Anthology

/ænˈθɒlədʒi/

nounIntermediate📊CommonLiterature
1 meaning2 questions

Definitions

1

A published collection of poems, short stories, essays, or other literary works.

/ænˈθɒlədʒi/

nounneutralIntermediate
Literature

A collection of literary works.

The new anthology features works by both established and emerging writers.

💡 Simply: A book of different writings gathered together.

More Examples

2

This anthology is a comprehensive overview of 20th-century poetry.

How It's Used

Literary Studies

"The professor assigned an anthology of short stories for the course."

Poetry

"She published her poems in a new anthology of contemporary verse."

From late Middle English, via Old French *antologie* from Medieval Latin *anthologia*, from Greek *anthología* ‘collection of flowers’, from *anthos* ‘flower’ + *légein* ‘to gather’.

The term has been used consistently since its adoption from Greek, always referring to a collection of writings.

Memory tip

Think of 'anthos' (flower) and 'logy' (study) - a collection of beautiful pieces like a bouquet.

Word Origin

LanguageGreek
Original meaning

"anthos (flower) + legein (to gather)"

Base: anthology
anthology of poemscontemporary anthologyliterary anthology

Common misspellings

anthologyyantholodyantholoogy

Usage

10%Spoken
90%Written