Gourt > Kids and Teens > School Time > Reference Tools > Encyclopedias
An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia, also (rarely) encyclopædia,Owing to differences in British and American English orthographic conventions, the spellings encyclopaedia and encyclopedia both see common use, in British-/Commonwealth- and American-influenced sources, respectively. The spelling encyclopædia – with the æ ligature – was frequently used in the 19th century and is increasingly rare, although it is retained in product titles such as Encyclopædia Britannica and others. The Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's Third New International Dictionary record both spellings: the former (1989) notes the æ would be obsolete except that it is preserved in works that have Latin titles, while the latter (1961-2002) notes that the digraph is rare in the U.S. Similarly, cyclopaedia and cyclopedia are rarely used truncations of the word originating in the early 17th century. is a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge.
For a list of notable encyclopedias in history, see list of encyclopedias.
General definition
Word history
The word comes from the Classical Greek (pron. enkyklios paideia), literally 'the things education of boys in a circle', meaning "a general education". Though the notion of a compendium of knowledge dates back thousands of years, the term was first used in the title of a book in 1541 by Joachimus Fortius Ringelbergius in the title-page of his Lucubrationes vel potius absolutissima kyklopaideia (Basel, 1541). It was first used as a noun by the encyclopedist Paul Skalić in the title of his book Encyclopaedia seu orbis disciplinarum tam sacrarum quam prophanarum epistemon ("Encyclopaedia, or Knowledge of the World of Disciplines")(Basel, 1559). More on [ Encyclopedia ]
New post: World Book Encyclopedias (Westmount) (http://cli.gs/6GQ4Q)
mybestfreestuff (Gregory Finch) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:00:23 -0000
New post: World Book Encyclopedias (Westmount) (http://cli.gs/6GQ4Q)
Cash-strapped UK Seniors burning encyclopedias: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34703166
WeWuWiWo (Debora Weber-Wulff) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:38:10 -0000
Cash-strapped UK Seniors burning encyclopedias: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34703166
Schools get access to online encyclopedias http://bit.ly/8ZopU2
TheUSI (USI) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:06:46 -0000
Schools get access to online encyclopedias http://bit.ly/8ZopU2
RT @culturesavage: Beyond the legacy of the Enlightenment? Online encyclopedias as digital heterotopias http://bit.ly/83pfvg #foucault
Naxos (adriano) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:19:48 -0000
RT @culturesavage: Beyond the legacy of the Enlightenment? Online encyclopedias as digital heterotopias http://bit.ly/83pfvg #foucault
Beyond the legacy of the Enlightenment? Online encyclopedias as digital heterotopias http://bit.ly/83pfvg #foucault #wikipedia
culturesavage (Suzanne) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:10:15 -0000
Beyond the legacy of the Enlightenment? Online encyclopedias as digital heterotopias http://bit.ly/83pfvg #foucault #wikipedia
Directory of the BEST Online Encyclopedias: http://refseek.com/directory/encyclopedias.html
hershy (harold chernofsky) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:55:43 -0000
Directory of the BEST Online Encyclopedias: http://refseek.com/directory/encyclopedias.html
Bartleby.com Reference - Reference site allows you to search over the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia of World History, fact books, thesauri, quotes, and more.
Meta Description: [ Bartleby.com combines the best of both contemporary and classic reference works into the most comprehensive public reference library ever published on the web. ]
Children's Encyclopedia of Women - Collection of articles about famous women written by third and fourth grade students.
Columbia Encyclopedia - 6th edition - Comprehensive online encyclopedia and database of over 51,000 entries.
Meta Description: [ Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05 at Bartleby.com: the most up-to-date encyclopedia available on the web ]
Encyclopaedia Britannica - Provides complete text of Encyclopaedia Britannica with search capabilities, related links, and multimedia enhancements. Free trial available.
Meta Description: [ Encyclopedia Britannica Online, featuring the complete Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus, videos, web sites, and magazines. ]
Encyclopedia Smithsonian - Links to online Smithsonian resources and answers to frequently asked questions from A to Z.
Meta Description: [ Encyclopedia Smithsonian, Links to on-line Smithsonian Resources and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions from Art to Zoo, Design, Crafts, Science, History, Technology, Biology, Astronomy, Dinosaurs, Birds, Quilts, Culture, Music, Politics, Geology, Planning a Visit ]
Encyclopedia.com - Free resource offers more than 50,000 concise articles.
Meta Description: [ Free online encyclopedia - Search and browse 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia and dig deeper with over 35 million articles from HighBeam Research ]
EncycloZine: Learning Fun! - EncycloZine is a concise illustrated encyclopedic portal covering a wide range of topics in the arts, humanities, sciences, and technology. It also features games, puzzles, quizzes, and a multimedia gallery.
Meta Description: [ Articles and information on most topics in the arts, humanities, sciences, and technology. It also features games, puzzles, quizzes, mazes, and illusions ]
How Stuff Works - Articles explain how hundreds of things work, from elements of the human body to space-age technology.
Meta Description: [ HowStuffWorks explains hundreds of subjects, from car engines to lock-picking to ESP, using clear language and tons of illustrations. We do the research so you don't have to. ]
Instrument Encyclopedia - A guide to more than musical 140 instruments from all parts of the world. Includes photographs and descriptions.
MSN Encarta Encyclopedia - Online home of the Encarta encyclopedia, world atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, multimedia collection, and homework tools.
Meta Description: [ MSN Encarta: your gateway for interactive learning on the Web.
]
Open Site - A volunteer-run open content encyclopedia, inspired by the Open Directory Project.
Meta Description: [ Free, open content, community-built encyclopedia. ]
Spartacus Educational - British online encyclopedia focuses on historical topics. Articles are geared toward students.
TechEncyclopedia - Contains descriptions and definitions of more than 14,000 computer terms and concepts.
Meta Description: [ TechWeb's TechEncyclopedia offers
definitions and links for more than 20,000 information technology terms. ]
VetCentric Encyclopedia - Find articles on animal health care topics ranging from behavior and preventive care to common and not-so-common diseases.
Meta Description: [ Find articles on animal healthcare topics ranging from behavior and preventive care to common, and not so common diseases, in the VetCentric.com encyclopedia. ]
Wikipedia - Free volunteer-edited encyclopedia with over 200,000 articles.
wordIQ.com - An online encyclopedia with more than 400,000 pages of content.
Meta Description: [ Free Online Dictionary definitions and Encyclopedia search at wordIQ. Get the defintions of any word instantly. ]
World Book Encyclopedia - Offers in-depth information on a variety of subjects and educational activities for children.
Meta Description: [ The World Book web site offers a free encyclopedia, free dictionary, free atlas, homework help, study aids, and curriculum guides. World Book is publisher of the World Book Encyclopedia. ]
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