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

Tim: It was like finding another book in the set of encyclopedias.

From Los Angeles Times

Others lead us to hollowed-out encyclopedias, home to ghostly index cards full of contemplative prompts that compel us to compose a life’s story in a few sentences.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Zarin described the AI as a “walking encyclopedia” of her own thoughts and advice.

From BBC

ChatGPT learned its skills by analyzing huge amounts of text that was written, edited and curated by humans, including encyclopedia articles, news stories, poetry and, yes, books.

From New York Times

If you wanted to choose one individual as the face of “neoliberalism” for an encyclopedia entry, you could do a lot worse.

From Salon