definitions
  • synonyms

collective

[ kuh-lek-tiv ]
/ kəˈlɛk tɪv /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR collective ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

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RELATED WORDS

unified, mutual, concerted, cumulative, corporate, aggregate, joint, common, cooperative, combined, concentrated, heaped, united, conjoint, assembled, collated, compiled, consolidated, hoarded, massed

Nearby words

collecting tubule, collection, collection agency, collection box, collection plate, collective, collective agreement, collective bargaining, collective behavior, collective farm, collective fruit

Origin of collective

1400–50; late Middle English collectif (< Middle French) < Latin collēctīvus, equivalent to collēct(us) (past participle of colligere; see collect1) + -īvus -ive
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for collective

British Dictionary definitions for collective

collective

/ (kəˈlɛktɪv) /

adjective

formed or assembled by collection
forming a whole or aggregate
of, done by, or characteristic of individuals acting in cooperation

noun

  1. a cooperative enterprise or unit, such as a collective farm
  2. the members of such a cooperative
short for collective noun
Derived Formscollectively, adverbcollectiveness, noun
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 collective

collective

adj.

early 15c., from Middle French collectif, from Latin collectivus, from collectus (see collect). As a noun, short for collective farm (in the USSR) it dates from 1925. collective farm first attested 1919 in translations of Lenin. Collective bargaining coined 1891 by Beatrice Webb; defined in U.S. 1935 by the Wagner Act. Collective noun is recorded from 1510s; collective security first attested 1934 in speech by Winston Churchill.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper