anthology

noun

an·​thol·​o·​gy an-ˈthä-lə-jē 

plural anthologies

1

: a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music

an anthology of American poetry

2

: assortment

… an anthology of threadbare clichés of … bistro cuisine …

—Jay Jacobs

anthological

ˌan(t)-thə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• album
• collectanea
• compendium
• compilation
• florilegium
• miscellany
• reader

Examples of anthology in a Sentence

an anthology of American poetry

The band will be releasing an anthology of their earlier albums.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the center of The White Lotus Season 3 — like the first two years of the anthology series — is the murder of one of the characters in the ensemble and the twisty events leading up to it. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Back on the big screen, however, the veteran actress played none other than Superman’s mom in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) and later won accolades for her performance as socialite Slim Keith in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024). —Maggie Fremont, EW.com, 25 Mar. 2025

Luckily, Monaghan revealed that celebrity colorist Tracey Cunningham took several trips to Thailand, as the anthology series was filming to maintain Monaghan's color throughout the production. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 24 Mar. 2025

Zeb Wells Cast: Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, and more In 2021, the MCU launched an anthology series called What If…?. —Grace Dean, Space.com, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & New Latin; French anthologie, going back to Middle French, borrowed from New Latin anthologia, borrowed from Greek anthología "gathering of flowers," from anthológos "flower-gathering" (from antho- antho- + -logos, nominal ablaut derivative of légein "to gather, collect") + -ia -ia entry 1 — more at legend

Note: The sense "collection of extracts" is found earlier in the parallel formation anthológion, attested in Byzantine Greek.

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for anthology

• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology
• ethnology

Kids Definition

anthology

noun

an·​thol·​o·​gy an-ˈthäl-ə-jē 

plural anthologies

: a collection of literary pieces

anthologist

-jəst

noun