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

If so, press play on the anthology collection Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999). —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024

The excellent anthology series The White Lotus has a Season 3 trailer. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

Song Kang-Ho (Parasite) will recur in Season 2 of the Netflix anthology BEEF in an undisclosed role, per Deadline. —Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 20 Dec. 2024

Black Mirror Season 7 (Netflix) TBA Charlie Brooker’s satirical anthology about technology’s chokehold on us will be back for a seventh season, so be prepared to start looking at your cell phone or air fryer with some suspicion again. —Lucy Ford, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024

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

Kids Definition

anthology

noun

an·​thol·​o·​gy an-ˈthäl-ə-jē 

plural anthologies

: a collection of literary pieces

anthologist

-jəst

noun