anthology

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ænˈθɒlədʒɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ænˈθɑlədʒi/
• Hyphenation: an‧thol‧ogy
• Rhymes: -ɒlədʒi

Noun

anthology (plural anthologies)

1. The study of flowers.
2. A collection of literary works, such as poems or short stories.
3. (by extension) An assortment of things.

References

• anthology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia