collect

collect¹ gather

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəˈlekt/^[1]

Etymology

To gather is inherited from Middle English collecten,^[2] borrowed from Old French collecter, or Medieval Latin collēctāre,^[3][4] from Latin collēctus, the past participle of colligere (“to gather together”),^[5][2] from col- (“together”) and legere (“to gather, choose, read”),^[2][6] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to collect, gather”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To gather into one place or group: before 1425 in Barnhart, in a version of Higden's Polychronicon; the early 15th century in Etymonline; the OED's first quotation is 1573.^[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

To gather money due, such as taxes, is from 1643, and to gather specimens or rare objects as a pursuit from 1749.^[7] To collect oneself, to regain control, followed.^[8][9] The intransitive sense, to come together, is from 1794.^[5] Collect as an adverb, paid by the receiver, is from 1893, first of telegrams.^[5][10] Collectible is from 1662, and collectibles as a noun from 1952.^[2] Recollect and coil go back to the same Latin verb.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1425 – to gather.^[2]
• 1643 – to collect money due.^[7]
• 1749 – to collect specimens.^[7]
• 1794 – to come together.^[5]
• 1893 – collect, paid by the receiver.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bring or come together in a group; to gather.
2. To gather things such as stamps or books as a hobby or for study.
3. To ask for and receive payment of money due, or donations.
4. To fetch: to collect the children from school.
5. To regain control of oneself or one's thoughts.

Adverb

1. (chiefly US) With the receiver paying: to call collect.

collect² prayer

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈkɒl.ekt/, /ˈkɒl.ɪkt/, US /ˈkɑːl.ekt/^[1]

Etymology

The prayer is inherited from Middle English collecte, borrowed from Old French collecte and directly borrowed from Latin collēcta (“a gathering”),^[2][3] which in Late Latin meant an assembly.^[3][4] Medieval Latin collecta was short for oratio ad collectam, the prayer said upon the gathering of the people.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A short prayer for a particular day or season: before 1200 in Barnhart, in the Ancrene Riwle; before 1225 in the OED.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century collect also meant a collection of money and a meeting for worship, both now obsolete.^[7][6]

Timeline

• before 1200 – the prayer.^[2]
• 1382 – a collection, a meeting (obsolete).^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A short prayer said at certain services in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, varying with the day or season.

Related words

• collection
• collector
• colleague
• recollect
• coil
• legend

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster