ingathering
/'in,gæðəriɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. The act of gathering or collecting in: The process of bringing things or people together, often from various places, into one group or location. 2. A gathering or assembly of people: A group of people who have come together, often for a specific purpose such as a meeting, celebration, or religious event. 3. (Archaic/Literary) The harvest: The action or time of gathering in ripe crops.
Usage and Examples
- As the act of collecting:
- The ingathering of data for the research project took several months.
- The festival marks the ingathering of the harvest.
- As an assembly of people:
- The annual conference was a joyful ingathering of experts from around the world.
- The community held an ingathering to celebrate the new year.
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a formal, literary, or slightly old-fashioned tone.
- It can imply a purposeful or significant collection, not just a random gathering.
- "Ingathering of the exiles": A biblical and theological phrase referring to the return of a dispersed people (e.g., the Jewish people) to their homeland.
Variants and Related Words
- Ingather (verb, archaic): To gather in; to collect.
- They worked to ingather the scattered flock.
Synonyms
- Gathering
- Assembly
- Collection
- Convocation
- Congregation
- Harvest (for the agricultural sense)
Antonyms
- Dispersal
- Scattering
- Dissolution
Notes on Different Meanings
- The Primary Modern Meaning: Focuses on the act or event of bringing together, especially people for a shared purpose.
- The Archaic/Literal Meaning: Refers specifically to the agricultural harvest. This meaning is less common in everyday modern English but appears in literary or historical contexts.
- The Specific Contextual Meaning: In religious or historical texts, it can have a very specific meaning, such as the Ingathering of the Exiles in Jewish tradition.
Noun
- request for a sum of money
- an appeal to raise money for starving children