encyclopedia
The definition of an encyclopedia is defined as a book or an electronic database with general knowledge on a range of topics.
(noun)The Encyclopedia Britannica is an example of an encyclopedia.
See encyclopedia in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- a book or set of books giving information on all or many branches of knowledge, generally in articles alphabetically arranged
- a similar work giving information in a particular field of knowledge: an encyclopedia of philosophy
Origin: ModL (1508) encyclopaedia < Gr enkyklopaideia, false reading for enkyklios paideia, instruction in the circle of the arts and sciences < enkyklios (en-, in + kyklos, a circle: see cycle) in a circle, general + paideia, education < paideuein, to educate, bring up a child < pais (gen. paidos), child: see pedo-
See encyclopedia in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
Origin:
Origin: Medieval Latin encyclopaedia, general education course
Origin: , from alteration of Greek enkuklios paideia, general education
Origin: : enkuklios, circular, general; see encyclical
Origin: + paideia, education (from pais, paid-, child; see pau-1 in Indo-European roots)
. Word History: The word encyclopedia, which to us usually means a large set of books, descends from a phrase that involved coming to grips with the contents of such books. The Greek phrase is enkuklios paideia, made up of enkuklios, “cyclical, periodic, ordinary,” and paideia, “education,” and meaning “general education.” Copyists of Latin manuscripts took this phrase to be a single Greek word, enkuklopaedia, with the same meaning, and this spurious Greek word became the New Latin word encyclopaedia, coming into English with the sense “general course of instruction,” first recorded in 1531. In New Latin the word was chosen as the title of a reference work covering all knowledge. The first such use in English is recorded in 1644.Learn more about encyclopedia
