encyclopedia

CEFRB2

/ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdi.ə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A book or website containing information about many subjects.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Similarly comprehensive works in other formats.

Examples

  • A revised edition of the encyclopedia was published.

  • This encyclopedia is issued in monthly parts.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ənˌsəɪkləˈpidi.ə/
  • /ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpidi.ə/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The circle of arts and sciences (see Etymology); a comprehensive summary of knowledge, or of a branch thereof.

  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.

More examples

In context

  • I only use the library for the encyclopedia, as we’ve got most other books here.

  • My old encyclopedia has been gathering dust on the shelf for the past decade.

  • Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The student consulted the thick blank to learn about ancient Roman engineering techniques.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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).