encyclopedic

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Ancient Greek ἐν (en) Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-) Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos 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) 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.

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.

   “[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.”

   “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.”