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collect1

[kuh-lekt]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to gather together; assemble: The professor collected the students' exams.
  2. to accumulate; make a collection of: to collect stamps.
  3. to receive or compel payment of: to collect a bill.
  4. to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like): At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.
  5. to call for and take with one: He drove off to collect his guests. They collected their mail.
  6. Manège. to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.
  7. Archaic. to infer.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to gather together; assemble: The students collected in the assembly hall.
  2. to accumulate: Rain water collected in the barrel.
  3. to receive payment (often followed by on): He collected on the damage to his house.
  4. to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby: He's been collecting for years.
  5. Manège. (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.
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adjective, adverb
  1. requiring payment by the recipient: a collect telephone call; a telegram sent collect.
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Origin of collect1

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin collēctus (past participle of colligere to collect), equivalent to col- col-1 + leg- (stem of legere to gather) + -tus past participle suffix

Synonyms

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1, 2. amass, aggregate. 4. compose, calm.

Synonym study

1. See gather.

Antonyms

1. broadcast. 2. distribute.

collect2

[kol-ekt]
noun
  1. any of certain brief prayers used in Western churches especially before the epistle in the communion service.
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Origin of collect2

1150–1200; Middle English collecte < Medieval Latin, short for ōrātiō ad collēctam prayer at collection (see collect1)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for collect

collect1

verb
  1. to gather together or be gathered together
  2. to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study
  3. (tr) to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)
  4. (tr) to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprisehe collected his wits
  5. (tr) to fetch; pick upcollect your own post; he collected the children after school
  6. (intr sometimes foll by on) slang to receive large sums of money, as from an investmenthe really collected when the will was read
  7. (tr) Australian and NZ informal to collide with; be hit by
  8. collect on delivery the US term for cash on delivery
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adverb, adjective
  1. US (of telephone calls) on a reverse-charge basis
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noun
  1. Australian informal a winning bet
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin collēctus collected, from colligere to gather together, from com- together + legere to gather

collect2

noun
  1. Christianity a short Church prayer generally preceding the lesson or epistle in Communion and other services
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Word Origin

C13: from Medieval Latin collecta (from the phrase ōrātiō ad collēctam prayer at the (people's) assembly), from Latin colligere to collect 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for collect

v.

early 15c. (transitive), from Old French collecter "to collect" (late 14c.), from Latin collectus, past participle of colligere "gather together," from com- "together" (see com-) + legere "to gather" (see lecture (n.)). The intransitive sense is attested from 1794. Related: Collected; collecting. As an adjective meaning "paid by the recipient" it is attested from 1893, originally with reference to telegrams.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper