# Compendium > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Compendium > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Compendium.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compendium > Source revision: 1333859556 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Compilation of a body of knowledge This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Compendium" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **compendium** (pl. **compendia** or **compendiums**) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a [body of knowledge](/source/Body_of_knowledge). A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a specific field of human interest or endeavor (e.g. [hydrogeology](/source/Hydrogeology), logology, [ichthyology](/source/Ichthyology), [phytosociology](/source/Phytosociology) or [myrmecology](/source/Myrmecology)), while a general [encyclopedia](/source/Encyclopedia) can be referred to as a "compendium of all human knowledge". The word *compendium* arrives from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word *compeneri*, meaning "to weigh together or balance". The 21st century has seen the rise of [democratized](/source/Democratization), online compendia in various fields. ## Etymology The Latin prefix *con-* is used in [compound words](/source/Compound_(linguistics)) to suggest, "a being or bringing together of many objects" and also suggests striving for completeness with perfection. And *compenso* means "to balance, poise, weigh, offset." ## Definitions The entry on the word *compendious* in the *[Online Etymology Dictionary](/source/Online_Etymology_Dictionary)* says "concise, abridged but comprehensive", "concise compilation comprising the general principles or leading points of a longer 'system or work'". Its etymology comes from a Medieval Latin use (com + pendere), literally meaning to weigh together.[1] ## Examples [Benedictus de Spinoza](/source/Baruch_Spinoza): *Compendium Grammaticus Lingua Hebraeae,* 1677, pages 40-41. *The Complete Compendium of Universal Knowledge* (1895) A [field guide](/source/Field_guide) is a compendium of species found within a geographic area, or within a taxon of natural occurrence such as animals, plants, rocks and minerals, or stars. [Bestiaries](/source/Bestiaries) were medieval compendiums that catalogued animals and facts about natural history, and were particularly popular in England and France around the 12th century.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] A [cookbook](/source/Cookbook) is a compendium of recipes within a given food culture.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] An example would be the *[Catechism of the Catholic Church](/source/Catechism_of_the_Catholic_Church)*, a concise 598-question-and-answer book which summarises the teachings of the Catholic Church.[2] Most nations have compendiums or compilations of law meant to be comprehensive for use by their judiciary. For example, the [613 commandments](/source/613_commandments), or the [United States Code](/source/United_States_Code).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The [collected works of Aristotle](/source/Corpus_Aristotelicum) is a compendium of [natural philosophy](/source/Natural_philosophy), [metaphysics](/source/Metaphysics), language arts, and social science.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The single volume [*Propædia*](/source/Prop%C3%A6dia#Outline_of_Knowledge) is *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica)'*s compendium of the many volumes of its [*Macropaedia*](/source/Macrop%C3%A6dia).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The [Bible](/source/Bible) is a group of many writings of the law, prophets, and writings of the Hebrew Bible held to be comprehensive and complete within [Judaism](/source/Judaism) and called the [Old Testament](/source/Old_Testament) by [Christianity](/source/Christianity).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Some well known literary figures have written their own compendium. An example would be [Alexandre Dumas](/source/Alexandre_Dumas), author of *[The Three Musketeers](/source/The_Three_Musketeers)*, and a [gourmand](/source/Gourmand). His compendium on food titled *From Absinthe to Zest* serves as an alphabet for food lovers.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## See also - [Anthology](/source/Anthology) - [Edited volume](/source/Edited_volume) - [Monograph](/source/Monograph) - [Owners manual](/source/Owners_manual) - [Treatise](/source/Treatise) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["compendious | Origin and meaning of compendious"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/compendious). *Online Etymology Dictionary*. Retrieved 2020-11-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church*. 2005. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57455-720-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57455-720-6). ## External links Look up ***[compendium](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/compendium)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - [The *Oxford English Dictionary* site](https://www.oed.com) - [Medicines Compendium](https://web.archive.org/web/20120703012726/http://www.usp-mc.org/) Authority control databases International GND Other NARA --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Compendium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compendium) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compendium?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.