Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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.

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.

Source : WordNet®

gather
     n 1: sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling
          tight a thread in a line of stitching [syn: {gathering}]
     2: the act of gathering something [syn: {gathering}]

gather
     v 1: assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your
          thoughts together" [syn: {garner}, {collect}, {pull
          together}] [ant: {spread}]
     2: collect in one place; "We assembled in the church basement";
        "Let's gather in the dining room" [syn: {meet}, {assemble},
         {forgather}, {foregather}]
     3: collect or gather; "Journals are accumulating in my office";
        "The work keeps piling up" [syn: {accumulate}, {cumulate},
         {conglomerate}, {pile up}, {amass}]
     4: conclude from evidence; "I gather you have not done your
        homework"
     5: draw fabric together and sew it tightly [syn: {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}, {get
        together}]
     7: look for (food) in nature; "Our ancestors gathered nuts in
        the Fall"