Complete etymology of collaboration?

Here is what the Oxford English Dictionary has:

Etymology: n. of action, < Latin collabōrāreto collaborate v.: probably immediately < French.

HTH

Online Etymology dictionary provides the following information at http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=collaboration&searchmode=none :

collaboration (n.)

1860, from French collaboration, noun of action from Latin collaborare (see collaborate). In a bad sense, "tratorious cooperation with an occupying enemy," it is recorded from 1940; earliest references are to the Vichy Government of France.

Thanks for these thoughts. Here is a little more info on the purpose of this inquiry:

We are looking to create a large text panel on a wall with the definition of collaboration mapping its meaning as it has changed over time. After going to the library we have noted there are many close but varied definitions. So, we are now seeking a full and complete definition and are unsure where to turn?

Collaboration is a word that is used in the arts to define a type of working procedure. However, even within contemporary arts there are collaborative practices, art collaborations, artistic collaborators and art collaboratives that all use this word very differently. We are hoping to parse out these differences by tracing the meaning of the word backward to its source of origin.

Very best,

M

Now that you explain your intent, here's something else you might want to consider. Although the root "collaborator" originally had a negative connotation (as asusena points out), it has certainly evolved to include positive connotations. The word "collaborate" is listed as a back-formed verb. I would have expected the other way around.

The interesting question is just when it changed from a negative to positive connotation. I took a stab at that on Google Ngrams, comparing the phrase "enemy collaboration" with "friendly collaboration." See the results here. Looks like the positive connotation spiked right after WWII. Gotta wonder if, after the Allies won the war, we hijacked the meaning to "celebrate" what could be done when people pull together.

When I compare the phrases "traitorous collaboration" and "benevolent collaboration" things get even more interesting. See this result. Shows that the two connotations (positive and negative) have been in a dead heat since about 1965.

Of course, Ngrams only provide a "phrase snapshot" of usage. I tried prefixing "collaboration" with other synonyms for "good" and "bad" and got similar results.