College (corporation)

A college is a variety of the corporation, literally a "body" (Latin: "corpus, corporis") created by a legal fiction with its own legal personality, able to act largely as a natural person as regards the law of contract. Thus it can enter into contracts for sale, purchase and employment and can sue and be sued in a court of law, and can own real estate. 
Etymology.
The word "college" is contracted from the Latin compound word "cum-lego", from the verb "lego, legere, legi, lectum", "to collect, gather together, pick", plus the preposition "cum", "with", thus meaning "selected together". Thus "colleagues" are fellow members of a college, literally "persons who have been selected together". In ancient Rome a "collegium" was a "body, guild, corporation united in colleagueship; of magistrates, praetors, tribunes, priests, augurs; a political club or trade guild".
Examples.
Modern survivals.
The following are all groups of persons "selected in common" to perform a specified function and appointed by a monarch, founder or other person in authority: