Compendium facts for kids

A compendium (plural: compendia) is a collection of information on a particular topic. The amount of information is usually short but detailed. A compendium will often summarize a larger work, putting it into fewer words. It is usually not intended to be read from beginning to end. Instead a compendium is used to look up facts. It is very often called a reference work

The word compendium comes from the Latin word "compenso". It means "to weigh together or balance". The Internet has large numbers of compendia in the form of databases. Searching a database make it very easy to find facts and information. This is causing concern that print compendia (in the form of books) may eventually go away.

Examples

One example would be the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is organized into 598 questions and answers which summarize the teachings of the Catholic Faith.

The Bible is another example of a compendium. It is a group of many books put together to form the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a compendium of wise sayings by famous people.

Related pages

• Compilation
• Abstract
• Epitome
• Text corpus

See also

In Spanish: Compendio para niños