Col·la·tion n.
 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.
 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.]
 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.
 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.