compendium

noun

com·​pen·​di·​um kəm-ˈpen-dē-əm 

plural compendiums or compendia kəm-ˈpen-dē-ə 

1

: a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge : abstract

a one-volume compendium of the multivolume original

2

a

: a list of a number of items

b

: collection, compilation

a compendium of folk tales

Synonyms of compendium

• compilation
• anthology

Examples of compendium in a Sentence

a one-volume compendium of information

He published a compendium of folk tales.

Recent Examples on the Web

Entertaining, originally published in 1982, has been out of print for years, but interest in the 300-recipe compendium that spawned Stewart’s business empire spiked last year, after CNN and Netflix both released documentaries about her. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025

Lee Unkrich shared photos from the visit to the set in the 2015 compendium, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. —Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

Selected Letters of John Updike, an immense new compendium of the American novelist’s personal correspondence spanning nearly seven decades, from the early 1940s to his death, in 2009, underscores the vanishingly short distance between Updike’s writing life and his actual life. —Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2025

Mirren has won a counting game of awards—among them, one Oscar, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, five Emmys, and one Tony—the list reads like a compendium of all the awards one could possibly be considered for. —Valerie Monroe, Allure, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin, "gain, profit, saving, short cut, abridgement, summary," from com- com- + pendere "to weigh, have a weight of, pay (out), estimate, consider" + -ium, suffix forming nouns from compound verbs — more at pendent

Note: Latin compendium would appear to have been formed from compendere, presumably "to weigh together," but the only evidence for such a verb is its citation by varro to account for the etymology of compendium.

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1