Etymologically
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collecta

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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]

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