collation

noun

col·​la·​tion kə-ˈlā-shən 

kä-,

kō-

1

[Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin collation-, collatio, from Late Latin, conference, from Latin, bringing together, comparison, from conferre (past participle collatus) to bring together — more at confer, tolerate]

a

: a light meal allowed on fast days in place of lunch or supper

b

: a light meal

2

[Middle English, from Latin collation-, collatio] : the act, process, or result of collating

Examples of collation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Billionaires abound in the two wealth collations featured this month: Taiwan’s 50 Richest and Japan’s 50 Richest. —Naazneen Karmali, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

The solution plugs into manufacturers’ existing systems to automate collection and collation of the quality, compliance and governance data required to secure certifications and regulatory approvals. —David Prosser, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

Data collation and curation (which data teams have preached for years) are now critical. —Peter Guagenti, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025

The version of the law that passed Thursday — with support from the outgoing collation government of the SPD, Greens and FDP parties — had been watered down from the original version proposed by German culture minister Claudia Roth. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for collation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• conflation

Legal Definition

collation

noun

col·​la·​tion kə-ˈlā-shən, kä-, kō- 

in the civil law of Louisiana : the actual or supposed return of goods to the mass of the succession that is made by an heir who received property in advance for the purpose of having the property divided with the rest of the succession compare hotchpot

Note: Children and grandchildren of a decedent must return anything that they received in advance by donation inter vivos. Further, they cannot claim legacies made to them unless made expressly by the decedent as an advantage over their coheirs to be received besides their portion of the succession. Donations made to a grandchild by a grandparent during the life of the child's father are not subject to collation. A collation may be made in kind by the actual delivering up of the thing given, or by taking less from the succession in proportion to the value of the thing received in advance.

Etymology

French, from Latin collatio bonorum (in Roman law) contribution made by emancipated heirs to an estate under an intestate succession, literally, bringing together of goods