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Webster 1913 Edition

Collection

Col-lec′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
collectio
: cf. F.
collection
.]
1.
The act or process of collecting or of gathering;
as, the
collection
of specimens
.
2.
That which is collected
; as:
(a)
A gathering or assemblage of objects or of persons.
“A collection of letters.”
Macaulay.
(b)
A gathering of money for charitable or other purposes, as by passing a contribution box for freewill offerings.
“The collection for the saints.”
1 Cor. xvi. 1
(c)
(Usually in pl.)
That which is obtained in payment of demands.
(d)
An accumulation of any substance.
“Collections of moisture.”
Whewell.
“A purulent collection.”
Dunglison.
3.
The act of inferring or concluding from premises or observed facts; also, that which is inferred.
[Obs.]
We may safely say thus, that wrong
collections
have been hitherto made out of those words by modern divines.
Milton.
Syn. – Gathering; assembly; assemblage; group; crowd; congregation; mass; heap; compilation.

Webster 1828 Edition

Collection

COLLECTION

, n.
1.
The act of gathering, or assembling.
2.
The body formed by gathering; an assemblage, or assembly; a crowd; as a collection of men.
3.
A contribution; a sum collected for a charitable purpose.
Now concerning the collection for the saints. 1 Cor. 16.
4.
A gathering, as of matter in an abscess.
5.
The act of deducing consequences; reasoning; inference.
6.
A corollary; a consectary; a deduction from premises; consequence.
7.
A book compiled from other books, by the putting together of parts; a compilation; as a collection of essays or sermons.

Definition 2024

collection

collection

English

Noun

collection ‎(plural collections)

  1. A set of items or amount of material procured or gathered together.
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
      Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.
    • William Whewell
      Collections of moisture.
    • Dunglison
      A purulent collection.
    The attic contains a remarkable collection of antiques, oddities, and random junk.‎
    The asteroid belt consists of a collection of dust, rubble, and minor planets.‎
  2. Multiple related objects associated as a group.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
    He has a superb coin collection.‎
  3. The activity of collecting.
    Collection of trash will occur every Thursday.‎
  4. (topology, analysis) A set of sets.
  5. A gathering of money for charitable or other purposes, as by passing a contribution box for donations.
  6. (obsolete) The act of inferring or concluding from premises or observed facts; also, that which is inferred.
    • John Milton
      We may safely say thus, that wrong collections have been hitherto made out of those words by modern divines.
  7. (Britain) The jurisdiction of a collector of excise.
  8. (in the plural, Britain, Oxford University) A set of college exams generally taken at the start of the term.

Derived terms

Translations

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin collēctiō, collēctiōnem.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɔ.lɛk.sjɔ̃/
  • Rhymes: -sjɔ̃
  • Homophone: collections
  • Hyphenation: co‧llec‧tion

Noun

collection f ‎(plural collections)

  1. collection

Derived terms

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French collection, from Latin collēctiō, collēctiōnem.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /kəˈlɛkʃən/
  • Rhymes: -ɛkʃən

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