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gather
VERB:

1. to assemble or cause to assemble.

2. to collect or be collected gradually; muster.

3. to increase or cause to increase gradually, as in force, speed, intensity, etc.

(tr):

1. to bring together into one group, collection, or place: 
to gather firewood; to gather the troops.

2. to bring together or assemble from various places, sources, or people; collect gradually: 
The college is gathering a faculty from all over the country.

3. to serve as a center of attention for; attract: 
A good football game always gathers a crowd.

4. to pick or harvest (any crop or natural yield) from its place of growth or formation: 
to gather fruit; to gather flowers.

5. to collect (as taxes, dues, money owed, etc.).

6. to accumulate; increase: 
The storm gathers force; The car gathered speed.

7. to take by selection from among other things; sort out; cull.

8. to assemble or collect (one's energies or oneself) as for an effort (often followed by up): 
He gathered up his strength for the hard job.

9. to learn or conclude from observation; infer; deduce: 
I gather that he is the real leader.

10. (tr) to learn from information given; conclude or assume.

11. (tr) to pick or harvest (flowers, fruit, etc).

12. (tr) to collect by making a selection.

13. (tr) to prepare or make ready:
to gather one's wits.

14. to bring together; collect: 
tried to gather a crowd; gathered firewood.

15. pick, harvest: 
gather flowers.

16. to pick up or amass as if by harvesting: 
gathering ideas for the project.

17. to serve as an attraction for; accumulate: 
books gathering dust.

18. to effect the collection of: 
gather contributions.

19. to summon up: 
gathered his courage.

20. to gain by gradual increase: 
gather speed.

21. to prepare (oneself) by mustering strength.

22. to gain or regain control of:
gathered his wits.

23. to reach a conclusion often intuitively from hints or through inferences: 
I gather that you want to leave.

24. to bring together the parts of: 
gathered her hair into a ponytail.

of fabric, etc:

1. to draw (material) into a series of small tucks or folds by passing a thread through it and then pulling it tight.
​
2. to wrap or draw around or close: 
He gathered his scarf around his neck.
​
3. to pull (fabric) along a line of stitching so as to draw into puckers.

4. to draw about or close to something: 
gathering her cloak about her.

5. (tr) to draw (cloth) up on a thread in fine folds or puckers by means of even stitches.
​
6. (tr) to bring close (to) or wrap (around):
she gathered her shawl about her shoulders.

of the brow:

1. (tr or intr) to contract (the brow) or (of the brow) to become contracted into wrinkles; knit.
​
2. (tr) to contract (the brow) into wrinkles.

of picking or scooping up:

1. to pick up piece by piece: 
Gather your toys from the floor.

2. to pick or scoop up: 
She gathered the crying child in her arms.
​
3. to scoop up or take up from a resting place: 
gathered the child up in his arms.

4. (tr; foll by to or into) to clasp or embrace:
the mother gathered the child into her arms.

of a book, bookbinding:

1. to assemble (the printed sections of a book) in proper sequence for binding.

2. to assemble (the signatures of a book) in sequence for binding.

3. (tr) to assemble (sections of a book) in the correct sequence for binding.

in nautical sense: 

1. to gain (way) from a dead stop or extremely slow speed.

2. to haul in: 
the sailors gathered the sails.

in metalworking: 

to increase the sectional area of (stock) by any of various operations.

of glassmaking: 

to accumulate or collect (molten glass) at the end of a tube for blowing, shaping, etc.

(intr):

1. to come together around a central point or in a body; assemble: 
Let's gather round the fire and sing.

2. to collect or accumulate: 
Clouds were gathering in the northeast.

3. to grow, as by accretion; increase:
the gathering crisis.

4. to cluster around a focus of attraction.

Examples:
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Give me just a minute to gather my things and then we can leave; The coach gathered her players together. —Merriam-Webster.

of the brow, cloth, etc:

to become contracted into wrinkles, folds, creases, etc., as the brow or as cloth.

of a sore, pus, etc:

1. to come to a head, as a sore in suppurating.

2. (intr) (of a boil or other sore) to come to a head; form pus.
​
3. to swell and fill with pus.

Origin:

before 900; Middle English gaderen,Old English gaderian, derivative of geador together, akin to gæd fellowship; cf. together, good. Dictionary 2: Old English gadrian; related to Old Frisian gaderia, Middle Low German gaderen. —Dictionary.com. // 

First Known Use of gather: Verb: before the 12th century. Noun: 1555. History and Etymology for gather: Verb: Middle English gaderen, from Old English gaderian; akin to Middle High German gadern to unite — more at good. Noun: derivative of gather entry 1. —Merriam-Webster.

Sources: 1, 2.

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