encyclopedia

noun

1. 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.

   “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.”

   “The Encyclopedia which we are presenting to the public is, as its title declares, the work of a society of men of letters. Were we not of their number, we might venture to affirm that they are all favorably known or worthy of being so.”

   “The first encyclopædia written in English and with the articles alphabetically arranged was the ‘Lexicon Technicum,’ […] [in 1704], by John Harris, a London clergyman. This was a useful and popular work, though it omitted from its scope theology, biography, antiquity and poetry.”

   “It would be easier to compile an encyclopedia for you than to write these longhand letters whose ink blackens the night.”

2. Similarly comprehensive works in other formats.

   “Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”

   “The ancient Mesopotamians never got to write an encyclopedia on stone.”

   “To gain market share, Microsoft gave away its CD-ROM encyclopedia with many new computers, a strategy similar to those it has used in other areas.”

   “The anniversary also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Britannica Online (eb.com), the first encyclopedia on the Internet and one of the first major publications on the World Wide Web.”

   “The New Georgia Encyclopedia, which describes itself as “the first state encyclopedia designed exclusively for online publication,” went live in 2004.”

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

   “His life's work is a four-volume encyclopedia of aviation topics.”

   “I have no idea how to build this model railroad, so I'm gonna look it up on Trainpedia, the encyclopedia for all things model train.”

   “Daniel Bukszpan presents for your viewing and reading pleasure, The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. […] I see my own life reflected in the pages of the Encyclopedia. We all wanted to be bigger than life, but never as big as our heroes.”

   “All of the Indo-European languages treated in this encyclopedia are included in the alphabetic list of families and other large groupings in the last section of this article.”

   “Since the publication of the second edition of the encyclopedia, there have been numerous developments in the obesity and eating disorders field.”