The Spanish verb 'coger' (meaning 'to take' or 'to catch') comes from the Latin verb 'colligere', which meant 'to collect' or 'to gather'. The Latin 'colligere' itself was formed by combining two elements: the prefix 'com-' (meaning 'together') and the verb 'legere' (meaning 'to gather' or 'to choose'). Over time, 'colligere' evolved phonetically into the simpler form 'coger' in Spanish, while maintaining the basic concept of taking or gathering something.

Several common Spanish words share this Latin root, including 'recoger' (to pick up, collect), which adds the prefix 're-' to intensify the meaning of gathering or collecting. Another related word is 'escoger' (to choose, select), which preserves more of the 'choosing' sense from the original Latin 'legere'.

English speakers might recognize this etymology in words like 'collect' and 'college', which both come from the same Latin root 'colligere'. A 'collection' is a group of gathered items, while a 'college' was originally a group of colleagues gathered together. The word 'lecture' also comes from Latin 'legere', originally referring to the gathering of words to read.