Collected

How to spell collected

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce collected

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does collected mean?

1. verbPast tense of collect: gathered things together or fetched them from a place.
2. adjectiveCalm, self-possessed, and in full control of one's emotions.

Collected in a sentence

• verb

  The museum collected rare manuscripts over many decades.

• adjective

  She stayed cool and collected throughout the difficult interview.

• verb

  She collected the parcel from the depot on her way home.

• adjective

  The surgeon remained collected even as the operation grew complicated.

Where does collected come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin verb colligere, meaning 'to gather together', which was formed from com- 'together' and legere 'to gather, choose, or read'. The past participle of colligere was collectus, and it is from that participle stem that English drew the verb collect in the late 1300s and early 1400s, often by way of Old French. The added -ed simply marks the past tense and past participle, so 'collected' literally describes things that have been gathered up. The same legere root still hums quietly inside relatives like 'select', 'elect', and even 'lecture'. The calm, composed sense grew out of a pleasant metaphor: a person who has gathered their scattered thoughts and feelings back into one steady whole is said to be collected. The spelling trap is the doubled meeting point of the col- prefix and the lect root, which gives the single 'l' followed by 'll' that writers sometimes mishandle.

How the word is built

• col- (com-: together)
• lect (from legere: to gather, choose)
• -ed (past participle / adjective suffix)