compendium

American  

[kuhm-pen-dee-uhm] / kəmˈpɛn di əm /

Also compend

noun

plural

compendiums, compendia

1. a brief treatment or account of a subject, especially an extensive subject; concise treatise.

   a compendium of medicine.

   Synonyms:

   conspectus, digest, survey

2. a summary, epitome, or abridgment.

3. a full list or inventory.

   a compendium of their complaints.

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compendium British  

/ kəmˈpɛndɪəm /

noun

1. a book containing a collection of useful hints

2. a selection, esp of different games or other objects in one container

3. a concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work

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Etymology

Origin of compendium

1575–85; < Latin: gain, saving, shortcut, abridgment, equivalent to com- com- + pend- (stem of pendere to cause to hang down, weigh) + -ium -ium

Example Sentences

About 65,000 people were in ICE detention as of 30 November 2025, according to data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse's immigration project, a compendium of government data from Syracuse University.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

“He’s been called the Christmas devil,” said Jeff Belanger, author of “The Fright Before Christmas,” a compendium of so-called “Yuletide monsters.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 25, 2025

Edward Brooke-Hitching supplies all sorts of tidbits to beguile readers ages 7-9 in this entertaining compendium.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The release of “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run” is accompanied by a new compendium of standout tracks by McCartney and Wings.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025

Michael Shank has suggested that in the course of this reading Copernicus obtained a copy of the compendium of astronomical texts published by the Giunta press in Venice in 1508.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton