# encyclopedia

Pronunciation: say "in-sy-kluh-PEE-dee-uh" US /ɪnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi(ː).di.ə/, UK /ɪnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi(ː).dɪə/

## Noun

1. A comprehensive reference work with articles on many subjects, or on a single field, arranged alphabetically or by category, whether printed in volumes or published on disc or online.
   - Simple: A big book, set of books, or website with articles on many subjects, usually in order from A to Z.
   - _The family bought a twenty-volume encyclopedia from a door-to-door salesman._
   - _The library keeps a medical encyclopedia in its reference section._

## Noun

2. The whole circle of the arts and sciences, or a comprehensive summary of all knowledge or of one branch of it. *(dated)*
   - Simple: All the knowledge of the arts and sciences together, or a full summary of it or of one part of it.

## Origin

Ancient Greek enkúklios ("circular") and paideíā ("childrearing, education") formed the Koine Greek phrase enkúklios paideíā, meaning an education covering "the circle of arts and sciences." New Latin joined it into one word, encyclopēdīa or encyclopaedīa ("general education"), and English borrowed that. Nearly all modern English use follows the scope and format set by Diderot and others in the French Encyclopédie.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/encyclopedia (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).