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Where does the word "college" come from? It comes from Latin collegium, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
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Where does the word "college" come from? It comes from Latin collegium, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
College’s story begins in Latin: collegium meant “a group gathered together.” A group gathered together, a partnership, from com- (together) and legere (to gather). It reached English by 1300s as college. Settled as the English word for an institution of higher education. Today, college means an institution of higher education, or a group of people with a shared purpose.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient collegium "a group gathered together", a group gathered together, a partnership, from com- (together) and legere (to gather).
- Stage 2 · English · 1300s college "an institution of higher education", settled as the English word for an institution of higher education.