# encyclopaedia vs encyclopedia

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### encyclopaedia
*noun · IPA /ɪnˌsaɪ.kləˈpi(ː).di.ə/ · frequency rank #36,540*
Commonwealth standard spelling of encyclopedia.

### encyclopedia
*noun · IPA /ənˌsəɪ.kləˈpi.di.ə/ · frequency rank #14,520*
A comprehensive reference work (often spanning several printed volumes) with articles (usually arranged in alphabetical order, or sometimes arranged by category) on a range of subjects, sometimes general, sometimes limited to a particular field.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/encyclopaedia-vs-encyclopedia