Word of the day: Compendium (noun)
Possible Meanings:
- A comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. (Most common meaning)
- A concise but informative summary of a larger work. (Less common meaning)
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Example Sentences (Meaning 1):
- The library had a vast compendium of historical documents on display. (Explanation: Compendium describes the extensive collection of historical information.)
- He spent years compiling a compendium of bird species found in North America. (Explanation: Here, compendium describes his comprehensive collection of information about birds.)
Example Sentences (Meaning 2):
- (Less common): The study guide served as a useful compendium of the key points from the entire textbook. (Explanation: Compendium describes the concise summary of the textbook’s main ideas.)
Conversation Example:
- Person 1: “I’m working on a research paper about the history of art. Do you know where I could find some good resources?”
- Person 2: “The library might have a compendium of art history that could be helpful. They also have a great online database of scholarly articles.” (Explanation: Person 2 uses compendium to describe the comprehensive collection of art history information.)
Can you use compendium in a sentence of your own? Share your example in the comments below.