Collections

How to spell collections

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce collections

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does collections mean?

1. nounGroups of objects deliberately gathered or accumulated, such as art, stamps or money.

Collections in a sentence

• The museum displayed its rare coin collections in a locked case.

• The charity organised weekly collections of food and clothing for families in need.

Where does collections come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb colligere, meaning 'to gather together', which was built from the prefix com- 'together' and legere 'to gather, choose or read'. The Latin past participle collectus gave rise to the noun collectio, literally 'a gathering together', and English absorbed it through Old French collection during the 1300s. The same legere root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'select', 'elect' and even 'lecture', all of which carry the idea of picking out or reading aloud. The spelling keeps the doubled letters of the Latin prefix com- assimilating to col- before the l, which is why two l's appear; the plural simply adds an -s. The mild trap for writers is remembering the -ction ending rather than writing it the way it sounds.

How the word is built

• col- (together)
• lect (from legere: to gather, choose)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)
• -s (plural)