\Col*la"tion\, n. [OE. collacioun speech, conference,
reflection, OF. collacion, F. collation, fr. L. collatio a
bringing together, comparing, fr. collatum (used as the
supine of conferre); col- + latium (used as the supine of
ferre to bear), for tlatum. See {Tolerate}, v. t.]
1. The act of collating or comparing; a comparison of one
   copy er thing (as of a book, or manuscript) with another
   of a like kind; comparison, in general. --Pope.
2. (Print.) The gathering and examination of sheets
   preparatory to binding.
3. The act of conferring or bestowing. [Obs.]
         Not by the collation of the king . . . but by the
         people.                               --Bacon.
4. A conference. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
5. (Eccl. Law) The presentation of a clergyman to a benefice
   by a bishop, who has it in his own gift.
6. (Law)
   (a) The act of comparing the copy of any paper with its
       original to ascertain its conformity.
   (b) The report of the act made by the proper officers.
7. (Scots Law) The right which an heir has of throwing the
   whole heritable and movable estates of the deceased into
   one mass, and sharing it equally with others who are of
   the same degree of kindred.
Note: This also obtains in the civil law, and is found in the
      code of Louisiana. --Bouvier.
8. (Eccles.) A collection of the Lives of the Fathers or
   other devout work read daily in monasteries.
9. A light repast or luncheon; as, a cold collation; -- first
   applied to the refreshment on fast days that accompanied
   the reading of the collation in monasteries.
         A collation of wine and sweetmeats.   --Whiston.
{Collation of seals} (Old Law), a method of ascertaining the
   genuineness of a seal by comparing it with another known
   to be genuine. --Bouvier.

\Col*la"tion\, v. i.
To partake of a collation. [Obs.]
      May 20, 1658, I . . . collationed in Spring Garden.
                                               --Evelyn.