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

Watch on Hulu Fargo Noah Hawley’s anthology series isn’t the first attempt to adapt the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning crime-comedy to the small screen (Edie Falco starred in a previous version, which was a more straightforward adaptation of the movie), but his approach was clearly the smarter move. —Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024

The ensemble cast for the anthology film includes Josh O’Connor, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Glenn Close, Cailee Spaeny, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church, along with Craig. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2024

Celeste Parr was most recently a Writer and Executive Producer for Season Two of CBC’s anthology series PLAN B. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024

Alfred Hitchcock Presents While The Twilight Zone may be the quintessential anthology series, this one technically came first and was often just as unsettling. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Oct. 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