Concept in Definition ABC

The word compendium is a word that is used to refer to a set of elements that have something in common and that are grouped precisely due to those possible similarities. Usually, the term is used to designate written or digital works that comprise a important number of knowledge related to a particular subject or area, such as a encyclopedia although perhaps this can include diverse subjects whereas the compendium specializes in a theme particular. In many cases, the encyclopedia is considered as a compendium or a union of all the knowledge and data that the Humanity has generated over time.

The term compendium comes from the Latin term compendium what does it mean resume, condensation. Thus, we can understand that a compendium is not an extensive work on something but rather tends to represent a sum of the most important and significant elements of a particular topic, for example when talking about the compendium of the medicine ocular. It will then appear the most relevant knowledge and data that may be of use to someone in this regard.

Other features of the compendium have to do with the fact that despite being a summarized version of all the knowledge that may exist about something, it is also a description very detailed and deep of what it is, for which its usefulness is always very great. It must be taken into account that in general the compendia mean a very specific set of knowledge, and that is why the summary: we could not easily find a compendium, for example, of all medicine, but instead we can find a varied number of compendia that are interested in different parts of medicine, for example a compendium on pediatric medicine, another on medicine cardiology, etc.