'collectivity' originates from French, specifically the word 'collectivité', where the element 'collect-' (from Latin 'colligere') meant 'to gather' and the suffix '-ity' (from Latin '-itas') meant 'state or condition'.

'collectivity' changed from the French word 'collectivité', itself derived from Latin roots such as 'collectivus' and ultimately 'colligere' ('to gather'), and was adopted into English as the modern word 'collectivity'.

Initially, the roots referred primarily to 'gathering' or 'that which is gathered'; over time the meaning evolved into both 'the state or quality of being collective' and 'a group regarded as a single unit', which is how it is commonly used today.