Collecting

How to spell collecting

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce collecting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does collecting mean?

1. verbGathering items together, either as a hobby or for a practical purpose.

Collecting in a sentence

• He has been collecting vintage stamps since childhood.

• The charity is collecting donations for the local food bank.

Where does collecting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin colligere, meaning 'to gather together', which was formed from the prefix com- 'together' and the verb legere 'to gather, pick out or choose'. The same legere root gives English a whole family of relatives, including 'select', 'elect' and even 'legend', which originally meant something 'to be read'. English took the verb 'collect' through Old French in the 1300s, and the present-participle and gerund form 'collecting' simply adds the familiar -ing ending. The single 'l' in 'col-' followed by a doubled 'll' in the middle is where writers occasionally stumble, since the prefix com- assimilated to col- before the 'l' of legere. Knowing that the word is literally 'gathering together' helps anchor both the meaning and the spelling.

How the word is built

• col- (together, from com-)
• lect (to gather, from legere)
• -ing (verb/gerund suffix)