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collective - 6 dictionary results

col⋅lec⋅tive

  [kuh-lek-tiv]
Use collective in a Sentence
–adjective
1. formed by collection.
2. forming a whole; combined: the collective assets of a corporation and its subsidiaries.
3. of or characteristic of a group of individuals taken together: the collective wishes of the membership.
4. organized according to the principles of collectivism: a collective farm.
–noun
5. collective noun.
6. a collective body; aggregate.
7. a business, farm, etc., jointly owned and operated by the members of a group.
8. a unit of organization or the organization in a collectivist system.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME collectif (< MF) < L collēctīvus, equiv. to collēct(us) (ptp. of colligere; see collect 1 ) + -īvus -ive

Related forms:
col⋅lec⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To collective
col·lec·tive   (kə-lěk'tĭv)   
adj.  
  1. Assembled into or viewed as a whole.
  2. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or made by a number of people acting as a group: a collective decision.
n.  
  1. An undertaking, such as a business operation, set up on the principles or system of collectivism.
  2. Grammar A collective noun.
col·lec'tive·ly adv., col·lec'tive·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Collective

Col*lect"ive\, a. [L. collectivus: cf. F. collectif.]

1. Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body; congregated or aggregated; as, the collective body of a nation. --Bp. Hoadley.

2. Deducing consequences; reasoning; inferring. [Obs.] "Critical and collective reason." --Sir T. Browne.

3. (Gram.) Expressing a collection or aggregate of individuals, by a singular form; as, a collective name or noun, like assembly, army, jury, etc.

4. Tending to collect; forming a collection.

Local is his throne . . . to fix a point, A central point, collective of his sons. --Young.

5. Having plurality of origin or authority; as, in diplomacy, a note signed by the representatives of several governments is called a collective note.

Collective fruit (Bot.), that which is formed from a mass of flowers, as the mulberry, pineapple, and the like; -- called also multiple fruit. --Gray.

Collective

Col*lect"ive\, n. (Gram.) A collective noun or name.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : collective
Spanish: colectivo,
German: vereint,
Japanese: 集団的な
More Translations »

collective 
1520, from the source of collect (q.v.). As a shortened form of collective farm (in the U.S.S.R.) it dates from 1925. Collectivism in socialist theory is from 1880. Collective bargaining coined 1891 by Beatrice Webb; defined in U.S. 1935 by the Wagner Act.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: col·lec·tive
Pronunciation: k&-'lek-tiv
Function: adjective
: involving all members of a group as distinct from individual members —col·lec·tive·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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