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encyclopedia Definition

en·cy·clo·pedia (en sī′klə pē′dē ə, in-)

noun

  1. a book or set of books giving information on all or many branches of knowledge, generally in articles alphabetically arranged
  2. a similar work giving information in a particular field of knowledge an encyclopedia of philosophy

Etymology: 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-

encyclopedia Synonyms

encyclopedia

n.

book of facts, reference book, book of knowledge, almanac, yearbook, compilation, concordance, general reference work, cyclopedia; see also reference 3.

encyclopedia Usage Examples

Preposition: that

  • anyone: It bills itself as ' the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit ' .

Converse of object

  • illustrate: Key... £ 49.00 Qty World Religions CD-ROM An illustrated encyclopedia with some useful images.
  • publish: The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs - David Lambert ` ` I find this encyclopedia originally published in Great Britain very useful.
  • write: The Internet Encyclopedia -A project to create a universal open content encyclopedia written in American English.
  • walk: He is not really a person at all, but a walking encyclopedia.

Adjective modifier

  • free: Play free sudoku online at Yahoo... the free encyclopedia.
  • comprehensive: Railways: A comprehensive encyclopedia of railways in Britain.
  • online: Contains an online health encyclopedia with entry on TB.
  • on-line: They are FAST Search and Transfer and on-line encyclopedia About.
  • virtual: It's a virtual encyclopedia of facts about life in Roman times at your finger tips!

Modifies a noun

  • ..: Daily Express - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...
  • overview: Tai Chi Chuan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Overview of history, styles, and the various aspects of Tai Chi Chuan.
  • article: This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article.
  • entry: This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry.

Noun used with modifier

  • wikipedia: Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article.
  • multimedia: Microsoft Encarta '96 encyclopedia - A multimedia encyclopedia containing over 27,000 articles, including video and sound clips.
  • volume: The book is, after all, a single volume encyclopedia / dictionary.

Preposition: of

  • philosophy: General Editor of the 10- volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, now the leading encyclopedia of philosophy in English.
  • science: Athens Encyclopedia of Life Sciences Online encyclopedia of the biological sciences in 3,000 continually updated articles.
encyclopedia Quotes

In everything that relates to science, I am a whole Encyclopedia behind the rest of the world.

—Lamb, Charles

Browse dictionary entries near encyclopedia

  1. ‹ encyclical
  2. ‹ -ency
  3. ‹ ency
  4. ‹ encumbrancer
  5. ‹ encumbrance
  6. ‹ encumber
  7. ‹ enculturate
  8. ‹ Encryption or Encipher
  9. ‹ encryption
  10. ‹ encrypt
  1. encyclopedic ›
  2. encyclopedism ›
  3. encyclopedist ›
  4. encyst ›
  5. end ›
  6. end-all ›
  7. end around ›
  8. end line ›
  9. end man ›
  10. end office ›