Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Collect \Col*lect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Collected}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Collecting}.] [L. collecrus, p. p. of collerige to
   bind together; col- + legere to gather: cf. OF. collecter.
   See {Legend}, and cf. {Coil}, v. t., {Cull}, v. t.]
   1. To gather into one body or place; to assemble or bring
      together; to obtain by gathering.

            A band of men Collected choicely from each country.
                                                  --Shak.

            'Tis memory alone that enriches the mind, by
            preserving what our labor and industry daily
            collect.                              --Watts.

   2. To demand and obtain payment of, as an account, or other
      indebtedness; as, to collect taxes.

   3. To infer from observed facts; to conclude from premises.
      [Archaic.] --Shak.

            Which sequence, I conceive, is very ill collected.
                                                  --Locke.

   {To collect one's self}, to recover from surprise,
      embarrassment, or fear; to regain self-control.

   Syn: To gather; assemble; congregate; muster; accumulate;
        garner; aggregate; amass; infer; deduce.

Collect \Col*lect"\, v. i.
   1. To assemble together; as, the people collected in a crowd;
      to accumulate; as, snow collects in banks.

   2. To infer; to conclude. [Archaic]

            Whence some collect that the former word imports a
            plurality of persons.                 --South.

Collect \Col"lect\, n. [LL. collecta, fr. L. collecta a
   collection in money; an assemblage, fr. collerige: cf. F.
   collecte. See {Collect}, v. t.]
   A short, comprehensive prayer, adapted to a particular day,
   occasion, or condition, and forming part of a liturgy.

         The noble poem on the massacres of Piedmont is strictly
         a collect in verse.                      --Macaulay.

Source : WordNet®

collect
     adj : payment due by the recipient on delivery; "a collect call";
           "the letter came collect"; "a COD parcel" [syn: {cod}]

collect
     n : a short prayer generally preceding the lesson in the Church
         of Rome or the Church of England

collect
     adv : make a telephone call or mail a package so that the
           recipient pays; "call collect"; "send a package
           collect"
     v 1: get or gather together; "I am accumulating evidence for the
          man's unfaithfulness to his wife"; "She is amassing a
          lot of data for her thesis"; "She rolled up a small
          fortune" [syn: {roll up}, {accumulate}, {pile up}, {amass},
           {compile}, {hoard}]
     2: call for and obtain payment of; "we collected over a million
        dollars in outstanding debts"; "he collected the rent"
        [syn: {take in}]
     3: assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your
        thoughts together" [syn: {gather}, {garner}, {pull
        together}] [ant: {spread}]
     4: get or bring together; "accumulate evidence" [syn: {pull in}]
     5: gather or collect; "You can get the results on Monday"; "She
        picked up the children at the day care center"; "They pick
        up our trash twice a week" [syn: {pick up}, {gather up}, {call
        for}]