Collectives

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈlɛktɪvz/

Definitions

1. A gathering of individuals or organizations united by a shared aim or purpose
2. An assembly of people or entities that work together to achieve collective goals or objectives
3. Groups composed of members who join forces to pursue shared interests

Etymology: "Collectives" is the plural of "collective," an adjective that became a noun. Its ancestor is Latin "colligere," built from "com-" ("together") and "legere" ("to gather"), so the core idea is gathering things into one place. The Latin past participle "collectus" gave rise to the adjective "collectivus," which passed through Middle French "collectif" before English adopted it. The noun sense of groups working together grew out of the adjective's meaning of something shared or pooled by many people. A "collective" in that sense is a body whose members share a purpose and act as one, which is why the word now mostly describes organized groups of workers, artists, or farmers rather than simply a heap of things. The plural form simply names several of these bodies at once.

Synonyms: groups, assemblies, unions, associations, cooperatives