If you are a student or faculty member at Brandon University, you can access online encyclopedias from off campus.
If you are accessing the library's web site from off campus, most links on the library's web site will first take you to the Proxy Authentication Page, where you can log in with your Brandon University username and password. Once you have logged in, you will be taken to the destination of the link. You should only have to log in once per session.
To log in, you will need your Brandon University username and password - the same username and password you use to log into the Brandon University network when you're on campus. If you have not claimed your username and password or you are having trouble logging in with those, you should contact the Brandon University Help Desk (Phone 571-8500 Monday -Friday 8:30AM to 4:30PM).
For more information, see the Off-Campus Access Page
Yeah, I know, there's always Wikipedia, or a web search (Google you know, WolframAlpha is worth a try), but here is an encyclopedia where you can start your research.
I don't know what the difference between a dictionary and an encyclopedia is. The standard answer is that a dictionary definition is much shorter than an encyclopedia entry. I think of the distinction as arbitrary, especially in an online world where space isn't at a premium.