Exact historical dictionary sense
Collection in Webster's 1913 dictionary
The 1913 record labels collection as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.
[L. collectio: cf. F. collection.]
Cross-verified historical senseIn Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "collection" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. collectio: cf. F. collection.]" The selected historical definition says: "The act or process of collecting or of gathering; as, the collection of specimens."