Definition of encyclopedia Encyclopedia

/ɪnsajˌklʌpiˈdiʌ/ - [insayklupeedeeu] - en•cy•clo•pe•di•a

We found 6 definitions of encyclopedia from 5 different sources.

Word comparison

British English

encyclopaedia - /ɛnsˌa‍ɪkləpˈiːdi‍ə/

American English

encyclopedia - /ɪnsajˌklʌpiˈdiʌ/

What does encyclopedia mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: encyclopedias
encyclopedia - a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty
		cyclopedia, encyclopaedia, cyclopaedia
		book of facts, reference book, reference work, reference a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts; "he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

encyclopedia (Noun)
A comprehensive reference work often spanning several printed volumes with in-depth articles usually arranged in alphabetical order, or sometimes arranged by category on a range of subjects, sometimes general, sometimes limited to a particular field.
encyclopedia (Noun)
The circle of arts and sciences; a comprehensive summary of knowledge, or of a branch of knowledge.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

encyclopedia (n.)
Alt. of Encyclopaedia

Wikipedia

An encyclopedia (or "encyclopædia", "cyclopædia") is a collection (usually a book) of information about things humans know.

Word origin.

The word "encyclopedia" is Latin and comes from Greek. The words "εγκύκλιος παιδεία", "enkyklios paideia" mean "in a circle of teaching". It is from "εγκύκλιος", "in a circle" from "κύκλος" "circle" and "παιδεία", meaning "teaching".

The word "εγκύκλιος" can also mean "general": perhaps the people who made the Latin name "encyclopedia" did not understand the Greek word well. Perhaps the name should mean "general teaching".

In Canada and the UK, and some other countries affected by the British Empire, encyclopedia is spelt mostly as "encyclopædia".

History.

People have made encyclopedias for hundreds of years, but the name "encyclopedia" is from the 16th century.

Types of encyclopedias.

There are different types of encyclopedia. Some are general and have pages on lots of topics. The English language "Encyclopædia Britannica" and German "Brockhaus" are general encyclopedias. Some are about specific topics. For example, there are encyclopedias of medicine or philosophy. There are also some encyclopedias that have lots of topics with one point of view or one cultural bias. The "Great Soviet Encyclopedia" is one of these.

Many dictionaries have a different sort of information as encyclopedias. Examples are the Dictionary of National Biography, the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, and Black's Law Dictionary.

There are two main ways of