collecta

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kɔlˈleːk.ta]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kolˈlɛk.ta]^[1]

Forms

collēcta f (genitive collēctae); first declension^[1] It is also spelled conlēcta; the neuter plural collēcta means collected sayings.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is the feminine of ⟨collēctus⟩, the participle of colligō “to gather”, used as a noun, with ⟨pecūnia⟩ “money” understood.^[2][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Cicero, of a diner's share of the bill.^[4][3] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a contribution of money, a share of the reckoning, as in Cicero, and in Jerome a collection for charity and an assembly, a meeting.^[2][3]

In Medieval Latin it meant a gathering, the service before a procession, and the first prayer of the Mass, said once the people had assembled.^[6] In Ecclesiastical Latin it is the Collect at Mass.^[7] It survives in Italian colletta, French cueillette “picking” and Portuguese colheita “harvest”.^[1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a contribution.^[4][5]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it of an assembly.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A contribution, share of the bill.^[2]
2. (Late Latin) A collection; an assembly.^[3]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The collect of the Mass.^[7][6]

Related words

• colligō
• collēctiō
• English collect

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson