Encyclopedia

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HISTORY

The word Encyclopedia derives from the Greek enkyklios paideia(ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία). Originally the term referred to a liberal education, from enkyklios, which could mean either "circular" or "general." The second half of the word, paideia means "education" or "child-rearing" from the root pais, meaning "child."^[1] The two words became one word when it was misread by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder. The word may also have been mistranslated by Quintilian or Galen.^[1]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original meaning of Encyclopedia was "a circle of learning" or "a general course of instruction." This may have referred to what we would now call a "well-rounded education." In this sense it was first incorporated into the English language in approximately 1531. The word gained its modern sense as an alphabetically-arranged reference book in 1644.^[1] It had entered common usage by the 18th century, and the Encyclopedia Britannica was published in 1768.^[1]

SIGNIFICANT FACTS

• Encyclopedia may be also be spelled Encyclopaedia in British usage.
• The spelling Encyclopædia was common in the 19th century.
• Cyclopedia or Cyclopaedia may be used as a shortened form of Encyclopedia. These names were first used in the 17th century.^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Encyclopedia Brown: eponymous character of the Encyclopedia Brown children's book series. The character's real name is Leroy Brown, but Encyclopedia is his preferred nickname.^[1]
• "A Walking Encyclopedia" is a slang term for a person who is very knowledgeable, whether on a particular subject or in general.^[1]
• Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia Dramatica: parody of an encyclopedia

WELL-KNOWN ENCYCLOPEDIAS

• Encyclopedia Britannica: first published 1768
• Encylopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des Sciences, des Artes, et des Métiers: published 1751
• MSN Encarta Encyclopedia
• A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia
• The Catholic Encyclopedia Online
• The Jewish Encyclopedia Online: originally published 1906
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• The World Book Encyclopedia: first published 1917
• The New World Encyclopedia

Author: Sarena Ulibarri

NOTES