Collect — Defs

01 v. t. To gather into one body or place; to assemble or bring together; to obtain by gathering.

imp. & p. p. Collected; p. pr. & vb. n. Collecting

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.]
“Which sequence, I conceive, is very ill collected.” — Locke.

Phrases & compounds

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

02 v. i. To assemble together; as, the people collected in a crowd; to accumulate; as, snow collects in banks.

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.

03 n. A short, comprehensive prayer, adapted to a particular day, occasion, or condition, and forming part of a liturgy.

1.
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.