Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century

An encyclopedia (alternatively encyclopaedia) is a written compendium of knowledge. The term comes from the Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία (engkuklios paideia), literally "a rounded education." Some encyclopedias are titled cyclopaedia, a now somewhat archaic form of the word. For a list of notable encyclopedia in history, see list of encyclopedias. Encyclopedia - General definition. Four major elements define an ...

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• Encyclopedia - General definition
• Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works
• Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century
• Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias
• Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture
• Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

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The beginnings of the modern idea of the general-purpose, widely distributed printed encyclopedia precede the 18th-century encyclopedists. However, Chambers' Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, and the Encyclopédie, Encyclopædia Britannica and the Conversations-Lexikon were the first to realize the form we would recognize today, with a comprehensive scop ...

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Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia - General definition, Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century, Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture, Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

Read more here: » Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia II - Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century

Four major elements define an encyclopedia: its subject matter, its scope, its method of organization, and its method of production. Encyclopedias can be general, containing articles on topics in many different fields (the English-language Encyclopædia Britannica and German Brockhaus are well-known examples), or they can specialize in a particular field (such as an encyclopedia of medicine, philosophy, or law). There are also encyclopedias that cover a wide variety of topics from a particular cultural, ethnic, or ...

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Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia - General definition, Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century, Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture, Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

Read more here: » Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia II - Encyclopedia - General definition

The encyclopedia's hierarchical structure and evolving nature is particularly adaptable to a disk-based or on-line computer format, and all major printed encyclopedias had moved to this method of delivery by the end of the 20th century. Disk-based (typically CD-ROM format) publications have the advantage of being cheaply produced and extremely portable. Additionally, they can include media which is impossible in the printed format, such as animations, audio, and video. Hyperlinking between conceptually related items is also a significant ben ...

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Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia - General definition, Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century, Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture, Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

Read more here: » Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia II - Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture

The idea of collecting all of the world's knowledge into a single work was an elusive vision for centuries. Many writers of antiquity (such as Aristotle) attempted to write comprehensively about all human knowledge. One of the most significant of these early encyclopedists was Pliny the Elder (first century CE), who wrote the Naturalis Historia (Natural History), a 37-volume account of the natural world that was extreme ...

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Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia - General definition, Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century, Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture, Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

Read more here: » Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia II - Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works

In the United States, the 1950s and 1960s saw the rise of several large populist encyclopedias, often sold on installment plans. The best known of these were World Book and Funk and Wagnalls. The second half of the 20th century also saw the publication of several encyclopedias that were notable for synthesizing important topics in specific fields, often though new works authored by significant researchers. Such encyclopedias included The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (first published in 1967 and now in its second edition), and See also:

Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia - General definition, Encyclopedia - Early encyclopedic works, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedias from the 18th to early 20th century, Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias, Encyclopedia - Encyclopedia manufacture, Encyclopedia - Note on spelling

Read more here: » Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia II - Encyclopedia - Modern encyclopedias