anthology

Meaning

1. A collection of literary works, such as poems or short stories, especially a collection from various authors.
2. A work or series containing various stories with no direct relation to one another.
3. An assortment of things.
4. The study of flowers.

Synonyms

collection

selection

garland

compilation

reader

miscellany

chrestomathy

selected extracts

selection of books

collection of literary masterpieces

assortment

collectanea

compendium

excerpts

florilegium

literary world

book of poetry

literary miscellany

Hyphenated as

an‧thol‧ogy

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ænˈθɒlədʒi/

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀνθολογία (anthología, “flower-gathering”), from ἀνθολογέω (anthologéō, “I gather flowers”), from ἄνθος (ánthos, “flower”) + λέγω (légō, “I gather, pick up, collect”), coined by Meleager of Gadara circa 60 BCE, originally as Στέφανος (στέφανος (stéphanos, “garland”)) to describe a collection of poetry, later retitled anthology – see Greek Anthology. Anthologiai were collections of small Greek poems and epigrams, because in Greek culture the flower symbolized the finer sentiments that only poetry can express.