Chrestomathia
/ˌkrɛstoʊˈmæθiə/noun
A selection of passages chosen to help someone learn a language or subject.
Did you know?The word was coined in scholarly Greek for a teaching anthology, and its first half comes from *chrestos* (“useful, good”), not from anything sinister — but it sounds like a secret grimoire title.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
chrēstos
“useful, good, serviceable”
Ancient Greek
Greek
mathēma
“a lesson, learning, something learned”
Late Greek
Greek
chrēstomathia
“useful learning; a selection of instructive passages”
19th Century
English
chrestomathy
“an anthology of selected passages used for study”
Modern English
English
chrestomathia
“a rare learned form referring to a pedagogical anthology or collection of useful extracts”
Explore more surprising origins