rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygleanGathering information
verb

glean

GLEEN/ɡliːn/

To gather useful remnants left scattered after a harvest.

After the harvest, volunteers glean leftover vegetables from the fields.

A middle-aged South Asian woman researcher sits at a small desk, comparing two distinct archival photographs while sorting additional photographs and unmarked paper records from three open folders into a small ordered group. Her focused gaze moves between the separate sources. Photos show simple recognizable buildings and landscapes, no writing, no charts, no readable text. A concrete act of gathering clues from scattered records, not harvesting grain.
Etymology
gleanLatinto make a collection

Glennare meant making a collection. Gathering information piece by piece parallels gathering grain left after harvest, although English used glean figuratively before its recorded literal harvesting sense.

In context

Genealogy TV1:08
in an obituary? Gosh, if you really sit down and glean all of that information out of it depending on how robust it is you may end up with, you know, an entire family group.
The Importance of Obituaries in Family History Research

More examples

  • The farmer lets neighbors glean wheat left behind by the combine.
  • We gleaned enough potatoes to fill two baskets.
  • Gleaning the remaining corn keeps good food from going to waste.

Forms

glean · gleans · gleaned · gleaning

gleaner noun — A person who gathers crops left after harvest.

Similar words

gather
Gather is broader and need not involve leftover crops.
collect
Collect emphasizes bringing items together, not their harvest origin.