glean

[ gleen ]

/ glin /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glean ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.

to gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.

to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.

verb (used without object)

to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.

to gather what is left by reapers.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of glean

1350–1400; Middle English glenen < Old French glener < Late Latin glennāre ≪ Celtic

SYNONYMS FOR glean

3. garner, deduce, infer.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glean ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsglean·a·ble, adjectiveglean·er, nounun·gleaned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gleaner

Even after being diagnosed with tennis elbow, she continued working as a gleaner at a garlic farm.
Rush Limbaugh Wrongly Attacks Tracie McMillan as ‘Over-Educated’ ‘Authorette’|Clarissa León|March 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This told us that the person to whom the Gleaner had been sent had become the prey of death, and would never read another.
The Little Gleaner, Vol. X.|Various
Tom Sheard, of the Gleaner, drew down a corner of his mouth and felt ashamed of the acquaintance.
The Sins of Sverac Bablon|Sax Rohmer
Wilson, in his humble way, was a gleaner in the field so richly harvested by Sir Walter Scott.
Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland|Daniel Turner Holmes

Why, I don't suppose there's been no wages paid aboard that Gleaner for three trips.
The Wrecker|Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne
Nevertheless, feeling that such men were dependent on him, this gleaner of ideas exacted certain dues.
Bureaucracy|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for gleaner

glean

/ (ɡliːn) /

verb

to gather (something) slowly and carefully in small piecesto glean information from the newspapers

to gather (the useful remnants of a crop) from the field after harvesting

Derived Formsgleanable, adjectivegleaner, noun

Word Origin for glean

C14: from Old French glener, from Late Latin glennāre, probably of Celtic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gleaner

gleaner

mid-15c., agent noun from glean (v.).

glean

early 14c., from Old French glener (Modern French glaner) "to glean," from Late Latin glennare "make a collection," perhaps from Gaulish (cf. Old Irish do-glinn "he collects, gathers," Celt. glan "clean, pure"). Figurative sense was earlier in English than the literal one of "gather grain left by the reapers" (late 14c.). Related: Gleaned; gleaning.