How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe (2024)

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How to reference an Encyclopedia Entry using the Chicago Manual of Style

The most basic entry for an encyclopedia/dictionary consists of the author name(s), encyclopedia/dictionary name, edition, article title, publication city, publisher, and year published.

Last Name, First Name. Encyclopedia/Dictionary name, Edition ed., s.v. “Article Title.” Publication City: Publisher Name, Year Published.

Smith, John. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

The first author’s name should be reversed, with a comma being placed after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). The name should not be abbreviated and should be written exactly as it appears in the encyclopedia. Titles and affiliations associated with the author should be omitted. A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the author’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For an article written by two or more authors, list them in order as they appear in the encyclopedia. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names with a comma.

Smith, John, and Jane Doe. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

Include the encyclopedia/dictionary name in italics, a comma, the encyclopedia/dictionary’s edition, and the abbreviation “ed.” Then include a comma and the abbreviation “s.v.”, and then place the article title, along with a period, in quotation marks.

If the encyclopedia/dictionary’s volume is available and the work does not arrange entries alphabetically, cite the volume after the article title, along with the abbreviation “vols.”

Smith, John. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” 20 vols. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

Include the city of publication, a colon, the publisher, a comma, and the year of publication. End the citation with a period.

If the article has no author, begin the citation with the encyclopedia/dictionary name.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

If you are citing the entire encyclopedia/dictionary and not a specific article, exclude the following parts of the citation: the authors, the article title, and the “s.v.” abbreviation.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

If the article was published online, include the web address of the article, and then place the word “accessed”, along with the date on which you accessed the website (written in the format of “month day, year”) in parentheses. Conclude the citation with a period after the parentheses.

Smith, John. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. http://www.britannica.com/articles/id=2533 (accessed February 21, 2009).

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How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe (1)

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How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe (2024)

FAQs

How to Cite Encyclopedias - Chicago Citation Guide - BibMe? ›

Last Name, First Name. Encyclopedia/Dictionary name, Edition ed., s.v. “Article Title.” Publication City: Publisher Name, Year Published. Smith, John. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed., s.v. “Internet.” Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009.

How to cite an encyclopedia in Chicago footnote? ›

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Entry.” In Title of Encyclopedia, edited by Editors(s) First Name Last Name, page number range for entry (if provided). Place of Publication: Publisher, Publication/Copyright date. URL.

How do you cite an encyclopedia in a bibliography? ›

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." Title of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, Edition if given and not first edition, vol. Volume Number, Publisher Name, Year of Publication, pp. First Page - Last Page.

Are encyclopedias quotes or italics? ›

If you do include an author's name, treat the title of the entry as you would an article title or book chapter title -- put it in quotation marks. The title of the encyclopedia is italicized. The edition of the encyclopedia must be specified following the title.

Should the Encyclopedia Britannica be italicized? ›

After the entry title, include the encyclopedia/dictionary name, capitalizing and italicizing it, followed by a period.

Can I cite the Encyclopedia Britannica? ›

Authors of articles in general encyclopedias, or encyclopedias that cover all subject areas (such as the Encyclopedia Britannica), are not always listed. There are few situations in which you would list an entire encyclopedia in your references; you will need to list the individual article(s) that you consulted.

How do I cite information from a footnote in Chicago style? ›

To cite a footnote in Chicago on the Bibliography page, follow this formula: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Volume, no. Issue (Year): Page #.

How do you cite an online dictionary in a bibliography? ›

Title of dictionary [in italics], Retrieved date, from [URL] [for online dictionaries] or place of publishing followed by a period and URL if retrieved from a URL.

Do you italicize the title of an encyclopedia? ›

Preceded by "In" and followed by "(Ed.)" Encyclopedia title: In italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle, and proper nouns. Page number(s): List page numbers preceded with "pp." in parentheses and followed by a period.

How should you include in an in-text citation for a quote from an encyclopedia? ›

If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. The title of the entry will be followed by a comma and the year of publication.

Are books cited in quotes or italics? ›

Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks.

How to Chicago cite an encyclopedia? ›

Author's First Name Last Name, "Title of Entry," in Name of Encyclopedia or Dictionary, Date of publication, modification, or access, URL. Bibliography Entry: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Entry." In Name of Encyclopedia or Dictionary.

Should you cite encyclopedias? ›

Any time you use an external source, whether it's a research article, a website, a tweet, or an encyclopedia article, you'll need to cite it. So, if you have used information from an encyclopedia, you must provide a citation and reference.

How do you footnote a dictionary in Chicago style? ›

First name Surname, "Title of Entry," in Title of the Dictionary, ed. First name Surname (City of publication: Publisher, Year), page number(s).

How do you cite Wikipedia in Chicago footnotes? ›

How to cite Wikipedia in Chicago style's notes and bibliography format. If you're using Chicago's notes and bibliography citation format, a full footnote should be formatted like this: 1. “Page Title,” Wikipedia, last modified date, URL.

How do you cite sources in a footnote? ›

Footnote Basic format: x. Author's First name Last name, “Article Title,” Journal Title Volume, Issue No. (Year): page number.

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