Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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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.
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3. The act of inferring or concluding from premises or
observed facts; also, that which is inferred. [Obs.]
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We may safely say thus, that wrong collections have
been hitherto made out of those words by modern
divines. --Milton.
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4. The jurisdiction of a collector of excise. [Eng.]
Syn: Gathering; assembly; assemblage; group; crowd;
congregation; mass; heap; compilation.
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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).