collation
/kəˈleɪʃən/noun
collation is spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-I-O-N: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, collation means “The act of bringing things together and comparing them; comparison” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of collation is collations.
How many letters and syllables are in collation?
| Letters | 9: C-O-L-L-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is collation?
Collation appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce collation?
- /kəˈleɪʃən/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-collation.wav, En-us-collation.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with collation
Sounds like: colation (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of collation
- collations plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- collationing participle, present
- collationed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does collation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of bringing things together and comparing them; comparison.
November 8, 1717, The Bishop of Rochester, letter to Alexander Pope I return you your Milton, which, upon collation, I find to be revised, and augmented, in several places
- 2
The act of collating pages or sheets of a book, or from printing etc.
- 3
A collection, a gathering.
- 4
obsoleteA conference or consultation.
- 5
The Collationes Patrum in Scetica Eremo Commorantium by John Cassian, an important ecclesiastical work. (Now usually with capital initial.)
- 6
A reading held from the work mentioned above, as a regular service in Benedictine monasteries.
- 7
The light meal taken by monks after the reading service mentioned above.
- 8
Any light meal or snack.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo partake of a collation, or light meal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Collation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | colación |
| Portuguese | pequeno almoço |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does collation come from?
From Middle English collacioun, collation, from Old French collation, from Latin collatiō, from the participle stem of cōnferō (“to bring together”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).