1. Plural of colligation; the act or process of binding together or connecting things into a unified whole.
Usage: formal; often used in academic or philosophical contexts
2. In linguistics and cognitive science, the grouping or association of linguistic elements (such as words or morphemes) based on patterns or relationships.
Usage: technical; linguistics

Examples

• The colligations of ideas in the philosopher's work created a coherent theoretical framework.
• Researchers studied the colligations between word forms to understand language acquisition.
• The colligations of historical events helped scholars construct a narrative of the period.
• In cognitive linguistics, colligations describe how words tend to cluster together in usage.
• The artist explored visual colligations, bringing disparate elements into meaningful relationships.