collectioncollection

Collection comes from Old French collection, from Latin collēctiō, from collēctus, participle of colligō ‘to gather together’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-¹‘to gather’reconstructed
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō¹‘bring together’
3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolligō¹‘collect together’
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctus¹‘gathered’
5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctiō¹
6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400collection¹
7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500colleccioun¹
8. Englishearliest quotation 1643collection¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English collection
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1643, John Milton, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […]: “We may safely say thus, that wrong collections have…”.