Col‐lect″ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Collected; p. pr. & vb. n.Collecting.] [L. collecrus, p. p. of collerige to bind together; col- + legere to gather: cf. OF. collecter. See Legend, and cf. Coil, v. t., Cull, v. t.] 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. Shak.
Which sequence, I conceive, is very ill collected.
Locke.
To collect one's self, to recover from surprise, embarrassment, or fear; to regain self-control.
Syn. — To gather; assemble; congregate; muster; accumulate; garner; aggregate; amass; infer; deduce.