I. kəˈlektiv, -ēv also -əv adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French collectif, from Latin collectivus, from collectus + -ivus -ive
1.
a. of a word or term : indicating a number of persons or things considered as constituting one group or aggregate
family and flock are collective words
b. of a noun or pronoun : singular in form but sometimes or always plural in construction
family in “the family were proud” is a collective word
2.
a. : formed by collecting : gathered into a mass, sum, or body : aggregated
b. of fruit : multiple
3. : by, characteristic of, or relating to a group of individuals, especially a public group such as a social class or a whole society
the collective interests of the society
4. : originating in, authorized by, or composed of a group (as a governing group)
collective leadership
5. : involving or characterized by the united action or cooperative endeavors of all members of an aggregation or group as distinct from that of individuals
collective work
6. : marked by simultaneity, uniformity, or similarity (as of a response to a stimulus) among all the members of a group (as a whole society)
collective feeling
the collective opinion of all Americans — F.D.Roosevelt
7. : collectivized or characterized by collectivism
8.
a. : having the same general characteristics as the group and thus tending to lack any individual personal traits : depersonalized
collective man
: typical , representative
the collective New Yorker
b. : shared or assumed by all members of the group
the collective responsibility of the cabinet
the collective guilt of all party members
9. : comprising a number of imperfectly differentiated entities — used especially of a species made up of several imperfectly separable types
II. noun
( -s )
1. : a collective word or term
2. : a collective body : group
a social collective
3. : a cooperative unit or organization ; specifically : collective farm