encyclopedists
Comprehensive reference authors
Encyclopedists are people who compile or contribute to encyclopedias.
The term often refers specifically to the French philosophers and writers—Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau, and others—who produced the *Encyclopédie* in the 18th century, a monumental work that embodied Enlightenment ideals of reason and secular knowledge.
Philosopher who assembled comprehensive knowledge
- d'AlembertFrench polymath, encyclopedist
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
- RousseauFrench surname, philosopher or painter
- salonsGrooming establishments
rationalism · empiricism · secularism · liberalism · humanism · progress · reform · reason
Extensive scholarly knowledge
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
- expertiseSkill from extensive practice
- knowledgeUnderstood facts and skills
polymaths · savants · authorities · specialists · generalists · antiquarians · bibliophiles · academics
Collected literary works volume
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- compendiumCondensed reference collection
- digestMetabolize or summarize
- synopsisCondensed version of content
repository · collection · lexicon · archive · catalogue · database · systematization · codification
Written proof or instructions
- categorizationArranging into groups
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
- organizationStructured group with purpose
- standardizationImplementing uniform technical specifications
verification · revision · collaboration · correspondence · editing · proofreading · illustration · engraving
Diderot
Philosopher who assembled comprehensive knowledge
- d'AlembertFrench polymath, encyclopedist
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
- RousseauFrench surname, philosopher or painter
salons · rationalism · empiricism · secularism · liberalism · humanism · progress · reform · reason · critique
erudition
Extensive scholarly knowledge
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
- expertiseSkill from extensive practice
knowledge · polymaths · savants · authorities · specialists · generalists · antiquarians · bibliophiles · academics · intellectuals
anthology
Collected literary works volume
- compilationGathered works assembled together
- compendiumCondensed reference collection
- digestMetabolize or summarize
synopsis · repository · collection · lexicon · archive · catalogue · database · systematization · codification · classification
documentation
Written proof or instructions
- categorizationArranging into groups
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
- organizationStructured group with purpose
standardization · verification · revision · collaboration · correspondence · editing · proofreading · illustration · engraving · printing
- 17th-18th century Europe movementsenlightenment, baroque, rococo, reformation, absolutism
- enlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Locke, Kant, Montesquieu
- French EnlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu
- Paris literatiwriters, poets, authors, novelists, essayists
- VoltaireVoltaire, Candide, El Dorado, satirical novels, novella
- freethinkersfreethinker, freethinkers, secularists, rationalist, rationalists
encyclopediststraditionalists
Upholders of established customs
Jesuits · censors · scholastics · monarchists · dogmatists