark of the Covenant covenant, restrictive See restrictive covenant
Covenanters Scottish Presbyterians of the 17th century who made convenants in which they pledged to maintain specific forms of worship and church government. After the signing of the National Covenant of 1638, the Scottish Assembly abolished the episcopal system. In the Bish¬ ops’ Wars of 1639-40 the Scots fought against England to maintain their religious liberty. In England the expenses of these wars were a factor in the English Civil War, and in the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643 the Scots promised their aid to the parliamentarian faction provided that the Church of England was reformed along Presbyterian lines. Crom¬ well’s settlement failed to satisfy the Covenanters, but their situation worsened considerably once Charles II came to the throne in 1660. Epis¬ copacy was brought back, and the Covenanters endured severe persecu¬ tions. Not until the Glorious Revolution of 1688 was Presbyterianism reestablished in Scotland.
Covent Vk9-v3nt\ Garden Square in London. It is now the site of the Royal Opera House, home of the British national opera and ballet com¬ panies. The land around the site, once a convent garden, was laid out as a residential square in 1630. The original Co vent Garden playhouse, called the Theatre Royal, was built in 1732 and served for performances of plays, pantomimes, and opera. Twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt, the theatre became the Royal Italian Opera House (1847) and was replaced by the Royal Opera Co. (1888). The square was also the site of a fruit, flower, and vegetable market from 1670 to 1974.
Coventry City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 300,844), central England. The city was the home of Lady Godiva who, with her husband, founded a Benedictine abbey there in 1043. It was probably the centre of the presentation of the Coventry mystery plays in the 15th—16th centuries. During World War II, heavy bombing by the Germans left the town severely damaged. The spire of the 15th-century St. Michael’s Cathedral and its ruined nave stand beside the new cathedral built in 1962. Chief industries are motor vehicle manufacturing and telecommunications.
cover crop Fast-growing crop, such as rye, buckwheat, cowpea, or vetch, planted to prevent soil erosion, increase nutrients in the soil, and provide organic matter. Cover crops are grown either in the season during which cash crops are not grown or between the rows of some crops (e.g., fruit trees). See also green manure.
Coverdale, Miles (b. 1488?, York, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. Jan. 20, 1569, London) English bishop who issued the first printed English Bible. Ordained in 1514, he became an Augustinian friar at Cambridge, where he adopted Lutheran beliefs. By 1528 he was preaching against graven images and the mass. He lived abroad during 1528-34 to escape persecution, and while in Antwerp he translated the entire Bible into English; his Bible was published in 1535. He returned to England and edited the Great Bible (1539) but was soon forced to flee by the religious policies of Henry VIII. He returned after Henry’s death and became bishop at Exeter in 1551. Under the Catholic Mary I, he lost his office but was spared execution.