kəˈlekshən noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English collectioun, from Middle French collection, from Latin collection-, collectio, from collectus (past participle of colligere to collect, amass) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at collect
1. : the act of collecting (as taxes by a tax collector) ; specifically : the securing of payment of a check, bond coupon, or other credit instrument by presentation to the payer for cash
2. : a number of objects or persons or a quantity of a substance that has been collected or has collected often according to some unifying principle or orderly arrangement: as
a. : an assembly of objects or specimens for the purposes of education, research, or interest
the magnificent collection of trees — Edmund Wilson
b. : aggregation , group , number
a collection of buffalo-hide huts — American Guide Series: Texas
a collection of different personalities — Warwick Braithwaite
c. : apparel that is displayed for sale in a particular season (as by a particular designer)
3. obsolete : deduction , inference , interpretation
wrong collections have been hitherto made out of those words by modern divines — John Milton
4.
a. : an attaining to composure : a becoming collected : a bringing under control
some time was required for the collection of her faculties
b. : a standard pose of a well-handled saddle horse in which it is brought well up to the bit and flexion of the body predominates with jaw relaxed, head arched at the poll, and hocks tucked under the body so that the center of gravity is shifted toward the rear quarters ; also : the act of bringing a horse into a state of collection
5. collections plural : a term examination at some English colleges
6. : aggregate III 5