florilegium

noun

flo·​ri·​le·​gium ˌflȯr-ə-ˈlē-j(ē-)əm 

plural florilegia ˌflȯr-ə-ˈlē-j(ē-)ə 

: a volume of writings : anthology

Did you know?

Editors who compile florilegia (to use the plural form) can be thought of as gathering a bouquet of sweet literary blossoms. English speakers picked up florilegium from a New Latin word that derives from Latin florilegus, which can be translated as "culling flowers." In fact, florilegium initially applied to a collection of flowers, and later to books about flowers, but it wasn't long before the word began to be used for (as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it) "a collection of the flowers of literature." And florilegium isn't the only English collecting term with a floral heritage; its synonym anthology comes from the Greek word for "flower gathering."

Synonyms

• album
• anthology
• collectanea
• compendium
• compilation
• miscellany
• reader

Examples of florilegium in a Sentence

a florilegium of ancient alchemical writings

Recent Examples on the Web

Grootbos, a hotel cum nature reserve 30 minutes to the south, is known for its family-friendly marine safaris and botanical tours (and a new florilegium). —Jen Murphy, Town & Country, 7 Oct. 2022

Twenty-five of them get ink online this week, and about 20 on the print page — quite the florilegium. —Pat Myers, Washington Post, 21 July 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin flōrilegium, from Latin flōrilegus "culling flowers" (from flōri- flori- + -legus, adjective derivative of legere "to gather, pick") + -ium, suffix of deverbal compounds (formed after Latin spīcilegium "gathering of stray ears of grain"); loan-translation of Greek anthología anthology — more at legend

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

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