anthology

/ænˈθɒlədʒi/

//ænˈθɒlədʒi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"anthology" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“anthology” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,331. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,331
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A collection of literary works, such as poems or short stories, especially a collection from various authors.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anthology · anthology · English

anthology · rank #15,331 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #15,331
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Angelina

Nearest frequency peer: Angelina (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “anthology”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “anthology” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

anthology vs astrology
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for anthology
PropertyValue
Headwordanthology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ænˈθɒlədʒi/
Letters9
Frequency rank#15,331
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “anthology”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).anthologylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Angelina” (#15,330), “antiques” (#15,332), “Andreas” (#15,329). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “anthology” is #15,331. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around anthology (IPA /ænˈθɒlədʒi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,331 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for anthology, with forms such as "anhtology", "annthology", and "anthhology". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "astrology", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed 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 Στέφ… The correct English form is anthology, spelled A-N-T-H-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A collection of literary works, such as poems or short stories, especially a collection from various authors.
  2. 2
    A work or series containing various stories with no direct relation to one another.
  3. 3
    An assortment of things.
  4. 4
    The study of flowers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how anthology appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Malkin and Stacks, along with Robert Dallek, James McPherson and other contributors to the anthology (edited by Robert Cowley) take such questions as the jumping-off points for exercises in counterfactuality, the historian's term for speculation about how the past might have unfolded if a particular event had happened otherwise.

Etymology

Borrowed 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. By surface analysis, antho- + -logy.

This word in other languages

antología(Español)anthologie(Français)Anthologie(Deutsch)antologia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anhtology
  • annthology
  • anthhology
  • anthloogy
  • antholgoy
  • anthollogy
  • anthologgy
  • anthologyy
  • antholoyg
  • anthoolgy
  • antohlogy
  • antthology
  • atnhology
  • nathology

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anthology - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

anhtology2annthology1anthhology1anthloogy2antholgoy2anthollogy1anthologgy1anthologyy1
Edit distance from "anthology"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anthology"?
"anthology" is spelled A-N-T-H-O-L-O-G-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ænˈθɒlədʒi/.
What does "anthology" mean?
As a noun, "anthology" means: A collection of literary works, such as poems or short stories, especially a collection from various authors.
What words are commonly confused with "anthology"?
"anthology" is commonly confused with "astrology". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anthology"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anthology" is /ænˈθɒlədʒi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "anthology"?
Borrowed 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, original... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "anthology", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

avalanche#15,339admirable#15,320ballistic#15,343accessing#15,317

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Azerbaijan14 variantsblueprint14 variantscorrecting14 variantscrossroads14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list