Anthologize

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ænˈθɒl.ə.dʒaɪz/

Definitions

1. To gather various literary pieces into a single published collection
2. To compile selected writings from different authors into one book
3. To assemble and issue a collection of literary works as a volume

Etymology: The verb "anthologize" is simply "anthology" with the verbal ending "-ize" added, and the story is really the story of that ending. "Anthology" comes from the Ancient Greek "anthologia," meaning "flower-gathering," built from "anthos" (flower) and "legein" (to gather). Greek writers used the image to describe a collection of choice poems, as if picking the best blooms from a meadow. The suffix has a longer journey. It started as the Ancient Greek "-izein," which turned verbs into the sense of "to make like" or "to treat in the manner of." It passed through Late Latin "-izare" and Middle French "-iser" before reaching English as "-isen" in the Middle English period, which later became the modern "-ize." That is why the ending has a Greek ancestor even though English speakers add it to almost any noun they need turned into a verb.

Synonyms: compile, collect, edit, gather, assemble