What does "encyclopedia" mean?

A comprehensive reference work (often spanning several printed volumes) with articles (usually arranged in alphabetical order, or sometimes arranged by category) on a range of subjects, sometimes general, sometimes limited to a particular field.

How do you pronounce "encyclopedia"?

Pronounced //ənˌsəɪ.kləˈpi.di.ə//.

Encyclopedia

Q: What is a synonym for "encyclopedia"?

Common synonyms include: article, atlas, bibliography, body of knowledge, body of learning, britannica.

/ənˌsəɪ.kləˈpi.di.ə/ noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Usage: "Encyclopedia" is primarily used as a noun. Its central meaning — similarly comprehensive works in other formats — makes it most effective in contexts where precision matters over a more general alternative.

Origin: Borrowed from New Latin encyclopēdīa, encyclopaedīa (“general education”), a univerbated form of Koine Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā, “education in the circle of arts and sciences”), from Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος (enkúklios, “circular”) + παιδείᾱ (paideíā, “childrearing; education”) (q.v.). Nearly all modern English usage of the word was influenced by the scope and format of the French Encyclopédie by Diderot et al. (see quotation).

Watch out: Writers sometimes confuse "encyclopedia" with "cyclopedia" or "encyclopaedia" — the words overlap in meaning but differ in nuance or register. Use "encyclopedia" when you specifically mean its core sense rather than defaulting to it as a generic substitute.

Definitions

Noun

1
A comprehensive reference work (often spanning several printed volumes) with articles (usually arranged in alphabetical order, or sometimes arranged by category) on a range of subjects, sometimes general, sometimes limited to a particular field.
"I only use the library for the encyclopedia, as we’ve got most other books here."
2
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 wordnet
3
Similarly comprehensive works in other formats.
"Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit."
4
The circle of arts and sciences (see Etymology); a comprehensive summary of knowledge, or of a branch thereof. dated, specifically
"His life's work is a four-volume encyclopedia of aviation topics."

Synonyms

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article atlas bibliography body of knowledge body of learning britannica

Antonyms

All antonyms

bias cambridge general encyclopedia ignorance

Example

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"A revised edition of the encyclopedia was published."

Etymology

Etymology tree ▲ Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Ancient Greek ἐν (en) Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-) Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ιος (-ios) Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλῐος (enkúklĭos) Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-der. Proto-Hellenic *pā́wits Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs) Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús) Ancient Greek -εύω (-eúō) Ancient Greek παιδεύω (paideúō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek παιδείᾱ (paideíā) Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā)bor. New Latin encyclopaedīalbor. English encyclopedia Borrowed from New Latin encyclopēdīa, encyclopaedīa (“general education”), a univerbated form of Koine Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā, “education in the circle of arts and sciences”), from Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος (enkúklios, “circular”) + παιδείᾱ (paideíā, “childrearing; education”) (q.v.). Nearly all modern English usage of the word was influenced by the scope and format of the French Encyclopédie by Diderot et al. (see quotation).

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