Emily Dickinson Lexicon

EN-CY-CLO-PE'DI-A, or EN-CY-CLO-PE'DY, n. [Gr. εν, in, κυκλος, a circle, and παιδεια, instruction; instruction in a circle, or circle of instruction.]

The circle of sciences; a general system of instruction or knowledge. More particularly, a collection of the principal facts, principles and discoveries, in all branches of science and the arts, digested under proper titles and arranged in alphabetical order; as the French Encyclopedia; the Encyclopedia Britannica.