What does colligate mean?
Colligate is a formal verb meaning to tie or bind together, and, more significantly in logic, to bring a set of separate particulars under one unifying concept or law. The word derives from Latin colligare, formed from com- ('together') and ligare ('to bind'), making it a sibling of such everyday words as ligature, ligament, obligation, and even religion. In ordinary language it is rare, but it holds an honoured place in the history of science: the nineteenth-century philosopher William Whewell used it to describe what he considered the essence of induction, the mental act of gathering scattered observations and binding them with a conception — such as force or polarity — into a coherent law. Because of this heritage, colligate carries an intellectual, scholarly connotation rather than a casual one. Writers reach for it when they want to stress not mere linkage but genuine conceptual unification, the moment when disparate facts click into a single intelligible whole.
verbTo tie or bind together; in logic, to subsume several particulars under a single general concept or law.
- To bind, tie, or fasten things together.
- (Logic and philosophy) To bring separate particulars under a single general concept, law, or principle; to unify by an idea.
"The philosopher sought to colligate the scattered observations under one governing principle."
"Whewell argued that induction works by colligating facts under a conception that binds them into a law."
"A sturdy clasp was used to colligate the bundles of manuscripts before they were shelved."
The same Latin verb that gave us 'religion' and 'ligament' also gave philosophers a word for the leap that binds scattered facts into a single law — colligate is where rope-knotting meets scientific insight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of colligate
Colligate comes from the Latin colligare, meaning 'to tie together', from com- ('together') plus ligare ('to bind'), and entered English in the early seventeenth century. It shares this root with a wide family of binding words, including ligature, ligament, obligation, and religion. Its philosophical sense was given particular prominence in the nineteenth century by William Whewell, who made colligation central to his account of scientific induction.
Related word forms
How colligate is actually used
Rare and formal in everyday English. The literal 'tie together' sense is chiefly historical or technical; today the word survives mostly in philosophy of science, where it retains currency through its noun form 'colligation'.
Easily confused with colligate
Collocate means to place side by side or set in position (as words occurring habitually together), whereas colligate means to tie together or subsume under a general idea.