Alternative forms

• encyclopaedia (Commonwealth)
• encyclopædia (dated)

Etymology

Borrowed from New LatinCategory:English terms borrowed from New Latin#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English terms derived from New Latin#ENCYCLOPEDIA encyclopēdīa, encyclopaedīa (“general education”), a univerbated form of Koine GreekCategory:English terms derived from Koine Greek#ENCYCLOPEDIA ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā, “education in the circle of arts and sciences”), from Ancient GreekCategory:English terms derived from Ancient Greek#ENCYCLOPEDIA 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 FrenchCategory:English terms derived from French#ENCYCLOPEDIA Encyclopédie by Diderot et al. (see quotation).

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ənˌsəɪ.kləˈpi.di.ə/Category:English 7-syllable words#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ENCYCLOPEDIA
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi(ː).dɪə/Category:English 5-syllable words#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ENCYCLOPEDIA
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi(ː).di.ə/Category:English 6-syllable words#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ENCYCLOPEDIA

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#ENCYCLOPEDIA
• Rhymes: -iːdiəCategory:Rhymes:English/iːdiə#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:Rhymes:English/iːdiə/6 syllables#ENCYCLOPEDIA
• Hyphenation: en‧cy‧clo‧pe‧di‧a

Noun

encyclopedia (plural encyclopedias or encyclopediae or encyclopediæ)Category:English lemmas#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English nouns#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English countable nouns#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English nouns with irregular plurals#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:Pages with entries#ENCYCLOPEDIACategory:Pages with 1 entry#ENCYCLOPEDIA

2. 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.Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   My old encyclopedia has been gathering dust on the shelf for the past decade.Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 1751, Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert, “Discours Préliminaire”, in Richard N. Schwab, Walter E. Rex., transl., Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers‎, volume 1, Paris, pages 1–45; republished as “Preliminary Discourse”, in The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project (Web), Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 18 April 2009:

     The Encyclopedia which we are presenting to the public is, as its title declares, the work of a society of men of letters. Were we not of their number, we might venture to affirm that they are all favorably known or worthy of being so.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 1920, George Edwin Rines, editor, Encyclopedia Americana‎, Volume X: Egusquiza – Falsetto, Encyclopædia:

     The first encyclopædia written in English and with the articles alphabetically arranged was the ‘Lexicon Technicum,’ […] [in 1704], by John Harris, a London clergyman. This was a useful and popular work, though it omitted from its scope theology, biography, antiquity and poetry.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 1998, “Desire”, in Billy Collins (lyrics), Tom Cipullo (music), Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House‎, performed by Matthew Morris (baritone) and Sungha Lee (pianist), Pepperdine University, Los Angeles: SongFest:

     It would be easier to compile an encyclopedia
     for you than to write these longhand letters
     whose ink blackens the night.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2018 May 20, Bill Thayer, “Isidore of Seville: The Etymologies (or Origins)”, in LacusCurtius‎, archived from the original on 13 July 2012:

     [The Origins] can best be summarized, maybe, as an encyclopedia in the guise of an etymological dictionary, by a writer already centuries removed from some of his material.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2018 July 5, Justin Zackal, quoting Jason Hilton (Assoc. Prof. of Education), “Encyclop[a]edia Britannica celebrates 250th anniversary”, in SRU News‎, Slippery Rock: Slippery Rock University, archived from the original on 1 March 2024:

     Encyclopedias were the original worldwide web. […] There was a time when you couldn't connect to the rest of the world and encyclopedias gave you that insight and they contained what people knew about everything.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2025 March 5, Livia Gershon, “The Numinous World of Pliny the Elder”, in JSTOR Daily‎, archived from the original on 6 April 2025:

     Pliny the Elder’s Natural History is a go-to source for understanding what ancient Romans believed about the world and the model for every encyclopedia since.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

4. Similarly comprehensive works in other formats.

   Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit.Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   The ancient Mesopotamians never got to write an encyclopedia on stone.Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2009 April 15, Reid Goldsborough, “Internet Encyclopedias in Flux”, in InformationToday‎, archived from the original on 14 August 2024:

     To gain market share, Microsoft gave away its CD-ROM encyclopedia with many new computers, a strategy similar to those it has used in other areas.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2018 December 6, Encyclopaedia Britannica Group, “Encyclopaedia Britannica to Mark 250th Anniversary and 25th Year on the Internet”, in PR Newswire‎, Cision US Inc., archived from the original on 5 December 2024:

     The anniversary also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Britannica Online (eb.com), the first encyclopedia on the Internet and one of the first major publications on the World Wide Web.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2019 September, Esther Ferington, “Online State Encyclopedias”, in NEH Projects‎, National Endowment for the Humanities, archived from the original on 29 March 2025:

     The New Georgia Encyclopedia, which describes itself as “the first state encyclopedia designed exclusively for online publication,” went live in 2004.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

6. (datedCategory:English dated terms#ENCYCLOPEDIA, specifically) The circle of arts and sciences (see Etymology); a comprehensive summary of knowledge, or of a branch thereof.

   His life's work is a four-volume encyclopedia of aviation topics.Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   I have no idea how to build this model railroad, so I'm gonna look it up on Trainpedia, the encyclopedia for all things model train.

   Category:English terms with usage examples#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2003, Ronnie James Dio, “Foreword”, in Daniel Bukszpan, The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal‎ (Paperback), United States: Sterling, →ISBN, page 13:

     Daniel Bukszpan presents for your viewing and reading pleasure, The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. […] I see my own life reflected in the pages of the Encyclopedia. We all wanted to be bigger than life, but never as big as our heroes.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2006, B. J. Blake, “Classification of Languages”, in Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, editors, Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World‎ (eBook), La Trobe University, Bundoora: Elsevier Ltd., →ISBN, Genetic Classification, page 246; republished Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2010:

     All of the Indo-European languages treated in this encyclopedia are included in the alphabetic list of families and other large groupings in the last section of this article.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

   • 2009, Dana K. Cassell and David H. Gleaves, “FOREWORD”, in The Encyclopedia of Obesity and Eating Disorders‎, Third Edition (eBook), Ukraine: Facts On File, Inc., →ISBN, page viii:

     Since the publication of the second edition of the encyclopedia, there have been numerous developments in the obesity and eating disorders field.

     Category:English terms with quotations#ENCYCLOPEDIA

See also

Further reading

• encyclopedia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “encyclopedia”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.