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 of anthology

• compilation

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

In addition to developing feature genre stories, Schwan is one of the founders of Silverlake Scream Show, an annual horror anthology screening event that champions emerging genre filmmakers. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025

Sycamore is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of seven books, and the editor of six anthologies. —Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2025

Alternatively, if season 2 took an anthology-style approach, the series could pivot to a completely new story with an entirely fresh cast. —Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 12 Nov. 2025

Fargo, an anthology inspired by the Coen brothers’ movie, has run for five seasons since 2014 and won seven Emmys; Legion ran for three seasons. —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 11 Nov. 2025

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

Rhymes for anthology

• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology
• ethnology

Kids Definition

anthology

noun

an·​thol·​o·​gy an-ˈthäl-ə-jē 

plural anthologies

: a collection of literary pieces

anthologist

-jəst

noun