collective

English

Etymology

From Middle French collectif, from Latin collectivus, from collectus, past participle of colligere (“to collect”), from com- (“together”) + legere (“to gather”). Compare French collectif.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kəˈlɛktɪv/
  • Hyphenation, US: col‧lec‧tive; UK: col‧lect‧ive
  • Rhymes: -ɛktɪv

Adjective

collective (not comparable)

  1. Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body; congregated or aggregated
    the collective body of a nation
  2. Tending to collect; forming a collection.
    • Young
      Local is his throne […] to fix a point, / A central point, collective of his sons.
  3. Having plurality of origin or authority
  4. (grammar) Expressing a collection or aggregate of individuals, by a singular form
  5. (obsolete) Deducing consequences; reasoning; inferring.
    • Sir Thomas Browne
      critical and collective reason

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Noun

collective (plural collectives)

  1. A farm owned by a collection of people.
  2. (especially in communist countries) One of more farms managed and owned, through the state, by the community.
  3. (grammar) A collective noun or name.
  4. (by extension) A group dedicated to a particular cause or interest.
    • 2005, Zoya Kocur, Simon Leung, Theory in contemporary art since 1985 (page 76)
      There are, however, a number of contemporary artists and art collectives that have defined their practice precisely around the facilitation of dialogue among diverse communities.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

  • collective fruit (Botany), that which is formed from a mass of flowers, as the mulberry, pineapple, and the like; -- called also multiple fruit.

References

  • collective in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • collective in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • collective at OneLook Dictionary Search

Further reading

  • "collective" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 69.

French

Adjective

collective

  1. feminine singular of collectif
    Après une belle action collective, l'équipe a enfin marqué un but.

Latin

Adjective

collectīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of collectīvus
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