Main Entry:

en·cy·clo·pe·dia

Pronunciation:

\in-ˌsī-klə-ˈpē-dē-ə\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Medieval Latin encyclopaedia course of general education, from Greek enkyklios + paideia education, child rearing, from paid-, pais child — more at few

Date:

1644

: a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject