different between collection vs quantity

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French collection, from Latin coll?cti?, coll?cti?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??l?k??n/
• Rhymes: -?k??n
• Hyphenation: col?lec?tion

Noun

collection (countable and uncountable, plural collections)

1. A set of items or amount of material procured or gathered together.
   • 1837, William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences

     collections of moisture

   • 1887, Robert Bartholow, A Treatise on the Practice of Medicine

     a purulent collection

2. Multiple related objects associated as a group.

3. The activity of collecting.

4. (topology, mathematical analysis) A set of sets.
5. A gathering of money for charitable or other purposes, as by passing a contribution box for donations.
6. (law) Debt collection.
7. (obsolete) The act of inferring or concluding from premises or observed facts; also, that which is inferred.
8. (Britain) The jurisdiction of a collector of excise.
9. (in the plural, Britain, Oxford University) A set of college exams generally taken at the start of the term.
10. The quality of being collected; calm composure.

Derived terms

Translations

French

Alternative forms

• c., coll. (abbreviations)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin coll?cti?, coll?cti?nem. Cf. also Old French quieuçon, which may be inherited from the same source, and the modern cueillaison, which was probably formed analogically.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?.l?k.sj??/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophone: collections
• Hyphenation: col?lec?tion

Noun

collection f (plural collections)

1. collection

Derived terms

• collec
• collectionner
• collectionneur
• collectionnite

Related terms

• collecte
• collecter
• cueillette
• cueillir

Further reading

• “collection” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Middle English quantite, from Old French quantité, from Latin quantit?s (“quantity”), from quantus (“how much”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?kw?n.t?.ti/
• (General American) enPR: kw?n?(t)?t?, IPA^(key): /?kw?n(t)?ti/, [?k?w?n(?)??i], [?k?w?n(t?)?t?i]
  • Note: This is with a relaxed middle T, and is only used in colloquial contexts by many speakers.
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /?kw?nd?di/, /?kw?n???i/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /?kwæn.t?.ti/

Noun

quantity (countable and uncountable, plural quantities)

1. A fundamental, generic term used when referring to the measurement (count, amount) of a scalar, vector, number of items or to some other way of denominating the value of a collection or group of items.

2. An indefinite amount of something.

   Some soap making oils are best as base oils, used in a larger quantity in the soap, while other oils are best added in a small quantity.

3. A specific measured amount.

4. A considerable measure or amount.

5. (metrology) Property of a phenomenon, body, or substance, where the property has a magnitude that can be expressed as number and a reference.
6. (mathematics) Indicates that the entire preceding expression is henceforth considered a single object.
   • 2006, Jerome E. Kaufmann and Karen Schwitters, Elementary and Intermediate Algebra: A Combined Approach, p 89

     For problems 58-67, translate each word phrase into an algebraic expression. […] 65. x plus 9, the quantity squared

   • 2005, R. Mark Sirkin, Statistics For The Social Sciences, p137

     The second, ${\displaystyle (\sum x)^{2}}$, read "summation of x, quantity squared," tells us to first add up all the xs to get ${\displaystyle \sum x}$ and then square ${\displaystyle \sum x}$ to get ${\displaystyle (\sum x)^{2}}$.

   • 1985, Serge Lang, Math!: Encounters with High School Students, p54

     ANN. ${\displaystyle ra}$ quantity cubed.

     SERGE LANG. That's right, ${\displaystyle (ra)^{3}}$.

Usage notes

• In mathematics, used to unambiguously orate mathematical equations; it is extremely rare in print, since there is no need for it there.

Synonyms

• Qty

Derived terms

• unknown quantity

Related terms

Translations

See also

• measure
• unit

Further reading

• quantity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• quantity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• quantity at OneLook Dictionary Search