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

The Flaming Lips will commemorate the 20th anniversary of their 11th album, At War With the Mystics, this fall with an anthology box set due out this fall. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026

For its movie, Neon plans to focus on emerging filmmakers to contribute to the anthology feature based on the sprawling SCP Wiki launched in 2008 as a collaborative and speculative fiction website. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

The masterminds behind the Monster anthology were keen on Paulson’s appearance as Wuornos. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2026

In 2015, the award’s name was changed from Miniseries or TV Movie to Limited or Anthology Series, in part to address the gold rush for anthology-style shows like American Horror Story, True Detective, and Fargo. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

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