Encyclopédie
Enlightenment knowledge compendium
The *Encyclopédie* was an eighteenth-century French reference work edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, published between 1751 and 1772.
More than a dictionary, it was a monument of Enlightenment thought—systematically cataloging human knowledge while advancing rationalist, often subversive ideas about religion, government, and society.
Its influence on intellectual history makes *Encyclopédie* shorthand for ambitious attempts to compile and democratize knowledge: Wikipedia is sometimes called a modern Encyclopédie.
Philosopher who assembled comprehensive knowledge
- d'AlembertFrench polymath, encyclopedist
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- FrenchOf or from Paris's nation
- eighteenth-centuryRelating to the 1700s
volumes · plates · Voltaire · Rousseau · contributors · banned · censorship · knowledge
Condensed reference collection
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
- entriesItems logged or submitted
- alphabeticalOrdered by letter sequence
volumes · comprehensive · systematic · cross-references · illustrated · scholarly · authoritative · definitive
Basis or justification
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- progressMovement toward improvement
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
empiricism · inquiry · humanist · critique · dissent · reform · ideology · discourse
Mutual swaps or crafts
- artisansSkilled manual workers
- workshopsGroup learning sessions
- illustrationsPictures explaining text
- techniquesSkilled ways of doing
manufacturing · tools · machinery · processes · engravings · metalwork · textile · glassmaking
Diderot
Philosopher who assembled comprehensive knowledge
- d'AlembertFrench polymath, encyclopedist
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- FrenchOf or from Paris's nation
eighteenth-century · volumes · plates · Voltaire · Rousseau · contributors · banned · censorship · knowledge · rationalism
compendium
Condensed reference collection
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
- entriesItems logged or submitted
alphabetical · volumes · comprehensive · systematic · cross-references · illustrated · scholarly · authoritative · definitive · exhaustive
reason
Basis or justification
- scienceSystematic study through observation
- progressMovement toward improvement
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
classification · empiricism · inquiry · humanist · critique · dissent · reform · ideology · discourse · education
trades
Mutual swaps or crafts
- artisansSkilled manual workers
- workshopsGroup learning sessions
- illustrationsPictures explaining text
techniques · manufacturing · tools · machinery · processes · engravings · metalwork · textile · glassmaking · printing
Encyclopédiedictionary
Alphabetical word reference
monograph · glossary · lexicon · vocabulary list · wordbook
Encyclopédiecatechism
Religious teaching guide
Catholic catechism · religious dogma · dogma · superstition · obscurantism
Encyclopédiedictionary
Alphabetical word reference
wordlist · thesaurus · concordance · abridgment · pocket reference