Dictionary

encyclopedic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ensaiːkloˈpʰiːdək/ (General-American)
• audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Ancient Greek ἐν (en) Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-) Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos Proto-Hellenic *kʷókʷlos Proto-Hellenic *kúklos Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos) Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλῐος (enkúklĭos) Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-der. Proto-Hellenic *pā́wits Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs) Pre-Greekder.? Proto-Hellenic *-eús Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús) Ancient Greek -εύω (-eúō) Ancient Greek παιδεύω (paideúō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek παιδείᾱ (paideíā) Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā)bor. New Latin encyclopaedīalbor. English encyclopedia Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English encyclopedic From encyclopedia + -ic. First attested in 1824.

Meanings

1. Of or relating to the characteristics of an encyclopedia; concerning all subjects, having comprehensive information or knowledge.
2. Relating to or containing descriptive information rather than only linguistic or lexical information; about facts and concepts, and not only a word or term; including proper names, biographical and geographical information and illustrations.
   • Thus there are 3751 lexical items covered in total. Taking into account polysemy, there are 4315 separate senses. Of these, 1021 terms are proper nouns. Thus 23.7% of the lexis covered consists of encyclopaedic material. 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 490:
   • [p 151] Although separate encyclopedic sections have nothing to do with the dictionary proper, there are no compelling logical reasons for condemning them. [p 212] Terms derived from names fall into three categories. Some, like Chomskyan, refer to a person and the work done by that person, or to a place or a person from that place (Virginian, Londoner), and should be defined only in relation to the person or place. They are essentially encyclopedic entries and, if the dictionary contains an entry for the person or place in question, could well be run on without a separate definition. [p 359] The difficulty of distinguishing between lexical units and items in a nomenclature is especially nettlesome in specialized dictionaries, which are by their nature more encyclopedic than general dictionaries. 2001, Sidney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, 2nd ed, Scribner

Forms

Deriveds

unencyclopedic · encyclopedic dictionary · encyclopedically · nonencyclopedic · encyclopedic fiction

Relateds

cycle · encyclopedicity

Synonyms

encyclopedical · encyclopaedical · encyclopædical

Translations (40)

ar مَوْسُوعِيّ (in lexicography) · hy հանրագիտական (in lexicography) · fi ensyklopedinen (in lexicography) · sv encyklopedisk (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · ast enciclopédicu (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · pl encyklopedyczny (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · fi ensyklopedinen (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · hu enciklopédikus (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · de enzyklopädisch (in lexicography) · fa جامع (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · fi tietosanakirjamainen (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · vo siklopedik (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · da encyklopædisk (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · tr ansiklopedik (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · yi ענציקלאָפּעדיש (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · uk енциклопеди́чний (in lexicography) · ca enciclopèdic (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · fr encyclopédique (in lexicography) · cs encyklopedický (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · uk енциклопеди́чний (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · de enzyklopädisch (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · nn encyklopedisk (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · hy հանրագիտարանային (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · sh енциклопе́дӣјскӣ (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · bn বিশ্বকোষীয় (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · bg енциклопеди́чен (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · sh enciklopédījskī (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · pt enciclopédico (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · es enciclopédico (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · kk энциклопедиялық (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · fr encyclopédique (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · nb encyklopedisk (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · be энцыклапеды́чны (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · tr ansiklopedik (in lexicography) · ru энциклопедический (in lexicography) · ar مَوْسُوعِيّ (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · vo züklopäodik (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · ru энциклопеди́ческий (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · gl enciclopédico (of or relating to comprehensiveness and other characteristics of an encyclopedia) · pl encyklopedyczny (in lexicography)