collective

Etymology

From Middle French collectif, from Latin collēctīvus, from collēctus, past participle of colligō (“I collect”), from com- (“together”) + legō (“I gather”). Compare French collectif. Doublet of colectivo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈlɛktɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Audio (US):

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• Hyphenation, US: col‧lec‧tive; UK: col‧lect‧ive
• Rhymes: -ɛktɪv

Adjective

collective (not comparable)

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

   Synonyms: congregated, aggregated

   the collective body of a nation

2. Tending to collect; forming a collection.
   • 1743, [Edward Young], “Night the Fourth. The Christian Triumph.”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 18:

     Local is his throne […] to fix a point, / A central point, collective of his sons.

3. Having plurality of origin or authority.
4. (grammar) Expressing a collection or aggregate of individuals, by a singular form.
5. (obsolete) Deducing consequences; reasoning; inferring.
   • 1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC:

     critical and collective reason

Noun

collective (plural collectives)

1. A farm owned by a collection of people.
2. (especially in communist countries) One of more farms managed and owned, through the state, by the community.
3. (grammar) A collective noun or name.
4. (by extension) A group dedicated to a particular cause or interest.
   • 2005, Zoya Kocur, Simon Leung, Theory in contemporary art since 1985, page 76:

     There are, however, a number of contemporary artists and art collectives that have defined their practice precisely around the facilitation of dialogue among diverse communities.

   • 2006 March 5, Holland Cotter, “The Collective Conscious”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Critical Art Ensemble is one of many art collectives operating on the principle that information is power and that it is most effectively made available through a combination of science and aesthetics.

   • 2021 October 13, Adam Bradley, “The Creative Collectives Finding Strength in Numbers”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Today’s collectives create together, tour together, exhibit together, live together, survive together, eat together, sleep together, march together, fight together and party together, too.

5. The flight control used to control a helicopter's ascent or descent.
   • 2012, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Helicopter Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-21A, Ravenio Books:

     A pilot normally holds the collective stationary until the helicopter stops; however, to get more braking action, lower the collective slightly. Keep in mind that, due to the increased ground friction when the collective is lowered or […]

   • 2021 July 27, Federal Aviation Administration, Helicopter Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-21B, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     Hover height, rate of ascent, and the rate of descent are controlled by using the collective. Helicopter position and the direction of travel are controlled by the cyclic.

References

• “collective”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “collective”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “collective”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Further reading

• "collective" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 69.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

collective

1. feminine singular of collectif

   Après une belle action collective, l’équipe a enfin marqué un but.

   After some good teamwork, the team finally scored a goal.

Adjective

collēctīve

1. vocative masculine singular of collēctīvus