Http Yahoomailsignin

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page MediaWiki 1.15alpha first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Wikipedia Wikipedia talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk Portal Portal talk Encyclopedia 9253 278568847 2009-03-20T17:39:57Z Odie5533 1298255 Reverted edits by ] to last revision by Bobo192 (]) {{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}], 1902]] An '''encyclopedia''' (or '''encyclopaedia''') is a comprehensive written ] that holds ] from either all branches of ] or a particular branch of knowledge. Encyclopedias are divided into ]s with one article on each subject covered. The articles on subjects in an encyclopedia are usually accessed alphabetically by article name and can be contained in one volume or many volumes, depending on the amount of material included.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.rcc.edu/riveHELLOrside/glossaryoflibraryterms.htm#e |title="Encyclopedia." |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070803182506/http://library.rcc.edu/riverside/glossaryoflibraryterms.htm#e |archivedate=2007-08-03}} Glossary of Library Terms. Riverside City College, Digital Library/Learning Resource Center. Retrieved on: November 17, 2007.</ref> {{cquote2|Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and so that our offspring, becoming better instructed, will at the same time become more virtuous and happy, and that we should not die without having rendered a service to the human race in the future years to come.|]<ref>Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert University of Michigan Library:Scholarly Publishing Office and DLXS. Retrieved on: November 17, 2007</ref>}} ==Overview=====Etymology===The word 'encyclopedia' comes from the ] {{polytonic|"ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία"}} (transliterated "enkyklios paideia"), literally, a "rounded education", meaning "general knowledge". 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 ], ''Lucubrationes vel potius absolutissima kyklopaideia'' (Basel, 1541). The word ''encyclopaedia'' was first used as a noun in the title of his book by the Croatian ] ] in his ''Encyclopaedia seu orbis disciplinarum tam sacrarum quam prophanarum epistemon'' (Encyclopaedia, or Knowledge of the World of Disciplines, Basel, 1559). One of the oldest vernacular uses was by ] in his ''Pantagruel'' in 1532.<ref>{{cite conference|booktitle=Pre-Modern Encyclopaedic Texts: Proceedings of the Second Comers Congress, Groningen, 1&ndash;July 4, 1996|date=1997|publisher=BRILL|id=|pages=213|author=Bert Roest|title=Compilation as Theme and Praxis in Franciscan Universal Chronicles|id=ISBN 9004108300|editor=Peter Binkley}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Pliny's Catalogue of Culture: Art and Empire in the Natural History|author=Sorcha Carey|pages=17|chapter=Two Strategies of Encyclopaedism|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0199259135}}</ref> Several encyclopedias have names that include the suffix ''-p(a)edia'', e. g., Banglapedia (on matters relevant for Bengal). Pinay Channel Com In British usage, the spellings ''encyclopedia'' and ''encyclopaedia'' are both current.<ref>, Chambers Reference Online; , AskOxford.</ref>Although the latter is considered 'proper', the former is becoming more common due to the encroachment of American English. Pinay Channel Com In American usage, only the former is commonly used.<ref>, Bartleby. com; , Merriam Webster.</ref> The spelling ''encyclopædia''&mdash;with the '']'' ]&mdash;was frequently used in the 19th century and is increasingly rare, although it is retained in product titles such as '']'' and others. The '']'' (1989) records ''encyclopædia'' and ''encyclopedia'' as equal alternatives (in that order), and notes the ''æ'' would be obsolete except that it is preserved in works that have Latin titles. '']'' (1997–2002) features ''encyclopedia'' as the main headword and ''encyclopaedia'' as a minor variant. In addition, ''cyclopedia'' and ''cyclopaedia'' are now rarely-used shortened forms of the word originating in the 17th century. {{see also|American and British English spelling differences#Simplification of ae (æ) and oe (œ)}} ===Characteristics===The encyclopedia as we recognize it today was developed from the ] in the 18th century. A dictionary primarily focuses on ] and their ], and typically provides limited ], ], or background for the word defined. While it may offer a definition, it may leave the reader still lacking in ] the meaning, significance or limitations of a term, and how the term relates to a broader field of knowledge. To address those needs, an encyclopedia's article covers not a word, but a ''subject or ]'', and treats it in more depth and conveys the most relevant accumulated knowledge on that subject. An encyclopedia also often includes many ]s and ]s, as well as ] and ]. Historically, both encyclopedias and dictionaries have been researched and written by well-educated, well-informed content experts. 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 ]s in every field (the English-language '']'' and German '']'' are well-known examples). General encyclopedias often contain guides on how to do a variety of things, as well as embedded dictionaries and ]s. There are also encyclopedias that cover a wide variety of topics but from a particular cultural, ethnic, or national perspective, such as the '']'' or '']''.*Works of encyclopedic scope aim to convey the important accumulated knowledge for their subject domain, such as an encyclopedia of medicine, philosophy, or law. Works vary in the breadth of material and the depth of discussion, depending on the ]. (For example, the produced by A.D.A.M., Inc. for the U.S. ].)]*Some systematic method of organization is essential to making an encyclopedia usable as a work of reference. There have historically been two main methods of organizing printed encyclopedias: the ] method (consisting of a number of separate articles, organised in alphabetical order), or organization by ] categories. The former method is today the most common by far, especially for general works. The fluidity of electronic media, however, allows new possibilities for multiple methods of organization of the same content. Further, electronic media offer previously unimaginable capabilities for search, indexing and cross reference. The epigraph from ] on the title page of the 18th century ''Encyclopédie'' suggests the importance of the structure of an encyclopedia: "What grace may be added to commonplace matters by the power of order and connection."*As modern multimedia and the information age have evolved, they have had an ever-increasing effect on the collection, verification, summation, and presentation of information of all kinds. Projects such as ], ], ] and ] are examples of new forms of the encyclopedia as information retrieval becomes simpler. Some works titled "dictionaries" are actually similar to encyclopedias, especially those concerned with a particular field (such as the '']'', the '']'', and '']''). The ''],'' Australia's national dictionary, became an ] after its first edition in recognition of the use of proper nouns in common communication, and the words derived from such proper nouns. ==History=====Pliny the Elder===]One of the earliest encyclopedic works to have survived to modern times is the ] of ], a ] statesman living in the first century AD. He compiled a work of 37 chapters covering natural history, art and architecture, medicine, geography, geology and all aspects of the world about him. He stated in the preface that he had compiled 20,000 facts from 2000 different works by 100 authors, and added many others from his own experience. The work was published in 77 AD, although he probably never finished proofing the work before his untimely death in the eruption of ] in 79 AD. The scheme of his great work is vast and comprehensive, being nothing short of a compendium of learning and of art so far as they are connected with nature, or draw their materials from nature. He admits that : ''My subject is a barren one - the world of nature, or in other words life; and that subject in its least elevated department, and employing either rustic terms or foreign, nay barbarian words that actually h