encyclical

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: en=cyc=li=cal

CIDE DICTIONARY

encyclical, a. [L. encyclios of a circle, general, Gr. ; in + circle: cf. F. encyclique. See Cycle.].

 Sent to many persons or places; intended for many, or for a whole order of men; general; circular; as, an encyclical letter of a council, of a bishop, or the pope.

encyclical, n. 

 An encyclical letter, esp. one from a pope.  Shipley.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

encyclical, n. & adj.
--n. a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.
--adj. (of a letter) for wide circulation.

Etymology

LL encyclicus f. Gk egkuklios (as EN-(2), kuklos circle)

THESAURUS

encyclical

Pastoral Epistle, aerogram, air letter, airgraph, announcement, annunciation, billet-doux, bull, bulletin board, chain letter, circular, communique, dead letter, declaration, dimissorial, dimissory letter, drop letter, edict, enunciation, fan letter, form letter, letter of credit, letter of introduction, letters credential, letters of marque, letters of request, letters overt, letters patent, letters rogatory, love letter, manifesto, monitory, newsletter, nixie, notice, notification, open letter, pastoral letter, poison-pen letter, position paper, proclamation, program, programma, pronouncement, pronunciamento, public notice, report, round robin, statement, ukase, white book, white paper

ROGET THESAURUS

encyclical

Publication

N publication, public announcement, promulgation, propagation, proclamation, pronunziamento, circulation, indiction, edition, hue and cry, publicity, notoriety, currency, flagrancy, cry, bruit, hype, vox populi, report, the Press, public press, newspaper, journal, gazette, daily, telegraphy, publisher, imprint, circular, circular letter, manifesto, advertisement, ad, placard, bill, affiche, broadside, poster, notice, published, current, in circulation, public, notorious, flagrant, arrant, open, trumpet-tongued, encyclical, encyclic, promulgatory, exoteric, publicly, in open court, with open doors, Int, Oyez!, O yes!, notice!, notice is hereby given, this is to give, these are to give notice, nomina stultorum parietibus haerent, semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum.