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in the aggregate, taken or considered as a whole: In the aggregate, our losses have been relatively small.
Origin of aggregate
Related forms
Word story
All three parts of speech of aggregate (adjective, noun, verb) come directly from Latin aggregāt-, the stem of aggregātus, the past participle of aggregāre.
Aggregāre is a compound of ag-, a variant of the prefix ad- “to, toward,” and a derivative of the noun grex (inflectional stem greg- ) “flock, herd, band, troop, company”; aggregāre therefore means “to make (people) flock together, enter into association, join”—the association with grex “flock” is clear.
The Latin forms come from the Proto-Indo-European root ger-, gere- “to gather, collect,” which appears in Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic. Probably the most important derivative of ger-, gere- for the history of Western culture is the Greek noun agorá “meeting, assembly, market, marketplace, trade, traffic,” especially the Agora in Athens, the chief marketplace and center of the city’s civic life.
Aggregāre is a compound of ag-, a variant of the prefix ad- “to, toward,” and a derivative of the noun grex (inflectional stem greg- ) “flock, herd, band, troop, company”; aggregāre therefore means “to make (people) flock together, enter into association, join”—the association with grex “flock” is clear.
The Latin forms come from the Proto-Indo-European root ger-, gere- “to gather, collect,” which appears in Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic. Probably the most important derivative of ger-, gere- for the history of Western culture is the Greek noun agorá “meeting, assembly, market, marketplace, trade, traffic,” especially the Agora in Athens, the chief marketplace and center of the city’s civic life.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for in the aggregate
aggregate
adjective (ˈæɡrɪɡɪt, -ˌɡeɪt)
formed of separate units collected into a whole; collective; corporate
(of fruits and flowers) composed of a dense cluster of carpels or florets
noun (ˈæɡrɪɡɪt, -ˌɡeɪt)
verb (ˈæɡrɪˌɡeɪt)
to combine or be combined into a body, etc
(tr) to amount to (a number)
Derived Formsaggregately, adverbaggregative (ˈæɡrɪˌɡeɪtɪv), adjective
Word Origin for aggregate
C16: from Latin aggregāre to add to a flock or herd, attach (oneself) to, from grex flock
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Medicine definitions for in the aggregate
aggregate
[ ăg′rĭ-gĭt ]
adj.
Crowded or massed into a dense cluster.
n.
A total considered with reference to its constituent parts; a gross amount in a mass or cluster.
v.
To gather into a mass, sum, or whole.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with in the aggregate
in the aggregate
Considered as a whole, as in Our profits in the aggregate have been slightly higher. [Late 1700s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.