3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Collection \Col*lec"tion\, n. [L. collectio: cf. F. collection.]
1. The act or process of collecting or of gathering; as, the
collection of specimens.
2. That which is collected; as:
(a) A gathering or assemblage of objects or of persons.
``A collection of letters.'' --Macaulay.
(b) A gathering of money for charitable or other purposes,
as by passing a contribution box for freewill
offerings. ``The collection for the saints.'' --1 Cor.
xvi. 1
(c) (Usually in pl.) That which is obtained in payment of
demands.
(d) An accumulation of any substance. ``Collections of
moisture.'' --Whewell. ``A purulent collection.''
--Dunglison.
3. The act of inferring or concluding from premises or
observed facts; also, that which is inferred. [Obs.]
We may safely say thus, that wrong collections have
been hitherto made out of those words by modern
divines. --Milton.
4. The jurisdiction of a collector of excise. [Eng.]
Syn: Gathering; assembly; assemblage; group; crowd;
congregation; mass; heap; compilation.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
collection
n 1: several things grouped together or considered as a whole
[syn: {aggregation}, {accumulation}, {assemblage}]
2: a publication containing a variety of works [syn: {compendium}]
3: request for a sum of money; "an appeal to raise money for
starving children" [syn: {solicitation}, {appeal}, {ingathering}]
4: the act of gathering something together [syn: {collecting},
{assembling}, {aggregation}]
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Collection
The Christians in Palestine, from various causes, suffered from
poverty. Paul awakened an interest in them among the Gentile
churches, and made pecuniary collections in their behalf (Acts
24:17; Rom. 15:25, 26; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 2:10).