OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pondweed

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​PONDWEED, a popular name for Potamogeton natans, a cosmopolitan aquatic plant found in ponds, lakes and ditches, with broad, more or less oblong-ovate, olive-green, floating leaves. The name is also applied to other species of Potamogeton, one of the characteristic genera of lakes, ponds and streams all over the world, but more abundant in temperate regions. It is the principal genus of the natural order of Monocotyledous Potamogetonaceae, and contains plants with slender branched stems, and submerged and translucent, or floating and opaque, alternate or opposite leaves, often with membranous united stipules. The small flowers are borne above the water in
(After Wossidlo. From Strasburger's Lehrbuch der Botanik.) Potamogeton natans.
1, Apex of flowering shoot. 3, Flower viewed from the side. 2, Flower viewed from above. 4, Diagram of flower.
axillary or terminal spikes; they have four stamens, which bear at the back four small herbaceous petal-like structures, and four free carpels, which ripen to form four small green fleshy fruits, each containing one seed within a hard inner coat; the seed contains a large hooked embryo. An allied genus Zannichellia (named after Zanichelli, a Venetian botanist), occurring in fresh and brackish ditches and pools in Britain, and also widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions, is 'known as' horned pondweed, from the curved fruit.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pons, Jean Louis

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​PONS, JEAN LOUIS (1761–1831), French astronomer, was born at Peyres (Hautes Alpes) on the 24th of December 1761. He entered the Marseilles observatory in 1789, and in 1819 became the director of the new observatory at Marlia near Lucca, which he, left in 1825 for the observatory of the museum at Florence. Here he died on the 14th of October 1831. Between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven comets, one of which (observed on the 26th of November 1818) was named after J. F. Encke, who determined its remarkably short period.
See M. R. A. Henrion, Annuaire biographique, i. 288 (Paris, 1834); Memoirs Roy. Astron. Soc. v. 410; R. Wolf, Geschichte der Astronomie. p. 709; J. C. Poggendorff, Biog. lit. Handwörterbuch.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Poniard

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​PONIARD, a dagger, particularly one of small size, used for stabbing at close quarters. The French word poignard, from ​which the English is a 16th-century adaptation, is formed from poing, fist, the clenched hand in which the weapon is grasped. (See Dagger.)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Prongbuck

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​PRONGBUCK. Prongbuck, or (in America) simply Antelope, the sole existing representative of a family (Antilocapridae) of hollow-horned ruminants in which the horn-sheaths are forked and annually shed and renewed. Standing about 3 ft. high at the shoulder and slightly more at the croup, the male prongbuck has the black horns rising vertically upwards immediately above the eyes. The general colour is bright sandy fawn, with much white on the face, three white bars on the throat and white under parts and buttocks. The white throat-bands are evidently protective; and the long white hair on the buttocks can be erected and expanded into large chrysanthemum-like bunches as in japanese deer; these being guides to the members of the herd when in flight. The tail is short; lateral hoofs are wanting; and the teeth are tall-crowned. Female prongbuck produce one or two young at a birth, and are either hornless or furnished with small and more or less rudimentary horns.
Prongbuck, of which two races, the typical Antilocapra americana and A. mexicana, are recognized by American naturalists, inhabit the open plains of the temperate districts of western North America, where they were formerly very abundant. Nowadays their numbers have become greatly diminished and small and isolated bands represent the great herds of former years. Young prongbuck are very liable to be attacked by wolves; to protect them from these marauders the females first clear an area in the middle of a patch of cactus, by jumping on the plants with their sharp hoofs, and bring forth their offspring in the protected space. Certain extinct American ruminants, namely Cosoryx, Blastomeryx and Merycodus are believed to be in some way related to the prongbuck; but they have frontal appendages more like antlers than horns. In view of this presumed relationship it seems preferable to retain the family Antilocapridae rather than relegate it to the rank of a sub-family of Bovidae. (See Pecora.)  (R. L.*)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Promoter

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​PROMOTER, one who promotes (Lat. promovere, to move forward), advances or forwards any scheme, project or undertaking. The most general specific sense in which the word is now used is that of a person who takes the steps necessary to the incorporation of a joint-stock company (see Company) or to the passing of a private or local act of parliament. In legal history, a promoter was one who prosecuted offenders, originally as an officer of the Crown, later as a common informer; the term is still used thus of the prosecutor in a suit in an ecclesiastical court.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Prome (town)

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​PROME, the chief town of the district, is situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy, 161 m. N. of Rangoon, population (1901), 27,375.
To the south and south-east the town is closed in by low pagoda-topped hills, on one of which stands the conspicuous gilded Shwe Tsan-daw. The town was taken by the British in 1825 and again in 1852, on both occasions with hardly any opposition. In 1862 it was almost entirely destroyed by fire, and was afterwards relaid out in straight and broad streets. It was erected into a municipality in 1874, and since then great improvements have been made, including waterworks. Its principal manufactures are silk cloths and lacquer ware. It is the terminus of a railway from Rangoon, which runs through the district. The other chief towns in the district are Shwedaung (pop. 10,787) and Paungde (pop. 11,105).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Prony, Gaspard Clair François Marie Riche de

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​PRONY, GASPARD CLAIR FRANÇOIS MARIE RICHE DE (1755–1839), French engineer, was born at Chamelet, in the department of the Rhone, on the 22nd of July 1755, and was educated at the École des Ponts et Chaussées. His Mémoire sur la poussée des voûtes published in 1783, in defence of the principles of bridge construction introduced by his master J. R. Perronnet, attracted special attention. The laborious enterprise of drawing up the famous Tables du Cadastre was entrusted to his direction in 1792, and in 1794 he was appointed professor of the mathematical sciences at the École Polytechnique, becoming director at the École des Ponts et Chaussées four years later. He was employed by Napoleon to superintend the engineering operations for protecting the province of Ferrara against the inundations of the Po and for draining and improving the Pontine Marshes. After the Restoration he was likewise engaged in regulating the course of the Rhone, and in several other important works. He was made a baron in 1828, and a peer in 1835. He died at Asnières (Seine) on the 29th of July 1839. For the “Prony Brake” see Dynamometer.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Prome (district)

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​PROME, a district in the Pegu division of Lower Burma, with an area of 2915 sq. m. and a population (1901) of 365,804. It occupies the whole breadth of the valley of the Irrawaddy, between Thayetmyo district on the north and Henzada and Tharrawaddy districts on the south, and originally extended as far as the frontier of Independent Burma, but in 1870 Thayetmyo was formed into an independent jurisdiction. There are two mountain ranges in Prome, which form respectively the eastern and western boundaries. The Arakan Yomas extends along the whole of the western side, and that portion of the district lying on the right bank of the Irrawaddy is broken up by thickly wooded spurs running in a south-easterly direction, the space for cultivation being but limited and confined to the parts adjacent to the river. On the eastern side lies the Pegu Yomas, and north and north-east of the district its forest-covered spurs form numerous valleys and ravines, the torrents from which unite in one large stream called the Na-weng River. The most important of the plains lie in the south and south-west portions of Prome, and extend along the whole length of the railway that runs between the towns of Paungdē and Prome; they are mostly under cultivation, and those in the south are watered by a series of streams forming the Myit-ma-kha or upper portion of the Hlaing. There are in addition large tracts of land covered by tree-jungle which are available for cultivation. The principal river is the Irrawaddy, which intersects the district from north to south; next in importance are the Tha-ni and its tributaries and the Na-weng system of rivers. In the hills near the capital the soil is of Tertiary formation, and in the plains it is an alluvial deposit. The climate is much drier than other districts in Lower Burma, the annual rainfall being about 48 in. The temperature ranges from about 100° in June to 60° in January. The staple crop is rice, but some cotton and tobacco are grown, while the custard apples are famous. Sericulture is extensively carried on by a special class. The forests yield teak and cutch, cotton and silk-weaving are important industries; there are also manufactures of ornamental boxes, coarse brown sugar and cutch.
The early history of the once flourishing kingdom of Prome, like that of the other states which now form portions of Burma, is veiled in obscurity. After the conquest of Pegu in 1758 by Alompra, the founder of the last dynasty of Ava kings, Prome remained a portion of the Burman kingdom till the close of the second Burmese War in 1853, when the province of Pegu was annexed to British territory.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pronunciation

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​PRONUNCIATION (Lat. pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare, proclaim, announce, pronounce), the action of pronouncing, the manner of uttering an articulate vocal sound (see Phonetics and Voice). The original sense of the Latin, a public declaration, is preserved in Spanish pronunciamiento, a manifesto or proclamation, especially as issued by a party of insurrection or revolution.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Proof

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PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &c., from O. Fr. prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preove, Late. Lat. proba, probare, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good), a word of which the two main branches are derived from those of "to prove," viz. to show to be true, to test, to try. Of the first division the chief meanings are: that which establishes the truth of a fact or the belief in the truth, demonstration, for the nature of which see Logic. In law "proof" is the general term for the establishment of the material facts in issue in a particular case by proper legal means to the satisfaction of the court (see Evidence); specifically, documents so attested as to form legal evidence, written copies of what a witness is prepared to support on oath, and the evidence of any case in the court records are all termed "proofs." In Scots law the term is used of a trial before a judge alone as opposed to trial by jury. From the general sense of examination, trial or assay derived from "to prove," to test the quality of anything, "proof" is used of that which has succeeded in standing a trial or test; the commonest form in which this use appears is as a compound adjective, thus materials are said to be "waterproof," "armour-" "bullet-proof," and the like. The principal other uses are for a standard of strength for spirit (see Alcohol and Spirits) for a trial impression, in printing, on which corrections and additions can be made (see article Proof-Reading) and, in engraving and etching, for one of a limited number of impressions made before the ordinary issue is printed. In the earlier history of engraving a "proof" was an impression during the process of printing made for the artist's inspection, approval or correction, whence its name. In the modern use of the term, where the impression has been taken before the inscription has been added to the plate, it is called a "proof before letter."
In bookbinding, some of the shorter or narrower leaves are left with rough edges, "uncropped," to show that the book has not been "cut," these are styled "proofs."
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Promenade

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​PROMENADE, a walk taken for exercise or more especially for social amusement, hence a road, drive or other public place laid out for the purpose, a parade. The French word promenade was formerly pourmenade, and came from pourmener, promener, to take for a walk, Late Latin prominare, to drive an animal out to pasture, from pro, forward, minare, to drive on with cries and threats (minae). “Promenade concerts,” so called from the fact that the audience are free to walk about or “promenade,” were first introduced from Paris to London in 1838 under the name of “promenade concerts à la Musard,” after the concerts given by the French musician and conductor, Philippe Musard (1793–1859). They were given at the Lyceum Theatre (English Opera House).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Parade

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​PARADE (Fr. parade, an adaptation from Ital. parata; cf. Span, parada, from Lat. parare, to prepare, equip, furnish), a word of which the principal meanings are display, show, a military gathering of troops for a specific purpose, an assembly of people for a promenade, the place where the troops assemble, and a road or street where people may walk. In the military sense, a “parade” is a mustering of troops on the parade-ground for drill, for inspection, for the delivery of special orders, or for other purposes, either at regular stated hours or on special occasions.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Parable

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​PARABLE (Gr. παραβολή, a comparison or similitude), originally the name given by Greek rhetoricians to a literary illustration avowedly introduced as such. In late Greek it came to mean a fictitious narrative or allegory (generally something that might naturally occur) by which moral or spiritual relations are typically set forth, as in the New Testament. The parable differs from the apologue in the inherent probability of the story itself, and in excluding animals or inanimate creatures from passing out of their natural sphere and assuming the powers of man, but it resembles it in the essential qualities of brevity and definiteness, and also in its Eastern origin. There are many beautiful examples of the parable in the Old Testament, that of Nathan, for instance, in 2 Sam. xii. 1–9, that of the woman of Tekoah in 2 Sam. xiv. 1–13, and others in the Prophets.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Parados

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​PARADOS (Fr.＝back cover), a term used in fortification, expressing a work the purpose of which is to cover the defenders of a line of trenches or parapet from reverse fire, i.e. fire from the rear.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Par

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​PAR (Lat. par, equal), technically a commercial and banking term. When stocks, shares, &c., are purchasable at the price originally paid for them or at their nominal or face value they are said to be at par. When the purchase price is higher than the face value, they are above par, or at a premium; when below face value, they are below par, or at a discount. Par of exchange is the amount of money in the currency of one country which is equivalent to the same amount in the terms of another, both currencies being of the same metal and of a fixed standard of weight and purity. (See Exchange.)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Moscherosch, Johann Michael

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​MOSCHEROSCH, JOHANN MICHAEL (1601–1669), German satirist, was born at Willstädt, near Strassburg, on the 5th of March 1601. He received a careful early education at the ​Latin School at Strassburg, and in 1620 began his academic career as a student of jurisprudence. After being for some years tutor in the family of the Graf von Leiningen-Dachsburg, he finally became privy councillor to the landgravine of Hesse-Cassel. He died at Worms on the 4th of April 1669. Under the name of “Der Träumende,” Moscherosch was a member of the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, a society founded by Prince Ludwig of Anhalt-Cöthen, in 1617, for the purification of the German language and the fostering of German literature. His most famous work is the Wunderliche und warhafftige Gesichte Philanders von Sillewald (anagram of Willstädt) (1642–1643), for which he took as his model the Sueños (visions) of the famous Spaniard Francisco Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas (1580–1645). Hardly inferior to the “visions” is the Insomnis cura parentum, Christliches Vermächtnis eines Vaters, which Was published at Strassburg in 1643 and again in 1647. Noteworthy is also Die Patientia, discovered in 1897 in MS. in the municipal library at Hamburg.
Selections from Moscherosch’s writings have been published by W. Dittmar (1830), F. Bobertag (in Kürschner’s Deutsche Nationalliteratur, xxxii., 1884), and K. Müller (in Reclam’s Universalbibliothek). Reprints of the Insomnis cura parentum and Patientia have been published by L. Pariser (1893 and 1897), who is also the author of Beiträge zu einer Biographie von Moscherosch (1891). See also M. Nickels, Moscherosch als Pädagog (1883); J. Wirth Moscherosch’s Gesichte (1888).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Moscheles, Ignaz

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​MOSCHELES, IGNAZ (1794–1870), Bohemian pianist, was born at Prague on the 30th of May 1794, and studied music at the Conservatorium under the direction of Dionys Weber. At the age of fourteen he made his first appearance before the public in a pianoforte concerto of his own composition with marked success. In 1814 he prepared, with Beethoven’s consent, the pianoforte arrangement of Fidelio, afterwards published by Messrs Artaria. In the following year he published his celebrated Variationen über den Alexandermarsch, a concert piece of great difficulty, which he played with so great effect that he was at once recognized as the most brilliant performer of the day. He then started on a tour, during the course of which he visited most of the great capitals of Europe, making his first appearance in London in 1822, and there securing the friendship of Muzio Clementi and John Cramer. For a concert given by the latter he wrote his famous Hommage à Händel, a duet for two pianofortes, which afterwards became a lasting favourite with the public. During a visit to Berlin in 1824 he first became acquainted with Mendelssohn, then a boy of fifteen; and a friendship sprang up between them which was severed only by Mendelssohn’s early death (see Briefe von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy an Ignaz und Charlotte Moscheles, 1888). In 1826 Moscheles married Charlotte Embden at Hamburg, and settled permanently in London. He was undoubtedly for some considerable time the greatest executant of his age; but, using his brilliant touch as a means and not as an end, he consistently devoted himself to the further development of the true classical school, interpreting the works of the great masters with conscientious fidelity, and in his extempore performances, which were of quite exceptional excellence, exhibiting a fertility of invention which never failed to please the most fastidious taste. In 1837 Moscheles conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Philharmonic Society’s concerts with extraordinary success, and by his skilful use of the baton contributed to the prosperity of this association. During the course of his long residence in London he laboured incessantly in the cause of art, until the year 1846, when, at Mendelssohn’s earnest solicitation, he removed to Leipzig to carry on a similar work at the Conservatorium, then recently founded. In this new sphere he worked with unabated zeal for many years, dying on the 10th of March 1870. Moscheles numbered works extend to 142, apart from minor pieces; his most important compositions are his Pianoforte Concertos, Sonatas and Studies (Études, op. 70; and Characteristische Studien, op. 95); Hommage à Händel; and his three Allegri di bravura.
See The Life of Moscheles (1873), a translation by A. D. Coleridge of Mme Moscheles’ Aus Moscheles Leben (1872).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Moschopulus, Manuel

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​MOSCHOPULUS (“little calf,” probably a nickname), MANUEL, Byzantine commentator and grammarian, lived during the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century. His chief work is Ἐρωτήματα γραμματικά, in the form of question and answer, based upon an anonymous epitome of grammar, and supplemented by a lexicon (συλλογή) of Attic nouns. He was also the author of scholia on the first and second books of the Iliad, on Hesiod, Theocritus, Pindar and other classical and later authors; of riddles, letters, and a treatise on the magic squares. His grammatical treatises formed the foundation of the labours of such promoters of classical studies as Manuel Chrysoloras, Theodorus Gaza, Guarini, and Constantine Lascaris.
A selection from his works under the title of Manuelis Moschopuli opuscula grammatica was published by F. N. Titze (Leipzig, 1822); see also C. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (1897) and M. Treu, Maximi monachi Planudis epistulae (1890), p. 208.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Moschus

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​MOSCHUS, Greek bucolic poet and friend of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 B.C. He was the author of a short epic poem, Europa, and a pretty little epigram, Love, the Runaway, imitated by Torquato Tasso and Ben Jonson. The epitaph on Bion of Smyrna, wrongly supposed to have been his tutor, was in all probability written about the time of Sulla (see F. Bücheler in Rheinisches Museum, xxx., 1875). The poem on Megara (the wife of Heracles) is probably not his, but a few other pieces, undoubtedly genuine, have been preserved. His poems are nearly all in hexameters. They are usually printed in editions of Bion and Theocritus, and have been translated into many European languages.
The text has been edited by U. von Wilamowitz-Möllendorff, in the Oxford Scriptorum classicorum bibliotheca (1905); there are English translations by J. Banks in Bohn’s Classical Library (1853), and by Andrew Lang (1889), together with Bion and Theocritus. See F. Susemihl, Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur in der Alexandrinerzeit. i. 231 (1891), and article Bion.