Collect \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. [Archaic.]

--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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)