anthology

/ænˈθɑlədʒi/

/ænˈθɒlədʒi/

Other forms: anthologies

A collection of writings is an anthology. The heavy textbooks that span the literature of an entire culture and that school children transport in over-sized backpacks with wheels? Those are anthologies.

An anthology used to be just a collection of poetry, and the word came from the 17th-century Greek word anthologia for "flower gathering" or "collecting." A contemporary anthology can include anything from classic literature to rap music lyrics. Often an anthology focuses on one type, or genre, of writing, as in an anthology of horse riding haikus, or even an anthology of writings on writing. However, sometimes textbook-style anthologies — like Global Literature — will ambitiously try to include works from writers throughout the ages and from throughout the world.

Definitions of anthology

1. noun

   a collection of selected literary passages
   types:

   divan, diwan

   a collection of Persian or Arabic poems (usually by one author)

   florilegium, garland, miscellany

   an anthology of short literary pieces and poems and ballads etc.

   omnibus

   an anthology of articles on a related subject or an anthology of the works of a single author

   type of:

   collection, compendium

   a publication containing a variety of works