collation
Americannoun
-
the act of collating.
-
Bibliography. the verification of the number and order of the leaves and signatures of a volume.
-
a light meal that may be permitted on days of general fast.
-
any light meal.
-
(in a monastery) the practice of reading and conversing on the lives of the saints or the Scriptures at the close of the day.
-
the presentation of a member of the clergy to a benefice, especially by a bishop who is the patron or has acquired the patron's rights.
noun
-
the act or process of collating
-
a description of the technical features of a book
-
RC Church a light meal permitted on fast days
-
any light informal meal
-
the appointment of a clergyman to a benefice
Etymology
Origin of collation
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English collacion, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin collātiōn-, stem of collātiō “placement together, combination”; equivalent to collate + -ion
Explanation
A collation is the collection and ordering of materials, usually paper. It can be tedious and repetitive work, so most people are more than happy to let a copy machine do the job for them. Collation actually has two separate and very different meanings. After you finish the collation of all those document pages, you might grab a quick collation. (That is, you deserve a light snack after all that organizing.) That's right, a collation is also "a light meal," usually cold, and often set out for people to take at their leisure. It sometimes refers to a small meal eaten on fasting days.
Vocabulary lists containing collation
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ender's Game
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Sense and Sensibility
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Saudi Arabia entered the war in 2015, heading a military collation with the United Arab Emirates and other Arab nations.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
He offers a kind of companion piece in The Event, a collation of archive footage from the streets of Leningrad in August 1991, during the attempted coup against the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 13, 2015
To help in that ambition, the 29 clubs are sharing data about their youngsters - although the players remain anonymous when data is forwarded for collation.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2015
In June 2003, the U.S. carried out air strikes near Haditha to allow collation forces to seize the facility from Saddam Hussein’s army.
From Time ● Sep. 8, 2014
We lunched on a cold collation of duck and mutton shortly after noon; then betook ourselves to the instruments to observe the Transit.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
