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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re gathering together the good roots of the word gather.

Gather [ˈɡæðə / ˈɡæðɚ] as a verb can mean to collect normally separate things; to harvest food; to accumulate over time; to congregate or assemble; to bring parts of a whole closer; or to infer or conclude.

As an noun, gather can mean a plait or fold in cloth, a blob of molten glass collected on the end of a blowpipe, or a gathering.

It comes from Middle English gaderen (to assemble, congregate), from Old English gaderian (to bring together, to gather), from Proto-West Germanic *gadurōn (to gather, bring together), from *gadur (together, gathered in one place), possibly from PIE *gʰódʰ-r̥, from *gʰedʰ- (to join, unite, suit) [source].

Words from the same roots include godzić (to reconcile, bring together) in Polish, hodit (to fit, suit, be appropriate) in Czech, guõdas (virtue, nobleness, glory, honour) in Lithuanian, goed (good, correct, right) in Dutch, and good and together in English [source].

Next week I’m off to the Polyglot Gathering in Brno in the Czech Republic, where language enthusiasts from all over the world will forgather and regather together to talk in and about languages. There may some woolgathering, but hopefully no misgathering, as we gather our thoughts and ourselves together.

• to forgather = to assemble or gather together in one place, to gather up, to congregate
• to regather = to gather again, to gather back together
• woolgathering = the gathering of fragments of wool torn from sheep by bushes, etc. indulgence in idle fancies or daydreams
• to misgather = to accumulate or assemble incorrectly, to infer or conclude incorrectly

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I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.