Skip to main content
collegium

collegium

1 9.9
An official group in ancient Rome that supported its members
  • noun
  • /kəˈlɛdʒiəm/
  • Archaic
translation icon : colegio
  • Membership in the collegium included artisans who collaborated to uphold their trade standards.

Examples

  • The ancient Romans formed a collegium to manage the local trade of olive oil and wine.

  • Moreover, these rules gave considerable power to the community of lepers, called the collegium.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The Church, he wrote in 1953, is not just an association of people in the manner of a pagan collegium but rather an institution with a divine origin—"she was and is an institution formed from on high, hierarchically built." (n113)

    Academic text (2001)
  • In ancient Rome, a collegium was essential for organizing the burial rites for its members.

Synonyms

athenaeum
vscollegium
1 9.9

A group of people who meet to read and discuss books or science

is focused on trade or civic legal functions rather than arts and learning
universitas
vscollegium
  • Archaic
9.9

A group of people in one trade who join to protect their rights

is specific to ancient Roman society rather than a general historical corporate body

Surface Forms

collegium singular
collegia plural

Etymology

In ancient Rome a collegium was an official group like a guild or a club where members helped each other, and this idea of people who 'belong together' is the source of modern college and colleague. This is why a collegium could be a society or association with an official role.