Post History

How did kúklos ("circular") shift to signify "general"?

>### encyclopedia [16] 

>Etymologically,
*encyclopedia* means ‘general education’. It is a
medieval formation, based on the Greek phrase
*egkúklios paideíā* (*egkúklios*, a compound
adjective formed from the prefix *en-* ‘in’ and
*kúklos* ‘circle’ – source of English *cycle* – meant
**originally ‘circular’, and hence ‘general’**, and is
the ultimate source of English *encyclical* [17];


*Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 192 Left column.


I omit the rest of the entry because it's immaterial.