gather

Gather is a verb with several related senses centered on bringing together, collecting, or assembling. The core meaning is to cause things or people to come into one place or group, or to accumulate items over time. It can describe physical actions (gather leaves, gather firewood), social actions (gather a crowd for a meeting), or abstract processes (gather evidence). The word can be used intransitively, as in The audience began to gather, or transitively, as in She gathered the papers into a pile. The noun form, gathering, refers to an assembly or meeting, such as a family gathering, or to the act of gathering itself.

In addition to its primary sense, gather can mean to deduce or infer from information, as in I gather that you are leaving. It is also common in idioms that describe gradual changes in force or momentum, such as gathering speed or gathering momentum. The expression may imply accumulation or consolidation rather than deliberate distribution, depending on context. The verb is versatile across domains, including everyday conversation, journalism, and academic writing, where it can indicate collection of data, people, or materials.

Origins and form: Gather derives from Old English gegaderian or gaderian, meaning to assemble or come together, with cognates in other Germanic languages. It has since broadened to cover a range of related actions, from physical collection to inference. Its principal forms are gather (present), gathered (past and past participle), and gathering (present participle and noun). Synonyms include collect, assemble, amass, and accrue; antonyms include scatter and disperse.