Collectively

How to spell collectively

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce collectively

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does collectively mean?

1. adverbAs a group, or considered together as a whole rather than individually.

Collectively in a sentence

• The staff collectively agreed to share the bonus equally.

• The three departments are collectively responsible for the budget.

Where does collectively come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin verb colligere, meaning 'to gather together', which was built from the prefix com- 'together' and legere 'to gather, choose or read'. The past participle collectus gave rise to the medieval Latin adjective collectivus, describing things grouped or taken as a whole. English picked up 'collective' through French in the 1400s and 1500s, and then formed 'collectively' by adding the native English adverb suffix -ly. The same legere root sits behind a whole family of English words such as 'select', 'elect', 'lecture' and 'intelligent', all involving choosing, gathering or reading. The doubled 'l' in the middle is the spelling trap; it survives from the assimilation of com- before the l of legere, giving col- rather than con-.

How the word is built

• col- (together)
• lect (from legere: to gather, choose)
• -ive (forming adjective)
• -ly (forming adverb)