Collegio

Collegio, in its Romance-language forms (collegio in Italian, colegio in Spanish, colégio in Portuguese), is a term used for institutions and bodies bound by a common educational, professional, or religious purpose. The word derives from Latin collegium, meaning an association or guild of colleagues, from collegae, fellow participants.

In education, the term often designates a school or a group within a university. In Italy, a collegio commonly refers to a secondary school or to a university residential college where students live, study, and receive instruction. In Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, colegio or colégio typically denotes a primary or secondary school; higher-education contexts may use the term for a college within a university or for an independent institution with a collegiate structure.

Beyond schools, collegio can denote a formal body formed to pursue a common professional or religious end. In Catholic usage, it can refer to a college or assembly of persons, such as the College of Cardinals (Collegio Cardinalizio) or other ecclesiastical bodies. It can also mean a governing board or academy of scholars, especially in institutions that supervise or credential members of a profession.

Historically, many colleges began as religious communities or educational guilds, and the term persists in university names and in the legal language of several countries. The precise sense of collegio depends on country, context, and the type of organization being described.