encyclopedia

[ en-sahy-kluh-pee-dee-uh ]

noun

1. a book, set of books, optical disc, mobile device, or online informational resource containing articles on various topics, usually in alphabetical arrangement, covering all branches of knowledge or, less commonly, all aspects of one subject.
2. Encyclopedia, the French work edited by Diderot and D'Alembert, published in the 18th century, distinguished by its representation of the views of the Enlightenment.

encyclopedia

/ ɛnˌsaɪkləʊˈpiːdɪə /

noun

1. a book, often in many volumes, containing articles on various topics, often arranged in alphabetical order, dealing either with the whole range of human knowledge or with one particular subject

   a medical encyclopedia

Word History and Origins

Origin of encyclopedia¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from New Latin encyclopaedia, from Greek enkyklopaidía, a misreading of enkýklios paideía “circular (i.e., well-rounded) education”; encyclical, pedo- ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of encyclopedia¹

C16: from New Latin encyclopaedia, erroneously for Greek enkuklios paideia general education, from enkuklios general (see encyclical ), + paideia education, from pais child

Example Sentences

You play during an ancient era, and are told to develop the Sinnoh region’s first-ever Pokédex, an encyclopedia logging every type of Pokémon.

From Washington Post

Like all encyclopedias, it’s dependent on the existence of high-quality primary sources, including journalism—and my industry, for the most part, is not in great shape, especially at the local level.

From Time

As there are field guides to bird identification, there are plenty of illustrated encyclopedias and online resources to help recognize the different breeds and learn their fascinating histories.

From Washington Post

He recalls his mother, who didn’t have a lot of money when he was a child, buying him a set of encyclopedias, which he read voraciously.

From Ozy

Nelson’s volumes consisted of pages of alphabetically ordered entries, like any other modern encyclopedia.

From Time

I had buzzed around the wiki flower for a while, and then pollinated the free-encyclopedia flower.

From The Daily Beast

Wales next tried an idea that reflected his childhood love of the World Book: an online encyclopedia.

From The Daily Beast

I joke that I started as a kid revising the encyclopedia by stickering the one my mother bought.

From The Daily Beast

Reading the Encyclopedia Brittanica while walking the Appalachian Trail!

From The Daily Beast

In Paris, Kis completed his last work, The Encyclopedia of the Dead, a wonderful collection of fablelike stories.

From The Daily Beast

He was not an encyclopedia, but a compact volume of naked logic.

From Project Gutenberg

That was after we read about the Cyclopes in the Ulysses story in our encyclopedia.

From Project Gutenberg

The encyclopedia mentioned all of them but did not mention Crimson at all.

From Project Gutenberg

The statement of the "Encyclopedia Britannica," that Argentina had a hundred million sheep in 1866 is quite incredible.

From Project Gutenberg

This list has great possibilities for club study, especially if there is the encyclopedia, so essential for reference.

From Project Gutenberg