Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - gather

 I. verb  (~ed; ~ing)  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 ~ a crowd ~ed firewood  2.  a. pick, harvest ~ flowers  b. to pick up or amass as if by harvesting ~ing ideas for the project  c. to scoop up or take up from a resting place ~ed the child up in his arms  3. to serve as an attraction for ; accumulate books ~ing dust  4. to effect the collection of ~ contributions  5.  a. to summon up ~ed his courage  b. to gain by gradual increase ~ speed  c. to prepare (as oneself) by mustering strength  d. to gain or regain control of ~ed his wits  6. to reach a conclusion often intuitively from hints or through inferences I ~ 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 ~ing her cloak about her  c. to bring together the parts of ~ed her hair into a ponytail  d. to assemble (the signatures of a book) in sequence for binding  e. to haul in the sailors ~ed 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 ~ing crisis  • ~er noun Synonyms:  ~, collect, assemble, congregate mean to come or bring together into a group, mass, or unit. ~ is the most general term for bringing or coming together from a spread-out or scattered state a crowd quickly ~ed. 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 ~ed: as  a. a puckering in cloth made by ~ing  b. a mass of molten glass collected for use in glassblowing  2. an act or instance of ~ing