Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Anthology \An*thol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. 'anqolo`gos flower
   gathering; 'a`nqos flower + le`gein to gather.]
   1. A discourse on flowers. [R.]

   2. A collection of flowers; a garland. [R.]

   3. A collection of flowers of literature, that is, beautiful
      passages from authors; a collection of poems or epigrams;
      -- particularly applied to a collection of ancient Greek
      epigrams.

   4. (Gr. Ch.) A service book containing a selection of pieces
      for the festival services.

Source : WordNet®

anthology
     n : a collection of selected literary passages