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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GATH'ER, v.t.
1. To bring together; to collect a number of separate things into one place or into one aggregate body.
Gather stones; and they took stones,and made a heap. Genesis 31.
2. To get in harvest; to reap or cut and bring into barns or stores. Lev
25:20.
3. To pick up; to glean; to get in small parcels and bring together.
Gather out the stones. Isaiah 62.
He must gather up money by degrees.
4. To pluck; to collect by cropping, picking or plucking.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Matthew 7.
5. To assemble; to congregate; to bring persons into one place. Ezek
22:19.
6. To collect in abundance; to accumulate; to amass.
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings. Ecclesiastes 2.
7. To select and take; to separate from others and bring together.
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen. Psalms 106.
8. To sweep together.
The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind. Matthew 13.
9. To bring into one body or interest.
Yet will I gather others to him. Isaiah 56.
10. To draw together from a state of expansion or diffusion; to contract.
Gathering his flowing robe he seemed to stand,
In act to speak, and graceful stretch'd his hand.
11. To gain.
He gathers ground upon her in the chase.
12. To pucker; to plait.
13. To deduce by inference; to collect or learn by reasoning. From what I hear I gather that he was present.
After he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16.
14. To coil as a serpent.
To gather breath, to have respite.
GATH'ER, v.i. To collect; to unite; to increase; to be condensed. The clouds gather in the west.
1. To increase; to grow larger by accretion of like matter.
Their snow ball did not gather as it went.
2. To assemble. The people gather fast.
3. To generate pus or matter. [See Gathering.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching [syn: gather, gathering]
2: the act of gathering something [syn: gather, gathering] v
1: assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your thoughts together" [syn: gather, garner, collect, pull together] [ant: distribute, spread]
2: collect in one place; "We assembled in the church basement"; "Let's gather in the dining room" [syn: meet, gather, assemble, forgather, foregather]
3: collect or gather; "Journals are accumulating in my office"; "The work keeps piling up" [syn: accumulate, cumulate, conglomerate, pile up, gather, amass]
4: conclude from evidence; "I gather you have not done your homework"
5: draw together into folds or puckers [syn: gather, pucker, tuck]
6: get people together; "assemble your colleagues"; "get together all those who are interested in the project"; "gather the close family members" [syn: assemble, gather, get together]
7: draw and bring closer; "she gathered her shawl around her shoulders"
8: look for (food) in nature; "Our ancestors gathered nuts in the Fall"
9: increase or develop; "the peace movement gained momentum"; "the car gathers speed" [syn: gain, gather]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (gathered; gathering) Etymology: Middle English gaderen, from Old English gaderian; akin to Middle High German gadern to unite — more at good Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to bring together ; collect <tried to gather a crowd> <gathered firewood> 2. a. pick, harvest <gather flowers> b. to pick up or amass as if by harvesting <gathering ideas for the project> c. to scoop up or take up from a resting place <gathered the child up in his arms> 3. to serve as an attraction for ; accumulate <books gathering dust> 4. to effect the collection of <gather contributions> 5. a. to summon up <gathered his courage> b. to gain by gradual increase <gather speed> c. to prepare (as oneself) by mustering strength d. to gain or regain control of <gathered his wits> 6. to reach a conclusion often intuitively from hints or through inferences <I gather that you want to leave> 7. a. to pull (fabric) along a line of stitching so as to draw into puckers b. to draw about or close to something <gathering her cloak about her> c. to bring together the parts of <gathered her hair into a ponytail> d. to assemble (the signatures of a book) in sequence for binding e. to haul in <the sailors gathered the sails> intransitive verb 1. a. to come together in a body b. to cluster around a focus of attraction 2. a. to swell and fill with pus b. grow, increase <the gathering crisis> • gatherer noun Synonyms: gather, collect, assemble, congregate mean to come or bring together into a group, mass, or unit. gather is the most general term for bringing or coming together from a spread-out or scattered state <a crowd quickly gathered>. collect often implies careful selection or orderly arrangement <collected books on gardening>. assemble implies an ordered union or organization of persons or things often for a definite purpose <experts assembled for a conference>. congregate implies a spontaneous flocking together into a crowd or huddle <congregating under a shelter>. Synonym: see in addition infer. II. noun Date: 1555 1. something gathered: as a. a puckering in cloth made by gathering b. a mass of molten glass collected for use in glassblowing 2. an act or instance of gathering

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. & intr. bring or come together; assemble, accumulate. 2 tr. (usu. foll. by up) a bring together from scattered places or sources. b take up together from the ground, a surface, etc. c draw into a smaller compass. 3 tr. acquire by gradually collecting; amass. 4 tr. a pick a quantity of (flowers etc.). b collect (grain etc.) as a harvest. 5 tr. (often foll. by that + clause) infer or understand. 6 tr. be subjected to or affected by the accumulation or increase of (unread books gathering dust; gather speed; gather strength). 7 tr. (often foll. by up) summon up (one's thoughts, energy, etc.) for a purpose. 8 tr. gain or recover (one's breath). 9 tr. a draw (material, or one's brow) together in folds or wrinkles. b pucker or draw together (part of a dress) by running a thread through. 10 intr. come to a head; develop a purulent swelling. --n. (in pl.) a part of a garment that is gathered or drawn in. Phrases and idioms: gather way (of a ship) begin to move. Derivatives: gatherer n. Etymology: OE gaderian f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gather Gath"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Gathering.] [OE. gaderen, AS. gaderian, gadrian, fr. gador, geador, together, fr. g[ae]d fellowship; akin to E. good, D. gaderen to collect, G. gatte husband, MHG. gate, also companion, Goth. gadiliggs a sister's son. [root]29. See Good, and cf. Together.] 1. To bring together; to collect, as a number of separate things, into one place, or into one aggregate body; to assemble; to muster; to congregate. And Belgium's capital had gathered them Her beauty and her chivalry. --Byron. When he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together. --Matt. ii. 4. 2. To pick out and bring together from among what is of less value; to collect, as a harvest; to harvest; to cull; to pick off; to pluck. A rose just gathered from the stalk. --Dryden. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? --Matt. vii. 16. Gather us from among the heathen. --Ps. cvi. 47. 3. To accumulate by collecting and saving little by little; to amass; to gain; to heap up. He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. --Prov. xxviii. 8. To pay the creditor . . . he must gather up money by degrees. --Locke. 4. To bring closely together the parts or particles of; to contract; to compress; to bring together in folds or plaits, as a garment; also, to draw together, as a piece of cloth by a thread; to pucker; to plait; as, to gather a ruffle. Gathering his flowing robe, he seemed to stand In act to speak, and graceful stretched his hand. --Pope. 5. To derive, or deduce, as an inference; to collect, as a conclusion, from circumstances that suggest, or arguments that prove; to infer; to conclude. Let me say no more? Gather the sequel by that went before. --Shak. 6. To gain; to win. [Obs.] He gathers ground upon her in the chase. --Dryden. 7. (Arch.) To bring together, or nearer together, in masonry, as where the width of a fireplace is rapidly diminished to the width of the flue, or the like. 8. (Naut.) To haul in; to take up; as, to gather the slack of a rope. To be gathered to one's people, or to one's fathers to die. --Gen. xxv. 8. To gather breath, to recover normal breathing after being out of breath; to get breath; to rest. --Spenser. To gather one's self together, to collect and dispose one's powers for a great effort, as a beast crouches preparatory to a leap. To gather way (Naut.), to begin to move; to move with increasing speed.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gather Gath"er, n. 1. A plait or fold in cloth, made by drawing a thread through it; a pucker. 2. (Carriage Making) The inclination forward of the axle journals to keep the wheels from working outward. 3. (Arch.) The soffit or under surface of the masonry required in gathering. See Gather, v. t., 7.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gather Gath"er, v. i. 1. To come together; to collect; to unite; to become assembled; to congregate. When small humors gather to a gout. --Pope. Tears from the depth of some divine despair Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes. --Tennyson. 2. To grow larger by accretion; to increase. Their snowball did not gather as it went. --Bacon. 3. To concentrate; to come to a head, as a sore, and generate pus; as, a boil has gathered. 4. To collect or bring things together. Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed. --Matt. xxv. 26.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(gathers, gathering, gathered) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If people gather somewhere or if someone gathers people somewhere, they come together in a group. In the evenings, we gathered around the fireplace and talked... The man signalled for me to gather the children together. = assemble, collect VERB: V prep/adv, V n with together 2. If you gather things, you collect them together so that you can use them. I suggest we gather enough firewood to last the night... She stood up and started gathering her things together. = collect VERB: V n, V n together • Gather up means the same as gather. When Sutcliffe had gathered up his papers, he went out... He gathered the leaves up off the ground. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 3. If you gather information or evidence, you collect it, especially over a period of time and after a lot of hard work. ...a private detective using a hidden tape recorder to gather information... = collect, amass VERB: V n 4. If something gathers speed, momentum, or force, it gradually becomes faster or more powerful. Demands for his dismissal have gathered momentum in recent weeks... The raft gathered speed as the current dragged it toward the falls. = gain VERB: V n, V n 5. When you gather something such as your strength, courage, or thoughts, you make an effort to prepare yourself to do something. You must gather your strength for the journey. = muster VERB: V n • Gather up means the same as gather. She was gathering up her courage to approach him when he called to her. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P 6. You use gather in expressions such as 'I gather' and 'as far as I can gather' to introduce information that you have found out, especially when you have found it out in an indirect way. I gather his report is highly critical of the trial judge... 'He speaks English,' she said to Graham. 'I gathered that.'... From what I could gather, he was trying to raise money by organising festivals. VERB: V that, V n, V n 7. to gather dust: see dust

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gath'-er ('acaph, qabhats; sullego, sunago):

"Gather," transitive "to bring together," "collect," etc., and intransitive "to come together," "assemble," etc., occurs frequently and represents many Hebrew and Greek words. It is the translation of 'acaph, "to bring together," in Jos 6:9, the King James Version margin "gathering host"; Ps 27:10, the King James Version margin "The Lord will gather me"; compare Nu 12:14,15; Isa 52:12 King James Version margin. The phrases "gather thee unto thy fathers," "gathered unto his fathers," "gathered into the grave," etc., are frequently used for "to die" and "death" (Ge 25:8,17; 49:29,33; De 32:50; 2Ki 22:20; 2Ch 34:28; Job 27:19; compare Jer 8:2), etc.; qabhats, "to take or grasp with the hand," is frequently used of the Divine "gathering" or restoration of Israel (De 30:3,1; Ne 1:9; Ps 106:47; Isa 43:5, etc.; Eze 20:34, etc.; Ho 8:10; Mic 2:12; Ze 3:19,20; Zec 10:8,10); figuratively, Isa 40:11, "He shall gather the lambs with (the Revised Version (British and American) "in") his arm" (compare Ps 27:10 King James Version margin); sometimes it denotes bringing together for punishment or destruction (Mic 4:12), "He hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor."

In the New Testament we have sullego, "to lay together," "to collect" (Mt 13:28,29,30,40,41,48); sunago "to lead or bring together," "to gather," "to collect" (Mt 25:26, "seek returns"; Joh 4:36, "fruit unto life eternal"); episunago, "to lead or bring together" (Mt 23:37, "even as a hen gathereth her chickens"); anakephalaioomai, "to sum up under one head," "to recapitulate" (Eph 1:10, "that he might gather together in one all things in Christ," the Revised Version (British and American) "to sum up all things in Christ"; compare Eph 2:14; in Ro 13:9 the passive is translated "be briefly comprehended," the Revised Version (British and American) "summed up").

"To gather," in the sense of "to infer," occurs in Ac 16:10 as the translation of sumbibazo, "to bring together" (here, in mind), "assuredly gathering," the Revised Version (British and American) "concluding" (compare 9:22, "proving").

Gatherer occurs in Am 7:14 as the translation of bolec, from balac, to cultivate figs or sycamores, "a gatherer of sycamore fruit," the Revised Version (British and American) "a dresser of sycomore-trees" ("a nipper of sycomore figs, i.e. helping to cultivate a sort of figs or mulberries produced by the real sycamore tree" (used only by the poorest), which requires nipping in the cultivation, perhaps an occupation of shepherds; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) vellicans sycamnia).

Gathering is the translation of episunagoge, "leading together unto" (2Th 2:1), "our gathering together unto him"; in 1Co 16:2 we have "gathering" (logia from lego) in the sense of a collection of many, the Revised Version (British and American) "collection," as the King James Version in 1Co 16:1.

"Gather," etc., occurs frequently in Apocrypha, e.g. "will gather us out of all the nations," sunago (Tobit 13:5); "gather them together" (1 Macc 9:7; 10:8); "Gather together our dispersion," episunagage ten diasporan hemon (2 Macc 1:27); "gathered to his fathers" prosetethe pros ton laon autou, the Revised Version (British and American) "people" (Judith 16:22; Bel and the Dragon verse 1, tous pateras; 1 Macc 2:69); "gathering up briefly," the Revised Version (British and American) "gather," suntemno (2 Macc 10:10); "gathering" in the sense of a collection of money (2 Macc 12:43), the Revised Version (British and American) "collection."

Among the changes in the Revised Version (British and American) we have "hold firm" for "gather" (Jer 51:11); "Gather thee together" for "Go one way or other" (Eze 21:16 margin, "Make thyself one"); for "gather blackness" (Na 2:10), "are waxed pale "; for "or gather together" (Job 11:10), "and call unto judgment," margin Hebrew "call an assembly"; for "even as a hen doth gather her brood" (Lu 13:34) "gathereth her own brood"; for "as the partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not," the American Standard Revised Version has "that sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid," margin "gathereth young which she hath not brought forth," text of the English Revised Version and the King James Version margin (Jer 17:11).

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Collect, muster, assemble, congregate, bring together, draw together. 2. Accumulate, amass, hoard, garner, garner up, heap up, gather up. 3. Pluck, crop, pick, cull, reap, glean. 4. Gain, win, acquire, get. 5. Infer, deduce, conclude, draw the inference. 6. Fold, fold up or together, draw together. 7. Plait, pucker. II. v. n. 1. Muster, congregate, assemble, collect, come together. 2. Collect, increase, thicken, be condensed.

Moby Thesaurus

accouple, accumulate, affiliate, agglomerate, agglutinate, aggregate, aggroup, ally, amass, approach, articulate, assemble, associate, assume, await, band, batch, be afraid, be imminent, be in store, believe, blast, blossom, blow, blow a hurricane, blow great guns, blow over, blow up, bluster, bond, bracket, breeze, breeze up, brew, bridge, bridge over, bring in, bring together, build, bulk, bunch, bunch together, bunch up, burgeon, catch, cement, chain, choose, clap together, clot, clump, cluster, collect, colligate, collocate, combine, come on, come together, come up, compare, compile, comprise, concatenate, conceive, conclude, confront, conglobulate, conglomerate, congregate, congress, conjoin, conjugate, connect, consider, constrict, contract, convene, converge, copulate, corral, couple, cover, crease, creasing, crimp, crisp, crop, crop herbs, crowd, cull, cumulate, cut, daresay, date, deduce, deduct, deem, deepen, derive, develop, dig, dig up, divine, dog-ear, double, double over, doubling, drag up, draw, draw a conclusion, draw an inference, draw near, draw nigh, draw on, draw together, draw up, dream, dredge, dredge up, drive together, duplicature, embrace, encompass, encounter, enfold, enlarge, expand, expect, extend, extract, face, fancy, fathom, feel, fetch, find, fish up, flection, flexure, flock together, flounce, flourish, flow together, flute, fold, fold over, follow, forgather, forthcome, freshen, frill, fuse, gang around, gang up, garner, gather around, gather in, gather together, gather up, germinate, get in, get together, glean, glue, grabble, grant, grasp, group, grow, grow up, grub, grub up, hang over, harvest, haul up, hay, heap, heap up, hear, heighten, herd together, hive, horde, hover, huddle, huff, hypertrophy, imagine, impend, include, increase, induce, infer, infold, intensify, interfold, join, judge, juxtapose, knot, lap over, lapel, lappet, lay together, league, learn, let, let be, lie over, link, loom, lower, lump together, make, make out, make up, marry, marshal, mass, match, mature, meet, menace, merge, mill, mobilize, mow, mushroom, muster, near, nut, opine, outgrow, overdevelop, overgrow, overhang, overtop, pair, partner, pick, pick up, piece together, pile, pile up, pipe up, plait, plat, pleat, plica, plicate, plication, plicature, pluck, pluck up, ply, prefigure, presume, presuppose, presurmise, procreate, provisionally accept, pucker, puff, pull together, pullulate, purse, put together, quill, rage, raise, rake up, rally, rally around, reap, reap and carry, reason, reason that, reckon, rendezvous, reproduce, repute, rise, roll into one, round up, ruche, ruching, ruff, ruffle, say, scare up, scrape together, scrape up, seethe, select, set in, shirr, shoot up, solder, span, splice, spring up, sprout, sprout up, squall, stack, stick together, stock, stockpile, storm, stream, suppose, surge, surmise, suspect, swarm, take, take as proved, take for, take for granted, take in, take it, take to be, take up, tape, think, threaten, thrive, throng, tie, tower, troop, tuck, turn out, turn over, twill, understand, unify, unite, upshoot, upspear, upspring, upsprout, vegetate, waft, wax, weld, whiff, whiffle, whip in, yoke