Zbirka

Zbirka is a term used in South Slavic languages, including Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Slovenian, meaning a collection or anthology of works. It typically refers to a book that compiles multiple pieces, such as poems, stories, essays, or documents, by one or several authors.

Etymology and usage: The noun derives from the verb zbirati “to collect,” with the suffix -ka forming a noun indicating a set. In publishing and literary criticism, zbirka signals a published compilation rather than a single work. The related term svezak denotes an individual volume, while zbornik is used for proceedings or a scholarly anthology.

Common types: Examples include zbirka poezije (poetry collection), zbirka priča (collection of short stories), zbirka eseja (collection of essays), and zbirka zadataka (collection of problems). In libraries and catalogs, zbirka can indicate books that gather works by one author or by multiple authors around a common theme.

Regional use and nuance: The term is standard across Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, and Slovenian, with minor regional variations in pronunciation and connotations. It is widely used in publishing, library catalogs, and literary criticism to describe a single volume that compiles multiple shorter works.

See also: Anthology, Collected works, Compendium. Distinctions: while both zbirka and zbornik refer to compilations, zbornik often denotes academic proceedings or a more formal scholarly collection, whereas zbirka emphasizes the act of gathering works into a single volume.