glean Meaning, Definition & Usage

Glean transitive verb

Etymology

OE. glenen, OF. glener, glaner, F. glaner, fr. LL. glenare; cf. W. glan clean, glanhu to clean, purify, or AS. gelm, gilm, a handul.

Wordforms

imperfect & past participle Gleaned ; present participle & verbal noun Gleaning

Definitions

1. To gather after a reaper; to collect in scattered or fragmentary parcels, as the grain left by a reaper, or grapes left after the gathering.

   To glean the broken ears after the man That the main harvest reaps. Shak.

2. To gather from (a field or vineyard) what is left.
3. To collect with patient and minute labor; to pick out; to obtain.

   Content to glean what we can from . . . experiments. Locke.

Glean intransitive verb

Definitions

1. To gather stalks or ears of grain left by reapers.

   And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers. Ruth ii. 3.

2. To pick up or gather anything by degrees.

   Piecemeal they this acre first, then that; Glean on, and gather up the whole estate. Pope.

Glean noun

Definitions

1. A collection made by gleaning.

   The gleans of yellow thyme distend his thighs. Dryden.

Glean noun

Definitions

1. Cleaning; afterbirth. Obs. Holland.