Vandalia, city, seat (1821) of Fayette county, south-central Illinois, U.S. Vandalia lies on the Kaskaskia River, about 70 miles (115 km) southeast of Springfield. Its name is of unknown origin but is thought to be derived from either a Vandal tribe, a Dutch settler family, or a small Native

collective behavior: Common misconceptions: …is much less looting and vandalism than is popularly supposed. Even among persons who converge from outside the community there is more petty pilfering for souvenirs than serious crime. Fourth, initially an altruistic selflessness is more prevalent than self-pity and self-serving activity. Frequently noted are dramatic instances of persons who…

Dominique-René Vandamme, count of Unebourg was a French general in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Vandamme, of petit bourgeois origins, enlisted in the French army as a private in a regiment serving in Martinique (1788). Two years later he deserted and returned to civilian life in

Dominique-René Vandamme, count of Unebourg was a French general in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Vandamme, of petit bourgeois origins, enlisted in the French army as a private in a regiment serving in Martinique (1788). Two years later he deserted and returned to civilian life in

Palani Hills: Peaks include Vandaravu, 8,376 feet (2,553 meters); Vembadi Shola, 8,221 feet (2,505 meters); and Karunmakadu, 8,042 feet (2,451 meters). The town of Kodaikanal is located in a high basin about 7,000 feet (2,150 meters) above sea level. Potatoes, beans, root crops, pears, and peaches are cultivated in…

International Space Station: …Pyotr Dubrov and American astronaut Mark Vande Hei stayed on the station for 355 days from April 2021 to March 2022. Vande Hei broke Kelly’s record for longest American spaceflight.

A.R. Rahman: Debut soundtrack and rise to fame: His 1997 album Vande Mataram, released in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence, found massive commercial success.

Vande Mataram, poem by Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, which became a rallying cry in the Indian Independence Movement. It became popular after being published in his novel Anandamath (1882; “The Abbey of Bliss”), although it may have been composed much before the novel was written. Part

Alexander A. Vandegrift was a U.S. Marine Corps officer who led the first large-scale U.S. offensive against the Japanese, on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, during World War II. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1909, Vandegrift had advanced to major general by 1942.

Alexander A. Vandegrift was a U.S. Marine Corps officer who led the first large-scale U.S. offensive against the Japanese, on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, during World War II. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1909, Vandegrift had advanced to major general by 1942.

Martha and the Vandellas, American soul-pop vocal group that challenged the Supremes as Motown Records’ premier female group in the 1960s. The original members were Martha Reeves (b. July 18, 1941, Eufaula, Alabama, U.S.), Annette Beard Sterling-Helton (b. July 4, 1943, Detroit, Michigan), Gloria

candiru, (Vandellia cirrhosa), scaleless, parasitic catfish of the family Trichomycteridae found in the Amazon River region. A translucent, eellike fish about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long, the candiru feeds on blood and is commonly found in the gill cavities of other fishes. It sometimes also attacks

The Nation: …when he was succeeded by Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Glory: … Taurus XL launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base (later Vandenberg Space Force Base) in California. However, Glory did not reach orbit and crashed back to Earth after the payload fairing covering the satellite failed to separate from the launch vehicle. A NASA investigation later uncovered that Sapa Profiles (later…

Arthur H. Vandenberg was a U.S. Republican senator who was largely responsible for bipartisan congressional support of international cooperation and of President Harry S. Truman’s anticommunist foreign policy after World War II. Editor of the Grand Rapids Herald from 1906, Vandenberg became active

Arthur H. Vandenberg was a U.S. Republican senator who was largely responsible for bipartisan congressional support of international cooperation and of President Harry S. Truman’s anticommunist foreign policy after World War II. Editor of the Grand Rapids Herald from 1906, Vandenberg became active

Vanderbijlpark, town, Gauteng province, South Africa, on the Vaal River, southwest of Johannesburg. It was founded in 1942 after it was determined that the South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation steelworks at Pretoria could no longer be expanded. Officially declared a town in 1952 when

bridge: Bidding systems: The Vanderbilt Club system provided that a player with a strong hand bid one club, the lowest bid; his partner with a weak hand would bid one diamond and with a strong hand would make some other bid. Despite its technical excellence, the Vanderbilt Club system…

automobile racing: Early history: Later Vanderbilt Cup races were run in 1936 and 1937 at Roosevelt Raceway, Long Island, New York.

Vanderbilt family, one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the United States. The third generation of Vanderbilts—following Cornelius and William Henry Vanderbilt—was led by three of William Henry’s four sons: Cornelius (1843–99), William Kissam (1849–1920), and George Washington

Hyde Park: Nearby is the Vanderbilt Mansion, which was designed in the Italian Renaissance style for Frederick W. Vanderbilt (a son of railroad magnate William Henry Vanderbilt) and constructed (1896–98) on the grounds of the original Hyde Park estate. The mansion was dedicated as a national historic site in 1940.…

Lake Nicaragua: History: …New York millionaire, developed the Vanderbilt Road—a route over which gold prospectors from New York were transported up the river and over the lake, completing the final few miles to the Pacific by stagecoach in order to take ship to San Francisco. The arrangement revived interest—which lasted for many years—in…

Vanderbilt University, private, coeducational institution of higher education in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Baccalaureate degrees are awarded through the College of Arts and Science, School of Engineering, Peabody College (education and human development), and Blair School of Music. Dozens of

Alva Belmont was a prominent socialite of New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, who, in her later years, became an outspoken suffragist. Alva Smith grew up in her birthplace of Mobile, Alabama, and, after the American Civil War, in France. She married William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of

Amy Vanderbilt was an American journalist and author, an acknowledged authority on manners, mores, and etiquette. Vanderbilt became a part-time reporter for the Staten Island Advance when she was 16. After studying in Switzerland and at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, she attended New

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American shipping and railroad magnate who acquired a personal fortune of more than $100 million. The son of an impoverished farmer and boatman, Vanderbilt quit school at age 11 to work on the waterfront. In 1810 he purchased his first boat with money borrowed from his

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American shipping and railroad magnate who acquired a personal fortune of more than $100 million. The son of an impoverished farmer and boatman, Vanderbilt quit school at age 11 to work on the waterfront. In 1810 he purchased his first boat with money borrowed from his

Vanderbilt family: Of the three, Cornelius was by far the most devoted to furthering the family’s business and investment interests. Following his father’s death in 1885, Cornelius took charge of the various railroads and other corporations and of the philanthropic activities. He served on numerous social and civic boards, and…

Vanderbilt family: George Washington Vanderbilt had the least involvement with the family businesses or investments. He created a huge estate, Biltmore, near Asheville, North Carolina, and there carried on extensive experiments in scientific farming, stock breeding, and forestry. He gave large gifts to the New York Public…

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was an American sculptor and art patron, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Gertrude Vanderbilt was a great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of one of America’s great fortunes. From her early years she was interested

Gloria Vanderbilt was an American socialite, artist, author, actress, and designer of textiles and fashion who was often in the public eye for her social life and professional exploits. Born into the prominent Vanderbilt family of New York, Gloria was thrust into the media spotlight from the moment

Gloria Vanderbilt was an American socialite, artist, author, actress, and designer of textiles and fashion who was often in the public eye for her social life and professional exploits. Born into the prominent Vanderbilt family of New York, Gloria was thrust into the media spotlight from the moment

Vanderbilt family: Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was also notable as the inventor of the game of contract bridge and as the skilled yachtsman who won the America’s Cup three times.

William Henry Vanderbilt was an American railroad magnate and philanthropist who nearly doubled the Vanderbilt family fortune established and in large part bequeathed to him by his father, Cornelius. A frail and seemingly unambitious youth, William was dismissed by his strong and dynamic father as

Vanderbilt family: William Kissam Vanderbilt worked with his brother Cornelius in managing the Vanderbilt investments and enterprises. But he was far less interested in business than were his brother, father, and grandfather. In 1903 William Kissam turned over management of the railroads to an outside firm and…

Flying Dutchman: …most common version, the captain, Vanderdecken, gambles his salvation on a rash pledge to round the Cape of Good Hope during a storm and so is condemned to that course for eternity; it is this rendering which forms the basis of the opera Der fliegende Holländer (1843) by the German…

Canadian literature: Fiction: …Among the Children, 2000), while Guy Vanderhaeghe’s fiction has its roots in the Prairies (The Englishman’s Boy, 1996). In Clara Callan (2001), Richard B. Wright portrays quiet lives in small-town Ontario. Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall on Your Knees (1996) and Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief (1999) recount family sagas set on…

Sir Edward Pellew Group: Vanderlin, the largest, is 20 miles (32 km) long by 8 miles (13 km) wide. Reached in 1644 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, the island was thought to be part of the mainland and was named Cape Vanderlin. The explorer Matthew Flinders in 1802…

John Vanderlyn was a U.S. painter and one of the first American artists to study in Paris. He was largely responsible for introducing the Neoclassical style to the United States. As a young man Vanderlyn copied a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Aaron Burr that attracted the attention of Burr. He

Sugar Hill Records: “Rapper’s Delight”: …in 1979 by industry veterans Sylvia and Joe Robinson as a label for rap music (at that time a new genre), Sugar Hill Records, based in Englewood, New Jersey, was named after the upmarket section of Harlem and funded by Manhattan-based distributor Maurice Levy. Sylvia (born Sylvia Vanderpool) had a…

Émile Vandervelde was a Belgian statesman and a prominent figure in European socialism, who served in Belgian coalition governments from 1914 to 1937 and was influential in the peace negotiations following World War I. (Read George Bernard Shaw’s 1926 Britannica essay on socialism.) Vandervelde

James VanDerZee was an American photographer, whose portraits chronicled the Harlem Renaissance. VanDerZee made his first photographs as a boy in Lenox, Mass. By 1906 he had moved with his father and brother to Harlem in New York City, where he worked as a waiter and elevator operator. In 1915

James VanDerZee was an American photographer, whose portraits chronicled the Harlem Renaissance. VanDerZee made his first photographs as a boy in Lenox, Mass. By 1906 he had moved with his father and brother to Harlem in New York City, where he worked as a waiter and elevator operator. In 1915

Luther Vandross was an American soul and pop singer, songwriter, and producer whose widespread popularity and reputation as a consummate stylist made him a leading recording artist beginning in the early 1980s. While growing up in a public housing project in New York City on Manhattan’s Lower East

Luther Vandross was an American soul and pop singer, songwriter, and producer whose widespread popularity and reputation as a consummate stylist made him a leading recording artist beginning in the early 1980s. While growing up in a public housing project in New York City on Manhattan’s Lower East

Genoese lace: …the form of deeply pointed “vandykes” (V-shaped points seen on collars in many 17th-century portraits by Anthony Van Dyck). These points began to give way in about 1600 to round, scalloped edges. Genoa was famous also for its tape lace, made from flat but curving bobbin-made tape in a needle-made…

Anthony van Dyck was, after Peter Paul Rubens, the most prominent Flemish Baroque painter of the 17th century. A prolific painter of portraits of European aristocracy, he also executed many works on religious and mythological subjects and was a fine draftsman and etcher. Van Dyck was the seventh of

feather: …a flattened, usually curved surface—the vane. The barbs possess further branches —the barbules—and the barbules of adjacent barbs are attached to one another by hooks, stiffening the vane. In many birds, some or all of the feathers lack the barbules or the hooks, and the plumage has a loose, hairlike…

pump: Positive displacement pumps.: A sliding vane pump is illustrated in Figure 3. The rotor is mounted off-centre. Rectangular vanes are positioned at regular intervals around the curved surface of the rotor. Each vane is free to move in a slot. The centrifugal force from rotation throws the vanes outward to…

Sir Henry Vane, the Elder was an English statesman, a prominent royal adviser who played an equivocal role in the events leading to the outbreak of the Civil War between King Charles I and Parliament. After serving in five Parliaments, he was appointed secretary of state by Charles I in February

Sir Henry Vane, the Younger was an English Puritan, one of the most capable administrators in Parliament during the Civil Wars between the Parliamentarians and Royalists. His father, Sir Henry Vane the Elder, was an adviser to King Charles I. Henry the Younger was converted to Puritanism in his

Sir John Robert Vane was an English biochemist who, with Sune K. Bergström and Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1982 for the isolation, identification, and analysis of prostaglandins. These are biochemical compounds that influence blood pressure, body

Sutton Vane was an English playwright, remembered for his unusual and highly successful play Outward Bound (1923), about a group of passengers who find themselves making an ocean voyage on a ship that seems to have no crew. Slowly they realize that they are dead and bound for the other world, which

Les Diaboliques: …and a ragtag detective (Charles Vanel) is assigned to the case, the women begin to witness chilling evidence that their tormentor may not be dead at all.

lapwing: Others are the gray-headed lapwing (Microsarcops cinereus), of eastern Asia, and the long-toed lapwing (Hemiparra crassirostris), of Africa.

lapwing: The crowned lapwing (Stephanibyx coronatus), of Africa, has a black cap with a white ring around it. The red-wattled lapwing, Vanellus (sometimes Lobivanellus) indicus, and the yellow-wattled lapwing (V. malabaricus), of southern Asia, have wattles on the face. Others are the gray-headed lapwing (Microsarcops cinereus), of…

lapwing: …of eastern Asia, and the long-toed lapwing (Hemiparra crassirostris), of Africa.

lapwing: The red-wattled lapwing, Vanellus (sometimes Lobivanellus) indicus, and the yellow-wattled lapwing (V. malabaricus), of southern Asia, have wattles on the face. Others are the gray-headed lapwing (Microsarcops cinereus), of eastern Asia, and the long-toed lapwing (Hemiparra crassirostris), of Africa.

lapwing: … (sometimes Lobivanellus) indicus, and the yellow-wattled lapwing (V. malabaricus), of southern Asia, have wattles on the face. Others are the gray-headed lapwing (Microsarcops cinereus), of eastern Asia, and the long-toed lapwing (Hemiparra crassirostris), of Africa.

lapwing: …Charadriidae (order Charadriiformes), especially the Eurasian lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, of farmlands and grassy plains. The name lapwing, which refers to the birds’ slow wingbeat, is sometimes applied broadly to members of the subfamily Vanellinae. Lapwings are about 30 cm (12 inches) long, with broad, rounded wings. Several species have crests,…

Lake Väner, largest lake in Sweden, 2,181 square miles (5,650 square km) in area, in the southwestern part of the country. The lake is about 90 miles (145 km) long and as much as 348 feet (106 metres) deep, and its surface lies 144 feet (44 metres) above sea level. The lake is fed by numerous

Lake Väner, largest lake in Sweden, 2,181 square miles (5,650 square km) in area, in the southwestern part of the country. The lake is about 90 miles (145 km) long and as much as 348 feet (106 metres) deep, and its surface lies 144 feet (44 metres) above sea level. The lake is fed by numerous

brush-footed butterfly: The thistle butterfly (Vanessa) is named for its principal larval host plant. Some species, such as the painted lady (V. cardui), migrate during adulthood, traveling in large groups.

Jonathan Swift: Withdrawal to Ireland of Jonathan Swift: …his life of another woman, Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he named Vanessa (and who also appeared in his poetry)? He had met Vanessa during his London visit of 1707–09, and in 1714 she had, despite all his admonitions, insisted on following him to Ireland. Her letters to Swift reveal her passion…

Samuel Barber: His opera Vanessa, with libretto by longtime partner Gian Carlo Menotti and produced by the Metropolitan Opera Association, New York City, in 1958, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

admiral: The migratory red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), placed in the subfamily Nymphalinae, is widespread in Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and North Africa and feeds on stinging nettles. The western, or Weidemeyer’s, admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii) is found in the western United States. The

painted lady, (Vanessa cardui), species of migratory brush-footed butterfly that has broad wings (span about 4 to 5 cm [1.5 to 2 inches]), with beautifully elaborate patterns of reddish orange, pink, brown, white, and blue scales. The insect is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, found on every

admiral: The Indian red admiral, V. indica, is found in the Canary Islands as well as India and is distinguished by a red band on the forewings wider than that of V. atalanta.

Dolnośląskie: Geography: …and Lubiąż, and the 12th-century Vang Chapel, a wooden church that originally stood in Norway before it was purchased in 1841 and painstakingly reassembled at Karpacz without using a single nail. The latter is a rare example of Nordic Romanesque architecture in Poland.

West Bengal: History of West Bengal: …from the ancient kingdom of Vanga, or Banga. References to it occur in early Sanskrit literature, but its early history is obscure until the 3rd century bce, when it formed part of the extensive Mauryan empire inherited by the emperor Ashoka. With the decline of Mauryan power, anarchy once more…

vanga-shrike, any of the 15 species of Madagascan birds constituting the bird family Vangidae (order Passeriformes). The coral-billed nuthatch is sometimes included. They are 13 to 30 cm (5 to 12 inches) long, with wings and tails of moderate length. The hook-tipped bill is stout and of remarkably

vanga-shrike: The hook-billed vanga-shrike (Vanga curvirostris) is a big-billed form that catches tree frogs and lizards. The smallest species is the red-tailed vanga-shrike, or tit-shrike (Calicalicus madagascariensis).

vanga-shrike, any of the 15 species of Madagascan birds constituting the bird family Vangidae (order Passeriformes). The coral-billed nuthatch is sometimes included. They are 13 to 30 cm (5 to 12 inches) long, with wings and tails of moderate length. The hook-tipped bill is stout and of remarkably

Pier Paolo Pasolini: …Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (1964; The Gospel According to Saint Matthew), is an austere, documentary-style retelling of the life and martyrdom of Jesus Christ. The comic allegory Uccellacci e Uccellini (1966; The Hawks and the Sparrows) was followed by two films attempting to re-create ancient myths from a contemporary viewpoint,…

space exploration: The first satellites: The navy project, called Vanguard, would use a new launch vehicle based on modified Viking and Aerobee sounding rockets to orbit a small scientific satellite. Vanguard made slow progress over the subsequent two years, but, after Sputnik’s success, the White House pressed to have the satellite launched as quickly…

Vanguard, any of a series of three uncrewed U.S. experimental test satellites. Vanguard 1, launched March 17, 1958, was a tiny 1.47-kg (3.25-pound) sphere equipped with two radio transmitters. It was the second U.S. artificial satellite placed in orbit around Earth, the first being Explorer 1

Vanguard Group: Founding and early vision: …Index Investment Trust, now the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO), the first index mutual fund available to individual investors. The fund was inspired in part by a 1974 column by economist Paul Samuelson, who questioned whether investors could consistently outperform the market. Because it tracked a market index, it required…

Gibraltar remains: Devil’s Tower, Gorham’s Cave, and Vanguard Cave. The first locality yielded the second Neanderthal fossil ever discovered, the skull of an older adult female; though found in 1848, it was not announced to science until 1865. In 1926 the second site yielded a Paleolithic tool assemblage and the scattered remains…

Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest asset managers, known for its unusual ownership structure: It is owned by its funds, which in turn are owned by their shareholders. With no outside equity owners to answer to, Vanguard has been able to operate at cost and keep fees lower than many

Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest asset managers, known for its unusual ownership structure: It is owned by its funds, which in turn are owned by their shareholders. With no outside equity owners to answer to, Vanguard has been able to operate at cost and keep fees lower than many

Latin American literature: The vanguardia: Eventually the innovations of Modernismo became routine, and poets began to look elsewhere for ways to be original. The next important artistic movement in Latin America was the avant-garde, or the vanguardia, as it is known in Spanish. This movement reflected several European movements,…

Vladimir Lenin: Formation of a revolutionary party of Vladimir Lenin: …the party as the “vanguard of the proletariat.” He conceived of the vanguard as a highly disciplined, centralized party that would work unremittingly to suffuse the proletariat with Socialist consciousness and serve as mentor, leader, and guide, constantly showing the proletariat where its true class interests lie.

David Trimble: …Ireland Constitutional Convention for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP) in 1975. The VUPP opposed direct rule of Northern Ireland by the British government and pushed for stringent measures against the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Trimble became deputy leader of the VUPP, supporting a coalition with the SDLP. In 1977…

La Vanguardia Española, (Spanish: “The Spanish Vanguard”), morning daily newspaper published in Barcelona, one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Spain. It was established in 1881 by Carlos Godó, in whose family it remained, as a political organ favouring the policies of Práxedes

José Clemente Orozco: Early life and training: …artist on the revolutionary paper La vanguardia (“The Vanguard”), which was edited by Atl.

Latin American literature: The vanguardia: Eventually the innovations of Modernismo became routine, and poets began to look elsewhere for ways to be original. The next important artistic movement in Latin America was the avant-garde, or the vanguardia, as it is known in Spanish. This movement reflected several European movements,…

Finland: Domestic affairs: …on Finland’s policy toward Iraq, Matti Vanhanen replaced her as prime minister in June. Vanhanen retained his position when the Centre Party won a narrow victory in the 2007 parliamentary elections. The National Coalition Party finished a close second, while the Social Democrats suffered significant losses.

Jonathan Swift: Withdrawal to Ireland of Jonathan Swift: …his life of another woman, Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he named Vanessa (and who also appeared in his poetry)? He had met Vanessa during his London visit of 1707–09, and in 1714 she had, despite all his admonitions, insisted on following him to Ireland. Her letters to Swift reveal her passion…

spirea: Common species: …the Vanhoutte spirea, also called bridal wreath (Spiraea vanhouttei). The plant grows up to 2 metres (6 feet) high and produces graceful arching branches that bear numerous white flowers in spring. Other spring-flowering spireas include scalloped spirea (S. crenata), bridal wreath spirea (S. prunifolia), and three-lobed spirea, also known as…

Jean Vanier was a Swiss-born Roman Catholic social activist, theologian, and philosopher who was involved in efforts to provide congenial living communities for people with intellectual disabilities. He was the recipient of the 2015 Templeton Prize. In 2023 an expert report revealed that Vanier and

vanilla, (genus Vanilla), any member of a group of tropical climbing orchids (family Orchidaceae) and the flavoring agent extracted from their pods. The vanilla beans of commerce are the cured unripe fruit of Mexican or Bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Tahiti vanilla (V. tahitensis), and

vanilla, (genus Vanilla), any member of a group of tropical climbing orchids (family Orchidaceae) and the flavoring agent extracted from their pods. The vanilla beans of commerce are the cured unripe fruit of Mexican or Bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Tahiti vanilla (V. tahitensis), and

Jeff Beck: With former Vanilla Fudge members Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, Beck released Beck, Bogert & Appice in 1973. After its negative reception the trio disbanded, and Beck embarked on a solo career. The critically acclaimed Blow by Blow (1975), produced by Beatles collaborator George Martin

vanilla: …unripe fruit of Mexican or Bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Tahiti vanilla (V. tahitensis), and occasionally West Indian vanilla (V. pompona); all three species are thought to be derived from a single species native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Vanilla had been used to

vanilla: tahitensis), and occasionally West Indian vanilla (V. pompona); all three species are thought to be derived from a single species native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Vanilla had been used to flavor xocoatl, the chocolate beverage of the Aztecs, centuries before the Spanish conquistador

Heart: Career: Maguire (1996), Almost Famous (2000), Vanilla Sky (2001), and Elizabethtown (2005). The couple divorced in 2010.

vanilla: …or Bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Tahiti vanilla (V. tahitensis), and occasionally West Indian vanilla (V. pompona); all three species are thought to be derived from a single species native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Vanilla had been used to flavor xocoatl, the chocolate beverage of

chemical compound: Aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes): vanillin, for example, have pleasant aromas.

Vanimo, port, island of New Guinea, northwestern Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. Located on a peninsula surrounded by a white sand beach fronting the Pacific Ocean, Vanimo is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the border with the Indonesian (western) half of New Guinea. Lying on a

Vanir, in Norse mythology, race of gods responsible for wealth, fertility, and commerce and subordinate to the warlike Aesir. As reparation for the torture of their goddess Gullveig, the Vanir demanded from the Aesir monetary satisfaction or equal status. Declaring war instead, the Aesir suffered