Etymograph

English

collective

Collective comes from Latin collēctīvus ‘collected or gathered together’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō1‘to gather’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolligō1‘to collect’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctus1‘gathered, having been gathered’past participle of colligō
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctīvus1‘collected or gathered together’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600collectif1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1642collective1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English collective
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1642, Thomas Browne, (please specify the page): “critical and collective reason”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, English collective‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetiWiktionary, English collectivereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, English collectivereconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegōWiktionary, English collective‘to gather’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolligōWiktionary, English collective‘to collect’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctusWiktionary, English collective‘gathered, having been gathered’past participle of colligō
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollēctīvusWiktionary, English collective‘collected or gathered together’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600collectifWiktionary, English collective
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1642collectiveWiktionary, English collective. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1642, Thomas Browne, (please specify the page): “critical and collective reason”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’

technology, logic, catalogue, apology, trilogy, analogy, sociology, terminology, logos, physiology, pathology, astrology, epilogue, monologue, prologue, leach, pathologist, eulogy, archaeologist, logistic, lexical, etymology, lexicon, epistemology, cosmology, entomology, homologous, lignite, lignin, gynecologist, alexia, etiology, lexis, apologia, dialectical, dialectic, bacteriology, syllogism, bacteriologist, 152 more

through Proto-Italic *legō

intelligence, intelligent, selection, intellectual, ineligible, elector, legionnaire, legionella, legionary, 18 more

through Latin legō ‘to gather’

election, elite, lesson, legend, legacy, eligible, select, elegant, legion, lecture, delegation, negligence, delegate, elect, colleague, negligent, negligible, diligent, collegiate, legible, legate, legation, ineligibility, lectern, collegium, lector, 27 more

through Latin colligō ‘to collect’

coil, cull, recollect, 4 more

Today it means

adj Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “collective”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / collective

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