collectivement

Collectivement is a French adverb meaning in a collective or joint manner, equivalent to the English "collectively" or "as a group." It is used to indicate that an action is performed by several people or a body rather than by a single individual, often emphasizing shared responsibility or agreement.

In usage, collectivement often modifies verbs to convey coordinated or unanimous action by a group. It is related to the noun and adjective collectif, which refer to a group or organization. For example: "Les membres du conseil ont collectivement décidé de reporter la réunion" shows that the decision was made by the group as a whole, while "un décide collectif" would describe the group rather than the manner of action. Collectivement tends to appear in formal, administrative, or policy contexts, though it can occur in everyday language when stressing joint action.

Etymologically, collectivement is formed from collectif (collective) plus the adverbial suffix -ment, tracing back to Latin collectivus through Old French. It shares a semantic field with other expressions that denote joint action, such as "en commun" or "de manière collective," but carries a stronger emphasis on group agency.

In translation, collectivement corresponds to "collectively" in English and is commonly used in legal, organizational, and academic French to articulate actions or decisions taken by a group. See also related terms such as collectif, collectivité, and collectivité territoriale for broader discussions of groups and collective action.