Wikipedia is a free, multilingual, web-based, and openly editable encyclopedia project, created and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Free and Open:
Anyone can access and edit Wikipedia articles, and the content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
Collaborative:
Wikipedia is built and maintained by a global community of volunteers who contribute their knowledge and expertise.
Multilingual:
Wikipedia exists in over 342 languages, making it a vast repository of knowledge accessible to people worldwide.
Purpose:
Wikipedia aims to provide a comprehensive and reliable encyclopedia of knowledge, accessible to everyone.
Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation:
The Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization, hosts and supports Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
Openly Editable:
Anyone with internet access can create and edit Wikipedia articles, although there are guidelines and policies to ensure the quality and neutrality of the content.
Founded by:
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on January 15, 2001
